Lsff-book July 2005

lsff-book@lists.lysator.liu.se

2 participants
2 discussions

River of Gods
by Tommy Persson 13 Jul '05

13 Jul '05

Angående diskussionen idag så hittade jag http://www.thealienonline.net/ao_060.asp?baa=1&tid=2&scid=20&iid=2388 ett utdrag: But perhaps The most ambitious and most fundamental of all the ideas that McDonald explores in River of Gods are the philosophical and theological concepts that run through the book. It's never quite clear who the 'gods' of the title are, though there are several possibilities, and it seems likely that the title actually intends to refer to all of them. It's important for the religious themes that the story is set in India. The central idea at the heart of the book is the idea of multiplicity versus singularity. This comes out in several ways. There's the obvious multiplicity of the pantheon of Hindu gods versus the singularity of the monotheistic Muslim god, and serious tensions between Hindus and Muslims are an important factor in the plot threads of River of Gods. But the contrast between multiplicity and singularity goes beyond the traditional religions. The idea that a super-intelligent Artificial Intelligence (or aeai, as they're called here) might attain some sort of god-like position is not a new one in science fiction, but I think McDonald's version of this idea may well be an original take. The aeais are god-like because of their multiplicity. Their numerous distributed consciousnesses, spread throughout many different computer programs and systems, exceed the capabilities of a single isolated human mind many times over. The multiple consciousness of the aeai stands opposite the singular consciousness of a human. This tension between multiplicity and singularity is perhaps also an explanation for the size and scope of the cast of characters with which McDonald has chosen to tell his story. Unlike other novels where we might expect a single protagonist, River of Gods has multiple protagonists. McDonald's broad cast of characters is the narrative equivalent of Hindu polytheism or the distributed consciousness of the aeai. But of course, this distinction between multiplicity and singularity is a little simplistic, philosophically speaking. The Hindu gods are ultimately all manifestations of the one reality, all incarnations out of the fundamental Brahma. Likewise, the many separate programs and functions that make up an aeai are all ultimately part of a single mind, a single consciousness. And in just the same way, the multiple plot strands of River of Gods, told from the point of view of so many different people, are all ultimately part of the one story. Each character's personal narrative comes together with all the others to form one vast and complex single story. And what a story it is! /Tommy

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Bokbokmöte
by Tommy Persson 11 Jul '05

11 Jul '05

Kan ju påminna om bokbokmötet nu på tisdag på den här listan också: 12/7: Bokbokmöte tills vilket man ska ha läst Ian McDonalds _River of Gods_ (Hugonominerad). Platsen är hemma hos mig på Rydsvägen 180A. Efter detta har vi inte bestämt saker att läsa så ni kan ju fundera på bra förslag... /Tommy

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Lsff-book July 2005