Newton's Cannon (book 1 of The Age Of Unreason) by Greg Keyes

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Newton's Cannon (book 1 of The Age Of Unreason) by Greg Keyes
01/11/2004 . Source: Jennifer Howell

pub: TOR. 368 page paperback. Price: £ 6.99 (UK). ISBN: 1-330-41997-8.

Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK.

check out website: www.toruk.com

Having appreciated Greg Keyes' latest series, 'Kingdom Of Thorn And Bone', it's an interesting experience going back in this, the re-issue of the first of his 1998 'The Age Of Unreason' series.

Probably best described as alternate history for people who don't think they like alternate history (that would be me, then), it's something of a breakneck romp through an 18th century that (thankfully) never was, with huge doses of weird science, alchemic impossibilities and enough double-dealing, sex and politics to keep most ordinary historical novels busy for a few hundred pages.

If you can buy the fact that Isaac Newton did a hell of a lot more than just have a painful interlude with a falling apple, it's insanely and scarily enjoyable. Somehow, I never anticipate Keyes being as dark and depressing as his books frequently can be and it leads to an intriguing tension between the euphoria of scientific discovery that crops up again and again and the horrible uses to which certain people want to put these discoveries to.

Newton's discovery, the mythical 'Philosopher's Mercury', turns out to have a lot more impact then, say, the whole gravity thing. With the advent of a science that can change the very matter of something (it gets very Star Trek in that way), this is a world with 'aetherscreibers' that can talk across oceans and fabulous weapons that can turn a castle's walls to glass before shattering them completely. With a vicious war raging between France and England, it is of course the weapons that demand attention.

The action veers quite evenly between a young Benjamin Franklin (yes, that Benjamin Franklin!) wreaking scientific havoc in the backwater of Boston and the brilliant and beautiful Adrienne de Mornay de Montchevreuil, a courtier of Louis XIV of France, forced to conceal her mathematical skills amidst a mire of political intrigue. The fact that both hold separate pieces of a puzzle that can set in motion the worst weapon of them all keeps the narrative bound tightly between them.

Ben, very much the child prodigy, apprenticed to a printer and yet constantly inventing things that really shouldn't exist at all, is pursued by a mysterious and terrifying creature that may well not be human. Adrienne, for all her intelligence, catches the eye of Louis, a king who has become unnaturally immortal. As Adrienne is drawn deeper into the connivances of Versailles, she must decide whether to will continue to play the part of a pawn in a game she does not understand.

For all the playing Keyes gets to do with fabulous scientific concepts, the characters remain at the heart of everything - Adrienne especially kept reminding me of an early version of Anne Dare in 'The Briar King' - and enough twisty plots to keep your brain ticking over. Your knowledge of science, history or famous faces isn't really being tested - if you know your Ben Franklin, enjoy the homage, if not, he's just a kid named Ben Franklin. It shouldn't impact your enjoyment as such considering what else you're being asked to swallow...

There's a distinct temptation at first to label this as something lightweight - it's slightly silly in places but at heart, it's really far darker and deeper than you would expect. As the plot moves on, it certainly gets more traumatic (Keyes likes to make his characters suffer if he possibly can) and complicated. In a world where most adult genre fiction these days seems to be tarted-up YA fodder with added sex and death, it's nice to see something that cuts as deep and is as grown-up as 'Newton's Cannon'. Its re-issue now is a good opportunity for those who took a liking to the standard of writing and characterisation in 'The Briar King' to see Keyes move in a different speculative direction and I think I can pretty much guarantee it's like nothing you've ever read before.
Jennifer Howell

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