Sagan, Nick: Idlewild
Idlewild
Writer: Nick Sagan
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 275
I found this book when I found the reviews of Sagan's later work in this series. Intrigued, I followed the timeline back until I learned that this was the first. It also helped that Nick Sagan is the son of Carl Sagan, and while I haven't read the elder Sagan's work or seen the movie based on his work, I have a great respect for the man. I figure if anyone can write entertaining SF, it's got to be the son. That's logic for you. :)
The premise: a young man wakes up in the middle of the field with no of who he is or what he's been doing. But he does know without a shadow of doubt that someone is trying to kill him, and he may very well have killed someone himself. The story that follows is more than just a tale about a guy struggling with amnesia: it's about the struggle of adaptation, of learning his world. Hal, short for Halloween, is one of ten students is an experimental education program that involves teaching through virtual reality. Hal learns his life is made of layers within layers within layers, and he's not sure he can trust anyone, least of all his friends.
Spoilers.
I've got to admit, I was sucked in by the voice pretty quickly. There were times when certain phrasing would trip me up, but over all, the voice held my attention and kept me flipping through the pages. Normally, amnesiacs are high on my list of pet-peeves in fiction, but this works. Halloween doesn't fall into the trap of being too trusting, and he's paranoid enough for me to sympathize with. Then there's the added bonus of him re-discovering his world as the reader's discovering it for the first time, which is really effective.
What impressed me, though, was the series of twists the author kept throwing at the reader. I figured out pretty fast that what Hal woke up to was some kind of virtual reality, but beyond that, I never thought to question the world outside the reality, though there were clues. Some were obvious, some weren't, but looking back, Sagan gives us plenty to figure stuff out with.
There's a lot of neat things, neat layers, to this book. You have the transmissions from Pace, who monitors the IVR and gives us a hint of what's happening behind the scenes. You have the italicized sections of each chapter which details a group of scientists working on a major project that will eventually save humanity from a serious pandemic, only to learn toward the end that these scenes are actually the past woven in with the present. I've seen other authors try this and fail miserably, but this works, and it's hard to put my finger on why. I think it's because Sagan gives us enough clues to warn us that everything isn't as it seems, and before the big reveal, we get a pretty big warning when Blue is considering her "children" and names one of those children by name and it's a name the reader already knows.
The other layers: the virtual reality Hal and the other nine create, then there's the IVR which Hal and the other nine THINK is real, but isn't. Then, of course, there's reality. Cold, hard reality that Hal wakes up to and discovers the truth about himself, the others, and the fate of humanity. The ten aren't entirely human, and it's up to them to find a cure for the Black Ep and bring humanity back through cloning.
All of these twists and turns should give the reader a heady dose of whiplash, but it works. Again, I think it's because the reader, like Hal, understands on a subconscious level that everything isn't as it seems, so we're reading between the lines and looking for clues, just like Hal. The first person POV really helps in this regard, and I have to say, well done to Mr. Sagan for guiding the reader so smoothly from one twist to another.
And the plot itself: Hal never gets any answers as to WHY Mercutio decides to kill them all, nor do we really learn how Mercutio was able to extract himself without Pace knowing. Granted, at this point we know Mercutio is a hacking genius, but still. Impressive. But on some level, subconscious and intuitive on my part, I get it. I think the answers also like in Hal's decision to NOT provide a future for humanity in North America. Maybe I just recognize and understand misanthropist for what it is, but it does make sense if you think about all Hal's been through, if you think about what the truth would do to someone (like Mercutio) who's been living a lie his whole life. It's enough to make anyone angry, to say the least.
So yay, I found an SF I could get through that didn't bore me or piss me off. That's a good thing. I even want to read the sequels, which is even better. It'll be interesting to see where Sagan takes this trilogy/series.
My Rating
Worth the Cash: it's a dystopian cyberpunk that follows the grand traditions of similar movies but still knows how to swing the punches. The voice makes it a smooth, fast read, and Sagan's style make everything about the book come together with a ring of confidence. There were a lot of things that could've annoyed the crap out of me about this book, but they didn't, and I think that's due to Sagan's voice and style and the fact he's not afraid to let the reader figure things out for themselves, if they want. Whether you do or not, it's bound to keep you guessing, even when you guess right. I look forward to the sequels.
Next up:
Slow River by Nicola Griffith