Aristoi

by Walter Jon Williams

Gabriel is one of the Aristoi, the elite class that hold dominion over a glittering interstellar culture, their rule more absolute than that of any Old Earth tyrant. When another of the Aristoi is murdered, Gabriel finds that the foundations of his civilization are tottering, and that his own power may have its roots in the greatest lie in all history.

In order to defend himself and the interstellar order, Gabriel must go on a quest into the heart of barbarism and chaos, and discover within himself his own lost, tattered humanity.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Cyberpunk, Space Opera, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Space

498 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Walter Jon Williams has published twenty novels and short fiction collections. Most are science fiction or fantasy -Hardwired, Voice of the Whirlwind, Aristoi, Metropolitan, City on Fire to name just a few - a few are historical adventures, and the most recent, The Rift, is a disaster novel in which "I just basically pound a part of the planet down to bedrock." And that's just the opening chapters. Walter holds a fourth-degree black belt in Kenpo Karate, and also enjoys sailing and scuba diving. He lives in New Mexico with his wife, Kathy Hedges.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one recently on the strength of a friend's recommendation, and was rather glad I did; it's one of the more unusual SF novels I've had the pleasure of reading. Aristoi is set in the far future, when humanity has unlocked the ability to manipulate matter at the molecular level and has spread out into the stars. Those who have mastered the ability to reshape matter in physical and virtual reality alike are the Aristoi, the kindly absolute rulers of their various individual domains, and under their leadership humanity is enjoying an enlightened peace...

Only, since this is a novel and you know this has to be coming, not so much. One of the Aristoi has secretly built an entire solar system filled with planets and even people of their own design, and whoever they are, they're willing to kill other Aristoi to keep their secret. The Aristos Gabriel, who up till now has let a fairly lightweight life pursuing operatic composition, avoiding the cult that worships him under his mother's guidance, and romancing his various lovers, is moved to investigate what's happening--and finds that not only is his own life threatened, but so are the lives of those he holds dear, and indeed, the galactic society at large.

There's a lot to like in this book, and the plot's not all of it. Williams' worldbuilding (aheh) is solid indeed, full of all sorts of little flourishes and details about how a society that's mastered nanotechnology and virtual reality is not limited by lifespan, gender, sickness, or even original physical forms. I quite liked that one of Gabriel's lovers, a man, starts off the story being implanted with their genetically engineered child, and that Marcus didn't elect to become female for the duration of the pregnancy; I quite liked, even, that such was even an option, described so seamlessly that it was clear that in that society, such choices were commonplace.

And I very, very much liked that part of the process of becoming an Aristos or Ariste involved the creation of "daemons" running in one's head. This amused me from a computer geek perspective, but it also provided an excellent way to present Gabriel as essentially a highly functional multiple person. Many of his daemons are themselves characters, and one even is a significant plot point. Their participation in the action makes for several sequences as well where dual tracks of action are described on the page--a challenge to read through, and very adroitly done.

The book's not perfect; I took a bit of issue with the open-ended and somewhat too convenient nature of the ending. But all in all I found this a very strong read. Four stars.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great review, by Jo Walton:
http://www.tor.com/2011/05/24/surpass...
"Although this is one of Williams’ best books, it’s not my favourite. I tend to enjoy reading his others much more. This is because when it comes down to it it’s characters I care about, and our protagonist here, Gabriel Aristos, is a jerk."
Amen! Do read her review, one of her better ones. And it is a very good book. I've read it 3 times, and at one time thought it his best novel. I can't say I'm in a hurry for another reread, fwtw.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's rare that I read something different enough to be considered unique, but the society and culture painted in this book is something I've never encountered before.

The world building is truly stupendous. A distant future humanity, scarred by the accidental destruction of Earth, rebuilds a new civilization. One of the core values of this civilization is that information must be free, but technology has become powerful enough, dangerous enough, that it can only be wielded in all its glory by gods. So the Aristoi are created, gods among men, to play the role of the divine (though perhaps they are are best viewed as philosopher kings).

