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kieralesley's review against another edition
4.0
Complex but more accessible than his previous work, Rajaniemi’s latest is a feast of spycraft, afterlives, Gods, moral quandaries and politics set in a magnificently original alternate history world.
Set in an alternate 1938, the Spanish Civil War is heating up and Britain has discovered a way to communicate with and preserve consciousness in the afterlife, called Summerland. The empire has colonised an abandoned alien city within Summerland, creating a haven for their recently deceased citizens who are able to access it through a vaguely meritocratic ‘ticket’ system. Britain maintains spy agencies in both the worlds of the living and the dead – the Winter and Summer Courts – enabling them to gather intelligence and influence events on the Spanish front from both sides.
Rachel White is a Winter Court (living) agent who has been constantly overlooked due to her gender but gets a lead on a Soviet mole in Summerland, only to be demoted when she reveals it. However, Rachel is not done with chasing down the mole, even if she has to revert to less than above board measures to achieve it.
Peter Bloom is the illegitimate son of the prime minister and a Russian double agent planted in Britain’s Summer Court (Summerland/afterlife) working for the Presence, a Russian-created God built from a hivemind of souls, but is aware that someone from the Winter Court is onto him.
This is not a James Bond spy novel, there’s a smidge of high society drinking and gun fights, but it’s much more about intelligence gathering, two major powers twisting for advantage, and high-stakes spycraft. It’s a slow, intellectual burn and I’m grateful for it. The action scenes are well done, but the key scenes are much more likely to be a group of characters in a room lying to each other which is just as great.
The highlight here, really, is Summerland itself. Rajaniemi has put a lot of love into thinking about and developing this world and it shows. From the ticket system, to the fourth compass directionality, to the weird alien structures that lose shape when not maintained, to the Fading phenomenon, and the elaborate ecto- and spiritualist mechanisms used to allow communication between Summerland and the land of the living. And this is without even going near the military elements! It all provides opportunities to consider what happens to power structures if people continue to live on and work from beyond the grave, and what value life has over death when, if you’ve got a Ticket, the existential threat is minimal.
This book requires you to pay attention: the world is detailed, the politics are tricky enough to almost be real, and the double-agent spy-on-spy narrative is layered on top of the lot of it. There’s a lot to keep track of, but I found if I dropped the thread it didn’t take me long to pick it up again. Rajaniemi isn’t going to hold your hand here, but the characters and world are presented consistently enough to give you something to hold onto while you reorient yourself to what the hell is going on.
The main characters are both flawed, but relatable – their present contest with one another is supported by extensive reflective passages showing their lives up to this point and giving the reader a better sense of who they are and why their cause matters to them. I didn’t know who I wanted to win. I still don’t, really. The argument is pretty compelling both ways.
Summerland is on the literary end of the sci-fi bell curve, but well worth the time. I think this novel is going to deepen on the re-read and there’s scope in it for subsequent books, too, which I would be quite interested in. This world’s certainly big enough for more stories!
An advance copy of this book was kindly provided by Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Gollancz and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Set in an alternate 1938, the Spanish Civil War is heating up and Britain has discovered a way to communicate with and preserve consciousness in the afterlife, called Summerland. The empire has colonised an abandoned alien city within Summerland, creating a haven for their recently deceased citizens who are able to access it through a vaguely meritocratic ‘ticket’ system. Britain maintains spy agencies in both the worlds of the living and the dead – the Winter and Summer Courts – enabling them to gather intelligence and influence events on the Spanish front from both sides.
Rachel White is a Winter Court (living) agent who has been constantly overlooked due to her gender but gets a lead on a Soviet mole in Summerland, only to be demoted when she reveals it. However, Rachel is not done with chasing down the mole, even if she has to revert to less than above board measures to achieve it.
Peter Bloom is the illegitimate son of the prime minister and a Russian double agent planted in Britain’s Summer Court (Summerland/afterlife) working for the Presence, a Russian-created God built from a hivemind of souls, but is aware that someone from the Winter Court is onto him.
This is not a James Bond spy novel, there’s a smidge of high society drinking and gun fights, but it’s much more about intelligence gathering, two major powers twisting for advantage, and high-stakes spycraft. It’s a slow, intellectual burn and I’m grateful for it. The action scenes are well done, but the key scenes are much more likely to be a group of characters in a room lying to each other which is just as great.
