Charles Stross’ debut novel is set in the twenty-fifth century, in a world where society has depended for several hundred years on faster-than-light travel and an artificial intelligence called the Eschaton. The Eschaton is a time-travelling ultra-powerful being, descended from humans, that rules the universe.

“Before the singularity, human beings living on earth had looked at the stars and consoled themselves in their isolation with the comforting belief that the universe didn’t care.

Unfortunately they were mistaken.

Out of the blue, one summer day in the middle of the twenty-first century, something unprecedented inserted itself into the swarming anthill of terrestrial civilization and stirred it with a stick. What it was- a manifestation of a strongly superhuman intelligence, as far beyond an augmented human’s brain as a human mind is beyond that of a frog- wasn’t in question. Where it was from, to say nothing of when it was from as a other matter.”

Despite his use of cutting-edge nanotechnology and his ironic portrayal of post-industrial society and political corruption, Stross’ Singularity Sky doesn’t bring anything new to science fiction. The plot tends to flag at times, and his characters could be better developed. Sometimes Stross spends too much time explaining his advanced technology and too little time depicting the people who use it. A disappointing read, the book is little more than another old-fashioned space opera, which is sad because Stross had the potential to do so much more.

The sequel, The Iron Sunrise, is due for publication by Ace in July 2004.