Williams describes the Aristoi, saying: "Without doubt she would achieve the rank of Ariste: the long-latent synthesis, the tumbling-together of ideas, had begun. The integrative thinking of the Aristoi, wherein each thought, each skill and idea, began to expand and multiply and reinforce the other." Describing their relationship to the rest of humanity, an Aristos states: "We dominate humanity because we can't help it, and because the others couldn't stop it even if they wanted to."

The result is a society that is simultaneously a techno-utopia and a radical authoritarian dystopia (fascism without the nationalist connotations), made all the more frightening because the thought of disobedience to an Aristos is literally inconceivable to the vast majority of indoctrinated humanity.

This marvelous world building creates a set of main characters (Aristoi and their senior bureaucrats) that is simultaneously fascinating, desirable, and appalling. They believe they are superior and entitled...nearly godlike...and the reader has a hard time disagreeing, while all the while rebelling against such a notion notion as anathema to our current liberal society based upon the notion that all are created equal.

Combine that with the strange psychology of the characters (the society believes that multiple personalities - inner demons - are to be encouraged, named, and treasured, in order for multifaceted individuals to fully unlock their true potential), and this book is well worth reading.

[Outis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, this book is affected, baroque and preposterous, as you might have guessed from the title (less so towards the end though).
But beneath that surface, there's a daring vision of a posthuman/nanotech far future. Done a hundred times already? No. This time, it's done right!
Compared to the shallow competition, the socio-economic setting of Aristoi is somewhat plausible and actually not that flashy. That's because it doesn't cling to (pre-/post-)cyberpunk tropes (which are all right for the near future) and Williams was imaginative enough to create a genuinely post-scarcity economy as well as characters whose posthumanity is mostly psychological instead of displayed in ludicrous body modifications.
Don't get me wrong: the setting isn't plausible as such. It features impossible things such as FTL. But it nevertheless struck me as a lot more plausible than much of what passes for hard SF these days (am I sounding bitter?).
Much of the book takes place in a shared virtual reality which is intertwined with the corporal world but, as in Dune, Aristoi's posthumans are grounded in their bodies and there's no strong AI or personality uploads.

Which brings me to the numerous similarities between this book and Dune...
To my knowledge, Williams doesn't acknowledge Herbert's series as an inspiration. But there are obvious superficial similarities and more thematic similarities which become apparent as the plot unfolds. It's by no means an exact copy (grey goo replaces hostile AI and regulation replaces prohibition for instance). The politics are also markedly different. The main villain is a Leto II wannabe for instance (minus the wisdom).
I'm not going to note every similarity but some are particularly sweet like the inspired non-English jargon and the communal psyches while I found others annoying like the overdone Eastern pseudo-magic or the (thankfully infrequent) Hollywood-worthy action hero antics.
Like the original Dune, Aristoi is flawed. But while it's of course not nearly as idiosyncratic or as deep as Dune, both are innovative, cultured and genuine SF dealing with the nature and the future of humanity. Such books are definitely worth reading, warts and all.

Some of the warts are particularly noteworthy.
In constrast to the setting, the plot is pretty weak to begin with and its plausability is marred by the repeated use of ridiculously unsophisticated IT security practices as important plot devices. Considering the publication date and that the setting features an open Internet-analogue as well as a bunch of vain super-geniuses who virtually live "in the cloud", you'd think the author would have bothered to consult with a clueful expert!
Some of the characters are very powerful and arrogant and many have vast amounts of knowledge at their fingertips. But sometimes they're being strangely silly like when the main character presumes to correct a non-existent mistranslation of Marx's German while the quip he must have been referring to was not even originally Marx's or German. Yeah, these characters are supposed to have flaws and blindspots. But is the averge reader supposed to notice such failings? It rather suggests authorial overreach and superficial research.

Finally, I want to note that this book was in part based on a healthy loathing of Fukuyama, which is bound to please a fair few.

[Amy Faust · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book. Trying to describe this book makes it sound so cheesy, but it is far from it. This book is delightfully original. There are layers to the realities in this book: what happens in the real world and what happens in the virtual world. Occasionally, Walter Jon Williams writes both parts simultaneously by splitting the page, a truly riveting idea! The rest of the book is just as unique.

