Darkome

Darkome #1

by Hannu Rajaniemi

During the Decade of Plagues, pandemics brought civilization to a standstill. The only way out was the Aspis a wearable mRNA vaccine factory, able to immunize you against new viruses on the fly. But not everyone wanted it. They created an open Darkome, an underground community of biohackers modifying their own genes and bodies.

Inara came of age in a Darkome village - but only an Aspis could keep her rare cancer in check, updating her immune system at a pace with her cancer's evolution. Accepting it went against everything Darkome stood for. She had to choose between her community and her life.

Now Inara's Aspis appears to have malfunctioned. She can edit her own DNA to be stronger, faster, smarter. It could be the genetic breakthrough of the millennium, but only if she can figure out how it works . . . and to stay ahead of those who will stop at nothing to possess her secret. Pursued by Aspis, Darkome radicals and the government, her new abilities may be the only way for Inara to survive. But they may cost her everything, including her humanity.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Hard Science Fiction

250 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 9, 2024

About the author

EN: Hannu Rajaniemi is a Finnish author of science fiction and fantasy, who writes in both English and Finnish. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a founding director of a technology consultancy company, ThinkTank Maths.

Rajaniemi was born in Ylivieska, Finland. He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Oulu, a Certificate of Advanced Study in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to starting his Ph.D. candidature, he completed his national service as a research scientist for the Finnish Defence Forces.

While pursuing his Ph.D. in Edinburgh, Rajaniemi joined Writers' Bloc, a writers' group in Edinburgh that organizes semi-regular spoken word performances and counts Charlie Stross amongst its members. Early works included his first published short story Shibuya no Love in 2003 and his short story Deus Ex Homine in Nova Scotia, a 2005 anthology of Scottish science fiction and fantasy, which caught the attention of his current literary agent, John Jarrold.

Rajaniemi gained attention in October 2008 when John Jarrold secured a three-book deal for him with Gollancz, on the basis of only twenty-four double-spaced pages. His debut novel, The Quantum Thief, was published in September 2010 by Gollancz in Britain and in May 2011 by Tor Books in the U.S. A sequel, The Fractal Prince, was published in September 2012 by Gollancz and in November 2012 by Tor.

FI: Hannu Rajaniemi on Edinburgissa, Skotlannissa asuva suomalainen tieteiskirjailija, joka kirjoittaa sekäs suomeksi että englanniksi. Rajaniemi on opiskellut matemaattista fysiikkaa Oulun ja Cambridgen yliopistoissa ja väitellyt säieteoriasta filosofian tohtoriksi Edinburghin yliopistossa. Hän on perustajajäsen matematiikan ja tekniikan konsulttiyhtiössä nimeltä ThinkTank Maths.

Opiskellessaan Edinburgissa Rajaniemi liittyi kirjoittajaryhmään, joka järjesti tekstien lukutilaisuuksia. Hänen varhaisia novellejaan on ilmestynyt englanniksi Interzone-lehdessä ja Nova Scotia -antologiassa. Näistä jälkimmäinen kiinnitti Rajaniemen nykyisen kirjallisuusagentin kiinnostuksen vuonna 2005.

Vuonna 2008 Rajaniemi solmi kustannussopimuksen kolmesta romaanista brittiläisen Gollancz-kustantamon kanssa. Valmiina oli silloin ainoastaan romaanin yksi luku. Esikoisromaani The Quantum Thief ilmestyi syyskuussa 2010. Hänellä on näiden kolmen romaanin julkaisusopimus myös yhdysvaltalaisen Tor-kustantamon kanssa. Suomeksi Rajaniemen esikoisteoksen julkaisee Gummerus nimellä Kvanttivaras.

Reviews

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hannu Rajaniemi has always written sharp, cutting-edge science fiction, but with this book he's really leaning into his wheelhouse: Biotechnology.

