The Dreaming Dragons

An Australian bloke and his ward stumble upon a teleport gate that leaves them in the middle of a secret US government experiment in alien technology. Probably should only bother mentioning if it is non-secret I suppose, given that the opposite is pretty much the default. :) The kid is brain-impaired, a condition which leaves him useful in a 'work out the alien technology and become possible doomsday weapon and alter balance of world power' sense. It all gets quite a bit weirder from there, as the secret snake alien and dead people history of the world is uncovered.

I first read this over 10 years ago and it is still one of the few books I can read and re-read. It is one of the best SF books I have read, and amazingly is very short. The story is so complex I wont even try to describe it (since it involves mixed up time-lines). It starts with a man trying to find the source of the Rainbow Serpent legend in outback Australia and instead finds an ancient working matter transmitter ... from there the ideas come so thick and fast that it is a little disorienting. What a ride! The book covers topics and issues such as the nature of mind, myth, the extinction of the dinosaurs, telepathy, alternate histories, space travel, time travel, particle physics etc. Some might find the pace a bit daunting, and the mixing of story lines separated by millions of years a bit confusing but I didn't find it that way and the end result is to me quite powerful.Broderick can sometimes write poorly, but this is one book where he shines.