Peter F. Hamilton - The Evolutionary Void

Peter F. Hamilton, The Evolutionary Void, Pan, 2011.

This book is the third and final volume of the Void Trilogy, which in turn is set in a later period in the same universe as the Commonwealth Saga. As usual for this author, it is a large book, spanning many different characters, sub-plots, and worlds.

It is difficult to discuss the end of a series without giving spoilers. While in the Commonwealth Saga the threat to human civilization was posed by an uncompromising alien species, in the Void Trilogy it is the Void itself that threatens to expand and engulf the galaxy. All known species have been studying the nature of the Void for thousands of years, but humans have received a unique insight into the mystery when a scientist starts dreaming the lives of some humans living inside it. As the series progresses, we follow the characters outside the Void as a group of humans plan to try to enter the Void, which would lead to a catastrophic expansion. We also follow the world within the dreams, and gradually learn about the special nature of life within the Void.

This volume builds to a satisfying climax. The various sub-plots are tied together. The mystery is explained. Some things that earlier seemed to be trivial descriptions or local colour turn out to play central roles in the story. A few characters from the earlier stories are re-introduced.

I have read all of Hamilton's novels, and enjoy observing the progress of his skills over time. His work has a wide appeal, with something for everyone. There are characters, sub-plots, and aspects of the story that will interest individual readers more than others. For me, the combination of a wide-ranging space opera describing far future human societies, along with the Big Ideas, creates a perfect balance of enjoyable escapism with thought-provoking speculation into scientific and social possibilities.

One example of this is the idea that human life has been extended, and people can rejuvenate frequently. Most people maintain a young appearance, usually in their twenties, and are in good health and very attractive. An interesting thought experiment for readers: Try to imagine every adult you know, including family, friends, colleagues, and celebrities, all appearing to be around their mid-twenties, all in good health, and all as attractive as possible. Nobody would age, nobody would have any disabilities or any of the features that might be considered unattractive or unhealthy. Can you imagine spending your day with everyone, including yourself, looking like this? Imagine a wedding where the bride's mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and so on for many generations, are all present and all looking equally young and attractive. This demonstrates how used we are to the concept of ageing. We expect to be able to determine a person's age, more or less, from their appearance, and that this appearance will change over the decades. The social implications of changing this expectation are among the most interesting speculations in many SF works I have read, including much of Hamilton's work.

I recommend this series, and new readers will benefit from reading the books in order, starting with the Commonwealth Saga, or perhaps even the related stand-alone novel Misspent Youth, before reading the Void Trilogy.

Marketing Conference: Faster, Cheaper, More Focused

This week I attended the Second Annual Marketing Conference organized by the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Haifa & the North. This followed the first conference I attended last year, and was once again held at the International Convention Center Haifa. There were about 250 people attending, slightly fewer than last year.

The morning started with greetings from Haifa's deputy mayor, Oded Dunitz, who spoke about the city's development, and noted that the number of tourists visiting Haifa has doubled in the past year. Then the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Gad Shefer welcomed the participants.

The first lecture was by Osnat Rubin, who has spoken at two conferences I have attended, this year's ITA conference, and the last Jasmine conference. She explained that marketing messages should focus on the customer's needs and how the product/service benefits the customer. Next, Amir Cahani told us about providing value. He noted that locating a new customer costs 5-8 times more than preserving an existing customer, and stressed the importance of long-term relationships with customers, and of professional ethics. Avi Osipov of Open College presented his lecture as a story of a computer technician trying to find the right way to advertise his business. The suggestions were asking existing customers to give referrals, opening a business Facebook page with recommendations, and providing appropriate content.

After a short break, Yahel Demeter introduced us to his method of sociological branding, explaining that the brand has to represent something symbolic, not just functional, for the customers to want to be associated with it. To create good branding, it is important to study the potential customers through sociological theories. Next, Josepha Edman, who spoke at last year's conference, told us how to use Facebook ads for effective advertising, and gave practical tips for creating a good business page. She argued that Facebook ads are becoming more popular than Google AdWords.