[Jerome Plapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting societal design, as well as a very clever structural trick where what's happening physically is in one column while the communications between protagonist and his multiple personalities (the foundational scientific development in the universe) are in the right. I read it on Kindle and this aspect was not available, though Williams worked with the publishers to try to get it to work out. I honestly suggest this in paper form as I feel it added a lot to the feel of the story when I originally read it. The only thing I'm not quite sure I like is what appears to be the philosophical debate that lies at the heart of the plot--I'm not sure I agree fully with the protagonist nor am I sure whether I'm supposed to. Like many of Williams' novels the ending feels a bit abrupt and open-ended as well, leaving me a bit lost as to what I was supposed to take away from it. It's pretty fun and thought-provoking, however.

[Peter Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aristoi by Walter Jon Williams

Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...

Walter Jon Williams is a very talented writer. In terms of invention and craft, he has been turning out novels that meet or exceed the quality of the greats of prior years, such as Asimov, Pohl, Heinlein, and Clarke. It is probably an indication of how far the major science fiction awards have fallen that he has not received scant attention.

Aristoi was published in 1992. I read it shortly after it was published, so this was my second reading after a lapse of thirty years. Incidentally, I picked up the Kindle version in 2012 knowing that some day it would provide me with a predictable source of engaging escapism. I had forgotten a lot of details, but some things stayed with me, such as Gabriel's explanation that the tango involved a sense of betrayal. I had forgotten this book was the source of that particular insight.

Aristoi is set several thousand years in the future. Earth was destroyed long ago in a technological accident involving nanotechnology. Humanity was experimenting with nanotechnology to work wonders, using atomic machines to build space ships and planets. Apparently, one form of nano mutated into "mataglap" and turned the Earth and everything on it into a frothing mass of wild nano.

All that remained was scattered outposts that formed a new society based on restricting nanotechnology and other dangerous science to the best and brightest of mankind, the Aristoi. These Aristoi rule domains of planets formed from their use of nano and gravity engineering. They are autocrats in their domain and permit other Aristoi - selected by a rigorously objective testing protocol - to rule as autocrats in their own domains. The Aristoi are cultured, refined, and civilized. They have created worlds of wealth and health for their populations, the Demos.

But there is a plot afoot, which the main character, Gabriel, an Aristoi draws to architecture and writing plays and poetry, becomes aware of. He follows the skein of the conspiracy from the virtual reality of the Aristoi to a barbaric world with technology on the level of the Middle Ages.

And then the fun begins.

Williams is inventive. The world of the Aristoi is well-drawn and complicated. He tosses off ideas the way that a drunken sailor tosses around money. He posits the oneichron - the virtual reality that allows Aristoi to communicate with each other even though separated by star systems - skiagnos - the forms assumed by the Aristoi in the oneichron - mataglap - the destructive nano that is a threat to all humanity - and daimones - the "limited personalities" that the Aristoi invent in their minds so that they can perform more than one task at a time.

The book is engaging. The plot is tightly constructed. The characters are well-drawn, albeit Gabriel, with his daimones, is the focal point of the story.

I was particularly impressed by the way that Williams could move his story from the highest of high-tech concepts down to a medieval world in the same story and that both could be believable and real and work together to tell a coherent story. It occurred to me as I was reading this story that he performed the same kind of trick in "Implied Spaces," another truly great story that I'm saving for another day.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

An original, well-written, absorbing piece of sci-fi-fantasy. Half of it involves the setting of a feudal world, which drags a little, but, in its technologically-advanced ruling Aristoi society, is impressive, and, it is redolent of the pantheon of gods of Zelazny's Lord Of Light [1967], reflected in its Asiatic cultural dips, though it by and large borrows most from the Greek pantheon. For the aristoi are effectively gods.

Aside from its feudal setting in the latter half, its science fiction, its world-building, is credible and integral, without any attempt at scientific explanation of advanced technological physics, except in overall reference, such as the galactic communications system based on tachlines, which somehow deploy tachyons, we suppose - and that's it, no further attempt to explain. Similarly with their datastores, occupying whole moons - no attempt at trying the describe how data is stored. And a major theme: nano-technology.

