Better Angels: A Science Fiction Novel

"That's the ultimate goal of the Tetragrammaton program, Paul. Angels travel at only the speed of light. FTL travel, virtualized humans, ensouled robots, conscious starships: they're all about the transformation of human beings into better angels--through technological transcendence." --the inscrutable Dr. Vang to Paul Larkin Some say that drugs provide an escape from reality. The more cynical among us propose that reality is an escape from drugs. Howard Hendrix takes this idea one step further in Better Angels, asserting that reality (at least as most of us comprehend it) is in fact an escape from reality. Ostensibly a novel, this prequel to the critically acclaimed Standing Wave and Lightpaths reads more like a series of interlocking novellas. Within them, Hendrix chronicles the adventures of six major characters, presenting each in sequential slices as they move towards a better understanding of the nature of human consciousness, and thus the nature of reality. Readers are first introduced to Jacinta Larkin, ethnobotanist turned fungus-ingesting star traveller, then to her brilliant but earthbound brother Paul, who begins his story arc as a research scientist, and later becomes a political prisoner. From there, they meet the brothers Yamaguchi: Jiro, who harnesses nanotechnology to escape the prison of his body, and Seiji, who, like Paul, is left to watch and wonder at what has happened to his sibling. Finally, they encounter Mike Dalke, who, subjected to experiments with man-machine interface technology, strikes up an alliance with a previously unknown cyber life forms he dubs "netizens," and Dr. Lydia fabro, who discovers the wing of what might be an angel, albeit one covered with ancient biomechs. Hendrix shows little fear as a writer, whether in trusting his readers to follow his tortuous paths, or in tapping into his own pain to flesh out a character (the sad history of the tortured Jiro parallels that of Hendrix's late brother). He's also quite practical, anchoring the book's more surreal moments with gritty, down to earth storytelling, as in the "Donovan's Brain" riff he does in relating Mike Dalke's tragic tale. He also includes a number of nice touches, as in titling the rock group Himalayan Blue Poppies' first album Yeti's Berg Address. Hendrix has spoken of his desire to create a sense of wonder, and of his goal of pushing science until it becomes indistinguishable from mysticism. He ardently pursues both these goals in Better Angels, exploring the tension between science and religion. This, he simultaneously conveys both the stultifying effect of a theocracy on scientific endeavor and the near religious experience of discovery. Although many of the characters, aided by drugs or technology or both, make quantum leaps of consciousness, there's a sense that they've only broken through to the next level, and that something even more breathtaking awaits as soon as they are ready to breach the

I think I can explain the negative reviews. First, this is actually the first book of a trilogy. Second no matter how Hendrix's publishers bill him, he's writes a novels of ideas--and not 'hard sf'. So if you want is fiction about consistent plausible science then read Benford, but if you want your mind stretched read Howard.

This complex plot is not for the light-hearted; virtual reality, space exploration and the nature of humanity are all topics which mesh and blend in an often-startling, fast-paced set of scenarios. An alien artifact reveals a possible religious overtone and sets the stage for challenges to human perceptions in this engrossing and detailed story.

It starts when Professor Fabro finds a human shoulder bone in the La Brea Tar Pits. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, the bone contains evidence that it is not a natural substance. Jiro Yamaguchi is consulted to help with the analysis. The media inevitably gets hold of the story, and concocts a brilliantly twisted theory that the shoulder blade is the bone of an angel, which does more to legitimize its veracity than a hundred serious stories would have.In an alternate USA of the next millennium which has been thrashing in the throes of its second civil war, rebelling against a tyrannous theocracy, and wheresuch scientific pursuits as archeology, anthropology, and paleontology are banned, the disappearance of the brilliant scientist Yamaguchi causes all sorts of rumors and questions and fears.In a book he himself describes as the prequel to his astonishing prior novels, Lightpaths and Standing Wave, Howard Hendrix explores the outer limits of human imagination and religious fervor. Hendrix's claim that one can enter his universe from any one of his three books, may be a bit optimistic. He suggests, if you haven't read them, to read Better Angels first, then Lightpaths, then Standing Wave. But he doesn't insist.Mr. Hendrix is adept at placing humanity within science, or perhaps science within humanity. He is well-versed in high concept scientific principles, and has an incredibly awesome imagination, which he puts to good use as he explores what might happen if there were scientific proof of such things as angels. For those who have already read Lightpaths and Standing Wave, some questions and confusions may be answered. Others may be created by this ambitious prequel.There is no doubt that Howard Hendrix is a brilliant writer. Better Angels brings his Lightpaths universe full circle. One can only imagine what his next universe will be like. Rickey R. Mallory

Once again, Dr. Hendrix weaves technology and metaphysics into a spectacular tale of people trying to understand the world around them, and their ultimate confrontation with a Universal Consciousness that refuses to understand itself -- until its options run out. From the corporate and governmental greed and lust for power at the heart of the evil Tetragrammaton project to the (hopefully fictitious) rise and fall of the Christian States of America, we see how the events of the characters lives (and by implication, our own) are intertwined with cosmic destiny. Can the unvierse ever truly become conscious? Yes, but even after becoming fully conscious ourselves, there is yet one more demon to fight. The interplay of action and ideas in that final battle, so spectrally protrayed in the last chapter, challenges us to think to the limits of what can be thought -- and beyond. If you want a compelling story that will leave you thinking, this is your book. Oh yes, this is definitely a book you will want to buy for your children. I can guarantee that, having read it, they will NEVER give hitch-hiking another thought.