Recursion introduced us to the world of the Watcher, of self-replicating VNMs, and lives lived in virtual processing space. Capacity picks up the batton and runs with it!

Not forced to explain his world so much really helps Ballantyne’s writing flow. The events from the first novel are mythical history; here we meet Judy, a social care operative with 12 PC ‘sisters’ – and PC in the 24th Century means ‘Personality Construct’: what difference if your thoughts are running on neurons or silicon chips?

Social Care exist to take care of everyone, and Judy is soon looking after Helen, who has just discovered she is a PC 70 years out of her own time, copied purely for the sick amusements of twisted individuals. Can they track down the mysterious Kevin, responsibly for creating the torture processing space? Who is Chris, the even more mysterious AI sending the Judies on a twisted treasure hunt for knowledge?

And meanwhile, we look back at the story of Justinian Sibelius, sent across the galaxy to discover why every AI on the planet Gateway has committed suicide… while Judy asks, did the Watcher murder an innocent human being?

Most of all, though, I love the imagery here: from the geisha-ness of Judy’s look to the far more creepy Schrödinger boxes and BVBs – uncuttable bands that form out of nowhere, shrinking in on themselves until the meet resistance… like a leg, or arm… or lung.

There’s quite a dark tone to Capacity, with the torture and murder and questions about free choice and what is life? It certainly kept me reading! Judy’s story continues in the third Tony Ballantyne novel, Divergence, the last of the trilogy. However, start with Recursion so that you know what’s going on!

I was rushing through the airport, already late for my flight, when I realised I had not gotten something to read. Since the flight attendants always insist I turn off my ipod and Nintendo DS (heaven knows, I might crash the plane because I was playing Mario Kart DS) I usually grab some paperback. I would not have picked this one normally but as I said, I was in a rush.

I enjoyed it, and some of the concepts it used were definitely interesting, but on the whole it wasn’t a stunner or a classic.