Hominids
Robert J. Sawyer
***
Set in the present, Hominids uses parallel universes loosely based on quantum mechanics as the main conceit for the novel. In one universe us humans survived but the Neanderthals became extinct. The exact opposite happened in the parallel universe. But there verything except for the mutually exclusive extinctions is the same, including the unusual geology of Sudbury Ontario. In both worlds, physicists take advantage of mines excavated in nickel rich rock that blocks almost all radiation. The Neanderthal scientists carry out a quantum computing experiment that accidently propels one of them to our universe.
The story from that point becomes a thought experiment concerning Neanderthal society, physiology, and psychology. In Hominids, characterization takes a back seat to big ideas Neither the Neanderthal nor the human worlds are drawn with immediacy, but they are drawn well enough to keep the story moving along. This was an OK book and I don't resent the time I spent reading it, unlike some others in the last month (See The World at the End of Time). However I'll wait to read the rest of the triology at the library.
