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Grace Chan (Verve Books (UK, out now; US, 23 September))

Science fiction that features characters who spend more time in virtual reality than in real life, whether via electrodes stuck into the backs of their necks or some kind of gloop-filled tank, isn’t exactly a new thing.

In fact, picking up Grace Chan’s Every Version of You, I worried that the premise of the novel – some young people in the future having to decide whether to permanently upload into a digital utopia called Gaia – felt a bit tired and dated.

Well, this book – first published in Australia in 2022, now available in the UK and coming to the US later this year – is neither tired nor dated. Chan manages to piece together a clever and thoughtful novel that sprawls out of its tightly observed, intimate beginnings into a big-picture look at humanity’s future.

The book is set in Melbourne in the 2080s, and Australia has become dangerously hot. Indeed, the weather and pollution are so truly terrible that people shuffle around outside in heavy protective gear and must be decontaminated when they come home from even the shortest journey out. On the hottest days, all outside time is banned during certain hours, and consequently most people’s lives are spent almost entirely indoors.

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Inside their homes, with their robot cleaners doing the chores, most people (at least those who can afford it) choose to spend increasingly long stretches of time inside gel-filled tanks that give them access to the virtual world.

Tao-Yi and her partner Navin are among those able to afford virtual reality; in one early scene, we see them brave the outdoor world to buy new, updated VR tanks for themselves. Back in the flat, they live a strangely skewed life. They spend most of their awake time in the tanks – they work in the spacious realm of virtual reality, as well as socialising there – while their time in “meat” world is largely spent maintaining the health of their bodies in the small amount of space they have to live in.

Right from the start, it is clear there are fissures opening up between Tao-Yi and Navin, although they are very committed to each other. For a start, Navin has serious medical issues and is often in pain. His time in VR, therefore, is a relief for him in a way it isn’t for Tao-Yi. Secondly, Tao-Yi has stronger links to the physical world, starting with her mother, who isn’t a fan of VR. But it’s not just about her mother. Tao-Yi likes the smell of Navin; not the cottony scent the VR version of him offers her, but the real-life smell. The story is told through her eyes, and we watch as Navin throws himself ever further into virtual reality, while more and more questions grow in her mind.

Then comes a game-changing moment. Our heroes learn it is now possible to fully upload your mind to the digital world. Or rather, a copy of it. You can then live in the virtual utopia of Gaia forever, as an immortal. Meanwhile your real body is quietly rendered into dust.

What happens next, and the huge ramifications for the planet and humankind, are deftly handled. But we never lose our connection to Tao-Yi’s gentle thoughts and feelings, and Chan manages to land the plot with what feels like authentic decisions for all concerned. The novel ends up managing to be about climate change, relationships, retreating into the virtual from reality, the future of human intelligence, how we change during our lives even without the help of VR, and a whole lot more. Bravo.

Emily also recommends…

Neuromancer
William Gibson (Ace Books)
Gibson’s debut still packs a punch. He is, after all, the person who popularised the word “cyberspace”, and here he throws the reader into his vision of what cyberspace might be. A classic.

Emily H. Wilson is a former editor of 91av and the author of the Sumerians trilogy, set in ancient Mesopotamia. The final novel in the series, Ninshubar, is out in August. You can find her at emilyhwilson.com, or follow her on X @emilyhwilson and Instagram @emilyhwilson1

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