River of Gods by Ian McDonald


Ian McDonald's River of Gods is fun because it takes us to a near-future India, but it is important because it tackles head-on one of the most important looming questions: what to do when machines become as smart, if not smarter, then us? River of Gods is an admirable addition to the canon of sci-fi projects which engage with man vs. machine, its most noteworthy predecessors being The Terminator and The Matrix films. Unlike those two, however, McDonald's tale is an optimistic one, holding out hope that the encounter between human and sentient machine may benefit both. Let's hope, then, that McDonald is as much prophet as novelist. Because if he's not, I'm betting on the machines.