Infinite Detail (2019) is the debut novel from Tim Maughan, a journalist of some note.
It’s a good read, focusing on the relatively cataclysmic aftermath of an extended Internet outage. The setting is the near future, a world just slightly further along in its interconnectedness than our own. Wearable, Internet-connected glasses are a thing, and the economic dependence on international communication systems is even more ingrained. When those systems break down, so does global trade as transit and transport systems are crippled, and communication and economic systems quickly follow. The core notion is it doesn’t take many weeks of no shipping or air transport for the UK to struggle to feed itself.
The book alternates between chapters marked before and after, slowly building a vision both of what happened and what the impacts are. The best parts of the book draw on Maughan’s sophisticated understanding of the perils of an over-connected world, including impacts that are rarely highlighted, and his clear love for contemporary urban music, which fills one of the narrative threads.
Maughan’s journalistic background comes through, making it a very direct read: other than some details that are withheld as key plot points, little is left to inference. This works well, as the novel exists partially as fiction and partially as a warning essay about the perils of our current technological arcs. If that holds some interest, it’s well recommended.
#WhatIWishICouldDo
There is an authenticity to Maughan’s language, especially the dialogue, that is quite impressive. This is hard to do in alternate settings–either past or future–as it requires a keen ear for current slang, and then the creativity to adjust from there.