Equations of Life (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

I am not a fan of cyberpunk science-fiction, but the catchy blurb on the back cover made me pick this book up. After several disappointments with similar blurbs, (ala film trailers being the most interesting part of the movie) I had low expectations, especially since the title was vaguely self aggrandizing . But the hero, Samuil Petrovitch hit the ground running and never stopped.

As a survivor of a post-apocalyptic world, Samuil is a Russian emigre/refugee with a hidden past and failing heart, making his way in a recognisable but very changed London.

After saving the daughter of a Yakuza boss, enemies crop up as quickly as the chapters progress, in order of appearance: Eastern European mobsters, cops, certain yakuza, a computer fascimile of Japan, the unhinged American creator of said fascimile, the City of London under the control of said fascimile, a neighbourhood gang...

The storyline is propelled by ideas that while not particularly original, weave together to create an immersive experience: you care for the characters, you laugh at the occupational and foreign stereotypes and you can visualise the set scenes, and more importantly, want to.

In the rush, Samuil gets the hots for the Yakuza boss' daughter and a fighting nun. He solves the Unified theory (touched upon by the title) when the main researcher is sleeping. He dies several times (heart fails).

And why I really like this book? Through the entire scream of a tale, Morden never drops the ball or my interest. The futuristic world he creates isn't crazy for craziness sake or "atmosphere". I have to say that Morden's vivid description of the city and its denizens make this future London not just a backdrop, but a major player. The subsequent Deus ex Machina is only a portion of the story, not the entire resolution. The prose is simple, almost teen fiction level. But the concepts and increasingly intricate plot is actually easy to follow. If you are a sci-fi fan, you never think "amateur/childish" because you are too engrossed in the developing story.

I would almost put to you that Morden plotted the storyline and relationships on a diagram similar to a cops timeline-relationship caseboard, then just wrote the best he could. He achieved a brilliant result, whatever method he used! Another game one could play is to see how many concepts (eg Tron, Black Rain) the author incorporates into the storyline?

This is one of the few times the catchy blurb does not do the story justice. Indeed, it is far removed!

If you like a book where an author creates a memorable character then you really have to try this title by Simon Morden. Within this title you'll meet Petrovitch, calculating, logical and above all else selfish, until the day he breaks his own rules and puts his life in danger. It's a great story of human development as the tales hero has to adapt to the changes and it's a title that really is fascinating purely for the fact that it relies as truly great tales do on few other characters which allows the reader to really get to know them. So much so that crazy is as crazy does in a world gone mad with full throttle Petrovitch in survival mode with his million to one shot plans.

Add to this a post-apocalyptic world where life is cheap and a fistful of people who'd do anything to maintain control backed with great storytelling alongside decent prose and you know that it's a story that will thrill, excite and keep the reader entertained to its conclusion which made this a seriously great find from our friends at Orbit and a series that will have a lot to live up to.

The strength of Equations of Life lies not so much the writing style, which is rather plain and straightforward, as much as in its wealth of ideas. As the first novel in a series of Samuil Petrovitch books, the success of this opening instalment, with all its potential, holds out a great deal of promise for the subsequent parts.

The potential is immediately apparent in Equations of Life's post-Armageddon setting of a London unrecognisable but for the place names that now bear no relation to present-day reality. You don't want to venture too far above Oxford Street in the new London Metrozone, and as for Hyde Park, well, it's a hotbed of strange cults and tribes. Samuil Petrovitch is a Russian immigrant student in the Metrozone, working on nothing less than a Grand Unified Theory with his colleague Pif, a piece of work that is nearing completion and which holds out huge possibilities for space travel and unlimited energy sources. Unfortunately, his work is cut short when he gets involved in a street crime and saves a young woman from being kidnapped.

This opens up another avenue of interest, to say nothing of danger, when Petrovitch is introduced to her father, Oshicora, an important Japanese businessman (ie. yakuza gangster) who is working on a project to build a VirtualJapan, detailed down to the last blade of grass, after the original nation was destroyed in the great disaster (this book was available in proof long before the recent real-world events in Japan that now make that seem not so far-fetched). Petrovitch, whose shady past remains something of a mystery (as does just how Armageddon came about), has however also made some enemies through his actions, has the chief of police interested in him, has an assassin on his tail, and has some rather pressing health problems.

I say that the writing might not be all that brilliant in terms of style, descriptiveness or dialogue, but truth be told, its rather straightforward approach only serves to make the rather ambitious ideas it grapples with much easier to get along with. The story is never short of incident, there is plenty of imagination on display here - perhaps a little too much, with the Metrozone all too quickly descending into the complete anarchy of the New Machine Jihad by the mid-point of the book. Petrovitch however turns out to be an intriguing character, as do most of the other characters he meets - including a 19 year-old warrior nun (Ted McKeever's graphic novels Metropol, Eddy Current and Industrial Gothic come to mind frequently). It all comes together towards a thrilling conclusion that leaves that potential for the series to go just about anywhere, and I for one would be very interested to find out where this series goes next.