River of Gods

River of Gods is one of the most dense, difficult and yet satisfying novels I've read in some time. I am not sure why Ian McDonald based his tale of god-like AI's in India, as he went totally native in this novel. Mr. McDonald is an Irish/English author, but he must have done some extensive research into the Indian culture, which is something I sadly lack, because he used Indian names, slang, technology, cultural, you name it, I was either skimming over terms I had never heard of or stopping to look them up. It took me two weeks to read because of dense this novel was. But as I finished it and look back, it really was time well spent. I recommend this novel to anyone with the time and inclination to work with the author, as the story he told is first rate!