Is it really God? (Reality Reading & Writing Book 1)

‘Based on a true story’: the fine line between fact and fiction

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For many years this was a peaceful, uncontested and pretty deserted space. On one side sat the Samuel Johnson prize , on the other the Booker. Basically, you went to nonfiction for the content, the subject. Whether the subject matter was alluring or off-putting, fiction was the arena where style was more obviously expected, sometimes conspicuously displayed and occasionally rewarded.

And so, for a sizeable chunk of my reading life, novels provided pretty much all the nutrition and flavour I needed. They were fun, they taught me about psychology, behaviour and ethics. And then, gradually, increasing numbers of them failed to deliver — or delivered only decreasing amounts of what I went to them for.

Nonfiction began taking up more of the slack and, as it did, so the drift away from fiction accelerated. I learned so much from books like these — while I was reading them. The downside was that I retained so little. Which was an incentive to read more. More broadly, my changing tastes were shaped by a general cultural shift occasioned by the internet, the increased number of sports channels and the abundance of made-for-TV drama.

Obviously, I still want to have a good time.

The Reality Thief (Deplosion Book One)

Within the sprawl of nonfiction there is as much genre- and convention-dependency as in fiction. Nicholson Baker has argued persuasively that a recipe for successful nonfiction is an argument or thesis that can be summed up by reviewers and debated by the public without the tedious obligation of reading the whole book.

In exceptional cases the title alone is enough. Malcolm Gladwell is the unquestioned master in this regard. Some nonfiction books give the impression of being the dutiful fulfilment of contracts agreed on the basis of skilfully managed proposals. The finished books are like heavily expanded versions of those proposals — which then get boiled back down again with the sale of serial rights. The only way to experience the book is to read it. Which is exactly what one would say of any worthwhile piece of fiction. The novel is not dead or dying. But at any given time, particular cultural forms come into their own.

No sane person would claim that, in the s, advances were made in the composition of string quartets to rival those being made in electronic music. Sometimes, advances are made at the expense of already established forms; other times, the established forms are themselves challenged and reinvigorated by the resulting blowback. The difference between fiction and nonfiction is quite reasonably assumed to depend on whether stuff is invented or factually reliable.

Now, in some kinds of writing — history, reportage and some species of memoir or true adventure — there is zero room for manoeuvre. Everything must be rigorously fact-checked. The appeal of a book such as Touching the Void is dependent absolutely on Joe Simpson being roped to the rock face of what happened. In military history, as Beevor commands, no liberties may be taken.

As the author of many nonfiction books which are full of invention, I second this wholeheartedly. In my defence I would argue that the contrivances in my nonfiction are so factually trivial that their inclusion takes no skin off even the most inquisitorial nose. The Missing of the Somme begins with mention of a visit to the Natural History Museum with my grandfather — who never set foot in a museum in his life.

Most of the story — which had originally appeared in an anthology of fiction — is a faithful transcript of stuff that really happened, but that incident was pinched from an anecdote someone told me about a portable toilet at Glastonbury. In other words, the issue is one not of accuracy but aesthetics. Exporting this across to literature, style itself can become a form of invention. Travel within the subsection of the Balkans or Yugoslavia?

Having won a Pulitzer prize for nonfiction in , it went on to become the source of some controversy when it was revealed that the famous opening paragraph — in which the author awakens in bed to find herself covered in paw prints of blood, after her cat, a fighting tom, has returned from his nocturnal adventures — was a fiction.

This was a shower in a teacup compared with the various storms that have swirled around Ryszard Kapuscinski. Gradually it emerged that this was part of the rhetoric of fiction, that he could not possibly have seen first-hand some of the things he claimed to have witnessed. For some readers this was a thoroughly disillusioning experience; for others it seemed that his exuberance and imaginative abundance were not always compatible with the obligations and diligence of the reporter. He remains a great writer — just not the kind of great writer he was supposed to be. The essential thing — and this was something I discovered when writing But Beautiful as a series of improvisations — is to arrive at a form singularly appropriate to a particular subject, and to that subject alone.

That book was dedicated to John Berger. The documentary studies — of a country doctor in A Fortunate Man , of migrant labour in A Seventh Man — he made with photographer Jean Mohr are unsurpassed in their marriage of image and text. The shift from the overt modernist complexities of the Booker prize-winning G to the stories of French peasant life was perceived, in some quarters, as a retreat to more traditional forms.

