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Ian McDonald

The Dervish House Hardcover – July 27, 2010

by Ian McDonald (Author)

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—

It begins with an explosion. Another day, another bus bomb. Everyone it seems is after a piece of Turkey. But the shockwaves from this random act of 21st century pandemic terrorism will ripple further and resonate louder than just Enginsoy Square.

Welcome to the world of The Dervish House—the great, ancient, paradoxical city of Istanbul, divided like a human brain, in the great, ancient, equally paradoxical nation of Turkey. The year is 2027 and Turkey is about to celebrate the fifth anniversary of its accession to the European Union.

This is the age of carbon consciousness: every individual in the EU has a card stipulating individual carbon allowance that must be produced at every CO2 generating transaction. For those who can master the game, who can make the trades between gas price and carbon trading permits, who can play the power factions against each other, there are fortunes to be made. The old Byzantine politics are back. They never went away.

The ancient power struggled between Sunni and Shia threatens like a storm: Ankara has watched the Middle East emerge from twenty-five years of sectarian conflict. So far it has stayed aloof. A populist Prime Minister has called a referendum on EU membership. Tensions run high. The army watches, hand on holster. And a Galatasary Champions’ League football game against Arsenal stokes passions even higher.

The Dervish House is seven days, six characters, three interconnected story strands, one central common core –the eponymous dervish house, a character in itself—that pins all these players together in a weave of intrigue, conflict, drama and a ticking clock of a thriller.

Print length

359 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Pyr
Publication date

July 27, 2010
Dimensions

6.23 x 1.2 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

1616142049
ISBN-13

978-1616142049
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Editorial Reviews

From Bookmarks Magazine

Known for his sweeping outlook, elaborately envisioned futures, and blend of science and mysticism, Ian McDonald has written a fascinating, thought-provoking novel worthy of his reputation. He paints a vivid portrait of the ancient city of Istanbul, layering it with political, cultural, and religious strata, as well as an ingeniously imagined world of practical nanotechnology. Critics praised his compelling characters--all too often a casualty of genre fiction--and his poetic prose, but they also had a few complaints, including some humdrum science fiction elements and minutiae that can occasionally overwhelm the story. The Dervish House may not make for light reading, but this rich and fast-paced novel, imbued with a deep and almost lyrical sense of strangeness, comes highly recommended.

From Booklist

McDonald takes the history of Istanbul, both real and imagined, and forges a multi-faceted and fascinating character out of the city itself; then he adds in the experiences of six people whose lives are about to intersect in the most unexpected ways. Over the course of a week, following a suicide bombing in which only the bomber dies, these people will discover conspiracies, legends, and long-dormant memories. In the not-so-distant future, five years after Turkey became part of the EU, the city that straddles Asia and Europe is again the center of global trade. Three seemingly disconnected stories meet in the streets and coffee houses of Istanbul: the travails of a young man who was caught in the blast who suddenly sees djinn, the efforts of an art dealer set on a mad quest for something even the buyer believes is a mere legend, and the greatest stock-market scheme ever imagined. McDonald creates a magnificent knot of intrigue, thrills, and daring adventures, with the flair for character and setting that make his tales so satisfying to indulge in. --Regina Schroeder

Review

"McDonald creates a magnificent knot of intrigue, thrills, and daring adventures, with the flair for character and setting that makes his tales so satisfying to indulge in."
-Booklist

"An audacious look at the shift in the power centers of the world and an intense vision of one possible future."
-New York Times Book Review

"This twisting, turning, part futuristic fantasy, part intuitive prediction satisfies without divulging all its secrets, just like the city."
-Time Out Istanbul

"As close to perfection as a book can get. . . . If you only have money to buy a single sci-fi novel this year, this has to be it. Impossible to put down."
-Pat's Fantasy Hotlist

“The complex plot and its unique characters make for an intriguing read. McDonald weaves several plotlines together with a whirling dervish house, a character in its own right, as the common denominator.”
-RT Book Reviews, 4 stars

