/lit/ - Literature

>>17802288
Distress - Greg Egan (1995)
This is a science fiction mystery thriller concerned mostly with its core idea, though as with every other Egan novel I've read that idea is only teased until the climax. For this book that idea is The Theory of Everything and as with his other books it's eventually taken to its metaphysical extreme.
The protagonist is an investigative journalist who creates video documentaries that explore a single subject in-depth for SeeNet, which I thought was possibly a play on CNET, but probably isn't since it was founded the year prior to this book's publication. Most of the book is the protagonist investigating, interviewing, and being a tourist at a scientific conference on a man-made island. The island is governed by an informal system of anarchy, formal concepts and thinkers are explicitly derided.
I'm unable to tell whether this is the most personal novel Egan has written or if he thought it'd be interesting for characters and events to be as they are. Considering the thematic similarity in most of what I've read from him, I lean towards it being personal. A recurring issue is how relationships are handled. The protagonist's relationships continue to be troubled and disagreeable.
Egan provides many political opinions, which seem to be much more relevant today than when they were written. Two of the most prominent are ignorance and identity.
The Murdochs are called out by name as being the worst news publication, Fox News wouldn't even be founded until next year, and a leading promoter of the worst Ignorance Cults. Yes, in this book there are literally cults who worship being ignorant, though of course that isn't how they refer to themselves, let alone think of themselves.
A few of the characters are "asex", including one of the more important ones, though several other variations are presented. Whether they would be called suitable representation considering how fraught the issue has become is a different matter. The other issue of identity is whether it's allowable to voluntarily engage in brain damage to enhance one's life.
As with the other books I've read from him, I enjoyed the majority of the book quite thoroughly, but then when it reveals what it's truly about, I care less. The title is "Distress" and that's certainly how I felt about the disconnect between what I thought of the ending and how it was presented. I don't think it's a reasonable conclusion.
This was an enjoyable SF mystery thriller marred by an unreasonable and heavy-handed ending that tells you not to disagree with its conclusions.
Rating:4/5