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Ian McDonald

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River of Gods Hardcover – March 1, 2006

by Ian McDonald (Author)

4.1 282 ratings

Book 1 of 2: India 2047

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As Mother India approaches her centenary, nine people are going about their business — a gangster, a cop, his wife, a politician, a stand-up comic, a set designer, a journalist, a scientist, and a dropout. And so is Aj — the waif, the mind-reader, the prophet — when she one day finds a man who wants to stay hidden.

In the next few weeks, they will all be swept together to decide the fate of the nation.

River of Gods teems with the life of a country choked with peoples and cultures — one and a half billion people, twelve semi-independent nations, nine million gods. Ian McDonald has written the great Indian novel of the new millennium, in which a war is fought, a love betrayed, a message from a different world decoded, as the great river Ganges flows on.

Book 1 of 2

India 2047
Print length

597 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Pyr
Publication date

March 1, 2006
Dimensions

6.46 x 1.88 x 9.26 inches
ISBN-10

1591024366
ISBN-13

978-1591024361
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Ian McDonald
106
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This ambitious portrait of a future India from British author McDonald (Desolation Road) offers multitudes: gods, castes, protagonists, cultures. Nine disparate characters, including a cop, a scientist and a stand-up comic, act out their related dramas—be they personal, political or of the mystery-thriller variety—in successive chapters within each of the book's five sections. In the India of 2047, genetically engineered children comprise a new caste, adults can be surgically transformed into a neutral gender, a water war has broken out as the Ganges threatens to run dry, AIs are violently destroyed if they approach levels akin to human intelligence, and something strange has just appeared in the solar system. The deliberate pace and lack of explanation require patience at the outset, but readers will become increasingly hooked as the pieces of McDonald's richly detailed world fall into place. Already nominated for both Hugo and Arthur C. Clarke awards, this is sure to one of the more talked-about SF novels of the year. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"A staggering achievement, brilliantly imagined and endlessly surprising...a brave, brilliant and wonderful novel." -- Christopher Priest, Guardian

"Hugely adventurous and entertaining, sumptuously inventive and full of heart...likely to rank as Ian McDonalds best creative achievement." -- Nick Gevers, Locus

"I will read anything that man writeshe is the most underappreciated genius working in the field today." -- Cory Doctorow, author of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town; coeditor, boingboing.net

"One of the best SF books Ive read this year." -- Iain M. Banks, The Algebraist

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pyr (March 1, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 597 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1591024366
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1591024361
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.46 x 1.88 x 9.26 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,141,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #102,927 in Science Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 282 ratings

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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.

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Alain C. Dewitt

Indian-themed cyberpunk

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2014

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I really enjoyed the Indian cyberpunk setting. I liked the various characters that intertwined to tell a complex story about sentient AIs and their efforts to break free and find their place in the universe.

However, similar to my complaint about 'The Quantum Thief' (though to a lesser degree) I felt the author made the reader work too hard.

First and foremost was the sheer number of Hindu words used. I read the Kindle version of the book. It was only when I reached the end that I became aware that a glossary was included. That being said, when reading an ebook, it's not easy to access a glossary at the end of of a book. Had I been reading a conventional paper book, I think I would have tired of constantly flipping back to the glossary. The embedded OED in the Kindle did help out with some of the words but not all of them.

I liked the setting, a futuristic India. However it is a fragmented India. Instead of one large country there seems to be several smaller states such as Bharat (with its capital in Varanasi) and Awadh (with its capital in Delhi). Nowhere did the author explicitly detail how present-day India was divided so the reader is left to try and piece these not insignificant details together.

I felt like the author skimped on action and required the readers to infer too much. Moving from one chapter to the next, a reference would be made to an action sequence and again the reader would be left to infer what had taken place.

It's as if John Le Carre had decided to write a sci-fi/cyberpunk novel. Still enjoyed it a lot but came away feeling like this should have been a five star read.

