Implied Spaces

Rating NR Genre sci-fi Author Walter Jon Williams Publisher Night Shade Books

In his novel Implied Spaces, Walter Jon Williams mixes science fiction and fantasy sub-genres in this lively, entertaining story.  The protagonist is Aristide, a computer scientist and a medieval-looking swordsman in the distant future.  There is nothing medieval about his sword, though, which he calls Tecmessa; its blade contains a wormhole.  Accompanied by his audacious and funny talking cat, Bitsy (an avatar of a planet-sized AI), Aristide travels different pockets of the universe to study implied spaces, areas of the universe's architecture that were not intended but were fortuitously created.

The story starts off as fantasy with Aristide traversing a desert to explore Midgarth, a pre-technological world and one of the pockets of the universe.  There he encounters all sorts of interesting characters such as Grax the troll, various ogres, and a blue-skinned woman named Eudoxia.  The beginning is interesting but slow-paced.  

The pace picks up when he leaves Midgarth for his own modern world.  At this point, we learn that the pocket universes are actually computer-generated constructs, many of which are for the pleasure of fantasy gamers.  In fact, these AIs control most of the universe.  Aristide's own world is a combination of high-tech luxury and old world elegance.  Immortality has been achieved.  Everyone is backed up, so when their bodies terminate, their memories are uploaded into new bodies.  Aristide, however, is a bit traditional at heart as he reflects on what Earth was like, prefers old-fashioned sunsets to AI ones, and writes poetry for various occasions.

After returning to his world, Aristide and his ex-girlfriend Daljit discover that an evil entity known as the Venger is trying to wield its power to take control of the entire universe and end civilization as it now stands. To accomplish this, the Venger is tampering with the brains of unsuspecting people, making them worshipful and submissive. This new threat brings up painful memories for Aristide, who was a soldier in the Control-Alt-Delete War.  This last war isn't described in detail, but its name has to be one of the most creative of all fictional wars.  

As the current war progresses, civilization is getting closer and closer to becoming enslaved by the Venger.  Aristide finally meets the madman behind the attacks and is shocked at his identity.  The reasons for his malevolent conquest are equally shocking and nonsensical.

While reading the novel, I imagined it as a movie, and certainly it is a story that would look great on the big screen.  For example, one scene involves the effects of a plague that the Venger unleashes, one of many atrocities; the plague turns humans into zombies. For those readers who enjoy the crazy behavior of zombies, this chapter will especially delight them as they read how Aristide escapes, and they will find it difficult not to imagine Dawn of the Dead.

Less than 300 pages, Implied Spaces is a fun little read filled with eccentric characters, suspense, and amusing dialogue that will entertain lovers of both fantasy and sci-fi.  Now I can only hope for a sequel--and a special effects-laden film--in the future.