Spin (novel)
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 Cover of first edition (hardcover) |
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| Author | Robert Charles Wilson |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
| Released | 2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-765-30938-6 |
Spin is a science fiction novel by author Robert Charles Wilson. It was published in 2005 and won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2006.
Wilson is currently working on a new novel, Axis, which is set in the same universe as Spin[1].
[edit] Plot introduction
Spin details Earth's response to an articifial membrane placed around the planet which selectively blocks and filters incoming electromagnetic radiation, blocking out the view of anything beyond low Earth orbit. The novel is told from the viewpoint of Jason and Diane Lawton, twins of E. D. Lawton (a wealthy industrialist who makes his money from the developing areostat business), and Tyler Dupree, a close childhood friend of Jason and Diane. As children, Jason, Diane, and Tyler witness the dramatic arrival of the "Spin", as the phenomenon comes to be known, when the stars suddenly disappear one night as they are looking at the sky. Initial experiments show that the membrane is permeable, allowing space probes to pass through, but that time outside passes at a highly accelerated rate, roughly 100 million years for every year on Earth 3.17 years for every second. Thus within a generation, the surrounding solar system will age 4 billion years, and Earth will be destroyed by the expanding Sun.
The novel follows four primary protagonists, each of whom respond to the Spin, and to the certain knowledge that humanity is doomed, in distinct ways. E.D. founds a low Earth orbit satellite company and profits spectacularly. Jason becomes a scientist and devotes himself to trying to understand the "Spin". Diane joins a religious cult who views the Spin as part of God's plan for the end times. Tyler becomes a medical doctor who immerses himself in his work, but suffers through a series of existential crises related to the Spin and its obviously alien purposes. As the novel progresses, the Spin matures toward its final form, ultimately revealing its intended purpose.