The highlight here, really, is Summerland itself. Rajaniemi has put a lot of love into thinking about and developing this world and it shows. From the ticket system, to the fourth compass directionality, to the weird alien structures that lose shape when not maintained, to the Fading phenomenon, and the elaborate ecto- and spiritualist mechanisms used to allow communication between Summerland and the land of the living. And this is without even going near the military elements! It all provides opportunities to consider what happens to power structures if people continue to live on and work from beyond the grave, and what value life has over death when, if you’ve got a Ticket, the existential threat is minimal.
This book requires you to pay attention: the world is detailed, the politics are tricky enough to almost be real, and the double-agent spy-on-spy narrative is layered on top of the lot of it. There’s a lot to keep track of, but I found if I dropped the thread it didn’t take me long to pick it up again. Rajaniemi isn’t going to hold your hand here, but the characters and world are presented consistently enough to give you something to hold onto while you reorient yourself to what the hell is going on.
The main characters are both flawed, but relatable – their present contest with one another is supported by extensive reflective passages showing their lives up to this point and giving the reader a better sense of who they are and why their cause matters to them. I didn’t know who I wanted to win. I still don’t, really. The argument is pretty compelling both ways.
Summerland is on the literary end of the sci-fi bell curve, but well worth the time. I think this novel is going to deepen on the re-read and there’s scope in it for subsequent books, too, which I would be quite interested in. This world’s certainly big enough for more stories!
An advance copy of this book was kindly provided by Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Gollancz and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
thomcat's review against another edition
3.0
Fantasy, spies, Victorian spiritualism and the afterlife, set in a very alternate 1938. Great writing, a strong female character, and world building that may be a bit too deep. Also, way too many blurbs on the cover!
One of those blurbs mentions spies that don't die, which is partially true. The worlds here are our world, Summerland or the Summer Court (a spirit world which is largely British?), and the Winter Court (the opposition - no nationality mentioned?). A ticket is required for entry into Summerland (how British!), and of course you must be dead. So spies who die with a ticket can end up in Summerland, and can continue to spy, kind-of. If this paragraph seemed confusing, that matches some of the book.
This is Rajaniemi's first standalone novel after a very successful series starting with the Quantum Thief. I loved the writing, though I had some trouble following the world. I got the idea that some of the names involved were people I should know. Maybe there is a guide out there connecting the dots. One of the main characters, larger than life Herbert Blanco West, is clearly HG Wells, though may have a twist of Lovecraft (Herbert West) or even Lloyd George.
I picked this up in Helsinki last year, and the first two chapters were both excellent introductions to the two main characters. For me, the quality fell off in later chapters - or maybe that was confusion. 3 out of 5 stars, and I look forward to reading his highly rated series.
One of those blurbs mentions spies that don't die, which is partially true. The worlds here are our world, Summerland or the Summer Court (a spirit world which is largely British?), and the Winter Court (the opposition - no nationality mentioned?). A ticket is required for entry into Summerland (how British!), and of course you must be dead. So spies who die with a ticket can end up in Summerland, and can continue to spy, kind-of. If this paragraph seemed confusing, that matches some of the book.
This is Rajaniemi's first standalone novel after a very successful series starting with the Quantum Thief. I loved the writing, though I had some trouble following the world. I got the idea that some of the names involved were people I should know. Maybe there is a guide out there connecting the dots. One of the main characters, larger than life Herbert Blanco West, is clearly HG Wells, though may have a twist of Lovecraft (Herbert West) or even Lloyd George.
I picked this up in Helsinki last year, and the first two chapters were both excellent introductions to the two main characters. For me, the quality fell off in later chapters - or maybe that was confusion. 3 out of 5 stars, and I look forward to reading his highly rated series.
msaari's review against another edition
4.0
Säkenöivää tavaraa. Enpä olisi ensimmäiseksi odottanut Rajaniemen tarttuvan seuraavaksi vuoteen 1938 sijoittuvaan vakoojatrilleriin, mutta hyvä että tarttui, tämähän oli kerrassaan oiva teos. Mieleen tulee ennen kaikkea China Miévillen [b:Toiset|13091715|Toiset|China Miéville|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1323624436s/13091715.jpg|4767909], koska tässä oli jotain samaa nyrjähtäneisyyttä – koska tokihan tämä ei ole mitenkään aivan suoraviivainen kirja.
Kirjan todellisuudessa kuolema nimittäin on kaikkea muuta kuin loppu – se on vain välivaihe, koska tuonpuoleisessa elämä jatkuu Kesämaassa, jos on sattunut saamaan lipun sinne eläessään. Ja kun elämä jatkuu, jatkuu moni muukin asia: Britannian ja Neuvostoliiton tiedustelupalvelut käyvät vakoojasotaansa myös rajan takana.