9 people found this helpful

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Great Science Fiction

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2006

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Picture this: A novel set in 2047, just far enough ahead so that the reader can be shown some extremely possible developments of today's society, and not just in technology, but in politics, social structure and sexual relations. But a novel set in India rather then western society so that the developments are thrown into a strange side-lighting where the shadows give shape to events. A situation just different enough to show us something we may not have noticed about western society. A group of characters who are well developed enough that we can empathize with them, even when they seem very different from us. A suspenseful mystery that can keep us turning the pages, even when we want to slow down to understand the characters, the society and the science. That's "River of Gods".

Some of the developments seem to be quite reasonable given our present day world. For example, India is no longer a single nation, but rather, has been balkanized into smaller states similar to those that existed before the Raj. Some humans have found ways to change themselves biologically so that they avoid the problems of being either male or female. At the same time, many elements of this society are recognizable and unchanged like the undercurrent of hatred between Hindus and Muslims on the subcontinent.

And picture a society trying to cope with artificial intelligence, not wanting to abandon it, but not wanting to let it get out of hand. And picture a Hindu policeman whose job it is to track down possibly self-aware a.i.'s and who calls each of the programs that he uses to do the job by the name of a Hindu god whose area of expertise relates to the god's role in the older society.

In this world, there is a soap opera that everyone watches, where not only are some of the characters on the show a.i.'s, but some of the actors are a.i.'s. Moreover, the public seems just as concerned about the private lives of the actors, including the a.i.'s, as any current-day fan.

McDonald writes beautifully, occasionally deliberately confusing us as to what is happening with the result that we have a feeling of insight when we suddenly understand. And luckily the author furnishes us with a glossary of Indian words, although one may want to photocopy the list to avoid flipping back and forth as one encounters unfamiliar terms. McDonald also tells the story from the points of view of several characters that are different enough that we are not confused by them, but rather understand what is going on better than any character. Initially it's hard to see the relationship or purpose of these characters but as the book comes together we see how individual lives shape and are shaped by events and other lives.

As you may have guessed, I enjoyed this book, found it exciting, and had my mind challenged to understand how the future is shaped by the past.

37 people found this helpful

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Unnecessarily tough to read, but what a payoff...

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2008

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Essentially this novel is about one major mystery that the reader almost forgets about among the other mysteries that revolve around it. The resolution is rather spectacular and breathtaking in the 'bigness' of the idea behind it. I know this probably makes little sense, but I don't want to give away anything that might remove the impact of the novel.

So, the idea behind the novel is pretty darned good. It's exactly the kind of idea that would lead me to give a book a five star rating if the author executed both the idea and the writing well. Ian McDonald executes the idea pretty nicely. But his writing style is maddening. One item which no longer bothers me is the use of the 'present tense' in his writing, instead of 'past tense'. I got used to it, and I believe it has something to do with the underlying premise of the novel. He changes his writing style somewhat at various times, I assume in an attempt to bring out a certain change in the reader's feelings, but it felt distracting.

However, the part that dragged my rating down to 3 stars was his use of Indian terms throughout the book. Obligatory disclaimer here... if what I describe below doesn't bother you, upgrade my rating of the book to a '5' and have at it!

Having to go to the glossary every paragraph in some of his chapters just is inexcusable. Yeah, the reader could skim over words that aren't understood, but some passages are more or less unintelligible without the translations. Even more maddening, some terms aren't even IN the glossary. I finished the book and still have no idea what a 'ghat' is. My best guess is a dock or a sidewalk. It was used a fair bit in the beginning, and then seemingly every paragraph in the last chapter. Now, if the word describes something uniquely Indian that can't be described in one or two English words, then I have no problem with using the Indian term. But there are many cases of him using simple Indian words for simple English words. Unless an Indian alley has unique characteristics that make it different from other alleys, why was it necessary to use the word 'gali'? The glossary just says it's an alley, so if there is a subtle difference, the reader isn't let in on it. There are a few other cases like this. And when an Indian word IS used which has a more subtle meaning, McDonald often makes using the word redundant. I didn't write down the sentences where this occurred, but as an example he did things like "they went to the Basti settlement". Well, the glossary says a Basti is a settlement or slum. So translated, it would read "they went to the settlement settlement". In other words, he often used many of the English description of the word around the word itself, making the word redundant. He either should have just used the word, or just described the scene in English, instead he used the most confusing mix of the two methods possible.