Rajaniemi is the founder and CEO of HelixNano, a biotech company working on developing mRNA and other technologies to treat immune system conditions. Consequently, he knows this stuff.

In a world ravaged by a Decade of Plagues (those caps are in the book), a single company developed a patch for individuals to wear which would constantly be updated to prevent and block new diseases from ripping across populations. Everybody gets one – well, almost everybody. There are sporadic 'Darkome' locations that are not on the patch, and develop their own homegrown biotech solutions.

Our protagonist Inara Reyes is a young woman in a Darkome in the Bay area whose mother died of a very rare disease that continually gave her cancer. Inara has a same syndrome, but it's so rare and intractable that nobody is working on a solution. It's not infectious so the software patch company isn't interested in it.

Without going into details, Inara is presented with a Hobson's Choice of whether to stay in the Darkome or leave and accept the patch. Her decision drives the plot.

There is a LOT of technical jargon that would be familiar to anyone well versed in cell therapy and biotech technologies, but the average reader can gloss over this and understand the impact pretty easily. This feels like a near future story (indeed, set less than twenty years from now). The society may seem majorly disrupted for less than twenty years away, but...we've seen how disruptive a single worldwide plague can be. Imagine a decade of them.

Inara is a compelling viewpoint character. Since the story is told first-person, we know exactly what she's thinking. She is brilliant, but can make impulsive decisions that are counter-productive. I don't want to say it's because she's young, but it feels like the sort of behavior you might see in a young, brilliant person.

I have two caveats for readers: It's the first in a series, so while this episode wraps up, there is clearly more to the story.

Secondly, as of this writing the book is only published by Gollancz in the UK, so American readers would have to order it. My local independent bookstore just confirmed that it's not available to them in the US. The Big River bookseller has it, but it's a little pricey. You can get this trade paperback for under $20 with free shipping if you order directly from Blackwell's in the UK. (Blackwells.co.uk).

I really hope this book gets an American publisher. It deserves it.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

The biopunk premise is pretty cool (didn’t even know that was a thing), but I found the intricacies of it a bit hard to follow. And the overall plot with the plucky not-like-other-girls protagonist vs Russian villain felt convoluted and definitely clichéd.

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

It's undoubtedly a clever and well-thought-out book with plenty of hard sci-fi elements. There's also a layer of personal and family drama that gives someone / something to relate to to less science oriented readers. While I appreciated the science (and let's be honest - I probably missed/didn't fully understand most of it), I found the characters somewhat flat, and the ending left too much unresolved. Without a sequel, it doesn’t work as a fully satisfying standalone book.

[Max G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most bio/acc, TESCREAL in-group novel I have read. Almost every page contains some reference that People Like Me will appreciate. That alone makes it a fun read.

A shortcoming in my opinion is that the main character is not very likable and annoying at times. Also I found the ending quite unsatisfying.

Nevertheless recommended to those interested in hyper-contemporary biotech sci-fi, risks at the intersection of AI & biology, and bay-area vibes.

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the things that frustrates me in the post-Covid world is that what is, for some of us, a long standing critique of the pharmaceutical industry has been appropriated by the anti-vaxxer and right-wing conspiracy theorists to become an attack on medical and health work – so a hard sci-fi (not my usual fantasy or space opera stuff), biopunk story by a biotech writer seemed politically appealing, if not also appealing as a story. It manages to walk the narrow path between biotech critique without also being anti-science.

At the core is Inara, a biohacker with an obscure condition that makes her susceptible to virulent forms of cancer, a condition that killed her mother. She's torn between her biohacker community and treatment through a big pharma programme. Along the way she finds that her condition begins to outwit big pharma, making her sought by them for product protection and by ‘black hat’ biohackers seeking to unleash mayhem. It’s an old story in an intriguing setting that kicks along well, although could do with more character depth – even Inara remains fairly flat, and never stays anywhere long enough for many of the characters, except perhaps one flatmate, to gain much depth.