I liked this. It set my imagination aflame - for I too have this concept of personality 'aspects' in my writing, but in a different way - my Limited Personalities are materialised either as clone-avatars or specifically as virtual Servitors. Same thing, different names. What Williams also does, to varying degrees of effectiveness, is to juxtapose the real personality's action and dialogue - Gabriel, e.g. - in a column alongside the daimones' dialogue (and limited activity, e.g. messaging). This is an intriguing device, but only partially effective, especially when such layout continues for spells longer than one page - it diffracts the storyline a little. This is only a minor frustration merely because you become so bound up in the story's action that you want to proceed apace in the timeline, and find occasionally you have to read a section that either overlaps and so anticipates or lags behind the main thrust of the action. A minor quibble; otherwise, a nice device.

But what Williams achieves - mostly, aside from a clutch of other minor quibbles - is a good fluent, rich, authentic and credible universe and read. He deploys lots of classical references - Chinese, Greek, Roman etc. - and a great deal of cultural reference - philosophy, poetry, plays, opera, music - and describes his luxuriant worlds with a rich style, if on occasion overdoing the floral embellishments of dress and place. Another minor quibble is his slight overuse of the luxuriant, sensual, often (too often by one episode) sexual world of the oneirochronon; but later on you realise why he added the one apparently excessive (Troika) scene.

So there are very few minor gripes with the book, including an essentially pointless epilogue, and after a couple of nights' reading, I wanted to finish it, and stayed up to do so. Now that's the sign not only of a good story, fascinating characters, a first-class lead, plus well-measured plot and action, but of a very good writer style-wise. Yes, you are impressed by Williams's 'smart' and his craft, and it is a very rich, sumptuously peopled work that puts it very close to the top draw of sci-fi, and certainly a contender for Zelazny's unique throne.

[Rodrigo Braz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always reading something and I try to be selective, but even so I often find it to have a "chore" aspect to it sometimes because most books require some patience at points.

This is not the case with "Aristoi". I looked forward to every page. I don't think I have read any book with as much pleasure in the last ten years at least.

No wonder, when you read comments on it on Amazon or Goodreads, there are a lot of people not only giving it positive reviews, but actually saying this is their favorite book.

What superbly well-crafted and creative world-building! Quite beyond what we usually see. It is very interesting to read it in 2021, when we have our own "renos", "daemons", and "Hyperlogos" in our phones, bluetooth sets, internet, and so on. I am very impressed about how well the author anticipated the way people would use such technology, at a time when there was quite little experience to go on from real life.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. In the far future, the utopian human empire is governed by a ruling class known as Aristoi, picked out via training and exam for their intellect, creativity, and talent at ruling. People often make use of daemons, aspects of their personality to whom they assign names who have limited personality traits and tend to be specialised in their capabilities, to perform multi tasking.

Gabriel, one of the Aristoi, gets involved in an investigation which turns out to uncover a wide political plot by a faction of the Aristoi that will shake the known galaxy. This book reminds me a lot of Amber, in that the main characters are insanely capable and have access to massive resources.

[Carl Barlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Add another half-star to those four. This is my idea of not quite perfect pure SF entertainment. Not quite as rich as Dune or deep as Neverness, but close on both counts and more joyfully bonkers than both; not quite as stylish as Vance, but certainly as colourful; not quite the levels of baroque decadence of The Dancers at the End of Time, but, to be fair, I don't think Williams was aiming for it; not quite as intricate in its portrayed society as Stars in my Pocket Like Grains of Sand, but close enough to remain interesting. This is the first of his I've read, but it certainly won't be the last (and I'd really love to see a direct sequel to this). One for the SF aficionados. The SF aristoi :).

