River of Gods

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**Title** **River of Gods**

Author	Ian McDonald
Cover artist	Stephan Martiniere
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction novel
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Released	2004
Media type	Print (Hardback, Paperback)
Pages	485 (Paperback 1st edition), 583 (Hardcover 1st edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0743256700 (Paperback 1st edition), ISBN 0743256697 (Hardcover 1st edition)

River of Gods is a science fiction novel by Ian McDonald.

1 Plot introduction
- 1.1 Explanation of the novel's title
2 Awards and nominations
3 Trivia
4 Release details
5 Sources, references, external links, quotations
6 Footnotes

[edit] Plot introduction

The novel follows 9 different characters around the centenary of India's partition, August 15, 2047. Old India has become balkanized, and a water shortage is jeopardizing the peace between these states. The global information network is now inhabited by Artificial Intelligences, called aeais in the novel, of varying levels of intelligence.

[edit] Explanation of the novel's title

The title refers to the Ganges River. Characters visit the river during the novel, and some of the action takes place in the holy city of Varanasi which is traditionally associated with the Ganges.

[edit] Awards and nominations

British Science Fiction Association Best Novel winner (2004)
Arthur C. Clarke Award Best Novel nominee (2005)
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (2005)

[edit] Trivia

An upload of Bill Gates' consciousness, created in an attempt to cheat death, is kept as a servant by the data broker Ramanandacharya ^[1]
Ian McDonald has also written two additional novellas set in same world River of Gods, they are The Little Goddess and The Dijinn's Wife.