Nothing — to use a phrase that may not be appropriate in this context — could be further from the truth. Berger was 89 on 5 November, bonfire night. He has been setting borders ablaze for almost 60 years, urging us towards the frontier of the possible. Geoff Dyer received the Windham-Campbell prize for nonfiction. His new book, White Sands , will be published by Canongate in June. Each time a writer begins a book they make a contract with the reader. If the book is a work of fiction the contract is pretty vague, essentially saying: In the contract for my novels I promise to try to show my readers a way of seeing the world in a way I hope they have not seen before.

A contract for a work of nonfiction is a more precise affair. The writer says, I am telling you, and to the best of my ability, what I believe to be true.

This is a contract that should not be broken lightly and why I have disagreed with writers of memoir in particular who happily alter facts to suit their narrative purposes. Break the contract and readers no longer know who to trust. The story cuts back and forth between three sets of characters, one group in the not too distant future I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The story cuts back and forth between three sets of characters, one group in the not too distant future where progress in nanotechnology is able to increase the brain's processing power and the two other groups thousands of years beyond that in a world which has grown from the discoveries of the former. In that latter world a being once human has re-invented himself as a God and is contemplating an unthinkable but entirely plausible reboot of all existence.

However, others are prepared to risk their own lives to stop him. I grew fond of the characters particularly Darak and Brother Stralasi and enjoyed the story. I look forward to seeing what happens next. May 07, Reid Minnich rated it really liked it. I see the similarity, but disagree. This is far better than Asimov because it uses real science. That, by itself, makes this a rare find and tempted me to give it five stars. The one criticism I cannot get past was the length. The story started to pick up speed and interest where other stories are ending.

Apr 06, Leanna Price rated it really liked it. April 6, Review: I found this book a challenging read but worth the effort and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. There are multiple characters and story lines which I am assuming converge or resolve in the coming books. I found some of the plots lines initially confusing and diff April 6, Review: I found some of the plots lines initially confusing and difficult to keep straight. I think this is because their time lines were not clear to me when they were introduced. The writing is very readable and it flows well. Some may find the scientific explanations in excess.

However I found them understandable and essential to upstanding the different plot lines and themes in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for Science Fiction where the science is plausible with strong philosophical story lines. Jul 30, Jannelies rated it it was ok Shelves: I've been an avid SF reader since I was I've read hundreds and hundreds of SF-books, went to numerous SF conventions and got to know some authors very well. I was very much looking forward to reading this book because there seems to be a lack of hard SF nowadays. Sadly, I was dissappointed on a number of points and I only got halfway in this book.

Yes, it is very well written; the author has lots of imagination and knows how to attract the readers' interest. However, he did not succeed in kee I've been an avid SF reader since I was However, he did not succeed in keeping my interest. First, the science part, which is ok. And of course the book is fiction so here we are.

But there is more, much more and this makes, imho, for a rather unbalanced book. I was halfway the book and so I read about a princess batteling with dragons. Not in her real body obvious and not in 'this time' or 'this universe' but somewhere else. I read about Chaos. I read about an entity that was able to 'create' worlds and so was seen as a 'God'. Suddenly, I'm confroted with a man who tells his son that no matter how smart he is and no matter how he gets help form the nanobots in his brain, this is only so because God wants this for him. This book should have been labelled 'Christian' but it wasn't.

God - Wikipedia

And to top it up, I had to read about politics, very complicated politics. So I gave up. I will absolutely not compare the author to Isaac Asimov, one of my heroes - and for other reviewers: The difference is that with Hamilton, everything comes nicely together and makes one big interesting story. I hope this author will use his imagination and talent to write more SF books, but please, stick to one storyline - or maybe two - which I hope will make for a great book without all the confusing storylines in this book.

And have it labelled correctly. Jun 11, Nancy Thornton rated it really liked it. This was my first science fiction in years and Anlee reignited my interest. Granted some of the details is way over my head -- technology, science, etc. The characters, the premise, the storyline I heard the author speak at a writer's conference and my interest grew.

I look forward to the remainders of his first trilogy. Apr 25, Caitlin rated it liked it Shelves: What if you could build a machine that could change the fundamental laws of nature?

Should I Ever Take an Action I Don’t ‘Have Peace’ About?

