The Thing Itself

A common factor of the Adam Roberts novels I've read in the recent past is the amount of time I spend thinking about them afterwards. It may be about some of the peripheral themes, or the central, but I find I think about them in ways I previously hadn't. This is a big deal and possibly the main (but not the only) reason I read speculative fiction.

There is so much to think about in "The Thing Itself". AI, time travel, witchcraft, Lovecraftian horror, philosophy, relationships. Most importantly for me, the Fermi Paradox and a proposed solution.

Not everything is explained until the end, so anyone starting to lose faith with the apparent jumps away from the 'main story', stick with it and it will be resolved. Partly for that reason I'd not recommend this to those who don't read SF, but since that doesn't apply to the users of this site I thoroughly recommend it. You might not like it, you might hate it, you might love it but you will think about it when you've finished it.