Next there was a panel about marketing to different sectors in Israel. These sectors are the Israeli Arabs (20%), the Russian immigrants (15-20%), and the ultra-orthodox Jews (11% or more). Keren Bar told us that marketing to the ultra-orthodox sector stresses family values and uses sales promotion and word-of-mouth marketing. Jumana Boulus described the Israeli Arab population as having a growing middle class, with a rising education level and greater disposable income. Marketing to this sector should focus on community marketing, sales promotion, and should create an emotional connection to the brand. This sector has a greater cellular market than the Jewish population, and a new Arabic language television channel to be opened in 2012 will provide new opportunities. Avner Korin explained that there has been a decline in Russian printed newspapers, and now Russian speakers are very active online. This panel was not given enough time, so the audience was not able to ask questions and develop a discussion.

Nahum Donitza discussed digital media and the importance of creating a community, providing interesting content that encourages social interaction. He noted that Israelis spend more time than any other population on social media, and that 65.5% of them read their friends' recommendations.

Finally, Zeev Klang presented cellular marketing, noting that only 45% of cellular activity now is phone calls. The advantage of cellular marketing is that it is focused, content is sent only to those who request it, our phones are with us all the time, the some content can be location-relevant.

The conference ended with lunch. In general, it was well-organized and the lectures were more or less on time. I learned a few new things, and felt motivated by having things that I already knew confirmed. I met about ten people I knew. I hope to attend next year's conference.

Home ownership

Five years ago this week, we moved into our flat. Before then, we had lived in rented flats, for periods of between one and six years in each place. Here are some thoughts about what owning a home means to me.

First of all, it gives me a sense of permanence. Before, we never knew how long we would be able to stay in each flat. Knowing that I might be forced to leave at the end of the contract, with the stress and upheaval of finding another place, packing, moving, unpacking, and informing everyone of the change of address, was a constant threat somewhere in the back of my mind. Now I know that I can live here as long as I want, and only move if or when I choose to do so, this background anxiety has been lifted.

Secondly, we were able to design our home to meet our requirements. The rented flats were designed for the owner's needs, and contained some furniture that was not ours. Our own home is designed to suit our tastes and preferences, and all the furniture and fixtures here are our own. This does give us the responsibility for any repairs required, but it also means no potential conflicts with landlords.

Financially, some experts say it is preferable to rent rather than buy. They are considering the interest paid on mortgages as compared with the interest you might get on savings in the bank. When we were renting, we could often afford a larger flat than we have now. I am also acutely aware that we were only able to buy a flat when we inherited enough money for the down payment (from relatives on both sides). So I think it is a complicated decision, and not all the factors are purely rational.

Thinking about why I enjoy owning my home, it seems that the reasons are both emotional and practical. When I was young and idealistic, I sneered at the idea of needing to have "a job, a house, and a car" for security. I thought happiness was purely internal, and as such, could be achieved independently of external conditions. Having lived a life with little security for the future for many years, I now think that while these externals are not something to aspire to in themselves, their absence does make life a bit more difficult. There is less anxiety in the life of a person who has a regular income, a home, and perhaps a means of transportation.

Some people thrive on variety, change, new challenges, and new environments. There are many young people now who are living a minimalist lifestyle, partly enabled by the growing importance of the digital over the physical. When people report that they can pack all their belongings into one case and one backpack, and be ready to move or travel whenever the opportunity arises, I can admire this, but I know it's not for me. I like having physical books, though I am reading more in digital form. I like having my own kitchen and cooking my meals. Also, I have cats in my life and they do not appreciate moving home.

To me, home means security, stability, comfort, and permanence.

Paolo Bacigalupi - The Windup Girl

Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl, Night Shade Books, 2010.

The story takes place in Bangkok some time in the 23rd century. Climate change has flooded many low-lying cities, carbon fuels are now rare and expensive, and the world has suffered plagues and starvation. Energy is generated by storing it in springs wound by humans or animals. Multinational "calorie" companies create genetically modified food products to withstand plagues, and there are various genetically engineered creatures and humans.

