Robert Charles Wilson has become one my favorite science fiction writers because he melds intriguing ideas with fully realized characters and an elegant narrative style. Unlike many SF authors, his scientific musings never overwhelm the underlying story. Spin follows the intertwined lives of twins Jason and Diane Lawton and their childhood friend, Typer Dupree. On a cold autumn evening, they watch the stars and moon disappear from the sky. The sun continues to rise and set every day, but the confused and scared inhabitants of Earth soon realize that something much more momentous is happening. Whatever made the stars disappear has also disrupted satellite communications. Probes sent into space (and then returned to Earth) reveal that the planet has been enclosed in some kind of artificial membrane. And for every year that passes here on Earth, 100 million years are elapsing beyond the membrane. In the span of a few decades, Earth will be incinerated by an aging sun.
This phenomenon–the Spin–defines and shapes the lives of these three friends. They cope with impending doom in different ways–by joining religious cults, by overseeing a determined scientific quest to determine the intent of the Spin’s unseen creators, or by simply attempting to lead a relatively normal life. Wilson constructs a plot that is cinematic in scope but that remains grounded in the intertwined paths of Jason, Diane, and Tyler. His slow reveal of the Spin’s true purpose is expertly handled, as is the unfolding destinies of the three main characters. This is one of the best SF novels I’ve read in some time and it richly deserves the accolades that have been heaped upon it.
I’m now reading Lee Child’s guilty-pleasure thriller The Hard Way.
Thank you for the recommendation. I picked the book up yesterday and am enjoying it greatly.