Cat’s cradle
★★★★★
Written at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, Cat’s Cradle is a cautionary tale of ice-nine - a world-ending technology that will crystalise all water into a new state. Don’t expect an action thriller - this is a typical Vonnegut novel where the characters are mostly clueless idiots for whom things aren’t going to turn out well. The novel isn’t about saving the world; it’s about how science and religion are putting power into the hands of those ill-equipped to handle it.
Beyond the central conceit, the science fiction is thin on the ground. The novel concentrates on telling the stories of its ensemble cast in a Wes Anderson-esque series of short and bizarre vignettes. The absurdist humour of many of these stories balances the bleak backdrop, while not pulling any punches.
I really enjoyed this one - it made me giggle in places, and I loved the inventive backstories and baroquely detailed characters. The story has particular resonance as we enter an age where AI-driven advances in synthetic biology have the potential to make existential technologies accessible in the kitchens of just about anyone. Our modern Felix Hoenikker will be an ethically clueless AI handing out dangerous weapons to anyone who can string a prompt together. The point is well made that our world is much more likely to end as an idiotic accident than by deliberate action, as the past history of World War Three near misses attests.