There’s a lot of genetics speak throughout, which might put off some readers: that’s less likely to happen if it’s treated in the same way as script writers do medical speak in hospital drama – context making for the narrative to become more real: it’s filler, pretty legit looking filler, but filler….

The conclusion is left hanging, but there indication of some intriguing developments – mainly in the strained family subplot – to tease us into Darkome #2. It’s intriguing but I’m not sure I’ll be drawn back, as much because the hard science stuff isn’t really my thing as anything else.

[Johan Haneveld · Rating 5 out of 5]

9,3 - Hannu Rajaniemi seems to have taken a leaf from Cory Doctorows playbook, writing a story about a young hacker taking on a large corporation in a near future United States where unchecked capitalism is encroaching on individual expression. Both Doctorow and Rajaniemi are highly intelligent and know their stuff - but Rajaniemi has a bit more scientific knowledge, and also a bit more sympathy for industry and corporate structures (not every person working for the large corporation is evil, and some of the hackers are up to no good).
When reading 'The Quantum Thief' and the other books in the 'Jean Le Flambeur'-series of novels I was frequently lost and had to gloss over a lot of vocabulary trusting that it made sense to who knew a lot about information technology and encription, while focusing on the story itself. This book has the same information density, maybe even more so, but this time I had the joy of understanding what Rajaniemi was talking about! My masters degree in biomedical sciences came in handy I must say! I've read reviews by people not academically trained in this field saying they could follow the story by ignoring the DNA-manipulation and immune system-stuff (just like I did when reading his earlier books), so don't let this put you off reading this. But it was fun to nod along with the exploration of p53, viruses and mRNA-deliverysystems.
The prose is (luckily, because the science is a hard enough barrier to take in itself) pretty accessible, with vivid descriptions and clippy dialogue. When the action kicks in it's easy to follow and exciting. Also, even though this is a near future SF-story (taking place 20 years into the future) there are some great SF-idea's hinted at with far future consequences. They make me interested in finding out where this story goes.
Luckily I glaced at the ending and saw the 'To be continued' - as I would be pretty disappointed getting to the end not knowing this is a part 1 in a series. I notice it is a bit of a trend nowadays to not put on the cover or the back copy of a book that it is part of a series. I think this is unfair to readers and setting up the wrong expectations. So, go in knowing this is a part 1 and you will have a great time and like me you'll be looking forward to reading the next part in the series!

[Mikhail Selivanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool ideas and storyline, but somewhat flat characters. Maybe I just miss the brilliance of the “Quantum thief” trilogy

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling, tightly plotted, and very imaginative. Excellent bio-punk.

[Lita · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4.5 stars]

Imagine if COVID was just the start of the Decade of Plagues, subjecting humanity to different viruses and whatnot, one more horrifying than the next. Imagine if the only solution for safe and healthy living was in the hands of big biotech companies, but in return, they know everything about you. Then it will come as no surprise that people are willing to live outside their influence as DIY genetics enthusiasts experimenting with all kinds of biohacking ideas. Inara, our lead character, has spent her teenage years in one such community. She has a rare illness, inherited from her mother, that makes her especially susceptible to different forms of cancer. After her mother dies following yet another DIY attempt at a cure, her father signs her up for a medical trial that should keep cancers at bay, but it means leaving her biohacker community. Reluctantly, she agrees, but one day, cancer is back, and her medical device cannot detect it. It gives her an idea of the ultimate hack that might set her free, but also bring back the Decade of Plagues if given to the wrong people.

