Book Review: Diaspora by Greg Egan

Diaspora is a captivating science fiction novel by Australian writer Greg Egan that evokes complex physics ideas through the tale of the development of the human race through space and its encounters with numerous alien creatures.

Synopsis

Set on Earth in a divided human society in a distant future, this story starts by showcasing how different Earth has become. The human way of life is split into three categories:

• The citizens, virtual entities whose brains have been uploaded into a computer-simulated environment where they are immortal. They live in a world of endless possibilities.
• The gleisners. These are software robots who house human spirits. They do not live on Earth but occupy other areas of the solar system.
• The fleshers. The fleshers are an evolved form of homo sapiens that have managed to modify their genes and become a more efficient version of their past selves. They exist in separated societies on Earth’s soil.

The balance between these societies is broken when the burst of energy from a neutron star reaches Earth, forcing the fleshers to become virtual citizens or perish.

This shock will destabilize the foundations of life for humanity and will push certain citizens to explore far into the unknown world and desperately try to understand the unexpected energy burst that destroyed flesher society and confounded the most brilliant.

I sincerely recommend this book because it has provided me with an amazing read and brought me to ponder the events of our future. Egan manages to portray the complexity of science coupled with the plethora of emotions that binds human life. He illustrates the human search for purpose and discovery in a beautiful manner and his story presents an interesting outlook on the human future.