'Nexus' by Ramez Naam

I feel obliged to give this book a good write up given that Ramez Naam has been instrumental in the development of Internet Explorer. Indeed, I wonder whether this review will disappear from the web if proves to be too critical.

Censorship, in all its ignoble forms, is one of the central concerns of Nexus, a book which explores our increasing freedom of communication and the consequences thereof. The Nexus referred to in the title is a drug, which in the near future (this book is set in 2040) will allow users to gain complete mutual telepathy within a small group.

As with most new drugs, it is initially dismissed as a fringe interest. In time, Nexus comes to worry the authorities as the implications of allowing such open access to other people's minds catches up with them.

A free thinking academic named Kaden Lane (excellent strange near future sci fi name) is one of the main promoters of this drug in the name of free exchange of information. As a consequence, there is a government organisation which is on the hunt for him and his group.

The agent assigned with tracking Lane is a young woman by the name of Samantha Catarnares, who follows him with the ruthless efficiency of a technologically enhanced mind and body.

The book then spends a good two thirds of its length playing on the difference in philosophies of Kade (the hopeful idealist) and Sam (the cynical realist) as they wrestle with each other over how Nexus could be used. Their journey takes them to Thailand, via a complex series of political intrigues involving the Chinese government, where they spend much of their time either shooting people or talking to Buddhist monks.

Indeed, many of the chapters in Thailand mention Buddhism or Buddhist ideas so often that it starts to feel at times like reading a religious pamphlet. Nevertheless, this is interspersed with some violent and well written fight scenes and some interesting technological wars going on beneath the very human street fights.

The overarching narrative is the threat of a coming war between those who embrace the change that Nexus offers and those who believe it would fundamentally change the nature of humanity. Kade and Sam's friends essentially line up behind them and fight it out until nearly all of them die. Naam sends in the odd defection here and the occasional morally grey character there to keep the reader guessing.

In fact, whilst many of the minor characters are well thought out, almost none of them actually drive the drive the plot forward particularly. Usually, Naam relies on a big explosion or a long, deep conversation to hold the reader's interest.

It is a science fiction thriller which dares to pause and ask bigger questions about the ethics of technological progress. Yet, for all that, Nexus does read like an odd combination of an advert for Google and a Buddhist Monastery.

A diverting science fiction that provides plenty of entertainment if not much depth.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the image of the front cover used in this blog and will remove it at the request of the rights holder.