As I haven't read many biotech-themed sci-fi novels, I found Darkome a surprisingly interesting read. It's sciency enough to create a sufficient degree of credibility while not being overly detailed on the biohacking front. The fast pace kept me hooked, and I enjoyed following Inara's journey on her biohacking and personal adventures. To some degree, the book's success can be attributed to the right timing (first published in 2024) and the author's choice not to place it too far in the future. However, I was a bit disappointed that it turned out not to be a standalone story. The ending was somewhat abrupt, leaving me with more questions than answers.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I borrowed Darkome from the library, I assumed it would be an analogous experience to Hannu Rajaniemi's Jean le Flambeur trilogy (which begins with The Quantum Thief). That is to say, truly baffling hard sci-fi. Instead, I found myself reading a Cory Doctorow novel. The young techno-punk protagonist is a girl rather than a boy, but other than that Darkome is stylistically and thematically hard to distinguish from Little Brother, The Lost Cause, Pirate Cinema, and so on. Near-future setting, first person narration, most of the dialogue is about DIY technology, communal housing, largely decorative love interest, Burning Man involvement. The main Doctorow feature not included is cooking, as the protagonist Inara lives almost entirely on meal replacement shakes. The coffee obsession is present and correct, though. Inara is a biohacker, trying to DIY a cure for the genetic syndrome that makes her highly susceptible to cancer. After stumbling upon an extraordinarily powerful and dangerous discovery, she is torn between the corporation that sells wearable anti-cancer chips and the biohacker community.

By comparing Darkome with Doctorow's fiction, I do not mean that either are bad. I've read of eight of Doctorow's books because I get something from them; The Lost Cause is particularly great. I think the issue here may be over-familiarity. Apparently 290 of the novels I've read since late 2012 were sci-fi, so novelty may be harder to find these days. Darkome has a few pleasingly weird elements (mostly the tumour hacking the anti-cancer chip, wonderfully creepy), however I found the plot rather too keen to prioritise action scenes. I would have liked a bit more time to be spent on the political debates around the social impact of biohacking, which had the potential to be really interesting and nuanced. Instead mad science had to be done at astonishing speed and Inara shot herself up with temporary super soldier serum to murder some goons. The action was perfectly well written, I just felt there was a slower, stranger, more involving way to tell this story. As the book ends 'To Be Continued' I guess the idea is to stretch it across multiple installments. If you're in the mood for a Cory Doctorow-style thriller about biohacking, Darkome could be just the thing. I wasn't really in the mood for it somehow.

[Jouni Korte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vauhdikas lähitulevaisuuden visio biotekniikan (ja sivussa vähän tekoälynkin ja muun teknologian) kehityksestä. Hyvin uskottavasti kirjoitettu näkemys siitä, millainen 2040-luvun alku voisi olla useiden pandemioiden ja niiden myötä pakon sanelemana huimasti kehittyneen biotekniikan myötä. Kirjan alku on hieman verkkainen, mutta loppua kohden vauhtia ja toimintaa riittää senkin edestä. Henkilöhahmot jäävät vähän pinnallisiksi, mutta se ei sinällään ole mitään uutta tässä genressä. Mainittakoon myös varoituksena, että juoni jää kirjassa täysin kesken, ja kirja päättyykin sanaan "jatkuu". Eli jatkoa on suunnitteilla, toivottavasti hyvinkin pian.

[Matias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cyperpunkkia biologialla. Rajaniemi kirjoittaa biopunkkia vetävästi ja tarjoillen välähdyksiä 2040-luvulle. Miten mRNA:ta voidaan koodata, kuin ohjelmistopäivityksiä ja vasta kirjan kolmannessa osassa aletaan päästä käsiksi mielenkiintoisiin ajatusleikkeihin. Tarinan mittakaava tuntui aluksi jopa liian pieneltä, mutta onneksi kasvaa lopussa. Odotan jatkoa, koska sitä selvästi on luvassa. Lisäksi tekee mieli tutusta Rajaniemen esseeseen, joka avaa miten kirja liittyy Rajaniemen muuhun elämään (yritykseen yms.). Sopii kesälomaan loistavasti! Vain scifissä päästään käsittelemään ajatuksia puhtaasti. Pitäisikö OpenAi:n rinnalle kehittää oma Varjomi. Mitä jos subacriptiot pomppaavat niin kalliiksi ja emme saakaan demokraattisesti käyttää kielimalleja, kuten biologialle uhkaa käydä Aspiksen toimesta kirjassa. Herätti ajatuksia. Kielimalleista mustina laatikkoina, joihin Altman ja muut kehoittavat luottamaan, kuten Shahn kirjassa. Rajaniemen tulevaisuudessa OpenAI on julkaissut painotuksensa.

