Equations of Life, Simon Morden

Equations of Life by Simon Morden is a novel of post apocolyptic London.  This novel received the 2012 Philip K. Dick Award.  I picked this up from the audio section at the library to keep me occupied during the commute.

Started:  6/19/2013

Completed:  6/25/2013

Recommendation:  A lot of fun, well worth the time

Recommended By:  Nobody

Review:

Samuel Petrovitch is a pretty annoying protagonist.  Convinced of his staggering intellect he teases the reader like a modern Sherlock Holmes.  Well, if Sherlock Holmes was not so cool.  Or polite.  Or as old.  Or a gentleman.  Or, well...look, the Sherlock Holmes analogy is probably a bit strong, but the tendency for "do now and explain later" leaves the reader fishing trying to figure out why in the world Petrovitch would go off and do some particular thing only to learn it made complete sense if one but knew the subtle detail that Sam had identified.  This isn't some kind of 60 minute mystery where the details are all laid out for you; it also isn't some kind of "here's a clue you couldn't possibly have known" book.  This is an action thriller with a computer geek as a gun toting hero.  Of course, as with any nerd novel, there are several unlikely characters--A bodyguard nun, Russian mafia Don, cop lacking the inhaler he so badly needs, and a girl.  A pretty anime type girl which is the kind that would cause any geek worth his snot to stop in his tracks and rattle off something incoherent while nervously twitching.  And, of course, Petrovitch is a self-made genius who is in his early 20s (and a loner).

The book opens with a race through the Metrozone (that is the name of the new post-apocolyptic London) and that serves to introduce you to the oddly familiar yet completely different nature of the world.  Petrovitch lives on the fringes of society and would like to keep it that way.  Then there is the girl.  And the incessant need to save the girl.  This unthinking need to save the girl drives through the book and serves as the plot line on which the more interesting things are delicately hung to be encountered as Petrovitch stumbles and swears his way through a few days of wild action.  The book, in that sense, is reminiscent of a video game where the action seems to occur in a few days without the need for normal things like a bathroom, food, or sleep (the author is kind enough to give that a nod and actually does spend a tiny amount of time on mechanics which greatly facilitates the suspension of disbelief).  By the way, if the swearing bothers you, don't worry--most of it is in Russian.  I thought that was an interesting touch and helped make Petrovitch just a little more believable.

Also, despite the tendency to believe otherwise, this is NOT a love story.  It is a geek saves the world story.  Also, kind of a Die Hard story.

For more of the backstory behind the Metrozone (and an introduction to Petrovitch who appears in a story) read Thy Kingdom Come which is a free download.  Thanks to My Bookish Ways for an interview that got me searching for the backstory.