“In the end, spending some time with these six characters in the fascinating city of Istanbul was pure enjoyment. Look for The Dervish House on the shortlists of the major SF&F awards next year. Highly recommended. 41/2 out of 5 stars”
-Fantasy Literature

“The Dervish House cements Ian McDonald’s status as a first class talent, and one of my all-time favorite authors. He continues to depict the future of non-western cultures with creativity, depth, and verve. His prose is a delight to read, his characters are lively and authentic, and he can pull you in to a near-future setting like no one else I know. I’d recommend this book to pretty much everyone.”
-SF Revu

“A rich, accomplished portrait of near-future Istanbul that may be is the best thing McDonald has written—and that’s saying something. It is the product of a writer at the top of his game: beautifully styled, complexly characterized and plotted without ever feeling heavy or dull...half a dozen storylines are coiled together as neatly as DNA, each of them compelling and readable. McDonald manages to avoid the traps of condescension, or Orientalism, that lie in wait for the white Westerner writing about places that are neither of those things. A dervishly good book.”
- Locus

“First, let's get one thing out of the way. Every book I’ve read in the last several months has been completely overshadowed — perhaps unfairly — by Ian McDonald’s The Dervish House. He’s the kind of writer who has the power to alter your whole vision of what science fiction can be and do. Last year’s Cyberabad Days was among the most ferociously intelligent novels I’ve read in years, in any genre. And The Dervish House is even better. After reading a book like that, it’s hard to get excited about merely good sf novels. Or even genuinely excellent ones...This is what science fiction should be... McDonald has done the seemingly impossible. He has written a compelling, action-packed sf novel about the future of AI-based quantitative trading... But it’s no fantasy: it’s the reality that’s breathing down the backs of our necks every workday. And McDonald extrapolates from it with dizzying virtuosity...More than any other sf writer I can think of, McDonald has a complex, nuanced, fundamentally real vision of the way power works in the world.”
-Fantasy & Science Fiction

About the Author

Ian McDonald is the author of Planesrunner, Be My Enemy, and Empress of the Sun, in the Everness series. He has written thirteen science fiction novels--including the 2011 John W. Campbell Memorial Award winner for Best Novel, The Dervish House--as well as Brasyl, River of Gods, Cyberabad Days, Ares Express, Desolation Road, King of Morning, Queen of Day, Out on Blue Six, Chaga, and Kirinya. He's been nominated for every major science fiction award, and even won some. McDonald also works in television and in program development--all those reality shows have to come from somewhere--and has written for screen as well as print. He lives in Northern Ireland, just outside Belfast, and loves to travel.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pyr; First Edition (July 27, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 359 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1616142049
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1616142049
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.23 x 1.2 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,127,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #105,534 in Science Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
112 ratings

About the author

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Ian McDonald

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Ian McDonald was born in 1960 in Manchester, England, to an Irish mother and a Scottish father. He moved with his family to Northern Ireland in 1965. He used to live in a house built in the back garden of C. S. Lewis’s childhood home but has since moved to central Belfast, where he now lives, exploring interests like cats, contemplative religion, bonsai, bicycles, and comic-book collecting. He debuted in 1982 with the short story “The Island of the Dead” in the short-lived British magazine Extro. His first novel, Desolation Road, was published in 1988. Other works include King of Morning, Queen of Day (winner of the Philip K. Dick Award), River of Gods, The Dervish House (both of which won British Science Fiction Association Awards), the graphic novel Kling Klang Klatch, and many more. His most recent publications are Planesrunner and Be My Enemy, books one and two of the Everness series for younger readers (though older readers will find them a ball of fun, as well). Ian worked in television development for sixteen years, but is glad to be back to writing fulltime.