[arity · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm extremely disappointed. Very shallow characters. A banal story that feels like modern Netflix garbage. Full of cliché scenes like "she cried in the corner hugging her knees" or "the burning headlights of a large black SUV were approaching me." The main character is a rebellious teenage "not like other girls" type, a strong woman character. Lots of praise directed at burners and Burning Man culture. The main villain is a "Russian mafioso from post-Putin Russia." Really, Hannu? :) You could do better.

Seems like he just wants to make money and pander to Silicon Valley wannabe biohackers :)

It was fun to read at first since the action takes place in the Bay Area where I lived, but then all these stereotypical Russian tropes started appearing.

[Tapani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Innolla tartuin tähän Rajaniemen uuteen teokseen, mutta jonkinlainen pettymys se aikaisemman huikean trilogian jälkeen oli. Ehkä se vain ihmisen perimän ja ominaisuuksien muuntelun kautta teemaltaan on jo niin käytetyn ajatuksen oloinen, tai sitten hieman ulkokohtaisiksi jäävien henkilöhahmojen kautta hieman kirjoitusharjoitelman oloinen Rajaniemen taidot omaavan kirjoittamaksi.

[Tim Nowotny · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

SciFi like I like it: Exploring big ideas and their implications. Well integrated in a good plot with interesting characters.

[Michel Meijer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very original and dense take on gene hacking and biowarfare. If you are not into biochemistry and sensitive to cancer as a subject, this one is not for you. But since I am not sensitive to cancer as a topic and into chemistry, this was for me. I think in the beginning the biotechnobabble was a bit overwhelming and I needed to settle into the world. The second part of the book upped the ante quite a bit and the action at the end was very welcome in the storyline. Main character a bit dominant, but believably naïve sometimes and a pleasant companion. But damn...to be continued.... 4 Stars

[Amy apple · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Interesting ideas are explored here with some just as interesting biotech sci fi stuff. The characters however were far from interesting and that took away how good the book could have been.

The main character was insufferable and it wasn’t believable with her naivety that what happened actually happens in the plot of things. The villain of the story is also a little over dramatic and cliche which again didn’t make for a clever story.

It’s an enjoyable dense but quick read all in all though, and I wonder how it will play out in the end of it all.

[Evgeny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The events of the book are set in the near future where editing your DNA is a routine task. Humanity is on the brink of extinction and suffers from new super viruses and plagues. The book starts slowly but it's hard to put it down after the second half. Mega-corporations, biohackers, good laughs, action-packed plot - all check. If you enjoyed Quantum Thief you will not be disappointed in Darkome.

[sixregrets · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barely finished. Pales in comparison to all three Jean le Flambeur books. I found the constant references to current day corporate brands especially grating.

[Peter Hollo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to read Hannu doing near-future science fiction. I loved The Quantum Thief and its sequels, gonzo far-future quasi-hard-sf that was unlike anything else at the time and probably still now (I'm thinking perhaps Yoon Ha Lee's Hexarchate novels come close, despite being some kind of science-fantasy - and of course Charles Stross's Accelerando).
When Hannu came back some years later with Summerland, it was a surprising left turn into a kind of alternate-world fantasy, albeit with a science-fictional backbone recalling qntm's Fine Structure and Ra.

