I first heard about Spin on Fractale-Framboise back in 2005. This is also where I learned, a few months later, that the book had been nominated for the Hugo Awards. As I was reading Christian’s comments on Worldcon, I realized Robert Charles Wilson was the guest of honor of Con*Cept 2006, the Montreal’s science-fiction convention. This is about the time I decided I was going to participate to Con*Cept (you don’t get to meet a Hugo winner every day.)

So I picked up the book a few days before Con*Cept and started to read it even if I was already in the middle of another book. The problem is: I couldn’t stop reading. Spin is a very good book with rich characters and crystal-clear prose. Since I started learning about writing, I tend to read books with a virtual red pen. It’s usually very hard for me to turn off the editor part of my brain and simply enjoy the story. Reading Spin, though, was pure pleasure. I didn’t stumbled on weird sentences, strange P.O.V. usage, etc. The story just flowed.

The main strength of Spin is its characters. We follow the main character, Tyler from childhood to adulthood through a series of flashback scenes. The episodes happening in the « now » of the book are confusing as the character is sick and under the effects of a potent drug. The core of the story is told through the flashback scenes and the two story lines eventually merge. We get a deep knowledge of the evolving relationships between Tyler and his friends Jason and Diane. The book storyline extends over approximately 30 years (from the point of view of the characters) and it was a bit strange (but never inappropriate) to read chapters starting with something like « I spend the next ten years… »

Strong characters doesn’t mean weak science or science-fiction. The science-fiction elements in Spin are very present and well done. To make a long story short, Earth is encapsulated in a shell within which time is slowed down dramatically. From the point of view of the humans, though, the rest of the universe goes on like a movie on fast-forward. This would not be that bad… if the Sun would be immortal. But stars expand, explode and die, which also mean that life on Earth won’t survive for more than 50 years if scientists cannot find a way to stop this strange time machine.

Spin is one of the best books I have read recently. It touches a variety of topics such as religion, friendship, politics, science. It tells the story of gigantic proportions but with a very human perspective. It’s a book you want to read if you’re a fan of science-fiction.

Tags Technorati : robert charles wilson | spin | hugo | 2006 | book | novel | science fiction | conceptsff | montreal

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Lectures by Alexandre Lemieux