I've now read six Robert J. Sawyer books, so it's fair to say I'm a fan. And I also think it's very safe to say if you like Sawyer's other works, you'll really enjoy "Frameshift." It's vintage Sawyer, if I might say so after my having read about a quarter of...
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I've now read six Robert J. Sawyer books, so it's fair to say I'm a fan.
And I also think it's very safe to say if you like Sawyer's other works, you'll really enjoy "Frameshift." It's vintage Sawyer, if I might say so after my having read about a quarter of what he's written. It's all here: his love of science, his hope to be able to benevolently blend religion into sci-fi, his love of Canada (especially its socialized medicine), and his hope that science is the door to explain our relationship with the cosmos.
And for those who don't know Sawyer, I want to stress this: the author loves to write compelling novels first, about people, and second, about science. I really thought about reversing those two, as science is a HUGE part of these novels, but ultimately decided that his stories are about how science makes us MORE human, and these stories continually ask us to consider Big Thoughts, and not run away from them by pigeonholing ourselves through institutions like politics and organized religion.
What compels me to read Sawyer, and I hope others come to see this, too, is that his books are not primarily about "gee whiz" Buck Rogers sci-fi. Not that his books aren't exciting--they are, and often because of the really unusual science concepts he invents or investigates. But he bases the story in real life, in people with real problems, and then the science provides the key.
Here it is genetics at the heart of each of the various plotlines of the story: the protagonist has a 50-50 chance of having the gene for Huntington's Disease, and now there is a great chance he might not survive long enough to make a key genetic discovery; his boss is a horrible man who might not only be hiding the fact that he is Ivan the Terrible from the Treblinka death camp, but may be willing to make a horrendous choice involving the genetics of another key character; and finally, an insurance company is prospering, but it's the "how" that's important...
What I like best about Sawyer is his clear, concise style...he does not have excess material in the book, and you can count on every element of the story ultimately figuring into to the ending. Additionally, Sawyer has the ability not only to make his story about people, but also to craft it into a compelling tension that provides a makes reading an adventure.
Sawyer's books are always reaffirming and positive, and he is above all diligent in his works about explaining to us why we are indeed capable of great things, and, especially, that science and religion are positive institutions that may help us learn just why we are on this earth. It is through Sawyer that I have really begun to realize that science and religion do not live at opposing sides of the track, but may indeed be friendly and cooperative neighbors.