In Bangkok, there is a struggle between the Trade Ministry, seeking to increase the Kingdom's cooperation with the rest of the world, and the Environment Ministry, seeking to prevent the spread of diseases.

Many of the main characters are foreign, allowing the city and its social and political tensions to be explored from different points of view. Anderson Lake is American and owns a spring factory as his cover for his secret mission of gaining access to the Thai seedbank, a source of genetic information for his calorie company employers. His assistant, Hock Seng, is a Chinese refugee from Malaya, who used to own a shipping empire and lost everything, including his family, during a fundamentalist uprising. Emiko is a Japanese "windup girl", a genetically engineered human created to serve as a modern sort of geisha and personal assistant. She is abandoned in Bangkok by her master, and ends up suffering increasing humiliations in a sex club. The Thai characters include Jaidee, an officer of the Environment Ministry, and his deputy, Kanya, who become deeply involved in the political struggle within the city.

Themes of tradition and change are central to the story. After everything the world has experienced in previous decades, people still retain certain traditions, including nationalism. All the characters undergo significant changes as the city's situation becomes volatile. The political machinations and the resulting violence seem inevitable.

It is significant that the book's title refers to the character of Emiko, who does not seem, at first, to be central to the story. She is a variation of the old theme of the artificial person, created, used, and abused by humans who consider her less than human. The sections written from her point of view make it clear (as it always has been, to me) that sentient minds are equal, whether they are formed naturally or created in other ways (such as AIs, robots, and genetically created beings). Her story also shows the extreme humiliation some humans are willing to cause others to satisfy their own distorted desires, and the dehumanizing effect of considering anyone as "other". It is a sensitive discussion of the sex industry that shows the author's empathy and morality.

This book has won many awards, and as soon as I started reading it, I understood why. The writing is very good. The world building is impressive. The characters feel real. The plot builds in a way that shows how events result from the characters' experiences and interactions. The detailed depiction of the setting draws the reader in, creating an immersive experience not all authors manage to achieve.

I join the many readers who have highly recommended this book. It is not always a pleasant story, but it is well-written and well-imagined, and leaves the reader much to think about.

Iain M. Banks - Feersum Endjinn

Iain M. Banks, Feersum Endjinn, Orbit, 1995.

When I first heard about this book, a certain aspect of it put me off reading it (as I explain below), but I bought it a while ago along with some of the author's other novels, and gave it a chance. It is one of his non-Culture books.

The story is set in a far-future earth, long after a large part of the human population has departed. Humans live eight lives in physical form, after which they have eight incarnations in the Crypt, where human consciousness is stored in a virtual reality. As the story starts, the earth is threatened by a cloud of interstellar dust that is covering the sun, and we follow a few characters in their attempts to prevent the end of life of earth by activating a solution to this problem left behind by the advanced humans who had moved into space.

The aspect of the novel that bothered me when I first read a review of it was that one of the viewpoint characters' stories is written in a sort of phonetic form (hence the title, which is his way of spelling "fearsome engine"). I have always found phonetic writing irritating. Some writers try to portray the regional accents of characters by writing phonetically, and in this case this form of writing is supposed to reflect the character's dyslexia (though I'm not convinced any dyslexic would write like this, and it is not clear why this character would have written down his story, considering how difficult it was for him to write). It just makes the reading experience difficult. I had to adjust to reading these sections, sometimes having to decipher what the words meant. Perhaps this is an attempt to reflect what reading is like for people with dyslexia, but I don't think this experience will increase readers' understanding of dyslexia, or make them more sympathetic.

The story gradually brings together various pieces of evidence explaining what is happening, and follows the characters as they try to make sense of their roles. It seemed to me that the people who prepared for the Encroachment years before and left the mysterious solution could have planned better how it would be activated, preventing the chaos that happened in this story. But perhaps that is actually more realistic, and it creates the threat that drives the plot.

My impression of this book is that even without the annoyance of the phonetic sections, it is far from Banks's best work (which I really enjoy). There are big themes to be considered, the characters develop and change, and the conclusion is reasonably satisfying, if you don't mind a sort of deus ex machina, but for readers unfamiliar with this author, I would recommend starting with some of his other novels.

