Rejoice, a Knife to the Heart

[anelith]

 

This book was the strangest reading experience I think I’ve ever had.  While reading, one part of my mind was going “I can’t believe this ever got published” and the other part was sinking into it like a warm bath, getting all emotionally gooey.  It’s the most self-indulgent, wish-fulfilling fic I’ve ever read, of either pro or fan variety.  Or it could be considered a terrifying dystopia.  Your mileage may vary!

The novel would be categorized “near-future” SF but it’s really “this very moment” SF – the major world leaders and political movers-and-shakers are exactly who they are today, with names changed and in a couple of cases gender-swapped (not sure why).  The political situation is pretty much as it is now, although the story doesn’t dwell on specific issues.  Some reviews refer to this book as satire but I think the portrayals of these real life people are spot on, no exaggeration necessary.

The set-up: An SF writer named Samantha August is abducted by aliens in a very public manner off a city street – there are lots of cell phone videos of her vanishing in a beam of light, and the alien ship is clearly visible above.  While the rest of humanity is going predictably nuts about this below, Samantha wakes to find herself orbiting Earth in the spaceship with only an AI as companion.  The AI explains that three alien races are working together on an “Intervention” for humanity.  There’s a fair bit of backstory about this Intervention and why the aliens are doing it.  More to the immediate point, they want Sam to be their envoy to the rest of humanity. 

There are several steps to the Intervention.  First, many ecologically important areas of Earth are invisibly protected by forcefields – all humans gently but implacably ushered off and away, while animals remain to do as they will.  Second, all violence is stopped at every level, large and small.  No weapons will function, not even knives or fists.  Those are just the initial steps. 

The book has been described as a First Contact novel where we never have contact.  It’s not really about the aliens, it’s about how we react to having Utopia forced upon us.  Can we still find some way to fuck it up?

It’s a very talky book – especially when Sam converses with the AI, who develops an understated but engaging personality.  The self-indulgence I mentioned is not just the author’s fictional wish fulfillment, but also his torrent of personal philosophy.

There are many moments of extremely satisfying fan service for old-school SF fans.  Again with the self-indulgence, but so very fun.  My husband read the book first and he was almost literally bouncing while I was reading because he was impatient for me to get to those bits – he wanted to yell about it together.  It’s a great book for discussion afterward.  If you read it, I'd love to know what you think.