Observer is a science-fiction novel based on ideas from scientist Robert Lanza (called one of the 100 Most Influential People by Time magazine) and cowritten by Nancy Kress (a Hugo and Nebula Award winning author) and demonstrates an in-depth grasp of science and a penchant for speculative science fiction. The physics is understandable and illuminating. In short, the premise begins with aspects of the observer effect in quantum physics then makes the observer central, theorizing that the observer creates the universe, rather than the universe creating the individual.
The protagonist, Dr. Caroline (Caro) Soames-Watkins, is a neurosurgeon whose career is destroyed when she accuses her superior of sexual misconduct and becomes the target of a massive social media storm promulgated by misogynistic trolls. To salvage her career, she accepts a position with her great-uncle and moves to the Caribbean. Along with physicist George Weigert and tech entrepreneur Julian Dey, Samuel Watkins, himself a Nobel Prize-winning scientist, has developed technology that allows people with implanted brain stimulation devices to create new universes and to revisit them at any time they are hooked up to the machinery.
Because the subject matter is complex, a lot of explication is necessary, and these complex ideas are frequently repeated. Because of all the exposition, the dialog drags through extended lengthy paragraphs, much of which I skimmed. A subplot involves Caro’s sister, who has a disabled and a non-disabled child, all of whom depend on Caro for financial support. In another subplot, Caro overcomes her distrust of men to embark on a romance. When her lover is killed, she insists on immediately being implanted with the device so she can establish a universe in which he still exists. There didn’t seem to be enough depth in the relationship for Caro to make this kind of leap.
Overall, I found Observer fascinating and enjoyed the read and the challenges of the science. I’d call this “hard” sci-fi as opposed to the “kindler, gentler” sci-fi I’ve read recently (for example, Our Child of the Stars and Our Child of Two Worlds by Stephen Cox).
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Observer (The Story Plant, January 10, 2023) is available through:
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You can see my review of Our Child of the Stars here and Our Child of Two Worlds here.
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