×îÐÂÂ鶹ÊÓƵ

Adam Roberts (Gollancz)

I WAS recently asked for my definition of “hard science fiction” and I burbled something along the lines of “it has to have a lot of science in it, and also spaceships”. I’m not sure the spaceships bit is right. But if, for the sake of this article, my terrible definition is the one in play, then Lake of Darkness by Adam Roberts hits the mark 100 per cent.

In this case, the spaceships are two deep-space science vessels, which convene at a black hole in order to study it. This is in a far future where humans inhabit a post-scarcity galaxy. It is a bit like the world of Iain M. Banks’s Culture novels, except that in this universe, no other intelligent life forms have (so far) been discovered and artificial intelligence hasn’t reached Culture-level heights.

Alpha Raine, the captain of one of the ships, starts to think he is communicating with something inside the black hole. Even though it should be impossible, shouldn’t it? Could an alien life form – a “blackholer”, you might call it – be communicating via something called Hawking radiation?

You may guess that this hard sci-fi novel covers black hole science in quite some detail. In fact, it features a vast swathe of theoretical physics. However, it is first and foremost a story, and the question of how the blackholer might be communicating with humans is quickly overshadowed, plot-wise, by Raine’s decision to slaughter his crew. This he does in increasingly ghastly ways and for no apparent reason. Is something very dangerous, very evil, very ancient and very contagious hiding inside the black hole?

I won’t say more in order not to ruin the plot, but I will tell you there is a lot of horror, religion and psychology, plus lots of literary allusions, mixed in with this far-future story of what could possibly be first contact. Possibly.

Roberts has written 25 novels and, at this stage of his career, he is obviously unafraid to play with structure and the expectations of the reader. There is nothing cosy or easy about this novel. The story is told by… we aren’t sure who. The action comes to us from the points of view of different people at different times. The characters are atypical heroes in that they are generally downright unappealing. Everyone is apparently quite stupid, or at least they are strangely unaware of the potential threat posed by the blackholer (if it exists).

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Sometimes, the characters are drawn as comedically awful, as in the case of one supposed “great brain” called Guunarsonsdottir, such a terrible person that her monologues are laugh-out-loud funny. These humans are increasingly infuriating, having long discussions and insisting on lengthy democratic voting processes even as life-threatening violence is unfolding around them. But then, as I kept on thinking and worrying over, how much of their conduct was being caused by possible infection from the blackholer? This is a book you will wake up thinking about!

By the end, I still hadn’t worked out why one important plotline had happened and I couldn’t be sure I had understood the ending. That hasn’t put me off one bit. The book is intelligent, experimental, grippingly propulsive and full of astonishing ideas. I have read three of Roberts’s other books, including Salt and Jack Glass, all of them superb, innovative and quite startling. I now intend to work my way through the rest of his canon. Here’s to hard sci-fi!

Emily also recommends…

Peter F. Hamilton (Tor)

While I am talking about hard sci-fi, it would be remiss of me not to mention Peter F. Hamilton, given that he is arguably the reigning king of the subgenre. His new book, the first in a duology, is linked to an upcoming computer game. The computer game bit isn’t a selling point for me, but I have made a start on the book and so far it is full of trademark Hamilton big ideas.

Emily H. Wilson is a former editor of ×îÐÂÂ鶹ÊÓƵ and the author of the Sumerians trilogy, set in ancient Mesopotamia. The second book in the series, Gilgamesh, is out now. You can find her at emilyhwilson.com, or follow her on X @emilyhwilson and Instagram @emilyhwilson1

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