I'D BE the first to admit that I'm terrible at maths, that I'm hopeless at science and that the only thing I really know about technology is how to use it.
Which makes it difficult for me to really get into science fiction novels, despite the fact that I enjoy most kinds of speculative fiction.
So, it takes a really, really good one to get me excited. A novel like House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds for example.
Set so far into the future that humans aren't exactly human anymore, at least most of them aren't, House of Suns follows the story of Campion and Purslane.
These two are 'shatterlings' of the Gentian line – 6 million years earlier a woman called Abigail Gentian created 999 clones of herself, some male, some female, and sent them off into the universe to discover what was out there.
The shatterlings come together every few million years or so to meet up and share their memories of various experiences, only this time Campion and Purslane are running late – about 55 years late.
Which is lucky for them as it turns out. Someone or something has tried to wipe out Gentian Line and between the two of them and their golden 'Machine Person' friend Hesperus, they have to find their enemies and survive.
Really good science fiction only succeeds if there is a human connection for the reader to identify with – something warm to mute the icy-cold effect of technology and space.
Reynolds manages to do this with the lovers – Campion and Purslane.
Their relationship is illegal for the shatterlings, but the love is real, and it's their emotions that help the reader hold on to a story full of sentient robots, spaceships taking millions of years to cross galaxies, humans that have evolved into giants and technology that keeps alive a sliced up human brain.
What's uncomfortable about the story of House of Suns, is not the technology so much as the bloody-mindedness of our descendants.
The story shows that no matter how far we travel, whether its a few hundred kilometres or millions of light years, humans remain as selfish and blood-thirsty as ever. Which is kind of depressing actually.
Still, House of Suns is a fabulous read. There are twists and turns, galaxy wide secrets and mysterious beings aplenty. Reynolds has a deft turn of phrase, managing to explain the most esoteric of scientific principles without boring the reader.
House of Suns has been nominated for the Arthur C Clarke Award for the best science fiction novel published in the UK in 2008 and is worthy of its nomination. The winner will be announced on April 29.
House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds is published by Gollancz and is available at all good book stores and online.