Kirjan päähenkilönä on agentti Rachel White, joka saa vihjeen Kesämaassa toimivasta kaksoisagentista. Rachel aloittaa jahdin, mutta miten napata kuollut kaksoisagentti, jolla on selvästi ystäviä korkeilla paikoilla?
Hieno kirja!
Kirjan todellisuudessa kuolema nimittäin on kaikkea muuta kuin loppu – se on vain välivaihe, koska tuonpuoleisessa elämä jatkuu Kesämaassa, jos on sattunut saamaan lipun sinne eläessään. Ja kun elämä jatkuu, jatkuu moni muukin asia: Britannian ja Neuvostoliiton tiedustelupalvelut käyvät vakoojasotaansa myös rajan takana.
Kirjan päähenkilönä on agentti Rachel White, joka saa vihjeen Kesämaassa toimivasta kaksoisagentista. Rachel aloittaa jahdin, mutta miten napata kuollut kaksoisagentti, jolla on selvästi ystäviä korkeilla paikoilla?
Hieno kirja!
nerdysread's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
La vie a-t-elle de la valeur si la mort n’est pas une fin?
Un roman qui mélange espionnage et SF tout en se passant dans le passé. Une écriture que j’ai beaucoup aimé et des thèmes intéressant. Même si j’avoue, j’aurais aimé que certaines questions soient plus poussées. Les personnages sont intéressant, mais je ne me suis pas totalement attaché à eux, si l’un d’eux meurt? Je n’aurai pas vraiment ressenti quelque chose.
Le contexte espionnage tient en haleine. Nous ne savons pas à qui faire confiance. Il n’y a pas d’amis. Le world building est vraiment bien. Un mélange de théories scientifique, de construction de l’esprit et de sci-fi mais tout répond à des règles. Le contexte historique ajoute quelque chose aussi.
Est-ce que j’aurai changé quelque chose à la fin? Peut-être. Mais ça reste une bonne fin, même si elle m’a dérangé sur quelques points.
Bref un bon roman en sois. Merci à ActuSF pour le SP
Un roman qui mélange espionnage et SF tout en se passant dans le passé. Une écriture que j’ai beaucoup aimé et des thèmes intéressant. Même si j’avoue, j’aurais aimé que certaines questions soient plus poussées. Les personnages sont intéressant, mais je ne me suis pas totalement attaché à eux, si l’un d’eux meurt? Je n’aurai pas vraiment ressenti quelque chose.
Le contexte espionnage tient en haleine. Nous ne savons pas à qui faire confiance. Il n’y a pas d’amis. Le world building est vraiment bien. Un mélange de théories scientifique, de construction de l’esprit et de sci-fi mais tout répond à des règles. Le contexte historique ajoute quelque chose aussi.
Est-ce que j’aurai changé quelque chose à la fin? Peut-être. Mais ça reste une bonne fin, même si elle m’a dérangé sur quelques points.
Bref un bon roman en sois. Merci à ActuSF pour le SP
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, War, Death, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
diesmali's review against another edition
2.0
Essentially a spy novel set in Europe 1938... except in this alternate history death has been reduced to nothing more than a land you go to after your body dies (if you have "the ticket"), and contact between the living and the dead is frequent.
An original setting that deserved more. The story is severely lacking in mood and tension. I didn't really warm to any of the characters either.
An original setting that deserved more. The story is severely lacking in mood and tension. I didn't really warm to any of the characters either.
exterus's review against another edition
4.0
Rajaniemi breaks away from his (admittedly not very rigid) sci-fi mould and comes up with a sort of supernatural alternative history. The prose at times even more catching than his previous work, Summerland grips tightly as the plot slowly unravels. It's not as demanding in terms of figuring out what is going on, compared to, say, The Quantum Thief, but it's still a rather delightful read. There's something that I can't quite put my finger on that narrowly makes this "just" a four-star book. Maybe it'll grow on me during a re-read, but as is it just falls short of being a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
markyon's review against another edition
4.0
Hannu arrived to the science fiction genre with quite a bang in 2010. His novel, The Quantum Thief, was clever, bombastic and energetic, and was widely acclaimed as an inventive debut from an exciting new author.
Now, eight years and three other novels on, Hannu’s latest novel is a very different read.
My prejudices should be known from the start - I love stories set around World War Two, both in the interwar years leading up to it and the Cold War afterwards. Genre books are a rich source of interest to me, both as alternate history and as a historical style novel with an SF/Fantasy twist.
Hannu’s latest novel is a story, set in such a world, with the manner of the 1930’s but with a Lovecraftian twist. In this world of dark suits, greatcoats and Homburg hats, there is a world that overlaps involving ectoplasm, the occult and the afterlife.