[Kat Heatherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting thought experiment. it starts out with with just enough character development to keep the story functional (it's definitely more concept oriented than character oriented). but around halfway through, the two main characters really start to take off, and ultimately, the book is more about Gabriel himself and his inward experience and growth than it is about the external realities of the world he lives in. Very strong finish, with just enough ambiguity to keep the mind engaged. Strong plotting. Lots and lots of interesting ideas about personality development, psychology, and assorted technologies.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes incomprehensible. Sometimes aimless. I don't know which is worse.

[Mark Cheverton (scifipraxis) · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the far future, a post-human elite, the Aristoi, rule over a stagnant and docile humanity, the Demos, tightly controlling proscribed technologies and restricting reproduction to balance out the population's longevity. Theirs is a decadent post-scarcity culture with Renaissance overtones reminiscent of Ada Palmer's Too Like the Lightning.

Gabriel, is an Aristoi dilettante, dedicating his life to music, architecture and performative socialising until a conspiracy is uncovered. He's required to venture, as in many utopian novels, to a more primitive barbarian culture that he falls in love with - idealising it for its vitality and creative potential.

The heart of the novel lies in the stark contrast between the stagnant utopia of the Aristoi, and the vibrant yet harsh lives of the barbarians. This calls Gabriel's attention to the powerlessness of the Demos under their ruling Aristoi gods, creating a moral ambiguity which forces the reader to question which society, despite the barbarian's suffering, is truly better.

I found this a deep and engaging read once I'd found momentum, but those first 100 pages were tough. This is another novel where the post-human society and technologies leave you floundering for reference points, and you have to power through until it clicks. There are many eastern influences, weaving in themes of control through language and posture, and a fair bit of philosophy and martial arts. There's also a pervasive sexuality within the Aristoi culture, marked by fluid, selfish relationships and a lack of boundaries, further underscoring the power imbalance between the godlike Aristoi and the fawning Demos.

I liked that the ending wasn't clean - Gabriel takes a more morally grounded responsibility, but still fails to recognise his own manipulative behaviour in genetically engineering kids to fulfil his operatic vision. The result is blurred lines between right and wrong that gave me lots to think on. If you liked Ada Palmer, or Zelazny's Lord of Light, or Banks' Player of Games, then you should give this one a go - it's well worth the effort.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF'ed at 26%.

[Powerschnute · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich muss gestehen, dass ich vor „Aristoi“ schon eine ganze Weile ziemlichen Respekt hatte. Williams schreibt hier eine Science-Fictiongeschichte, die auch stilistisch gesehen eine Herausforderung für mich dargestellt hat. Die Aristoi können ihren Geist nämlich in mehrere Persönlichkeiten, sogenannte Daimonen, spalten, die unabhängig von einander und vom eigentlichen Selbst Aufgaben übernehmen können und eigenständige Individuen innerhalb einer virtuellen Realität bilden. Williams hat das verdeutlicht, indem er den Text in zwei Spalten aufgeteilt hat, wo auf der einen Seite das Selbst etwas erlebt und auf der anderen Seite seine Daimonen dies kommentieren. Solche stilistischen Mittel finde ich zwar eigentlich nicht verkehrt, aber ich tue mich immer wahnsinnig schwer damit, sowas zu lesen, weil mich das immer völlig aus dem Lesefluss reißt. Dabei ist die Welt, die Williams hier geschaffen hat, sehr faszinierend und innovativ.

Auf den ersten Blick könnte man meinen es sei eine Utopie, wenn man aber das Klassensystem der beschriebenen Gesellschaft betrachtet, erkennt man sehr schnell, dass es sich entsprechend dem Titel des Buches um eine Aristokratie handelt. Einfache Menschen, sogenannte Demos, sehen in den Aristoi ihre Götter und beten diese entsprechend an. Durch Examen haben sie die Möglichkeit aufzusteigen und z.B. ein Therápôn zu werden, Mitglied einer Art Verwaltungsklasse, die selbst wiederum die Möglichkeit hat, zum Aristos aufzusteigen.

Aristos Gabriel ist wie alle anderen Aristoi auch für seine Welten und die Bewohner eben dieser verantwortlich. Wir folgen ihn und seinen Daimonen und schon zu Beginn erfährt man, dass in der Welt von „Aristoi“ auch Homosexualität etwas alltägliches ist, dass Geschlechter angepasst werden können, auch zeitweise um z.B. als Mann eine Schwangerschaft erleben zu können usw.

