Derek Künsken’s debut novel The Quantum Magician wraps a classic heist story up in hard sci-fi stylings, and delivers everything you’d want from both of those elements. In a distant future where competing Earth nations have expanded into the stars, engineering strange new branches of humanity, opportunities are still rife for hustlers. Belisarius Arjona is homo quantus, engineered to see into the quantum realm without disturbing it, which makes him a superlative con man. When he’s commissioned for a complex job requiring some very specialised help, he recognises the dangers but his pattern-seeking brain can’t resist the intricacy of the challenge.
This is undoubtedly the sort of sci-fi story that will appeal to those who really like the science in science fiction, with plenty of discussion of quantum theory which feels authentic and rooted in real life. That might put some readers off, but it’s all cleverly factored into the story and doesn’t dominate; it’s probably helpful to have at least a loose awareness of the science (even if only the concept of Schrödinger’s cat), but the plot and the characters are strong enough that it’s easy to concentrate on the ongoing narrative without getting too caught up in the theory behind it all. If you can let the science form the backdrop, you can then enjoy a story packed full of wormholes, AIs, cool spaceships and variously fascinating, sinister and downright unpleasant characters, all mixed up in a high-stakes heist.
Belisarius makes for an intriguing protagonist, his homo quantus nature giving him a prodigious intellect and all manner of useful skills, but as his backstory is gradually uncovered it becomes clear that his gifts come at a cost. We see the world through his (and a few other characters’) eyes, which gives the rich world-building a Banksian sense of slowly-revealed depth and detail which requires a little patience – the opening chapters, for example, are packed full of initially baffling information which makes much more sense in retrospect. The reward, however, is a wildly imaginative world populated by characters whose histories are often bleak, verging on horrifying when it comes to the sinister Puppets, but who feel rich, real and wonderfully complex as a result.
It’s quite a long book, but for all the hard science it’s paced quickly with short chapters which cycle through different viewpoints, helping to balance out any sense of complicated theory with clearly identifiable voices (especially foul-mouthed homo eridanus Stills, who rather steals the show), and maintain focus on the heist itself. Without spoiling any of the surprises, it’s an entertainingly plotted narrative which should please anyone looking for a sci-fi caper, a wide-reaching con full of precise planning, considerable risk and a satisfying pay off. Overall this is a book which rewards the reader who wants to pay attention and be challenged a little, and as long as you’re happy with a bit of quantum mechanics in your sci-fi it provides a fantastic opportunity to explore a dark but remarkably relatable future.
Click this link to buy The Quantum Magician (or this for the audiobook version).