Aristoi [Hardcover]

When I first read the book, I thought it was a work of art that created a world and culture as it someday might come to pass and still remained realistic enough to be believable. I was very impressed, and have since read most of the authors other works.

After re-reading the book a couple times, some of the magic I originally experienced faded but the underlining principles that made it a great book remained. It remains a classic on my bookshelf, and to this day I hope to see a sequal.

The book touches upon the evolution of mankind, and focus' on one individual, Gabriel, who is one of the cultural elite. With god-like authority, Gabriel can create worlds of great beauty while at the same time compose poetry and music and still hold a conversation on medical science.

Gabriel is restless though, and in his desire to solve a mystery he sets off on an adventure that ultimately challenges his beliefs, and the foundation of his culture. In the end he discovers that the aura of arrogance and power that came naturally to him before is now a difficult matter, and for the first time in his life knows fear and what it is to be "just human".

As a cultural analyst, I found the book rich in depth and, despite a couple raw points, very well done. The nuances that make a culture, and which I find lacking in many science-fiction books that attempt to create new or alien cultures, were very well done. I hope the author will someday write a sequal and continue the saga as Gabriel explores the universe in search of what he lost.

This is one of those books that can be curled up with and enjoyed for hours on end...like a good Heinlein novel, it keeps one engrossed in the details of the society at view. Set in the far, far, future, after nanotechnology and interstellar travel have become commonplace, it tells the story of the few who have the ability/responsibility to manage these awesome technologies. These "Aristoi" are absolute rulers of their domain, charged with the task of preserving and protecting lesser human beings.

Problem is, how do you cope with that kind of stress? Not everyone is content to simply stay at home and putter about in a garden...

Most interesting to me was the concept of "daimones" : semi-autonomous parts of the self which are conciously developed to "handle" events while the primary personality is otherwise engaged. The protagonist is posessed of an entire stable of such beings, each of which has distinct, but very limited, personalities. Mataglap is vengeful, Augenblick is diplomatic, etc. Any of them is capable of assuming control of bodily or netbourne functions when asked to do so...at other times, they simply remain as permanent voices in ones' head.

Interaction with daimones forms a large part of the book and is handled well. Particularly effective was the technique of splitting the narrative into columns, with one conversation on the right, another on the left. The confusion created by trying to follow both threads at once brings home the multiple 'presences' of the character in a way impossible with a normal linear stream. I wish I could do that on IRC or in chat...

At one point, we see a novice undergoing intense pain to summon and control his own fledgling daimones. The ceremony is portrayed as a means of gaining mastery over the self, but it also raises questions about the sanity of the Aristoi lifestyle. What does it say about society when a rite of passage involves creating multiple personalities?

The protagonist, naturally, feels that concious control of the mind's aspects is a noble goal, even at the cost of exaggerating/alienating them into separate entities; he looks down on people who 'allow their daimones to control them.' Ironically, this emphasis on control is his undoing, as his own training/conditioning is used against him. What finally saves him is an untapped, uncontrolled, and previously unknown daimon, who resists all his attempts to name and identify it after his escape.

The questions this raises are intriguing : what effect does power and control have on the human mind, and where can they go too far? What's the line between rationalism and hubris?
The society described in Aristoi is very much influenced by "eastern" thought - traditionalist, deference to elders, status based on examniation, etc., but the book ends on a decidely expansive/activist note, with the surviving Aristoi roused to action.

Wish I'd thought of more of this while actually reading the book... :-)

Social pseudo-analysis aside, this is one of those books that will simply force you to finish once started. It's thick enough to keep one occupied for a day or so, but the time is well spent. The more I read of Walter Jon Williams, the more impressed I become. If all his books are like Aristoi, I think I'm going to be busy for a good long while...