Ian McDonald‘s RIVER OF GODS is out now in Bulgaria! The first novel in the author’s India 2047 sci-fi series, it is published by Хермес as Река на боговете. Here’s the synopsis…
В този роман на фокус е Индия през 2047 г. На фона на шеметен напредък в нанотехнологиите Иън Макдоналд вплита в сложна сюжетна мрежа източната митология и традиционна култура със свръхестествени същества, роботи, изкуствен интелект. Паралелните съдби на героите се събират в точката, в която поличитечски реалности, митология и авангардна наука са едно. А философският гръбнак на тази завладяваща история изправя читателя пред въпросите на трансхуманизма за границите на човешкото.
The novel is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in North America via the JABberwocky eBook Program. Both also publish the second novel in the series: CYBERABAD DAYS. Here’s the English-language synopsis for RIVER OF GODS…
August 15th, 2047. Happy Hundredth Birthday, India … On the eve of Mother India’s hundredth birthday, ten people are doing ten very different things. In the next few weeks, all these people will be swept together to decide the fate of the nation. From gangsters to government advisors, from superstitious street-boys to scientists to computer-generated soap stars, River of Gods shows a civilization in flux – a river of gods.
RIVER OF GODS is an epic SF novel as sprawling, vibrant and colourful as the sub-continent it describes. This is an SF novel that blew apart the narrow Anglo- and US-centric concerns of the genre and ushered in a new global consciousness for the genre.
Here are just a few of the great reviews the novel has received…
‘A staggering achievement, brilliantly imagined and endlessly surprising … A brave, brilliant and wonderful novel’ — Christopher Priest, Guardian
‘Hugely adventurous and entertaining, sumptuously inventive and full of heart… it is likely to rank as Ian McDonald’s finest creative achievement.’ — Locus
‘An ambitious science fiction thriller set in a futuristic India that is fabulously rewarding… in terms of risk-taking, sheer scale, ideas, detail, inventiveness, and intellectual scope there are few recent books to match River of Gods, and as a novel about India, there is nothing like it… [It’s] not just the definitive thriller set in India but the most richly imaginative thriller about India.’ — The Hindu (India’s National Newspaper)
‘This ambitious portrait of a future India from British author McDonald (Desolation Road) offers multitudes: gods, castes, protagonists, cultures….readers will become increasingly hooked as the pieces of McDonald’s richly detailed world fall into place. Already nominated for both Hugo and Arthur C. Clarke awards, this is sure to be one of the more talked-about SF novels of the year.’ — Publishers Weekly
‘[A] bold, brave look at India on the eve of its centennial, 41 years from now… McDonald takes his readers from India’s darkest depths to its most opulent heights, from rioting mobs and the devastated poor to high-level politicians and lavish parties. He handles his complex plot with flair and confidence and deftly shows how technological advances and social changes have subtly changed lives. RIVER OF GODS is a major achievement from a writer who is becoming one of the best sf novelists of our time.’ — Washington Post
‘[P]erhaps his most accomplished novel to date. It’s a dense and sometimes difficult read, reminiscent of William Gibson in full-throttle cultural-immersion mode, packed with technical jargon, religious and sociological observation and allusions to art both high and low. But RIVER OF GODS amply rewards careful consideration and more than delivers its share of straight-ahead entertainment. Already a multiple-award nominee following its British publication, McDonald’s latest ranks as one of the best science fiction novels published in the United States this year.’ — San Francisco Chronicle