I had discovered that there was going to be a follow up to this novel before I finished and I was torn on whether I would get it if this novel didn't end more or less cleanly. Fortunately it doesn't feel like an obvious set up for a sequel so I can get away with enjoying the wonderfully done wrap up, and not have to feel like I need to get another book in the 'series' that might have the same language issues. I do however intend to try some of his other novels as the idea in this one was one I liked. A lot. I do recommend this book, but you may need a lot of patience to get through it.

13 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

P. G. Harris

Midnight’s Digital Children

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2022

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Imagine Arundhati Roy’s Ministry of Utmost Happiness written in collaboration with William Gibson. If that is at all possible, it might give a rough idea of the overall shape and feel of River of Gods. This is a great big sprawling novel of (a future) India. It is a novel where religious animosity is the driver for horrendous violence. It is a book of fluid sexuality in which an intersex Hijra plays a critical role. It is also very much a cyber punk novel, one in which artificial intelligences are seeking to free themselves from restrictions, one where popular entertainment is delivered via cyberspace, one where the nature of warfare has been utterly changed by technology.

This is a novel in which India has been balkanised, broken down into a patchwork of warring states, and by setting his story on the eve of the centenary of India’s independence and original partition, author Ian Macdonald must surely be deliberately looking in the direction of Salman Rushdie, except the children to be born at midnight are digital rather than magical.

It is a book of enormous scope ranging from the uncountable masses in the vast cities of the subcontinent, to the depths of outer space. It ranges in time from the far future to the distant past. It is also an intricate web of interlocking stories and characters. A policeman who hunts down rogue AIs and his bored wife left at home watching a gardener build a roof garden. An aspiring journalist interviewing a virtual soap star. An ecologist who works almost entirely in cyberspace who is virtually kidnapped by her own government. Her former mentor and lover who has dropped out to run a dive school in India where he meets a strange young woman. The adviser to the prime minister of one of the Indian states, who is irresistibly drawn to an artificial Hijra. A struggling stand-up who is called back to take his birthright to run the family corporation.

The complexity also plays out in an entirely credible patchwork of the contemporary and the futuristic. The future is not a foreign country, it is the one in which we live which has evolved but where recognisable aspects of our world are still part of the picture. Nothing illustrates this better than the fact that this is India, so of course in the near future, cricket is very much part of the world.

Having been an avid reader of science fiction for many years, I find myself on the lookout for something to make me sit up and take notice, something original. Looked at from one perspective this doesn’t do that. Macdonald is something of a magpie writer takin ideas from both mainstream and science fiction authors, including a direct reference to the Isaac Asimov novel, The Gods Themselves. What this is, however is an absolutely glorious synthesis and in bringing together so many elements, Macdonald has created something wonderful and novel, indo-futurism, perhaps.

If I have a criticism, it might be that the book is over intricate. I will reread it to make sure I fully understand it. But the perhaps that is like wanting to rewatch a particularly richly constructed film, to spot those things one missed the first time round.

So, in summary, rather wonderful, and if it doesn’t quite reach my top ten science fictionnovels, it isn’t far off.

2 people found this helpful

Fraser Simons

Exactly what I like from my post-cyberpunk!

Reviewed in Canada on June 10, 2017

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Throughout this epic story, there are 10 main characters, which at first seemed a little daunting. As the story progresses though, I didn't have any problems following along and actually really enjoyed such huge questions being posed to me through multiple perspectives. Counter-balanced with not so big questions, like Parvati's struggles that seem small but are her whole world being given as much agency as her husband, the Krishna cop who hunts rouge aeais (A.I's) and becomes more artificial in his human interactions on a daily basis, alienating the love of his life.