Die Themen sind sehr komplex und Williams entwirft eine Gesellschaft, die mir in dieser Form noch nicht untergekommen ist, eingebettet in eine spannende Geschichte, die den Leser auch über den spaltenweisen Schreibstil hinweg transportiert.

Fazit
Ein sehr anspruchsvolles Buch im Science Fiction-Bereich, das ich sicherlich noch ein zweites Mal lesen werde um zu sehen, was mir beim erstmaligen Lesen entgangen ist. Kein Buch für Genre-Einsteiger aber definitiv sehr lesenswert für alle Fans, die innovative Ideen zu schätzen wissen.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel dates from the early 90s, when science fiction was absorbing and reworking the early themes of cyberpunk. It combines elements of implanted technologies with older space opera motifs in an attractive way. The ubiquitous use of nanotechnology, relatively new in SF at the time, serves to fuel the story.

SF has often toyed with the idea of technologically advanced humans acting as gods, or literally setting themselves up as gods (cf., Zelazny's 'Lord of Light', the 'Amber' series, and Simmons' 'Ilium'). As with those books, the Aristoi of this book rule over lesser humans; some are actually worshiped as gods. And as with those other books, there is a revolt by some of the advanced humans against the entrenched oligarchy.

Hubris is a big theme in SF; the hubris of people who think they know better because their tech is better. Sometimes it's the hubris of those who object to the hubris of others that is criticized. After all, no matter how powerful or benign their intentions, is there anyone beyond reproach or examination?

This book started off slowly for me, and I did have trouble with the hubris of the main character long before he was forced to face it himself. However, the book picked up in the middle section and I raced through the end to find out how Williams would resolve the issues.

Williams is an adept author, knowledgeable of SF themes and a fine craftsman of plot and character. (He also wrote the best alternate Civil War story I have read, 'No Spot of Ground', contained in his collection 'Facets'.) I have enjoyed some of his more recent books and thought I would go back to sample some of his earlier work. While this book is a product of its time, it held up pretty well and was quite enjoyable.

A caveat: there is some fairly graphic physical violence that might upset some readers who care to avoid such scenes.

[Hester · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have recently been reading reviews of fantasy and YA novels where people complain the author dumbs things down for the audience, but isn't any smarter than his or her readers. I frequently feel the opposite about science fiction, the most extreme case being "Probability Moon," by Nancy Kress. I was feeling that way about this intricate novel, until I got to the tango scene. I was blaming the story's emotional emptiness on my inability to understand the action. Williams says "The fascination of the tango...is that it combines an extreme sensuality with an extreme emotional distance(134)." He then proceeds to dress the characters inappropriately and when they start to dance, the man ANNOUNCES THE MOVES HE IS GOING TO LEAD. The tango's sensuality comes from the embrace, from which the couple communicates through an awareness of the other's slightest motion. Through this one scene, the author betrayed his complete ignorance.


Later update: I decided not to finish this book because the character was awful. I found, by skipping to the end, that the character was supposed to be awful and was supposed to be redeemed, but I just could not stand to read a couple hundred more pages of him.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very tiresome book. The story had some creative points, but it was mostly just tiresome. Main strikes against it:
1) It's a utopia. Whatever else a utopia can be, it makes for a dreadfully dull book. But I could've overlooked that (it ventures outside the utopia), except that...
2) It's a preachy utopian book. The worst kind. I don't read sci-fi to get preached at: I don't have much respect for the philosophical pretensions of sci-fi authors. I don't mind thought-provoking discussion or speculation, but this was preachy. Finally,
3) Way too much sex. Yes, it's THAT kind of utopia, at least for the pompous, self-satisfied, virtually omnipotent people at the top of the strict caste system in this utopia.
I hated the utopia, and was really hoping that the ending would be some sort of insightful critique about what was good about it and what was bad, or something redeeming, but nope. There were a few bright spots, but overall, not worth the read.

