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Darwin's Theorem

by T. J. Radcliffe

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1None7,662,328NoneNone
"Darwin's Theorem" is a story about stories (the working title for a long time was "Metastory") that's also a mystery, a romance, an adventure, and various other things besides. Not quite science fiction, excessively didactic... think of it as "Dan Brown meets 'Origin of Species'." Set in the New American Empire of the near future, "Darwin's Theorem" tells the story of Jay Calvin, a defrocked mathematical biologist who has a last chance at redemption when the mentor he once betrayed is killed. The dead man's daughter--and Jay's former lover--asks him for help in investigating her father's death, and recovering a missing manuscript that some want suppressed forever, and others want to use to shape the future of the human race... It's a complicated book, and as such, it's got something for everyone to hate: Atheists will hate it because it talks so much about god and religion, and takes the idea of god and religion being important in people's lives seriously. Bible-believing Christians will hate it because it insults scripture. And Bible-believing Christians. Christians will hate it because it's plotted around a very loose re-imagining of Hyam Maccoby's heterodox interpretation of early Christianity. Muslims will hate it because the sole Muslim character is a Sufi. Catholics will hate it because it makes jokes about the Pope. Australians will hate it because it makes jokes about Australia. Scientists will hate it because it depicts scientists as religious. Liberals will hate it because it simplifies or just sweeps away complex social issues for the sake of story. Biologists will hate it because it plays fast-and-loose with Darwin, and pretty much everyone else. Conservatives will hate it because it depicts their leaders as anti-intellectual conformist thugs. Physicists will hate it because it isn't about physics. Historians of science will hate because it does for the history of science what Dan Brown does for the history of Christianity. Casual readers will hate it because they'll sense the presence of metafictional ironies. Science fiction readers will hate it because it contains too much romance. Romance readers will hate it because it contains too much science. Post-modernists will hate it because they'll miss the metafictional ironies. Literary critics will hate it because it is a book. People who haven't read "Dhalgren" will hate it because they'll miss the point. People who have read "Dhalgren.".. wait, there aren't any of those. Fans of Diversity Age SF will hate it because the protagonist is a straight, white, able-bodied, educated, Anglo male. Philosophers will hate it because the plot keeps interrupting the philosophical dialogs. Fans of Golden Age SF will hate it because it doesn't involve spaceships or ray-guns. Americans will hate it because it's critical of American imperialism. Mystery readers will hate it because the philosophical dialogs keep interrupting the plot. Rednecks will hate it because it portrays foreigners sympathetically. Canadians will hate it because it was written by a Canadian. It's even written in Canadian English, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. There are many other reasons to hate it. Why not buy the book and find out what yours is? The book is an even better deal than it looks, because it really needs to be read twice: once as fiction, once as metafiction. "Dhalgren" is a circle. "Darwin's Theorem" is a Moebius strip: it requires two complete traversals to take you back to the beginning, to know the place for the first time.… (more)
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"Darwin's Theorem" is a story about stories (the working title for a long time was "Metastory") that's also a mystery, a romance, an adventure, and various other things besides. Not quite science fiction, excessively didactic... think of it as "Dan Brown meets 'Origin of Species'." Set in the New American Empire of the near future, "Darwin's Theorem" tells the story of Jay Calvin, a defrocked mathematical biologist who has a last chance at redemption when the mentor he once betrayed is killed. The dead man's daughter--and Jay's former lover--asks him for help in investigating her father's death, and recovering a missing manuscript that some want suppressed forever, and others want to use to shape the future of the human race... It's a complicated book, and as such, it's got something for everyone to hate: Atheists will hate it because it talks so much about god and religion, and takes the idea of god and religion being important in people's lives seriously. Bible-believing Christians will hate it because it insults scripture. And Bible-believing Christians. Christians will hate it because it's plotted around a very loose re-imagining of Hyam Maccoby's heterodox interpretation of early Christianity. Muslims will hate it because the sole Muslim character is a Sufi. Catholics will hate it because it makes jokes about the Pope. Australians will hate it because it makes jokes about Australia. Scientists will hate it because it depicts scientists as religious. Liberals will hate it because it simplifies or just sweeps away complex social issues for the sake of story. Biologists will hate it because it plays fast-and-loose with Darwin, and pretty much everyone else. Conservatives will hate it because it depicts their leaders as anti-intellectual conformist thugs. Physicists will hate it because it isn't about physics. Historians of science will hate because it does for the history of science what Dan Brown does for the history of Christianity. Casual readers will hate it because they'll sense the presence of metafictional ironies. Science fiction readers will hate it because it contains too much romance. Romance readers will hate it because it contains too much science. Post-modernists will hate it because they'll miss the metafictional ironies. Literary critics will hate it because it is a book. People who haven't read "Dhalgren" will hate it because they'll miss the point. People who have read "Dhalgren.".. wait, there aren't any of those. Fans of Diversity Age SF will hate it because the protagonist is a straight, white, able-bodied, educated, Anglo male. Philosophers will hate it because the plot keeps interrupting the philosophical dialogs. Fans of Golden Age SF will hate it because it doesn't involve spaceships or ray-guns. Americans will hate it because it's critical of American imperialism. Mystery readers will hate it because the philosophical dialogs keep interrupting the plot. Rednecks will hate it because it portrays foreigners sympathetically. Canadians will hate it because it was written by a Canadian. It's even written in Canadian English, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. There are many other reasons to hate it. Why not buy the book and find out what yours is? The book is an even better deal than it looks, because it really needs to be read twice: once as fiction, once as metafiction. "Dhalgren" is a circle. "Darwin's Theorem" is a Moebius strip: it requires two complete traversals to take you back to the beginning, to know the place for the first time.

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