Quantum Night

The protagonist of Robert J. Sawyer’s Quantum Night  is Chris Marchuk, a psychologist.  Marchuk has developed a reliable test for psychopathy and is called to use it in a criminal trial.  Cross examination on the stand destroys his credibility and demonstrates that he cannot remember 6 months of his life.  Puzzled by this gap he sets out to find out what happened and in the process becomes involved in a physicist’s investigation into the quantum nature of consciousness.  

The story is set in 2020 in a world that is rocked by violence and what can charitably be called insane politicians.  The story while interesting and quite readable is not one where you will necessarily like the characters who all seem to be suffering from a sense of superiority and are quite willing to unilaterally make decisions that affect the entire human race.  Sawyer is one of my favorite writers but I did not like this book as much as some of his others.  I would recommend it for fans and those interested in exploring philosophical concepts of utilitarianism.