From the publisher: In 1938, death is no longer feared but exploited.
Since the discovery of the afterlife, the British Empire has extended its reach into Summerland, a metropolis for the recently deceased.
But Britain isn't the only contender for power in this life and the next. The Soviets have spies in Summerland, and the technology to build their own god.
When SIS agent Rachel White gets a lead on one of the Soviet moles, blowing the whistle puts her hard-earned career at risk. The spy has friends in high places, and she will have to go rogue to bring him in.
This alternate world has taken a left turn in time in the early Twentieth Century, with the discovery that the afterlife is real and embodied by a city known as Summerland. Created by ‘aethertechs’ and seen by its deceased inhabitants rather like a photo negative, it is where you can go to when you die - if you have a ticket - before moving on to join ‘the mysterious ‘Presence’. However, it is not a place for everyone. Some choose not to go, whilst those who are ticketless fade away to nothingness.
Understandably, this has had major effects on both worlds. Maintaining an intelligence network is made more complex by the fact that communication between the two worlds is not always easy. Whilst there are commuters between the two, communication can vary and fade in and out. To allow such interaction, ghosts can hire bodies in the physical world for rent, or use ‘ectophones’ to speak to the dead. Endearingly, there’s a lot of Bakelite and wires, Faraday cages and spirit crowns, partly developed by ‘ectotechnology’, with guns, aeroplanes and even soldiers made up of ectoplasm, which seem to have given England the decisive winning factor in The Great War.
Now in 1930’s peacetime, we have a subtler way of combat, a world of politics and espionage – a James Bond-ian environment of clandestine meetings, bureaucratic paperwork, cocktail parties, dinner jackets and polite chit-chat. In terms of governance, as well as the physical world governments there’s a Summer Court and a Winter Court, that work with humankind (or rather, their government representatives) to maintain some sort of fragile peace.
This is important as the physical world is on the cusp of war again. There is conflict in the Spanish Civil War, where Joseph Dzhugashvili (Stalin) is gaining followers, whilst Britain and the Soviets are trying to use the situation for mutual benefit – or, alternatively, for secrets and information, traded for individual advantage.
To this situation we have Rachel White, a Secret Intelligence Service agent who is demoted when an asset pick-up goes wrong. However her demotion is partly for another reason – to allow Rachel to work undercover, having being told that there is a Soviet mole in the British spy network.
As readers, we know early on who this mole is, for we are also told the story from his point of view. He is Peter Bloom, one of the dead living beyond death. As the story develops, we are told of who he is and how he got there, though this is not a story with clear delimitations of right and wrong. It becomes clear that Peter is being kept in his role supported by someone else, for reasons that become clear over the course of the novel.
There is also Rachel’s husband, Joe, a man still in shock after his role in the War and whose secretive nature has caused rifts between himself and Rachel as a result. This creates an emotional aspect to a story that could have seemed cold and unemotional otherwise.
So far all of this sounds like the background to a good spy novel, if a little implausible, but what works here is the way that Hannu adds this element of the fantastic to raise the novel beyond a mere crime thriller or alternative history. Whereas in a traditional spy story much of the dilemma is resolved by killing the opposition, here it is much more complicated, and much more interesting – if the spy is already dead, what is the solution?
The world of Summerland is both eerie and strange, yet here is given a logical explanation. It may sound a little far-fetched, but it feels like it works, as everything unusual is as a logical consequence of this unique set up, and this creates a sense of reality that is usually absent from such novels.
Towards the end, things turn rather Lovecraft-ian, as our characters examine ‘life’ beyond Summerland and discover that there’s lot more at stake than they first thought. Pleasingly, (and perhaps unusually!) there is resolution at the end. I felt that the tale was done, though the created environment is so good that I am sure that other stories could be told if the author wished.
Summerland is a triumph – a very different novel from those in the Quantum Thief series, but as complex and as engaging as its predecessors. For those who want an intellectual thought-experiment combined with a Cold War sensibility, an espionage story with a fantastic rationale merged into it, then you will love it. I did – I think this one will be in the award nominations next year.
Now, eight years and three other novels on, Hannu’s latest novel is a very different read.
My prejudices should be known from the start - I love stories set around World War Two, both in the interwar years leading up to it and the Cold War afterwards. Genre books are a rich source of interest to me, both as alternate history and as a historical style novel with an SF/Fantasy twist.
