35. Genesis

by Bernard Beckett

 I like old science fiction. I spent my early twenties reading Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Alfred Bester, Frank Herbert, Ursula K. LeGuin, and the list continues. I really liked that older material for its frank look at human nature. Really good science fiction is more than just a story, it's an exploration in search for some deeper truth.

Newer science fiction, while it has much to offer, seems to have lost sight of its origins.  Most of the time it seems to be a perfectly ordinary story that just happens to be in space.  There isn't all that much difference between boy meets girl and boy meets alien after all.  So while there isn't really anything wrong with most of the new science fiction, it just doesn't call to me.

Genesis, however, definitely qualifies as new science fiction (pub 2010) yet manages to recapture some of that old sci fi spirit that I love so much. Beckett gives us a world in transition where the worst has already happened. War, famine, and isolation provide a backdrop for a culture oddly influenced by the ancient greeks. Society is monitored and controlled by the intellectual elite. Anaximander is a student going through something akin to a doctoral defense in order to entire this elite society.  The entire story is in the format of an interview between Anaxamander and some sort of professorial panel. Anaxamander's thesis is on the history of one man, Adam Forde, who is a enigmatic and controversial figure responsible for the last enduring secret in an almost ideal society.

While the premise seems to invite a dry read, the story really drew me in. The sense that something wasn't quite right builds from the very beginning until it hits a surprising yet absolutely satisfying conclusion. I often find myself figuring out the twists in books like these well in advance of the reveal, but in this case I only figured it out about five pages before Beckett revealed it. Beckett is an excellent writer and thinker and I look forward to reading more of his books.