Hominids is an interesting spin on utopian science-fiction, with a keen attention to detail. In a parallel universe, neanderthals have become the dominant hominid species. Two neanderthals physicists are working on a quantum computer when they accidentally open a portal to our planet. One of them is sucked through, and arrives in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. The plot continues along two arcs, revealing differences between the two species. Pontor, "our" neanderthal, learns English with the help of his computer and a small group of Canadian scientists, while the world does a very realistic flip out. In the other universe, Adikor, Pontor's partner is accused of murder, and has to clear his name through a very unusual justice system.

The most interesting parts are those relating to the neanderthals. They're a utopian society, high-tech but still ecologically sustainable, with little violence and social crime. Men and women are mostly segregated in different parts of the city, coming together for a monthly sexual holiday that is only set to a fertile period every 10 years. Elders make the key political decisions, and public safety enforced by a system of private and voluntary recordings. The 'Omelass moment' is that violence has been eliminated by brutal culling. Anyone 50% related to a murder (parents, siblings, children) is sterilized, and over time the propensity for violence has been mostly bred out of neanderthals. Over all, though, neanderthal society is peaceful and rational, a blend of biological basis and cultural aspirations, and almost irritating perfect.

The Canadian B plot is less interesting, mostly because contemporary Canadian society is the opposite of exotic. Characters are rational scientists, Sawyer has done his research on neanderthals and quantum physics, and the interludes about how the press and the world see the visitor from another universe as proof of their prejudices seems about right. I'm not knowledgeable enough about physics to have an opinion about Copenhagen vs. Many Worlds Interpretations, but Sawyer does, and the cosmology of consciousness drives this book. The Canadian characters were (for quiet professionals) pleasantly diverse: Anglo, French, Jamaican, Indian. I enjoyed the budding romance between Pontor and viewpoint Canadian geneticist Mary Vaughn.

Mary's story is the turd in the punch-bowl, however. We're introduced to her with a rape by an unknown assailant, and her difficulty dealing with it due to the patriarchy and Catholic guilt. It's realistic and treated with appropriate gravity, but also entirely gratuitous.