Hopeland

For me, this book felt like an experience more than it felt like reading a book. I don't think it will be for everybody, but if you like to get lost in a world - or just lost in thought - this is a winner.

I spent the first 100 pages wondering when the story would start. It seemed like stuff was just happening, one thing after another, as if there was no real story or plot. However, the writing and imagination was so compelling that I never considered giving up on it for even a moment. Eventually, I realized the lack of a traditional plot arc was intentional. Rather, tiny pieces of story line up one after the other, creating a beautiful tale set in a world that seems like our own, only not quite.

I read a fair bit of climate fiction, and I think some might characterize this book in that way, but I don't think that's correct. Most of it does take place in the near-future, and since climate change is a thing that's happening, it will be present in any near-future story, but what this is really about is community. How do we create a community, and what does that mean? Also, how do we interact with other communities and cultures when the world and human nature inevitably lead us to all mix together in unpredictable ways?

As the title suggests, I would consider this to be a very uplifting book. It doesn't avoid the myriad issues happening in the world at all; corruption, climate emergencies, identity issues and more all show up in the book just as they do in life. But it focuses on how changes can happen, communities can come together, people can survive tragedy and come out stronger, people can make good choices. It promotes the value of the long view, and asks "What if we really asked ourselves what the next thousand years will be like?"

It's not preachy though. The central community is an invented "religious group"/modern hippy cult that doesn't really resemble any modern community, so by viewing how this group moves through the world, the book examines community, relationships and culture through an entirely unique lens, rather than trying to imitate a specific culture's view. I found that approach pretty ingenious.

There's 120ish small chapters, and each little chapter was like candy for the brain. The chapter that describes the Music is probably going to be one of my all-time favourite pieces of literature.

It's in a linear order, following two main characters and a couple side characters, so it's a pretty standard story in that sense, but - like real life - you never quite know where it's going or what the characters are going to do next. In that way, it may not appeal to people who like classic story arcs, but for lovers of setting, character and prose, it's fantastic.

There's the tiniest sprinkle of the fantastic in there as well, but it is so sparing and well integrated, that the "fantasy" can basically be written off as a detailed description of dreams or superstition, much like the idea that god(s) are watching people.

And yes, I'd totally join Hopeland... Maybe. Or maybe I just want to be named after a star.

4.25 stars

I didn't know much about this novel going in, but if I was expecting anything it was an urban fantasy about electromancers.  I suppose you could reduce the story to that description for a book jacket, but really this was a decades and ultimately centuries-spanning epic about families, nations, and societies.  I got definite Kim Stanley Robinson vibes.  I also kept thinking about James Michener's multi-generational works, though I am not entirely sure that tracks, as I have not gone back to those since I was a teenager.  I think my touchpoint there was the depth of exploration of place, culture, and history.I enjoyed the ideas about social change and technological adaptation in the face of climate change.  As near future sci-fi, this hit the mark for me.  I also liked the overall mix of ideas, plot, and character.  I responded to many of the main characters and was especially attached to Amon.  The last third of the book was my favorite as the plot picked up steam and ended with a bang.My biggest quibble was pacing.  Although I enjoyed almost all of the different sections/settings, with the notable exception of the Hopeland founding history, there were parts of each story where my attention flagged.  The prose was beautiful, but the story could have been tighter.  I also generally felt that the electromancy was peripheral, and I would have liked for it to either be fully explored or left out.  Ultimately, I found the migration plotline in the final third of the story really engaging, and I thought the ending was a banger with a lot of catharsis.  I left this book thinking and feeling, and while I might have had to push myself to keep going through some slow spots, I suspect I will be thinking about it for a long time.

At 3/4 of the way through I have only briefly cared about anyone or anything the author has presented. The stakes are clearly supposed to be massive and yet are massively unclear. Every now and then a beautiful idea appears, and then we run way from it. I have loved some past Ian McDonald books, but this one put him on the “buy only at a discount” list. DNF.

Part secret history urban fantasy, part near future SF, all written in wonderful prose, how this book starts is not where it ends. It's a picaresque novel of climate change, taking us from the South Pacific to Greenland, via a riot torn London and a sprawling Irish family estate that isn't always there. Deep and complex, but powered by likeable and well drawn characters, it's quite the journey, and one you will not regret taking. Has to be in the conversation when awards time comes round.