Customer reviews

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3 star		9%
2 star		14%
1 star		7%

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Julie W. Capell

Wonderful evocation of the sights, sounds & smells of Istanbul

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2012

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Having read and enjoyed Brasyl, our book club decided to read this novel by the same author. Many of the same things I liked about Brasyl, I also liked about The Dervish House, the non-European, non-Western setting, chief among them. In The Dervish House, the descriptions of Istanbul were so real I could taste the tea the characters were drinking, hear the traffic they were hearing, and feel the heat they were feeling. The city came alive for me and that was a treat. Another strength of the novel was the writing in general. McDonald can slip from detailed description to magical realism to action/thriller mode at a moment's notice, and it all seamlessly flows like the waters of the Bosphorus. What was a bit harder to follow was the enormous cast of characters and the intricate plot. As I learned from reading Brasyl, one must pay attention from the very beginning. There are six main characters, each spinning his/her own web, and countless minor characters. Each chapter is dedicated to one character's story, and for most of the book the stories do not interconnect so it might be fifty pages before you re-encounter one of the major characters. And they all have names that were difficult to remember, and to make matters worse, apparently in Turkey all men can be called "Bey."

I actually took notes on the different characters, and it helped me immensely. I felt the book could have benefitted from a list of characters, so here's a short list for you: Necdet Hasguler - Is a recent arrival in Istanbul, living at Dervish House with his brother Ismet Shayk (also called Dede). At the very beginning of the book, Necdet witnesses a woman blow herself up in an apparent terrorist attack on a bus. Can Durukan - 9-year-old boy with a heart condition that could be triggered by loud noises - therefore he lives a tightly controlled life to isolate him from sound. He spends much of his time sending robot toys he has programmed out into the city and tracking their movements on his computer. Ayse Erkoc - Owns an antique store in the Dervish House. Adnan Serioglu - A trader in gas futures, married to Ayse. Georgios Ferentinou - Greek, has lived in Istanbul his whole life. Retired economist/mathematician. Leyla Gultasli - Young woman who recently graduated from college with a marketing degree. She is living in Dervish House and looking for a job. Ultimately, I preferred Brasyl as I felt the plot was more interesting, but this was still a good read and our book club had a good discussion about it.

3 people found this helpful

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sonicbooming

Makes you want to visit Istanbul!

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2011

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The Dervish House by Ian McDonald is a book that I struggle to define as science fiction. The story is set in an Istanbul in 2025 and while there are certainly many aspects of the novel that place it firmly in SF: genetic engineering, auto-drive vehicles, nanotechnology, etc.; the novel seems to me to be more of a travel narrative. This book makes you want to drop everything and go to Istanbul. The story takes place over the course of 7 days as told through the eyes of four or five characters from varying socio-economic background: a retired Greek economics professor who sets up a "terror market" that speculates on day to day suicide bombings, a 10 yr. old boy who lives in constant fear of any noise as the slightest of sounds could rupture his heart - a type of audiophobic cancer, an art dealer who is searching for a myth, an Islamic man who has visions of djinns and the prophet Mohammed. I should also mention that the narrative has a very Dubliners Joycean feel to it. Many different stories that run into each other from various points of view, all of them stiching together a much larger picture.

What I love about this particular work is that McDonald does not rely solely on the science fiction or technological aspects of the story for his plot to function. The SF is just something that exists in the background, it's a lived reality where the people in Istanbul accept that technology that allows the fibers of a person's clothing to shift colour and change design is a normal everyday activity. Similar to the way that we would notice or not notice someone walking down the street with a blue-tooth earpiece talking on their cell phone.

A slight criticism I have with this novel (but one that I think is just a byproduct of the way the story is framed around the city) is that it is a bit fragmented during the first 100 pages. It takes some while to start to relate to many of these characters because the narrative jumps around fairly quickly, never sticking in one place for any significant amount of time. I think this is largely a result of the fact that the real character of this entire story is the city of Istanbul. And this is told through a long-lens from far off. It's easy to reflect on this book as being told from the view of a bird that soars in and out of the city. If you're looking for something very cosmopolitan and yet strangely familliar, then this book is definitely worth finding. A solid book to an author I will return to very soon.

6 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

John Tierney

Intelligent and very readable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2010

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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.