China Mieville - The City and The City

China Mieville, The City and The City, Pan Books, 2010.

Imagine living in a European city that is physically intertwined with another city. Some streets, buildings, and people you pass are in another city. You are taught from an early age to identify the small differences between your city and the other one, so you can recognize and ignore people and places that are "foreign". Citizens of each city have to "unsee" and "unsense" all aspects of the other one. This means you sometimes walk down a street shared by both cities and have to see only people and places in your own city, while avoiding showing any perception of the foreign people and places you pass. This behaviour becomes second nature, and anyone breaching the conventions is liable to be taken away by the shadowy enforcers known as The Breach, and never seen again.

This is the setting for a noir detective story. Inspector Tyador Borlu lives in Beszel, and is investigating the murder of a young woman. As the plot thickens, it becomes more political, and Borlu realizes that solving the murder will require him to consider the unique nature of his intertwined city. His journey of discovery changes his life forever.

I have enjoyed Mieville's previous work, and this novel even exceeded my expectations. The subtle mystery of the cities pervades every aspect of the characters' lives. They grow up taking their circumstances for granted, accepting the restrictions and adapting to them. But as an outsider, I couldn't silence the voice in my head that kept asking "Why?". The book never answers the question of why and how the distinct but intertwined cities arose, and why the Breach keeps people living this way, observing the distinctions between them. Clearly, nobody in the world knows, and the frustration of not knowing something fundamental about the nature of reality felt authentic. I'm sure there are many things in our reality that an outside observer might find equally mystifying.

The idea of unseeing and unsensing the other is thought-provoking. I found myself wondering if we all do this, to some extent, in our reality. I think residents of many cities learn to unsee the homeless on their streets. In mixed cities, people may unsee members of different ethnic, religious, or social groups. In some cases, people may also unsee people with disabilities. So the concept is not so difficult to imagine, if we are honest with ourselves. In a wider, more explicitly political, sense, we also unsee aspects of the world that we consider irrelevant to our daily lives or our identity. Given the overload of information we can access about the world, we have to choose our areas of focus. Not everyone can expend equal attention and empathy on the plight of the third world, the suffering of victims of abuse, and the dangers of climate change, for example. We have to choose what to know about and what to care about. I suppose this is a natural filter, or one that gives individuals and groups some evolutionary survival advantage.

I don't consider myself an expert in the detective genre, but this aspect of the novel seemed to me to make sense and develop logically. While we follow the story from the main character's point of view, often sharing his thoughts and perceptions, he does not reveal his thought processes in full, so that sometimes we only find out what he had been thinking and how he had been connecting the clues when he talks to someone or takes action. The solution of the mystery and the ending of the story seemed fitting and relevant, both in terms of the characters and in terms of our growing understanding of the setting.

I greatly enjoyed reading this book. The experience of the world it presented will remain with me always. I highly recommend this novel to readers of all types of fiction, even those who would have avoided Mieville's previous novels, which were perceived as SF or Fantasy or "New Weird".

Japan survivors and trauma therapy

One of my first blog posts here on Reality and Fiction was about the problematic assumption that people who have experienced a trauma should talk about it. I had read that sometimes it can be better for survivors to devote themselves to continuing their lives rather than dwelling on the past.

Now, following the disaster in Japan, another article points out similar concerns. Trauma therapists obviously believe in their methods, and motivated by a desire to help the survivors in Japan, they may actually make things worse for some individuals, who would have done better without this sort of therapy.

The article points out a few problems: first, there is a risk of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy by telling survivors the sort of symptoms they can expect to experience (such as flashbacks and nightmares). Second, the therapists might not respect individuals' preference not to talk about their experience, and try to force them to "let it out". Finally, therapists coming from overseas might not be aware of the cultural differences between their culture and Japanese culture.

One of the strengths of Japanese culture, according to the article, is its collective nature. People will benefit from belonging to a cohesive social group that is recovering together.

I wish all the survivors a speedy recovery, using their own preferred recovery method, whether it is talking about their experiences and losses, or just getting on with rebuilding their normal lives.