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed review. I had a hard time getting into this book, as the start was mostly a long introduction of imaginary names and inventions. I put the book down for several months before coming back to it and giving it another try. Ultimately I found it very rewarding. A good science fiction thriller. I think Aristoi will appeal most to programmers and engineers, as the Aristoi are the most advanced of programmers/engineers/thinkers/artists and are effectively gods.

While not among my favorite books, I found it very worthwhile.

[Tammie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the worst books I've ever tried to read. The way it's written makes it very confusing and hard to even understand. What was the author smoking when he wrote this and why would anyone give it 4 or 5 stars? When I got to the part where the guy is being surgically impregnated, oh and the guy doing the surgery was being assisted by a talking dog, I knew it was time to put it down.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only got a quarter of the way through this. It's afflicted with Hard SF Disease, meaning that I couldn't figure out what was going on and I didn't like or care about the characters.

[Haris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing, although I don't suppose I'm the right audience for this. This book, and Walter Jon Williams generally, is absolutely fantastic at things that I don't care about at all in novels. The world-building is exquisitely detailed: several new technologies (multiple minds, virtual reality, nanotechnology, behavioral conditioning, and many others) are developed and described in great detail, and the rigid social organization is similarly described in all its nuances. That bores me. All of that is stuff I try to get past until we get to something resembling a plot, which we barely do. Ended up skimming the second half and reading the Wikipedia plot summary. The primary challenge is straight-forward and offers little in terms of surprise. Worse, the philosophical underpinnings driving the plot are disappointingly shallow, more appropriate for a rebellious high-schooler than WJW. I'll put that under the fold because of spoilers.
As adorable as it is to think that a rich and safe society is necessarily decadent and self-destructive [all of Wall-E is based on it, and I didn't like that, either], the novel doesn't show ANY of that. While the political hierarchy is rigid, with castes and examinations and the issues that presents, societies are still advancing in safety and wealth. Even innovation, usually the first victim of tyranny, is proceeding: we get stories of new materials, new medical technologies, even new arts being produced constantly. Where, exactly, are the stultifying effects of the existing order? How, exactly, are they remedied by introducing suffering?
The only problem, if you want to see it, lies in the political organization and concentration of power at the top, even though the effects seem to be mostly good. But rather than challenging the power structure, the plot is driven buy actions completely unrelated to the alleged problem. (I say alleged because, as I said, everything seems to still be advancing.)

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walter Jon Williams takes us mellennia into the future where the Arsitoi, the best of the best of the new Humanity, rule in a kind of oligarchy over the billions of Demos, regular citizens. The original Earth succumbed to weaponized nanites called mataglap, which reduced the biosphere to a uniform grey goo. Recovery took a long time and now the Logarchy is serene and its constituents reasonably content. Humans have now embraced and controlled what in more primitive times would have been called imaginary friends, Limited Personalities, which are now integrated and readily accessible and utilised. The onierochron, a kind of dream tachyonic virtual sphere, is used for communication and the daemons (limited personalities) can be used independently for tasks. The Ariste Gabriel has discovered through an unexpected communique with another Aristoi that data in the central records, thought impregnable, have been altered. This leads to the discovery of a heinous experiment being conducted on the fringes of Logarchy space by an Aristoi who has clearly gone insane. He has not only terraformed planets but has created the human life forms on it and is running barbaric experiments, not just playing God but actually being one! The first third of the book is sedate and sets up the remainder, which becomes a fast-paced and exciting game of cat and mouse. Well worth a read!

[Gilles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Les Aristoï : des humains et des quasi dieux, améliorés génétiquement, avec un longévité accrue, des personnalités multiples et les moyens de terraformer des planètes et de les peupler, grâce à leurs connaissances en sciences (génétique, nanotechnologie, informatique, etc.). Chacun a son domaine stellaire et ses démos (humains normaux), qu'il gère avec l'aide d'une équipe d'humains améliorés, dont certains ont le potentiel de devenir Aristoï.