Hannu’s latest novel is a story, set in such a world, with the manner of the 1930’s but with a Lovecraftian twist. In this world of dark suits, greatcoats and Homburg hats, there is a world that overlaps involving ectoplasm, the occult and the afterlife.
From the publisher: In 1938, death is no longer feared but exploited.
Since the discovery of the afterlife, the British Empire has extended its reach into Summerland, a metropolis for the recently deceased.
But Britain isn't the only contender for power in this life and the next. The Soviets have spies in Summerland, and the technology to build their own god.
When SIS agent Rachel White gets a lead on one of the Soviet moles, blowing the whistle puts her hard-earned career at risk. The spy has friends in high places, and she will have to go rogue to bring him in.
This alternate world has taken a left turn in time in the early Twentieth Century, with the discovery that the afterlife is real and embodied by a city known as Summerland. Created by ‘aethertechs’ and seen by its deceased inhabitants rather like a photo negative, it is where you can go to when you die - if you have a ticket - before moving on to join ‘the mysterious ‘Presence’. However, it is not a place for everyone. Some choose not to go, whilst those who are ticketless fade away to nothingness.
Understandably, this has had major effects on both worlds. Maintaining an intelligence network is made more complex by the fact that communication between the two worlds is not always easy. Whilst there are commuters between the two, communication can vary and fade in and out. To allow such interaction, ghosts can hire bodies in the physical world for rent, or use ‘ectophones’ to speak to the dead. Endearingly, there’s a lot of Bakelite and wires, Faraday cages and spirit crowns, partly developed by ‘ectotechnology’, with guns, aeroplanes and even soldiers made up of ectoplasm, which seem to have given England the decisive winning factor in The Great War.
Now in 1930’s peacetime, we have a subtler way of combat, a world of politics and espionage – a James Bond-ian environment of clandestine meetings, bureaucratic paperwork, cocktail parties, dinner jackets and polite chit-chat. In terms of governance, as well as the physical world governments there’s a Summer Court and a Winter Court, that work with humankind (or rather, their government representatives) to maintain some sort of fragile peace.
This is important as the physical world is on the cusp of war again. There is conflict in the Spanish Civil War, where Joseph Dzhugashvili (Stalin) is gaining followers, whilst Britain and the Soviets are trying to use the situation for mutual benefit – or, alternatively, for secrets and information, traded for individual advantage.
To this situation we have Rachel White, a Secret Intelligence Service agent who is demoted when an asset pick-up goes wrong. However her demotion is partly for another reason – to allow Rachel to work undercover, having being told that there is a Soviet mole in the British spy network.
As readers, we know early on who this mole is, for we are also told the story from his point of view. He is Peter Bloom, one of the dead living beyond death. As the story develops, we are told of who he is and how he got there, though this is not a story with clear delimitations of right and wrong. It becomes clear that Peter is being kept in his role supported by someone else, for reasons that become clear over the course of the novel.
There is also Rachel’s husband, Joe, a man still in shock after his role in the War and whose secretive nature has caused rifts between himself and Rachel as a result. This creates an emotional aspect to a story that could have seemed cold and unemotional otherwise.
So far all of this sounds like the background to a good spy novel, if a little implausible, but what works here is the way that Hannu adds this element of the fantastic to raise the novel beyond a mere crime thriller or alternative history. Whereas in a traditional spy story much of the dilemma is resolved by killing the opposition, here it is much more complicated, and much more interesting – if the spy is already dead, what is the solution?
The world of Summerland is both eerie and strange, yet here is given a logical explanation. It may sound a little far-fetched, but it feels like it works, as everything unusual is as a logical consequence of this unique set up, and this creates a sense of reality that is usually absent from such novels.
Towards the end, things turn rather Lovecraft-ian, as our characters examine ‘life’ beyond Summerland and discover that there’s lot more at stake than they first thought. Pleasingly, (and perhaps unusually!) there is resolution at the end. I felt that the tale was done, though the created environment is so good that I am sure that other stories could be told if the author wished.
Summerland is a triumph – a very different novel from those in the Quantum Thief series, but as complex and as engaging as its predecessors. For those who want an intellectual thought-experiment combined with a Cold War sensibility, an espionage story with a fantastic rationale merged into it, then you will love it. I did – I think this one will be in the award nominations next year.
vladdbad's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
calicocatkin's review against another edition
Two pretty compelling protagonists, some interesting but patchy worldbuilding, and some rather uneven pacing. I'm not sure that I really found this a satisfying read, but it definitely had the Rajaniemi weirdness that I love, and some of the ways it tackled the concepts of life and death were really powerful. Overall I'm glad I read it; I think aspects of it will stay with me.