This, however, is Hannu in Cory Doctorow vein, kind of - a bit like Cory's seminal 0wnz0red, but backed with cutting-edge science. Because Hannu Rajaniemi is a mathematician, and this genetical manipulation, biohacking stuff is his actual area.
I've always worried that there's a tech-utopian streak in Rajaniemi's worldview, and that's perhaps complicated here, but my concerns are not totally assuaged. This is a post-climate change future of sorts, but the big disaster has been the Decade of Plagues - this is terrifyingly plausible really, although at least some of these plagues were made by Bad Actors (governments, terrorists, who knows?) There's a fair bit of genAI in here too, pretty much unquestioned, which doesn't sit too comfortably with me or probably most of his readers, but it's not that central. The other thing we find here is a juxtaposition of tech-libertarian deregulated hackers/makers (the Darkome of the title) vs Silicon Valley centralised monopoly, and the Big Tech company, deeply mistrusted by our 19yo protagonist, turns out to not be as evil as expected. Probably.

The "probably" is the kicker that many reviews will be talking about - this is at most half a book. Publishers have a very bad habit of releasing first books in a series with no indication of that. Luckily I did know when I started reading, but it's still annoying to reach "TO BE CONTINUNED" and not knowing how long you'll have to wait, or even how many more books there will be.

The novel is also a little ambiguous about whether it's YA or not (another trend I've noticed, it must be said). The fairly young protagonist makes for a slightly naïve and emotional POV for much of the book, and to some extent the plot beats occur in a kind of undercomplicated manner. I'm not sure if ultimately I minded this - it is genuinely thought-provoking and also a rollicking thriller. I've made a lot of complaints here, but ultimately I was really won over, and I'm very keen to see what comes next.

[Vladimir Ivanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Шесть лет ждал новую книгу от Райаниеми, следил за новостями, переживал за бесконечные переносы релиза, наконец жадно ухватил, и... был не то чтобы разочарован, но не сильно обр��дован.

Если не знать, кто написал Darkome, то автора вообще нереально угадать. Буйство постчеловеческой фантазии, за которое мы любили Райаниеми, здесь полностью отсутствует. Перед нами умеренно вялый технотриллер, который вполне мог бы написать Гибсон в период «распознавания образов» и «страны призраков».

Чек — типично гибсоновское близкое будущее, только тут вместо компьютеров биотех и генинженерия; человечество только что выбралось из десятилетия синтетических эпидемий и теперь, сильно напуганное, стремится запретить любые несанкционированные манипуляции с генами и РНК (по всему миру внедрена система тотального биоконтроля Aspis, которая следит за тем, чтобы кто не сварил на кухне новый ковид или чего похуже).

Чек — типичная гибсоновская структура повествования, когда героиня мотается всю книгу туда-сюда, пытаясь понять, что за технологический макгаффин у нее в кармане (в данном случае не совсем в кармане, а раковая опухоль в теле, у которой на любой вид терапии находится необъяснимо разумный ответ).

Чек — типично гибсоновские русские гангстеры в финале. Post-Putin mafia, говоря словами автора.

При этом заглавной биохакерше то ли 18, то ли 19, и она обладает удивительным талантом находить для каждой проблемы максимально тупое и деструктивное решение. Например, когда ей в руки попадает методика, позволяющая обмануть Aspis — что она делает с этой информацией? Конечно, немедленно распространяет по даркнетовским каналам на весь мир! Глобальное биоподполье — это же сплошь чудесные добрые люди, они не сделают ничего плохого. Ой, чудесные добрые люди тут же начали варить и распространять жуткие смертельные болезни? Наверное, это какая-то ошибка, не могли же они так поступить! ... о_О Какая-то запредельная тупизна.

Да, и вишенка на торте — книга обрывается буквально на полуслове, а на последней строке крупными буквами написано ПРОДОЛЖЕНИЕ СЛЕДУЕТ. Видимо, нас ждут новые приключения незадачливой биохакерши.