That's the central premise of The Reality Thief, which weaves together theoretical physics, nanotechnology, virtual reality, and far future space opera into an engaging story. This ambitious novel unfolds in two parallel timelines, one taking place in the mid21st century, the other a hundred million years in the future. In the near future arc, Darian Leigh, a physicist with nanoenhanced intelligence, lays the gro What if you could build a machine that could change the fundamental laws of nature? In the near future arc, Darian Leigh, a physicist with nanoenhanced intelligence, lays the groundwork for a device that can change the laws of physics as we know them.

In the far future, we see the consequences of his work, as Alum, the self-proclaimed god of the universe, works to remake creation in his own image. If those changes in setting sound dizzying, they are-- there were times when I felt the transition between the two timelines was a bit jarring, though as the novel unfolded I got used to them. This is also definitely a novel of ideas, so the characters aren't as fleshed out as they could be, but the series definitely promises that we'll learn more about them in future installments. Overall, I enjoyed this one and am looking forward to the sequel.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Apr 15, Taylor rated it really liked it. I really enjoyed The Reality Thief with its compelling characters and provocative themes. Great read from a talented new author and I hope we hear from him again soon. Jun 07, Charles rated it really liked it. This very ambitious novel is hard science fiction in the manner of the classic writers like Asimov, with a capital S for science. Paul Anlee knows science from the inside out, and he displays that awareness throughout the book. The Reality Thief blends three stories together.

It cuts back and forth between a near-future where nanotechnology magnifies human brain power, and two other tales thousands of years in the future—in the world the first story has spawned. Three stories, two timelines, spe This very ambitious novel is hard science fiction in the manner of the classic writers like Asimov, with a capital S for science. Three stories, two timelines, speculative physics and beings who have become gods, a novel of ideas—not a task for faint-hearted writers, but Anlee pulls it off. Occasionally confusing with its time shifts and setting changes, and abundant scientific detail that may be a bit hard going for non-scientific type readers, the book is nevertheless extremely well-crafted and engagingly written.

He knows his stuff—and he knows his craft. Aug 26, Justin Price rated it liked it Shelves: On the surface level, The Reality Thief by Paul Anlee has all the makings of a great science fiction story. The plot is unique. The science informing the plot is plausible. The themes of the story are quite relevant to today's social turmoil. The characters are adequate. Yet by the end of the story, I felt somewhat disappointed.

While the book is good, it never reaches its full potential.

This is partially due to three main factors: At times, these aspects of the story seems to compete with one another, not really coalescing and it can lead to a disconnect and turn off for the reader. So part of the reason why the story can turn off readers is due to the structure of the story. The story is divided into three main substories.

This lattice allows him to process and comprehend large amounts of information, though it does have some downsides such as requiring downtime to process information, headaches, etc. Around him, the United States undergoes severe social turmoil, facilitating the splintering of the union. He becomes a professor in the newly created country of Pacifica. His first major research project is to create a machine designed to explore how the natural laws of the universe evolved into being by generating a microverse.

However, this research draws the ire of the powerful quasi-religious governing body of the Neo-Confederacy. The other two substories deal with characters in the far future. One substory deals with the arrival of a stranger to a space colony of humans on the outskirts of a faraway galaxy. This attracts the attention of one of the leaders of the community, Brother Stralasi due to the oddness of it.

The other substory is somewhat of an inverse. A cybrid, that is a conscious artificial intelligence, named Darya opposes the plan that the aforementioned prophet has created to control the universe. She has grown to oppose how the prophet keeps everyone ignorant.

Disability Is No Accident

Now the summaries of the three substories were given to illustrate how divergent the substories are in terms of theme and setting. And while I do appreciate how creative the settings and characters are, they do not reinforce one another. But beyond a few references, the stories feel completely self-contained. This hurts the overall story because the constant shifting from substory to substory deprives the characters of development.

So the characters in this story are fairly flat. That is to say that they do not have a lot of character growth. And with Darya and Stralasi, their substories are plot driven enough to where that is not too big of a detriment. Yet with Darian, there is nothing there to really engage the reader. Darian as a character is not fleshed out. And since he does not have a plot driven narrative, he needed character growth or moments to help a reader connect with Darian.

If anything, the way Darian is written will turn off readers even if they agree with him. That is to say, he is arrogant and condescending, even when he does not mean to be. Job would have been a fantastic scientist.

