The Chronoliths is the first book I’ve read by Robert Charles Wilson, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The title is a clever portmanteau, combining the words Chronology and Monolith. One-by-one, monuments are arriving, proclaiming victories in future battles: inscriptions on the ‘Chronoliths’ proclaim that Kuin, an enigmatic ruler, is the man behind the conquests. The continuing arrival of monuments induces a societal feeling of inevitability, a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the youth of the world begin to accept a pre-determined future world leader: a fanatical portion of society even feels that to fight the inevitable would be illogical, and possibly harmful.
The novel is well written, but I was never fully drawn into the plight of the characters: the plot felt a bit contrived, and there wasn’t enough depth to become immersed in the story. The novel is a light, social-science fiction read with some interesting ideas, and I recommend it as a pleasant diversion.
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db johnston
almost falling 