The Dervish House (Gollancz)
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Review
'Loving Ian McDonald's science-fiction vision of Istanbul ... Ancient Ottoman mysteries and nanotechnology: that's the kind of mash-up we like.' (THE HERALD (Glasgow) )
'The Dervish House is simply sublime, an incredible novel by a literary genius that is by far one of the best novels of the last decade' (SFBOOK )
'The Dervish House is simply sublime, an incredible novel by a literary genius that is by far one of the best novels of the last decade' (SFBOOK )
Book Description
The new SF epic from Ian McDonald does for Turkey what BRASYL did for Brazil.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In line with other reviews so far, I thought this was an excellent book. Set in Istanbul in 2027 5 years after Turkey joins the EU, it covers multiple, linked story-strands covering subjects such as religion, politics, nano-tech, economics, terrorists and legends including the Mellified Man (don't bother looking it up, just enjoy it in the book).
There are numerous characters who are faily well sketched - the ousted academic, the child detective with a heart complaint, the stock market swindler and his religious-artefact selling wife, the disturbed fanatic and the nano-tech entrepeneurs. McDonald weaves their stories very skillfully and vividly paints a picture of near-future Istanbul and the integration of new technology into an ancient city.
I really enjoyed "River of Gods" but couldn't finish "Brasyl" for some reason. But this is by some way the best book I have read this year. McDonald successfully merges good story-lines with believable future-technology and writes it well. Any author who can come up with a line such as "Smell is the djinni of memory, all times are one to it" has my admiration.
If you want intelligent, well-written near-future science-fiction, you can't go wrong with this book. Highly recommended.
There are numerous characters who are faily well sketched - the ousted academic, the child detective with a heart complaint, the stock market swindler and his religious-artefact selling wife, the disturbed fanatic and the nano-tech entrepeneurs. McDonald weaves their stories very skillfully and vividly paints a picture of near-future Istanbul and the integration of new technology into an ancient city.
I really enjoyed "River of Gods" but couldn't finish "Brasyl" for some reason. But this is by some way the best book I have read this year. McDonald successfully merges good story-lines with believable future-technology and writes it well. Any author who can come up with a line such as "Smell is the djinni of memory, all times are one to it" has my admiration.
If you want intelligent, well-written near-future science-fiction, you can't go wrong with this book. Highly recommended.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
McDonald has set pretty high expectations with his last two books, but this one doesn't disappoint.
The Dervish House unfolds in a compelling near future Istanbul, a heady mix of history, cultures and ubiquitous nanotechnology. It tells the intertwined stories of six characters, spanning five days of an Istanbul heat wave: a gas options trader with a get rich quick plan, an antiquarian commissioned to find a fabulous mythical artefact; a retired Professor of Economics wounded by ethnic persecution and a love lost, a troubled mystic who sees djinn and talks with saints, a "Marketing Consultant" called in to save the family nanotechnology start-up, and a boy detective with the coolest nanotech toy ever.
With treasure hunts, terrorist plots, wheeling and dealing, and a high tech shoot out, the Dervish House is fast paced and a real page turner. True to style however, McDonald's characters are well rendered and believable, his ideas first class and his writing is complex and mature.
A wonderful book!
The Dervish House unfolds in a compelling near future Istanbul, a heady mix of history, cultures and ubiquitous nanotechnology. It tells the intertwined stories of six characters, spanning five days of an Istanbul heat wave: a gas options trader with a get rich quick plan, an antiquarian commissioned to find a fabulous mythical artefact; a retired Professor of Economics wounded by ethnic persecution and a love lost, a troubled mystic who sees djinn and talks with saints, a "Marketing Consultant" called in to save the family nanotechnology start-up, and a boy detective with the coolest nanotech toy ever.
With treasure hunts, terrorist plots, wheeling and dealing, and a high tech shoot out, the Dervish House is fast paced and a real page turner. True to style however, McDonald's characters are well rendered and believable, his ideas first class and his writing is complex and mature.
A wonderful book!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The novel is set in the Istanbul of 2027. Turkey is now part of the EU. It starts with a bang.
