Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

[Vertigo]

Alien tech on the level of so-advanced-it’s-magic envelops the Earth in some sort of a time warp in which time moves massively slower inside than outside. So much so that the death of the sun becomes a threat that will happen with the protagonists’ lifetimes. Allow that basic premise into your suspension of disbelief and the reader is left with an excellent if somewhat slow hard science fiction novel.

And that slowness is undoubtedly my biggest criticism of this book. It is a remarkably slow burn and yet this only bothered me on occasion, most of the time the slow but fairly steady science reveals kept me engaged and interested. The possibilities of such an enormous time shift are truly fascinating but it is pretty much impossible to examine this aspect of the book without massive spoilers. Suffice to say I am a reader who loves hard science fiction filled with well thought out speculative science that is both logical and plausible and this book delivers plenty of that.

The characters and how they change over the course of the book I found both less satisfying and less plausible. Pretty much all the relationships are well up on the dysfunctional scale and this became rather tedious as the book went on and also led to much of the slow pace of the book. Cut much of that out and this would have been a clear five star read for me.

4/5 stars

 

[Rodders]

Sounds interesting, but why would Aliens want to suspend Earth in a slower time bubble? Are their motives explained in this book, Vertigo?

 

[Vertigo]

Sounds interesting, but why would Aliens want to suspend Earth in a slower time bubble? Are their motives explained in this book, Vertigo?

There is speculation and some ideas about it towards the end but it is almost impossible to answer this question without spoilers other than to maybe say when your aliens are so far in advance of you, you can't even really communicate with them. Also there are another two books to follow and to some extent I suspect that question is at the heart of all three. Let me add that I didn't find this a problem, in fact I found it quite convincing that there were no big reveals in that particular area; there was something very human and plausible about that. The book is slow but the scope, the ideas and the science (the human science that is) are what makes this book for me. It really is such a different approach that it's hard to explain without spoilers. However it really is not a first contact book; there is never really any contact.

Sorry, that's not desperately helpful is it?

 

[Bick]

I liked Spin. The only thing I would say is that I thought it read more like a technological thriller (like a Crichton novel perhaps) than a straight SF novel I’m more used to. I’m not sure if that is a distinction that makes any sense, but it was the feel I got from the book.

 

[Vertigo]

I liked Spin. The only thing I would say is that I thought it read more like a technological thriller (like a Crichton novel perhaps) than a straight SF novel I’m more used to. I’m not sure if that is a distinction that makes any sense, but it was the feel I got from the book.

I think there is some truth in that and I also don't know quite what the distinction is! Did you go on to read the sequels?

 

[Bick]

I think there is some truth in that and I also don't know quite what the distinction is! Did you go on to read the sequels?

I didn’t no. I think I enjoyed his first book, A Hidden Place, more. I’ll read more of his stuff but not necessarily the Spin sequels.