В общем, кто хотел слоубернер-триллер в стиле позднего Гибсона, да еще и с реалистичным описанием биотехнологий переднего края (Райаниеми все-таки создатель и владелец компании по разработке мРНК-вакцин) — добро пожаловать. Роман в целом неплохой, короткий, читается легко. Но полета фантазии, за который мы полюбили безумного финна, не ожидайте.

P.S. Хотел поставить 6, но фантаст, реально разбирающийся в технической части своих книжек — это такая редкость по нынешним временам... ладно, пусть будет 7.

[Trey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good book. I'll be the first to admit I'm a Rajaniemi fan. Have been since the Jean Lefleur/Quantum Thief trilogy. Now, I haven’t always liked what he writes (looks at Summerland), but I’m eager to see what he has written. Enough so, I bought it sight unseen from Blackwell's and had it shipped to me in the US.

Folks? It was worth it. I liked it - read it quickly. I’ll crib from the publisher's backmatter to tell you what it’s about (because the Goodreads one is _wrong_), then, I’ll tell you what I think and why.

During the Decade of Plagues, pandemics brought civilization to a standstill. The only way out was the Aspis chip: a wearable mRNA vaccine factory, able to immunize you against new viruses on the fly. But not everyone wanted it. They created an open alternative: Darkome, an underground community of biohackers modifying their own genes and bodies.
Inara came of age in a Darkome village – but only an Aspis could keep her rare cancer in check, updating her immune system at a pace with her cancer’s evolution. Accepting it went against everything Darkome stood for. She had to choose between her community and her life.
Now Inara’s Aspis appears to have malfunctioned. She can edit her own DNA to be stronger, faster, smarter. It could be the genetic breakthrough of the millennium, but only if she can figure out how it works . . . and to stay ahead of those who will stop at nothing to possess her secret. Pursued by Aspis, Darkome radicals and the government, her new abilities may be the only way for Inara to survive. But they may cost her everything, including her humanity.

OK, this is far more introspective than The Quantum Thief. Our viewpoint character, Inara, is dealing with a lot of trauma - the death of her mother, her imminent death by cancer and loss of her community. And while it’s more introspective, Inara also gives us a lot of the sense of wonder of discovery at the small scale instead of the planetary or interstellar. Plus, making a friend. She also gives us a sense of betrayal, grief and fear.

This book is also more personal to Rajaniemi. It deals with his loss, plus his new obsessions with biotechnology and what we should do with it.

It is more introspective, but it’s also well done. As I read, I kept wanting to see what happened next. And then the ending - augh! Cliffhanger. Which means I’m going to have to wait for the next book.
Not sure this is an immediate re-read, but I bet I’ll reread it shortly before the next one comes out.

[kevät sara]

kiivas, tekoälyn ja bioteknologian liitto (bioteknologia paljolti tekoälykeskustelun varjoissa - miksi???) henkilökuvaus aika ontuvaa mutta henkilöiden tärkein tehtävä viedä juonta eteenpäin. tärkein kysymys: keskittynyt vai hajautunut ”biovalta”? (tarkoitan, kuka hallitsee ja pääsee käsiksi bioteknologiaan). tosi kiinnostava kirja, bioteknologian etiikka ja kysymykset on niiiiiin siistejä ja kylmääviäkin.. nii tykkäsin, että kirja toi niitä kiinnostavassa valossa!! ja kylmää erityisesti nyt, ku tekoäly valtaa alaa..

oisin toivonu kyllä paljon syvempää ja elävämpää henkilökuvausta (kai scifi ontuu usein tässä…?) tykkäsin kyllä siitä, että päähenkilön ajatusvirheitä kuvataan, eikä esitetä virheettömänä nerona, vaikka muuten musta hahmot vähän ontuikin yksipuolisuudessaan.. kirja ois ollu parantunu huomattavasti paremmalla henkilökirjoittamisella, vaikka oli nytki jo bioetiikan tematiikan takia nautinnollinen lukukokemus (multa saa bioetiikkaan/synbion tieteenfilosofiaan tms liittyviä lukusuosituksia..)

