What if there was an afterlife, available to these with enough money or connections, and it interacted with this side regularly and conveniently? Both sides had some benefits – this side all the bodily pleasures, that side ability to peek even into the most private issues of the living, and of course eternity. Inevitably the balance of power would eventually favor the afterlife. Any side which can afford to make plans armed with endless time has the upper hand. Any faction on this side backed by those on the other side would be remarkably powerful. Gaining control of the afterlife and access to it would be serious enough reason to spy, betray, kill, create terrible weapons, wage war on a scale like never before…

This is the set-up of Summerland, Hannu Rajaniemi's alternative-history ectopunk spy thriller. It's 1938 but in a world where the ectoplasm and supernatural craze of late 19th century was founded on scientific fact. Ectophones deliver messages between life and afterlife. Souls of the dead rent spirit medium bodies to visit the living. Battles fought with supernatural weapons destroy not only bodies but souls. Great Britain has a strong presence in the afterlife, the titular Summerland. Rachel, a spy fighting to be taken seriously in the old boys' club of the security agency, and trying to keep her marriage from falling apart, stumbles upon a possible conspiracy. And it goes higher and in more dangerous directions than is healthy for her, as these things tend to do, but she's not going to back down. Especially not after being patted on the head and told to take a rest.

Rajaniemi's debut trilogy was so hyped it was impossible to enjoy it properly (for me at least). Also, I have to admit I had the (unfounded) suspicion he was sprinkling ample handfuls of fashionable words upon his text without really backing them up. But after hearing him speak at a scifi convention it did become apparent every quanta and exotic string was accounted for, it was just my personal understanding of finer physics which was lacking… sorryyyy for having doubted you, mr Rajaniemi! Of course you write about stuff you know! hey also, how do you do it? Quantum physicist and tech startup entepreneur by day, scifi writer by night, when do you ever sleep?

Summerland is, in my opinion, a excellent book. It's full of ideas just like the Quantum thief trilogy, but more coherent (and with a more sympathetic protagonist). I suppose lots of research went to having the historical details right. I can imagine Rajaniemi coming across the history of roof climbing university students of the thirties and passionately wanting to write something abbot it – he succeeds weaving it into the story meaningfully. He also manages to participate in current discussion about digital immortality and AI without being banal about it.

Summerland is a book to read lounging on a beach chair – it's fast-paced and exciting. But it also gives food for thought: If possibility of a factual afterlife existed, it would change the world. Some would argue an eternal afterlife would rob our mortal life of deeper meaning. But no matter how well-founded these objections might be, they would be but feeble mutterings compared to the roaring storm of human desire to live forever. Not that Rajaniemi is pushing an anti-immortality viewpoint – he isn't naive. What he does is he acknowledges there are issues in any technology or system which makes it possible to freeze social values at any one point. Imagine being stuck with the morals, social order and hierarchies of your great-grandparents, them watching over your shoulder all the time, till the end of time...