#61. THE CHILD GARDEN By Geoff Ryman

Published : 1989
Pages : 388
Overall Mark : 6/10

London's semi-tropical climate means that it is now surrounded by paddy-fields. Londoners, like plants, feed off the sun. The young, raised in Child Gardens, are educated by viruses: information, culture, law and politics are biological functions. The Consensus oversees the country, 'treating' non-conformism. But Milena is different: she is resistant to the viruses - and she is capable of changing the world.

GEOFF RYMAN (1951-)
Born in Canada in 1951, Geoff Ryman has lived in London since 1973. The Child Garden won the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, His other books include the Fantasy Masterwork Was, 252, The Unconquered Country, Lust and Air.

VERDICT
This look at a future where disease has been vanquished in exchange for shorter lifespans, the young are educated via an intelligent virus. The usual fantasy trope of an individual who is immune to this social control is handled reasonably well by Ryman, and the idea of one girl being able to change how the world is run through her relationship with the hive mind that rules is an interesting notion that perhaps could have been explored to a fuller extent.