Gnomon

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By Nick Harkaway

Publisher Description

From the widely acclaimed author of The Gone-Away World and Tigerman, comes a virtuosic new novel set in a near-future, high-tech surveillance state, that is equal parts dark comedy, gripping detective story, and mind-bending philosophical puzzle.

"A Pynchonesque mega-novel that periodically calls to mind the films of Inception and The Matrix…. What a ride!" —The Washington Post

In the world of Gnomon, citizens are constantly observed and democracy has reached a pinnacle of 'transparency.' Every action is seen, every word is recorded, and the System has access to its citizens' thoughts and memories—all in the name of providing the safest society in history.

When suspected dissident Diana Hunter dies in government custody, it marks the first time a citizen has been killed during an interrogation. The System doesn't make mistakes, but something isn't right about the circumstances surrounding Hunter's death. Mielikki Neith, a trusted state inspector and a true believer in the System, is assigned to find out what went wrong. Immersing herself in neural recordings of the interrogation, what she finds isn't Hunter but rather a panorama of characters within Hunter's psyche: a lovelorn financier in Athens who has a mystical experience with a shark; a brilliant alchemist in ancient Carthage confronting the unexpected outcome of her invention; an expat Ethiopian painter in London designing a controversial new video game, and a sociopathic disembodied intelligence from the distant future.

Embedded in the memories of these impossible lives lies a code which Neith must decipher to find out what Hunter is hiding. In the static between these stories, Neith begins to catch glimpses of the real Diana Hunter—and, alarmingly, of herself. The staggering consequences of what she finds will reverberate throughout the world.

A dazzling, panoramic achievement, and Nick Harkaway's most brilliant work to date, Gnomon is peerless and profound, captivating and irreverent, as it pierces through strata of reality and consciousness, and illuminates how to set a mind free. It is a truly accomplished novel from a mind possessing a matchless wit infused with a deep humanity.

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39 Reviews

3.5

PiSisPeggy

Created about 1 month ago

“How does one review this one? Do I break my own oath to never read any others’ reviews before writing my own? No, couldn’t. But sorely tempted to. And didn’t need to compare it to The Matrix or Inception because it’s already in the blurb. And then Eureka! there it was, “straight from the horse’s cerebellum” in the Acknowledgments! “My editors should get bravery medals for tackling this one. How do you work on a book which contains layers of puzzles and references the author has himself largely forgotten as he moves on to the next and the next? With patience and rigour, of course, and they did.” Hades bells, Us Readers should also get medals for this one. How did we read, interpret, solve this multilayered puzzle & reference filled book that…even the author himself! We were not alone. With patience, for all the wooorrrds to be looked up & learned and rigour, for all the characters to follow & to love and/or be repulsed by. We did🏅 “What is the difference between a person & a book? We can know the truth of neither. Both are encoded things seeking to make themselves clear. Both must be read & quickened within us” Trippy. Shark motif Magic numbers 4 & 5 True life, dreams or games?”

Reviewed in:Umbraphilia

Multi-layered charactersBeautifully writtenFunny writingSuspensefulTwistyUnpredictableBeautiful settingImmersive settingDarkThought-provoking

Michelle

Created about 2 months ago

“A coin. On one side, a cautionary tale about giving an author access to the code of your brain. Flip it over. On the side, under Lincoln’s chin, the perils of requesting root access to a large system. Look closer. It’s not a coin, it’s an eight-sided die, wriggling and reshaping in your hands. Run your fingers through an intricate braid of stories, feel it tug at your scalp. Then, sigh in relief as you release it at the end of the night. This is the experience of reading Gnomon.”

Reviewed in:Umbraphilia

Diverse charactersMulti-layered charactersBeautifully writtenComing of age

PJ 🗑️🐼

Created 2 months ago

“It's a difficult undertaking doing a review of a book you love this much without just giving away all the best details. What a wild ride! Somehow Harkaway managed to weave so many of the societal and governmental issues that we face today into the story without making it feel forced. There was a surprisingly wonderful amount of dry wit littered throughout. I found myself invested in the characters and I personally enjoyed the amount of independent, driven, and strong female characters portrayed. This is without a doubt a language heavy and detailed story and if you don't give it your full attention you will miss quite a bit of the small things that will allow the big picture to come together. There are a lot of moving pieces that this author ties together in such a creative way. And that ending! About halfway through you think you have it all figured out but, it's just the start.”

Reviewed in:Umbraphilia

Ezra

Created 2 months ago

“Riveting, cerebral, and fun asf. Reviewing this book without giving away its secrets is a challenge. Intriguing language and a sly narrative structure makes for a heady hypnotic ride gliding you from page to page. A book that makes a seductive case for close reading and note-taking. A book with an endlessly arrogant conceit that I resented all the way through but had to concede worked flawlessly. One of the best books I've read in a while. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️”

Reviewed in:Umbraphilia

Beautifully writtenAddictiveThought-provoking

Created 4 months ago

“Yeah. YEAH! I just love the way Harkaway writes. I hope nobody ever asks me to explain this book fully, but I'd go for 'sci-fi mystery with fantastical elements.' While the Matrix feels like an obvious reference point, I'd add Inception and Sucker Punch to the film comps. It's hard to pitch the framework because fictional utopian societies that are actually revealed to be dystopian are not new, especially in the framework of fears around the surveillance state, having your mind no longer be a private space, and possibly having your own thoughts/ workings of society manipulated by others via tech are themes that loom large these days. But Harkaway has this truly, splendidly powerful imagination that adds in layers and elements to bring humanity and humour and truly wild experiences to that kind of story. There is a darkness to the narrative, I think the best indicator I can give is this is the second book I've read from this author and both involved torture sequences, though you could argue the ones featured here range from the more tactile to the more abstract. 😬 1/2”

Multi-layered charactersUnpredictableThought-provokingRacismViolence

About Nick Harkaway

NICK HARKAWAY is the author of five novels, Titanium Noir, The Gone-Away World, Angelmaker, Tigerman, and Gnomon, as well as a nonfiction work about digital culture, The Blind Giant: Being Human in a Digital World. He is also a regular blogger for The Bookseller's FutureBook website. He lives in London with his wife, a human rights lawyer, and their two children.