While eminent scientists, such as Roger Penrose (see The Emperor’s New Mind) believe we are unlikely to develop sentient artificial intelligence, it was still interesting to read the discussion on what should or shouldn’t be done with simulated worlds that have been created as part of an experiment. I also enjoyed the moralising about simulations and any entities created in the simulations. This reminded me of the excellent treatment of the same subject in Ken MacLeod’s novel, Newton’s Wake. The things I found positive about the novel include the discussions held internally by individuals about whether their original selves or copies of themselves are the real them, and also the idea of the original being being jealous of a copy of himself. Some of the discussions went on a bit too long and I felt newcomers to the Culture novels could find this a bit off-putting and could make the book seem a bit of a slog. This was the philosophising and moralising by the Culture minds. I found one thing that could be considered a negative in the story. If you haven’t already read the book you may wish to leave the rest of this review until you have done so. read other Culture novels before taking up The Hydrogen Sonata.īeyond this point in my review I will be mentioning points about the book that I liked or found less than satisfactory. I would also suggest that it is better read knowing something of the nature of the Culture minds and ships, i.e. That having been said, I would not regard this novel as the best Culture novel, but rather an adventure with, for me, a few highlights and a few lowlights.
This is probably why I am more tolerant than some other reviewers regarding The Hydrogen Sonata.
I enjoy wrapping myself up in the whole Culture universe. I have always enjoyed the Culture novels. Books, iain m banks, review, science fiction
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