When Raisa Hopeland, determined to win her race to become the next electromancer of London, bumps into Amon Brightbourne―tweed-suited, otherworldly, guided by the Grace―in the middle of a London riot, she sets in motion a series of events which will span decades, continents, and a series of events which will change the world. We don’t learn what happened to Amon after this shattering break for some time. But finally he resurfaces—in Ava’u, of all places, the omphalos of the Hopeland mystique. His new destiny at first seems that of merely an eccentric expatriate. But circumstances soon propel him too onto the global stage. And then comes the grand reunion of the two star-crossed lovers, amidst much international tumult and fanfare. A time-traveling, futuristic saga of a family trying to outlast and remake a universe with a power unlike any we've seen before.

Hopeland by Ian McDonald | Goodreads

Locus Awards Finalists". Locus Science Fiction Foundation. 29 May 2020 . Retrieved 30 May 2020– via Locusmag.com.

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She is a rooftop away already, crouching against the air-glow of Rich- mond Buildings like a superheroine. The higher lights of Soho Square hang like a sequin curtain behind her.

Ian McDonald’s “Hopeland” - Medium Ian McDonald’s “Hopeland” - Medium

For all that I can see Hopeland as perhaps being Ian’s best work – and I am sure that there will be other readers who love it – I liked it, rather than loved it. Frankly, there were times where it became a slog, where I just wanted the plot to get on with it. Call this science fiction: it is concerned with the future, with the climate, with what happens when whole nations get destroyed by weather. It is also concerned with a different conception of human relations: not a nation; not a cult; not a religion. Praxy not doxy: what you do, not what you believe. On one level, Hopeland reminds me of Robert Charles Wilson’s The Affinities. Call it science fiction then. Not just climate science and speculation about the future, but the social sciences. Seriously though I was a third of the way through this book and still had no idea what sort of book I was reading. I was barely even sure of the genre. In terms of concept, I loved the idea of this one. I wanted to fall deeply into a speculative fiction story mixed with a family epic.He sees the moment the life and hope run out of a man. He sees him go to his knees. He hears a thing he hoped never to hear again, a man howl as if his bones were wrenched through flesh. In the name of love, he has done the worst thing in his life. Beautifuly written, masterly delivered, and I just couldn't care less about the people and the (quite epic and eventful) plot. I'm pretty sure it's me. What else? Corporate and geopolitical shenanigans, the squabbles of gods and an element of possible fantasy or magic that is very much part of the texture of the story but kept as subsidiary theme. Again, any other author I can think of would make 'electromancers' fighting duels with Tesla coils across the rooftops, and declaring themselves the protectors of London, the centre of the story. Or else the cursed family with its own haunting spirit. Or... Instead, here those things are real and important but very far from being at the centre of things, rather they deepen and add weight to what is a glorious, complex and engaging story, one that creates an entrancing world of its own and one that it is simply a joy to visit. The novel opens in 2011 London during the riots. The initial sections had shades of The Invisibles and Rivers of London, with their cool and stylish depiction of mysterious quasi-supernatural organisations. The main characters are introduced as adventurous youths and as avatars for the spiritual-familial organisations they belong to. Their meeting is quite brief then they split protagonist duties for much of the remaining narrative, which sprawls decades into the future. I enjoyed following Raisa and Amon (all the names in this book are great), both excellent characters with fascinating families. Raisa settles in Iceland, while Amon ends up on the island kingdom of Ava' u. Once the narrative reaches the future, a more whimsical Kim Stanley Robinson style prevails and both protagonists' lives are significantly shaped by climate change. There is limited focus on technology and more on human connections via family (of birth and/or choice), spiritual belief, co-operative projects, music, and culture. Hopeland is a wonderfully rich novel, full of vivid images and memorable moments. The fantastical elements are made wonderfully meaningful by their grounding in relationships, communities, and cultures. A time-traveling, futuristic saga of a family trying to outlast and remake a universe with a power unlike any we’ve seen before.

Hopeland by Ian McDonald - Tor/Forge Blog Excerpt Reveal: Hopeland by Ian McDonald - Tor/Forge Blog

Liptak, Andrew (31 March 2018). "Read an excerpt from Luna author Ian McDonald's heartbreaking new time-travel romance". The Verge . Retrieved 2 April 2018. Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 1995 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End . Retrieved 3 May 2009. The sky beats with sudden noise. A television news helicopter comes in low and hard over the roof of Debenham’s. The swivel camera hangs like a testicle from the helicopter’s thorax. It turns above Oxford Circus, seeking newsworthy shots. Mob looks up, poses: its CNN moment. Science Fiction & Fantasy Books by Award: 1991 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End . Retrieved 29 March 2009. And that's where the real core of this novel comes to play: The world itself, from the early early days of the Hopeland people to where we really follow our MCs in the early 2010's, and how they grow older, change to the ecological disasters and upheavals deep into the 2030's and beyond.

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We don’t look at time right. We’re chronologically lopsided. We can think about millions of years in the past but not millions of years in the future. We can think about the age of the dinosaurs, or the Romans, but we can’t push our minds two thousand years ahead, let alone millions... We can think about the time when we were not, but we can’t think about the time when we will not be. [loc. 1726]

Hopeland (Library Edition) by Ian McDonald | Goodreads Hopeland (Library Edition) by Ian McDonald | Goodreads

It’s not quite a novel, more like a collection of micro narratives with recurring themes and characters, the whole thing connected together mostly by the passage of time. Now the drinkers see the girl on the porch and they are in an adven- ture. She turns, lowers herself over the edge of the porch, hangs from the lip, drops. She hits the slope of the bench, skis down into the street and is across the road, over the bonnet of a tight-parked Peugeot 205, down an alley, up an industrial bin, then a wall, then a fire exit to a high coaming. by commentators, guest bloggers, reviewers, and interviewees are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of Locus magazine or its staff.

Yes, there is a future history here, too, but it's not the science fiction aspect that I loved most -- it was the amazingly optimistic view of humanity. While it has a little romance and a little tragedy, I don't really see this as a genuine star-crossed lovers kind of romance. Not at all. Their lives are beautiful, whether they are together or apart. This is more of a FAMILY saga, one that keeps developing, adapting, growing stronger even while the world changes so much.