FACT SF Reading Group

November 1998

November 3:The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh

Eight people showed up for the discussion of Amitav Ghosh's novel The Calcutta Chromosome. Five had finished the book, and the others hadn't had time to read much of it. Although this is not Ghosh's first book, it's his first to be marketed to SF readers. The story concerns a medical historian working on the biography of a British Army doctor who made early significant breakthroughs in malaria research. In the course of his studies, the historian begins to suspect that the doctor, who did this research while stationed in Calcutta, may have had guidance from an unknown source. Traveling to India for more information, the historian stumbles across a deep network of secret societies and conspiracies before uncovering the "secret history" of malaria research.

We liked this book a lot. The author's writing style was compelling, and it evoked a mysterious and surreal atmosphere. The characters were well drawn and complex, and each had a distinct speaking pattern. The story had a lot of energy, and the precise descriptions of Indian culture communicated an other-worldly flavor.

Unlike many SF novels, this book does not tie up all its loose ends neatly. We learn a lot and want to find out more, but many details (the final fate of certain characters, for example) seem to be left for the reader to ponder. We attributed this mostly to the author not having come from a science fiction background. He seems to be working within a mainstream literary tradition, which has different reading and writing conventions.

We liked this novel so much that we didn't mind a few loose ends. We enjoyed the digression into mainstream literature. We felt that this was an excellent novel, and we look forward for more from this author.

November 17:Godheads by Emily Devenport

Eight people attended the discussion of Godheads. This is a far future science fiction novel with elements of suspense and mystery. The basic plot follows a young woman sent by a human intelligence organization to infiltrate an alien computer network. Before joining the intelligence organization, the protagonist had been a convicted criminal who was punished by having her mind wiped and being sentenced to several hundred years of cryogenic slumber. Supposedly rehabilitated and retrained, during the course of her mission she begins to have strange dreams and flashes of memory from her pre-wiped self. Ultimately she starts to question everything she knows. The story involves interplanetary travel, psychedelic drugs, lots of sex with aliens, and shopping at a futuristic mall. The fast-paced story never lets up.

All of us finished the novel, except for one who hadn't had a chance to start it. Only one person had read Devenport before, but that didn't hinder our enjoyment. We all enjoyed the book quite a bit. The author dealt with complicated material and a complex story structure, yet her writing was always clear. The story's focus was not its spy elements, which we expected from the cover. Instead, the main story is the protagonist's identity crisis, which is fascinating.

We noticed that several books we've read recently have had protagonists with faulty memories. For the record, the others were The Dark Beyond the Stars by Frank M. Robinson, The Fortunate Fall by Raphael Carter, and Black Wine by Candas Jane Dorsey. We liked most of these books quite a bit, so we have no problem with this trend. It seems like a new sub-genre of SF may be emerging.

We recommend that you check out Eggheads. We enjoyed it a lot, and we're planning to check out Devenport's other books.

-- A. T. Campbell, III