Shiva 3000

In this entertaining mix of action, exotica, and psychedelia, readers are plunged into a whirlwind Indian fantasy, a far east that has been enhanced and degraded by technology, so much that the characters believe themselves in the presence of gods. These gods tower over the landscape as huge animate beings, a patchwork of what has gone into their own creation, and (we learn) believing themselves divine. The story concerns a young man who believes he has been appointed the task of killing a popular folk hero of the land. As he travels the transformed subcontinent, he encounters an engineer with a strange gift for seeing the essence of machinery, and who has a past ensnared with those who rule the land. Together, they meet a group of Buddhist monks who have their own interest in the workings of the world and the gods overseeing it. Strangely, nobody seems to know of the world beyond the subcontinent, which leads me to wonder what has gone on to bring this strange time into being. The marvels are continuous - calculating cranes, cities built on mandala-patterns, a serpentine underbelly of the world - and Jensen's style is golden. The novel gets off to a somewhat slow start, but once the plot is rolling, it's hard for a reader to pull out. Fans of better genre material, such as the works of Neil Stephenson and Jeff Noon, will appreciate the writing and characterization. Also highly recommended for fans of Japanese filmmaker Hiyako Miyazaki, who created wonder of a similar caliber in "Princess Mononoke."

Combining the vision of 'Snowcrash'and the elegance of 'Neuromancer' with a mocking, effortless erudition (Hanuman has long been my favorite god) and wit, 'Shiva 3000' announces the arrival of an avatar in the science-fiction firmament. Whether Mr Jensen will grow into a titan only time will tell, but the birth is dazzling. An almost perfect first book.

The first few chapters are a bit opaque, and the books reads for a while like fantasy, but it turns out to be science fiction, indeed, to be as fresh and challenging as sf should be. This is really something new, lively, and beautiful. I was stunned.

Shiva 3000 is a story about an indefinitely far future in which the subcontinental Indian gods have been made real, but apparently through technology long forgotten. The appearance of a Baboon Warrior, the hero of India, shakes up the status quo and causes a young man who desires his downfall to release himself from his own dharma to question the role of the gods made flesh and discover alternate modes of thinking and behavior. Unfortunately, the book ends at a point which makes it too ripe for a sequel. More volumes are obviously to come, but they will be welcome. The book is most reminiscent of Celestial Matters (ISBN 0312863489).