Dante's Equation | ||||||||
Jane Jensen | ||||||||
Del Rey, 484 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Victoria Strauss
Kobinski left behind a manuscript, The Book of Torment. In it, mixing hard science with mysticism, he claimed to have
discovered an actual physical law of good and evil -- a theory of space-time symbolically represented by the Kabbalah Tree of
Life, which expresses the process through which God, the unknowable, descends to the material world via his ten emanations,
or Sefirot. After World War II, Kobinski's manuscript was lost. But now it's starting to turn up, in bits and pieces. If
the whole thing can be reconstructed, Kobinski's theories may lead to astonishing new technologies -- or catastrophically
dangerous ones.
Jill Talcott does prove her equation, with the help of her research assistant, Nate; but the tests she conducts result in a
deadly explosion, and she realizes that her breakthrough is far more hazardous than she suspected. The explosion draws the
attention of Calder Ferris -- and also alerts Aharon Handelman, whose Torah code arrays have inexplicably begun to turn up
not just Kobinski's name, but Jill's. Astonished to realize how uncannily their research prefigures Kobinski's, Jill and Nate
head with Aharon for Poland, on the trail of The Book of Torment, which they hope will tell them more; they're also
desperate to lose the intelligence agents who are now on their trail. But Calder Ferris isn't so easy to shake. Meanwhile
Denton Wyle, doggedly researching Kobinski's vanishing, is also hunting for The Book of Torment. Precipitous events
draw all of them to the clearing outside of Auschwitz where Kobinski disappeared -- where, as they find out, the force that
took him is still waiting.
Dante's Equation (Dante is never mentioned in the book, but the context makes the reference obvious) has more the feel
of a thriller than science fiction, complicated scientific theories and the characters' journeys to alien worlds
notwithstanding. All the thriller ingredients are there: the scientist with the dangerous discovery, the scary government
operative, the greedy powers that be, the desperate race to find/steal/contain the threat. But not many thrillers feature
pompous Jewish rabbis as viewpoint characters, or so inventively mix science with mysticism. I'm not knowledgeable enough
to judge the plausibility of Jill's energy pool theory or her one-minus-one universal wave; but the integration of Kabbalistic
lore with these ideas is entirely convincing, producing a vision of a multiverse where the notion of good and evil isn't
merely a philosophical or spiritual concept, but a reflection of the actual physical nature of existence. Jane Jensen is careful
to make clear that "good" and "evil", with all their moral baggage, are subjective concepts, while the universal forces these
ideas reflect are simply physical laws, devoid of moral weight. Also, for all the lavish employment of religious imagery,
she is wise enough to leave relative the question of God. While Aharon finds in his experience a new and restored faith, to
Jill it's all about science.
Not so many thrillers, either, are as character-driven as this one. Several of the viewpoint characters less than fully
likeable, but all are vivid individuals, whose deftly-drawn failings and strengths believably drive their choices and shape
the novel's action. The skillfulness of these characterizations becomes especially apparent in the second part of the
book, when Aharon, Denton, Calder, and Jill with Nate in tow are whisked off to worlds that reflect their deepest natures
in ways that only slowly become fully clear. This is very cleverly done -- a science fictional version of the sort of
allegorical tale in which people get their just deserts. Again, though, everything's relative, for the worlds on the
"good" or light side of the multiverse are just as negative in their way as the ones on the "bad" or dark side. And
while the nature of the worlds and the societies that develop on them are inalterably dictated by their location in the
multiverse, individuals aren't quite so constrained. In the face of physical laws and spiritual determinism, it's personal
choice that makes all the difference.
A few of the plot turns seem a little forced -- Aharon's realization that Jill is the TLCTT he has seen in his Torah code
arrays, for instance -- and there's some handwaving in the final section about exactly how Jill et al. return to Earth. But
these are minor quibbles. Fast-paced, suspenseful, and intellectually engaging, Dante's Equation is thoroughly
enjoyable reading. Anyone who was tempted to hurl Dan Brown's wooden and overhyped The Da Vinci Code across the
room might want to give this book a try; if you're looking for a well-written thriller full of religious symbology and
exciting action, this is the real thing.
Victoria Strauss is a novelist, and a lifelong reader of fantasy and science fiction. Her most recent fantasy novel The Garden of the Stone is currently available from HarperCollins EOS. For details, visit her website. |
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