A review by hissingpotatoes
Aristoi by Walter Jon Williams

4.0

This book was a great, long sci-fi with a healthy dose of adventure thrown in. It was rough to get into the world, vocabulary, and distinguishing between the real world/oneirochronon and what daimones were, but after about 30-40 pages it made sense. And then after the inciting action on about page 100, I was hooked. (That might seem like a long time before it comes in, but the character and world introductions beforehand are essential.) I read the whole thing (all 450 pages) in one day. I especially appreciated seeing a bisexual, polyamorous male lead character, in a society where it's not an issue, in a book written over 25 years ago. There is so much going on here: the thorough and fascinating worldbuilding, philosophical exploration of humanity and integrity, character and relationship development, scientific and technological advances, a realistic integration of cultural aspects from around Earth as we know it into a future society, high-energy action and adventure, secrecy and betrayal, and even some undercover work on a pre-technological world. Everything balanced perfectly, I was invested 100%, and I enjoyed every minute of this ride.