I loved that these things were brought into focus even as the story grew to a crescendo (referenced multiple times within the book having a nice meta level I enjoyed) with the start of the book taking long inhalations of fiction for each character that become short, small breaths until the fiction finally shudders and stops altogether. With each chapter growing shorter and shorter until the last part of the book is just one, with each separation between the characters also getting shorter and shorter. It was really effective for me and in a lot of ways I enjoyed it as much as the semi-same writing techniques used in Cloud Atlas, one of my most favorite books of all time, actually.

Small events in each person's daily life slowly unravel into a much grander plot that puts these individuals lives in a completely different context by the end. What starts as the slice of life in India and Thailand and Australia, and other places somewhat slowly but without deliberation weaves these people in and out of their own peripheral. Some never meeting at all but all causing ripples that will alter the other individuals in the story.

In the end the story ended in a great place, which was a roller coaster ride for me. I was like oh oh oh, this is how I would end it and actually got a little annoyed as it progressed that this wasn't going to be the ending. And felt that it wasn't doing that to pay fanfare to nihilistic readers in the genre, but then managed to exceed my expectations in the deviation anyways. Which, is pretty incredible I think. The author truly knows their craft, in my opinion.

This hits all the check marks for me, the human condition, larger questions at play, inclusive and diverse content. Stupendous world building, great prose, and a well loved and realized foreign culture in the future. There is literally like 15 pages of terms he uses all pretty much colloquial to India and it reads so well! Spirituality and religion takes aim against technology, how it shapes and molds us even as we engineer it. How technology could surpass us and yet represent humanity and personify it better then we often do. There's a new gender, treated well (from my lens, hopefully I am correct). lots of cool tech, and cyberpunk doing what it does best with really good extrapolating. For a 2006 especially, this is a staggering achievement.

There is a lot predicted in this text with the relationship between US and India, for example.

One person found this helpful

sft

Stream of Demiurges (or Danger of Oxbow Lakes)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 23, 2011

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This is quite a tough book to review. There's much to admire here and it deserves to be a wholly successful piece. But it isn't. McDonald has an impressive imagination and he weaves a complex and convoluted narrative. However, the complexity is purely character-based. There are many main characters and many plot threads, some of which, although quite interesting in their own right, are too obviously engineered to flesh out the story. The effect of this approach is that the minimal plot is made even thinner despite the scale of the work. This is more of a character study than anything else. Now there's nothing wrong with that: most fine literature is character-driven. And, in a genre that's constantly criticised for a lack of such depth, this is good to see. But RIVER OF GODS is something of a pretender. It teases the reader with the promise of a typically big SF story, and in the early stages of the book it appears it might deliver. But then comes the resolution, and it's a bit of a damp squib. My other reservation is that MacDonald's prose is often rather too florid. He tries too hard to impress and his language tends towards the profligate. On the whole though this is an impressive book and worth reading despite its flaws.

5 people found this helpful

Expat

This is a great book. It's a bit slow to get started ...

Reviewed in Australia on July 31, 2018

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This is a great book. It's a bit slow to get started and a bit heavy at times, but well-worth the effort. Intriguing ideas and it all ties together well at the end. As one reviewer has said, Indian-themed cyberpunk. Just do it.

Another reviewer has complained that it's a British person's lame attempt at representing Indian culture. I'm not Indian myself, but would like to make some comments. For a start, having worked with Indians for 17 years and, for the last 9 years, in a workplace that is about 80% Indian, I've learned that there is no such thing as Indian culture; there are only Indian cultures. There are so many differences in terms of religion, food, customs and language. On top of that, this is set close to 30 years from now. Cultures and values change, especially in countries that are rapidly developing, as is India. The book might not depict his Indian culture, but it might show pieces of one possible future one.

As I said, just do it.

Orion

Complex and well written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2010

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Complex and well written, with a clever interweaving series of first person narratives I enjoyed this and also purchased Brasyl and Cyberbad days. This is a story that builds momentum and has shocks and surprises as a selection of interesting characters try to thrive and survive in a very coherent future India, along the way they fall in love, make mistakes and behave in very human ways.

An author I will be looking out for in future.

One person found this helpful

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