kieleltään ei kauneinta tai runsainta, yksinkertaista, mikä toisaalta johti ylenpalttiiseen kirjanahmintaan ja vähän lamaannuttavaan lukuähkyyn.. toisaalta suomennos ehkä tökkii. ärsytti sanan jailbreikkaus käyttäminen ja ylenpalttinen biologiaan liittyvien metaforien, vertauksien em. viljely - kuulosti välillä tosi teennäiseltä. toisaalta luin suomeksi ja suomen asema tieteen kielenä ei oo hyvä, eihän synteettisen bilsan, biokemian etc sanoja oikeestaan oo suomeksi.. niin se toki vaikuttaa havaittuun tönkköyteen..

jää mietittymään varmasti tää kirja ja ootan mielenkiinnolla jatko-osaa. kans ois kyllä tosi tosi mielenkiintoista tavata hannu ja juttella näistä teemoista!!!

[Mikko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review calibration acknowledgement first: I have been a Hannu Rajaniemi fanboy ever since mindblowing Quantum Thief. This latest novel, Darkome, treads deep into the unfamiliar world of garage cell biology (!) and is no less mindblowing than his first book. The basic premise ( transmutating cancer tumor emergently hacking into personalized mRNA factory gadget) for the entire story is truly an innovative idea. This is the first book that I have read, which extrapolates interestingly where the world is potentially heading with the advancements in medical research (both instutional and home-grown), Covid-pandemia and the invent of generative AI.

I was juggling between a 4 star and a 5 star rating with this one. Let's go with full 5 starts after having read through the author's behind-the-scenes story of the writing process. It made me appreciate more the level of personal impact and the hard core subject matter expertise being poured into this book.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice first half of ?hard scifi story with a biohacking focus. Accessible for the general geek reader and also for people that are into genetics biotech (Author included so no surprises there).

As usual with Rajaniemi stories the worldbuilding and speculations of the near future are intriguing and scary believable. Mostly single POV so easy to get into. Delves into topics of ownership, right to repair, move fast break things, bio software, self-medication, healthcare and much more!

Colorful incidental characters. Shifting loyalties. Most of the arcs are yet to be resolved in part 2. Looking forward.

See also: The Jugaad Catherdral/ Invisible Planets (Same Author). Zisians (cult). Theranos (company). AlphaGenome (AI model).

[Abhilash Kakumanu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biocurious!

Author dedicates this book to Biocurious. I definitely identify myself as a person who is curious about all things biology, especially human anatomy. A lot of ideas thrown around in this story seem plausible. It makes sense as the author himself is a scientist/engineer working in that field. Eyes, AI providing AR/VR for biohacking, mRNA vaccines on the fly, gene editing all seem more real than fiction.
Siddhartha Mukherjee's mention of Cancer being us and a superior version of us fits so well into the narrative.

[DJP · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good to have Rajaniemi back with this excellent story. Interesting story with a lot of science in the scifi. Story have a lot of twist but stil not to hard to follow and main character is likeable. If something maybe the end was sort of a let down as it instead set up for the next book. I can hihgly recommend this even for someone that have read anythign else by the author. In fact this can be a good book to get familliar with Rajaniemis writings.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 50%. I honestly don't know why these books aren't speaking to me when I loved the Quantum series. I just didn't care about any of the characters and the story moved too slowly to be interesting.

[Louise Fincham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rajaniemi as usual is quite brilliant. He is a scientist with some very clear and frightening ideas of what our future as human beings will entail. The book deserves five stars but the ending was disappointing.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read, although it's quite different from The Jean le Flambeur series. I was surprised to see an atomic force microscope used, a piece of lab equipment I was involved with testing. I was also surprised to discover at the end that this is the first book of a series. I liked it.