Lake of Darkness by Adam Roberts: A Story of Highs and Lows

Quick summary

• The New Scientist Book Club reviewed Adam Roberts’s Lake of Darkness, a hard science fiction novel exploring utopian societies, black hole physics, and philosophical themes.
• The book begins wiht two spaceships orbiting a black hole, where one captain hears a mysterious voice commanding murder.
• Readers were divided: some praised its humor, intellectual depth, portrayal of utopia, and hard sci-fi elements.Others criticized its slow pacing, wide vocabulary usage requiring frequent look-ups, and unlikable characters.
• Themes include critiques of utopia-where everything is mechanized or trivialized-and satirical takes on future perceptions of history.
• Mixed reception also highlighted unique character names (e.g., Bartlewasp) and engaging yet puzzling concepts like black hole physics and infinite geometry affecting the novel’s outcome.
• Some felt the ending was baffling but agreed it provoked thought.