15 people found this helpful

P. J. Dunn

I wasn't expecting my SF to shape my future travel preferences

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2013

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This has got to be one of Ian McDonald's top five books, and it certainly sits alongside River of Gods as one of the two best of his group of unconnected books set in the futures of a range of fast developing countries.

I can see from one or two other reviewers that some Turkish readers feel that some of his attempts to employ Turkish language were perhaps a little too brave, and produced sufficient errors to annoy such readers. For that I knock a star off what otherwise would be a perfect score. My own shameful ignorance of the language shielded me from being distracted by such errors. What I was left with was, not only a great read, but something that stirred and built my interest in the place and its people, moving Turkey, and Istanbul in particular, far up the list of countries I really want to visit - preferably on or before 2025 really comes around. I really wasn't expecting my science fiction reading to also shape my future travel preferences...

2 people found this helpful

DB

Adventures of the (mostly) Young Turks

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2012

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Ultra-near future science fiction carries with it an occupational hazard for the author - that of being overtaken by technological and social events. Think about "Snow Crash" - still a good book, but if you read it now you are immediately struck by the thought: "Interesting. But that's not how it turned out." The speculative parts of "The Dervish House" don't seem wildly unlikely, but nor are they banker certainties, and no doubt there will be other major changes in the next twenty years or so that nobody can currently see coming. So I wonder why Ian McDonald chose the science fiction genre here, when an equally good book could have been set in present day Istanbul?

Anyway, "The Dervish House", with or without its SF veneer, is a cracking read - rather like a slightly more literary Len Deighton. I knew a bit about Constantinople, but next to nothing about modern Istanbul, so I found the book admirably researched (even though the review by "ZdeMC" in August this year suggests that the author should have delved even deeper). I hadn't read any Ian McDonald before - I'm going to have to read his earlier books now!

VINCE MILLETT

Awesome!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 17, 2011

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I gave up on a previous title by this author - too convoluted, too many characters introduced too quickly. Too hard to follow. However, this one intrigued me as it was set in Istanbul, a city I've visited a few times and that I love. The Dervish House introduces a cast of characters who are mostly likeable and their stories gradually connect up as the plot develops, the common point of linkage being the Dervish House referred to in the title. The evocation of Istanbul is superb - this is the city I know and several scenes happen in places I know quite well. The plot is intricate enough to keep the attention all the way through; anything involving terrorism, geopolitics, shape-shifting police and spy robots, nanotechnology, underground Islamic religious orders, ancient artifacts, secret government organisations and the architect Sinan has me liking it before I've even read a word! It's a romp of a read but you'll need to pay attention to remember who's who. In some ways it's an Islamic version of The Da Vinci Code, but as if the Da Vinci Code had been written by someone literate and it wasn't aimed at morons with no knowledge of history. It's a far higher quality piece of literature than that. The pace is just right, though, the detail evocative and satisfying and the ending bang on the nail. I loved it!

Moom

Touching, atmospheric and absolutely perfectly paced

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2011

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There's a thing that science fiction novels do, sometimes, where the novel can pretty much be divided into two sections. In the first, the scene is set, and we are treated to a wonderful, lazy guided tour of a new world. Then, the dilatory plot suddenly shifts into gear as if the author has suddenly realised he needs to finish this damn novel at some point. The focus narrows right down, the glorious little incidental notes evaporate, and we are swept along with the plot down a dark sluice, into the sudden brilliance of the set-piece ending. I think of it as "funnelling".
This book does not have that fault. Unusually among sci-fi books, it is brilliantly, perfectly paced. The plot ticks along, speeding up towards the denouement, but the grace notes are not lost along the way. Istanbul, this wonderful crowded exhaust-fumed Istanbul which McDonald has created for us, breathes its golden dust-filled warmth over the book throughout, never abandoning the story. Getting that mix right is truly the work of a master.
The characters are touching and fascinating. The fragile overambition of a just-graduated 'marketing executive', the long-held grudges and fears of a withdrawn and lonely academic... these and many more are evoked beautifully. And McDonald's mix of technology, Islam, academia and superstition is a heady brew. Drink deeply.

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