Necdet, who was disowned by his family, bar his brother, is on a tram to work when a smiling woman blows her own head off. Shocked by the event, he doesn't realize how badly he was affected until he starts seeing ghosts (djinn) everywhere. The traffic-jam aftermath makes Leyla miss her best chance of a job. She has to fall back on family connections to represent her cousins who want to get financing for a wacky nano-tech start-up. Ayse, an art dealer is offered a lot of money to find a legend, a "Mellified Man", an ancient corpse preserved in honey, and decides to take up the challenge, despite misgivings about her client because of his aftershave. Her husband is cooking up a massive deal of his own, using his skills as a gas market-trader and his special knowledge of a disused gas pipeline going back into embargoed Iran. Can Durukan, a young deaf boy, sends his shape-changing spy bots to the site of the bombing and tracks a mysterious bot that was recording the event. As a wannabe detective he never lets up his search for the truth.Finally, Georgios Ferentinou, an ex-University economics lecturer and erstwhile radical, gets an offer of a job with a think tank doing blue-sky research into possible terrorist attacks. He confronts an old enemy and seeks a lost love.
All the characters are residents of the Dervish House at Adem Dede Square. The Dervishes were a now-vanished sect. The house is a relic of Istanbul's past. The novel subtly weaves together historical and mythical views of the city and its peoples, while at the same time investigating the possible futures offered by nano-tech and EU membership. All the various characters and their story arcs converge by the end of the six days in which the action takes place. River of Gods and Brasyl are tough acts to follow, but this one is better than both, which is no mean feat. The writing, the creative vision and the near-future science fiction are flawless. It ought to win every award going. I wonder what can possibly come next?
Necdet, who was disowned by his family, bar his brother, is on a tram to work when a smiling woman blows her own head off. Shocked by the event, he doesn't realize how badly he was affected until he starts seeing ghosts (djinn) everywhere. The traffic-jam aftermath makes Leyla miss her best chance of a job. She has to fall back on family connections to represent her cousins who want to get financing for a wacky nano-tech start-up. Ayse, an art dealer is offered a lot of money to find a legend, a "Mellified Man", an ancient corpse preserved in honey, and decides to take up the challenge, despite misgivings about her client because of his aftershave. Her husband is cooking up a massive deal of his own, using his skills as a gas market-trader and his special knowledge of a disused gas pipeline going back into embargoed Iran. Can Durukan, a young deaf boy, sends his shape-changing spy bots to the site of the bombing and tracks a mysterious bot that was recording the event. As a wannabe detective he never lets up his search for the truth.Finally, Georgios Ferentinou, an ex-University economics lecturer and erstwhile radical, gets an offer of a job with a think tank doing blue-sky research into possible terrorist attacks. He confronts an old enemy and seeks a lost love.
All the characters are residents of the Dervish House at Adem Dede Square. The Dervishes were a now-vanished sect. The house is a relic of Istanbul's past. The novel subtly weaves together historical and mythical views of the city and its peoples, while at the same time investigating the possible futures offered by nano-tech and EU membership. All the various characters and their story arcs converge by the end of the six days in which the action takes place. River of Gods and Brasyl are tough acts to follow, but this one is better than both, which is no mean feat. The writing, the creative vision and the near-future science fiction are flawless. It ought to win every award going. I wonder what can possibly come next?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Genuinely Brilliant.
The Dervish House was the second Ian McDonald book I read (the first being the also excellent Cyberabad Days). Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. L. J. Counter
Awesome!
I gave up on a previous title by this author - too convoluted, too many characters introduced too quickly. Too hard to follow. Read more
Published 8 months ago by V. A. Millett
Touching, atmospheric and absolutely perfectly paced
There's a thing that science fiction novels do, sometimes, where the novel can pretty much be divided into two sections. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Moom
A novel rich in ideas and atmosphere and emotions
The Dervish House starts with a bang: a suicide bomber blows up her own head on a tram in Istanbul. The rest of the novel tells the stories of a wide variety of characters who... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Federhirn
Istanbul is the main character in this novel
While the core story of The Dervish House spans only a few days in the year 2027 the tale incorporates legend, myth, history, politics and religion spanning centuries, if not... Read more
Published 9 months ago by P. McCLEAN
Maturing style delivers much, promises more
I had previously read Brasyl by the same author, and had been impressed by the descriptions of the city and culture of the location. Read more
Published 10 months ago by John W
Disappointing
Really good reviews and some knockout ideas with glittering passages. However, I found the book almost unreadable. Too much jumping around interferes with the flow. Read more
Published 13 months ago by C. B. Inns
Enjoyable if a bit dense at times
I've read Neal Stephenson's Cryptnomicon so denseness isn't necessarily a criticism, but mid-way through this book I felt a bit bogged down. Read more
Published 15 months ago by M. Green
Not suffi-ring ......
Having read much of Ian MacDonald's previous work, I was pleasantly surprised that he has raised the bar yet again. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. R. Burley
Back on form!
I thought Brasyl was a bit of a let-down after River of Gods and Cyberabad Days. The Dervish House is more like these two books, and is really enjoyable. Read more
Published 19 months ago by HeecheeRendezvous
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