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In the context of these big ultimate questions Job is a very rich book. Tom McLeish discusses that very question in that chapter. Tom McLeish faces that square on, he even disagrees with one of the leading scholars in the field, David Clines. But in cases where religion has repressed or discouraged scientific discovery, how does that fit in with this narrative? To maximise the benefit of the slipstream of the rider in front, you try and close the gap up as much as possible, sometimes within a few centimetres, but then the wheels can touch.

You can use that metaphor for what sometimes happened, that in the desire of science to maximise the benefit from the slipstream of ultimate questions, the temptation to get too close can be very strong.

If the wheels do touch—by which I mean trying to make science answer religious questions or vice versa—then you can get a chute in which everyone falls over. Most of these chutes got rather exaggerated and became legendary with time. One of them would have been in Greece, when Socrates was made to drink hemlock. He was accused of denying the validity of the Greek gods. He was accused of saying the sun was not a God, but a fiery ball, to which his reply was: But that was not enough to save Socrates from compulsory suicide.

Another example would be the Galileo case. Over time the story has become distorted and exaggerated. Galileo was another a complex character. He was quite capable of being tactless and he got into trouble as much for his tactlessness as for his science.

Faithful to Science

Although he was put on trial, he was never sent to jail. The issue was more about whether or not Galileo was allowed to teach these things. So within 12 years a strong churchman and scholar who formed an experimental club here in Oxford has written a book advocating the Copernican model. Your last book is another page turner. What would happen if incontrovertible evidence was found of the human remains of Jesus in Jerusalem? Piers Paul Reid is a brilliant novelist with terrific imagination, and what he does is to look at the responses of different individuals and different groups of people to the discovery that Jesus did not rise from the dead.

Yes, he was the most senior character and probably the person of the greatest integrity. Within the thought experiment, he felt life was no longer worth living. There are others who respond in different ways. There are ecclesiastical authorities who just change the message so they can keep their power. There are Jewish authorities, there is even a Soviet subplot.

His brother is an utterly secular person who is hugely successful in his career and has made a great deal of money.

He has an attitude to women that requires no relationship to last more than three months. That brother also rethinks things, and his character develops as the novel goes on. I suppose there are different kinds of religious inquiry. Theologians would say no revelation. It makes no sense to pray to him or anything like that. That sort of thinking, by itself, is not nearly enough, and is sterile. But the Christian faith is a faith of events. So the Hebrew Bible is about his involvement primarily in and around the land we now call Israel.

Then, in the Greek Testament, that becomes much, much more specific with the birth and the life and the death of Jesus. A key component of that narrative is the resurrection of Jesus. If we have a faith that depends on those events and their lasting and enduring consequences, then it makes a great deal of difference whether or not those events took place. The resurrection of Jesus is by far the best attested miracle in history, and therefore it makes sense to think to yourself, what are the consequences of that not having happened?

What would you want him to make of your book? I suppose we would want him to come away very much better informed and knowing that there is another story, which is different from one that is popularly put about, and which has the distinction of being true. Our daughters were in the same class at school. His research career ended fairly soon after his doctorate. But the public engagement of science is a hugely important activity and he started out his career absolutely brilliant at it. For that I admire and applaud him.

Many people feel that his books have, as time has gone by, shouted louder and louder with weaker and weaker arguments. John Cornwell is a great scholar and writes with a twinkle in his eye. He does it in a succinct but scholarly way. Is that a coincidence? If I could have chosen a seventh book I would have chosen one by Dennis Alexander, who is a distinguished geneticist.

Do We have to Choose? He is a practising scientist with a much more distinguished research record than Richard Dawkins. He fully embraces Biblical teaching about creation as well as the ever richer theory of evolution as part of his intellectual toolbox as a practising biologist. But you need to go further than that, because you need the documentary records of particular events that have taken place. Now, supposing that someone through that process, or any other process for that matter, has come into a relationship with God, and supposing that their mind is scientifically inclined and they enjoy science and appreciate it.

In fact, I understand him better now, from the paintings, than I would have just from talking to him. But I can well imagine, indeed I know it to be the case, that people in the life sciences who know God find a similar pleasure through their work. Nevertheless, for all those differences, I think there are similarities. The very distinguished cosmologist, Martin Rees tells me that he does not believe in God. He recognises that there is something very remarkable about this, without being led, in his case, to a belief in God. But the more we learn about the universe the more amazing we find it to be, and for those who know God this gives added content to their worship.

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