In the future, cancer has been cured, but at the price of the longevity of live. People now only live to their 30s, and as such, have to become adults all the more quickly. Society has invented viruses to replace learning, augment immunity and provide human photosynthesis. The Consesnsus is a collective of intelligence, guiding humanity and removing non-normal conformity. In this, the story follows Milena - a woman who is resistant to viruses and suffers from "bad grammar", but the Collective hasn't corrected her. Milena meets and falls for a genetically engineered woman in the form of Rolpha, an opera loving polar bear.

The story follows the discovery, and then production of an operative version of Dante's Divine Comedy. We follow Milena on a very personal journey of love, ambition and determination, where every action she takes as an individual effects the society as a whole - her own Comedy. We fling forwards and backwards in timelines with very little given in terms of narrative markers - this book is a hard read and takes no prisoners. You'll make a huge investment in the characters. Ryman has created a story where you really will care, and that's one of his greatest achievements. There is colossal amounts of detail in the world building, Milena's emotions, and her relationships with those around her. It requires reading in chapters, carefully. Breaking a chapter, or losing concentration, will most likely result in having to start again.

There's a certain amount of exhilaration on completing the story. The story comes to a good, positive conclusion, tying up storylines for the other characters. It feels a very neat book, and that I like - I have a distinct unlike for hanging stories. It's also quite a intimidating story, it provides a different viewpoint to Huxley or Wells while clearly borrowing ideas from both. Our future is a safe future, a utopian future, but probably not the utopia you were expecting.

Read it. But set the time aside to read it, and have a proper think. And I dare you not to cry.