Indeed, Haig sums up the book as an attempt to look at “the weird and often frightening beauty of being human”. Yet he has a lot to learn about the human race and what it means to be human. While the replacement Professor looks and sounds to all intents and purposes like the original, he still retains extraordinary gifts of healing, mind control, and second sight, characteristic of the beings who sent him - and continue to control him - from that far-off world.
Or, rather, we are meeting Martin’s doppelgänger, sent from a far-away galaxy to prevent this discovery threatening the mathematically controlled lifestyle of an alien species that is dependent on remaining the only beings in the universe to have cracked Riemann’s riddle. The wonderfully witty opening pages introduce us to Professor Andrew Martin, a Cambridge University mathematician who has just solved the hitherto insoluble Riemann Hypothesis.
This differs from science fiction, because Haig’s purpose is to tell a story which gets to the heart of what it means to be human rather than focus on what is alien and otherworldly. Yes, it is irreverent at times, and the language is sometimes rather strong, but only to capture character and reflect reality - a reality which the author describes as “magic realism”.
IF YOU are looking for a book which is laugh-out-loud funny, profoundly serious, deeply moving, and potentially life-changing, then this is for you.
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