Book Review: Brasyl

Reviewed By: Lynn Harnett

Brasyl     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Ian McDonald
Class/Genre:   Science Fiction
Pyr, May 2007

Flashy, rhythmic, kaleidoscopic writing characterizes McDonald’s slick novel of the past, present and future, set in kinetic Brazil.

McDonald interweaves three time lines into a convergence with quantum perception, freighted choice and myriad possibility.

In 2006 we have Marcelina, a driven, cutthroat producer of shocking-edge reality-TV shows, as tormented and self-loathing as she is driven and ambitious.

In 2032 we have Edson, a self-made talent agent who has clawed his way up from the slums and now finds himself involved with illegal quantum computing, which involves alternate realities from infinite parallel universes.

And in 1732 we have the Jesuit Luis Quinn who has been sent to the New World to track down a rogue priest right out of Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.”

An easy novel? No, but full of mind-bending ideas, psychological insight and imaginative flights of fancy. The complex characters will have you rooting for their better sides, and the colorful atmospheric details of each timeline intrigue and dazzle.

Lynn Harnett

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Lynn Harnett

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