Gabriel, l'un des plus brillants des AristoÏ, s'occupe, avec son domaine, sa musique, ses recherches et ses amours. Mais, une AristoÏ l'informe qu'un autre AristoÏ a fourni de fausses informations sur un secteur supposément non habitable de la galaxie et a, en plus, corrompu les informations des banques de données pour se couvrir. Intrigué, Gabriel se met à enquêter et s'aperçoit bientôt que le danger pourrait menacer les Aristoï, ainsi que tous les humains.

L'auteur a misé sur un style poétique et assez flamboyant pour raconter une histoire un peu convenue.
Le début est assez lent, mais une fois habitué, on se laisse emporter.
J'ai beaucoup aimé.

[Space Orlando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a terrific space opera god adventure story! The way I described this book to people was this: this is a space opera about gods that become humanized. I mentioned Homer and his humanizing of his Olympians. So there's a long cherished tradition here going back throughout time, the western canon, of pathos, from Plato. In addition to that, the momentum of the book never really stops, not even at the very bitter end. The story itself isn't remarkable, its rather predictable, and we've seen this same science fiction space opera tropes used time and time again within the golden age of science fiction and even the cyberpunk and new wave, it's rather space opera cliché. However, it is the way he tells the story that is truly a thrill. The style is simple but downright effective. It was never dull. I'm somewhat of a science fiction connoisseur but I missed this one. I would even say it's a required science fiction reading in the genre of space opera. It would be extremely difficult for a new science fiction writer in 2021 to write a space opera this good. It might even be downright impossible unless it was coming from overseas [not the US], maybe China.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the far future, a meritocracy of sorts exist, with those who pass the most difficult tests awarded the rank of Aristoi and the power over the most dangerous technologies, as well as domains where they can pursue their own interests and rule their own empires, with certain restrictions. One of these Aristoi comes across a conspiracy that may reach to the very heart of their civilization.

Honestly, I didn't much care for this one, not outright dislike, but overall a sense of disinterest. There were a few cool ideas explored but largely I just didn't really find even the 'good' characters all that sympathetic, nor was I particularly interested in what they were doing, even while they were opposed to eviler characters. The ideas I liked, I didn't feel like it lived up to the promise at all, and there were a few concepts the book was built on that just didn't work for me.

Sometimes a book just leaves you cold, and that was the case for me.

[John JJJJJJJJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aristoi, a Space Opera with Cyberpunk elements. Although I don't like Cyberpunk, I enjoyed this rather original work.

The novel begins with a presentation of the universe. And this is a good idea, as it allows the reader to understand the environment: the Aristoi and the Daimones, the onirochrone (virtual reality); and to introduce the characters.

The plot, the real one, begins with an assassination and the discovery of a terraformed planet in secrecy. The level of this planet is comparable to the late Middle Ages, early Renaissance.

The plot on this planet was just excellent. But the rest, the last 100 pages, were still below that. All in all, a good read.

On the other hand, it's not an action novel, like traditional Space Opera. If that's what you're looking for, then skip it. Aristoi is more of a philosophical work. In fact, the novel is full of references to Greek mythology: Aristoi (aristocrats), Daimon (demon). It's also full of Greek words.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have this book for quite a while, and just got around to it. I normally really like books by Williams, but this one left me a little perplexed. I think the largest problem for me was that the world setting is quite different and involves a lot of terminology that just took me time to get my head around. Once I did get used to the terminology, it flowed better for me. It's a... benign caste society if there can be such a thing, and perhaps I'd have had more traction earlier if more traditional terminology was used instead of a new set of terms. Nevertheless, considering the book as a whole now that I'm done, it's not the one I would recommend to someone who hadn't read any of Williams work before. That would be... the Dread Empire series, or the Drake Majistral series.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst this isn't the best sci-fi novel I've ever read, Williams has truly succeeded in creating a unique work here, elevating a relatively simple plot by creating a race of superhumans that kept me enthralled from start to finish.
He introduces so many clever evolutions that the book continually feels like it is set in a far future and (whilst initially confusing) his literary devices in delivering multiple personalities and conversations in multiple simultaneous locations are what keeps this novel fresh throughout.
Really very good!