Brain Wave

Poul Anderson
Brain Wave Cover

Brain Wave

JamesVirgil
5/25/2012
Email

I really enjoyed this novel. The novel deal with how humans cope with a sudden burst of increased intelligence. The book tells two parallel tales. One details a group of intellectuals; the other tells the story of a man who is dense before the uplift. The brainwave also affects animals and the second story explores that aspect.

Anderson writes the dialogue using a few conceits that I dodn't care for and found distracting. As humans progress in intelligence they are able to convey more by saying less, but then Anderson has to fill in the blanks for us by showing the subtext in a clunky manner. He also introduces a character or two that we never hear from again to give us a global perspective. Otherwise I found the book well written and entertaining. I recommend this book and gave it 4/5.