Scan barcode
yevolem's review against another edition
4.0
This was one of the stranger experiences that I've had from reading in quite some time. The feeling that reading this book gave me was probably similar to when a person reads a book that they feel is of great literary value, but they have almost no idea what is going on. Nonetheless they still enjoy it anyway. That's how I felt, except it was for science instead. I can't understate how much of this is exposition about scientific experiments. There are diagrams of various sorts strewn throughout that provide context as well. I've seen this be called a pseudo-textbook and that wouldn't be wrong. Neal Stephenson's Seveneves did something similar, but I enjoyed this considerably more.
As with some of Egan's other novels there's an impending catastrophe that requires the collaborative global efforts of the greatest minds developing new forms of science and subsequently technology that existence can be preserved. That's the ideal situation anyway. The book's cover is somewhat misleading and unrepresentative. There's a hyperbolic time generation spaceship, but it's nothing at all like what's shown. The premise is that the story takes place in what Egan calls a Riemannian Universe. Physics are different in this universe, especially when it comes to light. Basically everything is rather different in some way. Every form of measurement is given different names and are almost all of them are based on the duodecimal system. This was somewhat annoying because the units are arbitrary and little reference is provided so it's essentially impossible to know how they compare to our units. The most that can be understood is by how the units are used. There are a few cases where familiar terms are used like hour or year, but they don't seem to be the same duration.
The closest relation to our universe is their societal ideology. They certainly aren't as we are in most any way. In a lot of ways they are what the reader imagines them to be because there was scant specific detail. They have skin, are bipedal in their standard form, and seem to have radial symmetry. However, they also buzz, chirp, and can have extensive control over their anatomy, especially their skin. Reproduction is through fission and only happens with women, which kills the original woman. The vast majority of the narrative that isn't about science is about female self-determination and empowerment.
I don't know if this is a book that can be recommended to others. I think it's more of a self-recommendation. This shouldn't be anyone's first Egan book, though going by reviews, it was for several, which to me is an unfortunate mistake. I'll be reading the rest of the trilogy to be amazed by what I've read, even though I won't quite understand the specific technical details of the discussions.
Rating: 3.5/5
As with some of Egan's other novels there's an impending catastrophe that requires the collaborative global efforts of the greatest minds developing new forms of science and subsequently technology that existence can be preserved. That's the ideal situation anyway. The book's cover is somewhat misleading and unrepresentative. There's a hyperbolic time generation spaceship, but it's nothing at all like what's shown. The premise is that the story takes place in what Egan calls a Riemannian Universe. Physics are different in this universe, especially when it comes to light. Basically everything is rather different in some way. Every form of measurement is given different names and are almost all of them are based on the duodecimal system. This was somewhat annoying because the units are arbitrary and little reference is provided so it's essentially impossible to know how they compare to our units. The most that can be understood is by how the units are used. There are a few cases where familiar terms are used like hour or year, but they don't seem to be the same duration.
The closest relation to our universe is their societal ideology. They certainly aren't as we are in most any way. In a lot of ways they are what the reader imagines them to be because there was scant specific detail. They have skin, are bipedal in their standard form, and seem to have radial symmetry. However, they also buzz, chirp, and can have extensive control over their anatomy, especially their skin. Reproduction is through fission and only happens with women, which kills the original woman. The vast majority of the narrative that isn't about science is about female self-determination and empowerment.
I don't know if this is a book that can be recommended to others. I think it's more of a self-recommendation. This shouldn't be anyone's first Egan book, though going by reviews, it was for several, which to me is an unfortunate mistake. I'll be reading the rest of the trilogy to be amazed by what I've read, even though I won't quite understand the specific technical details of the discussions.
Rating: 3.5/5
monal8822's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
timinbc's review against another edition
4.0
I have a math degree and I have read a LOT of hard SF - and this might be the hardest hard SF I have ever seen. I'm not sure it would be possible to write something harder except perhaps by throwing in some hive minds and teleportation.
And yet, woven among the charts and brain-busting explanations there really is a plot with some reasonably interesting characters.
If I have learned anything from all my SF reading, it is that there are hardly any books that have a very strong concept AND very strong characterizations. It's perhaps unreasonable to require it; better to have it be a nice surprise if it occurs.
I knew from previous Egans that if he postulates some rules for his universe, they may be outrageous but it won't be because he hasn't thought them through. In fact, my one real beef with this book is that it made me feel stupid. After a while I decided that I could live with that, and then it was OK.
If you have not read previous Egans, I don't think this is a good one to start with. Indeed, if you haven't read much hard SF, you might start with some other authors in the sub-genre before tacking Egan.
And yet, woven among the charts and brain-busting explanations there really is a plot with some reasonably interesting characters.
If I have learned anything from all my SF reading, it is that there are hardly any books that have a very strong concept AND very strong characterizations. It's perhaps unreasonable to require it; better to have it be a nice surprise if it occurs.
I knew from previous Egans that if he postulates some rules for his universe, they may be outrageous but it won't be because he hasn't thought them through. In fact, my one real beef with this book is that it made me feel stupid. After a while I decided that I could live with that, and then it was OK.
If you have not read previous Egans, I don't think this is a good one to start with. Indeed, if you haven't read much hard SF, you might start with some other authors in the sub-genre before tacking Egan.
grahamclements's review against another edition
2.0
Although the novel has a reasonably good story, and a some great world building, I found the reimagined physics, which is frequently discussed during the novel, baffling. I did year 11 and 12 physics about 20 years ago.
kerstincullen's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very cool work of speculative space time. It's well thought out, and I had fun trying to figure out what was going on in the beginning. I am not an expert in relativity, but thought that the math was laid out well without equations using text (mostly conversations) and diagrams. Then this new physics was applied to chemistry and biology, which was well thought out and fascinating. Not 'light' reading by any means but fun in a very nerdy way.
I am not sure what to make of the speculative biology. It was fairly unique, and the reproduction was supposed to be super horrifying, but it made me pretty uncomfortable to be gendered the way it was. Pronouns matter as our culture has a whole lot of baggage when it comes to gender, so I felt pretty uncomfortable that in a very, very alien species (whose reproduction, sex or gender is absolutely anything like that of ours) the gender whose brain gets slagged to reproduce asexually is labeled as 'she', and the sterile nanny who gets to live much longer and run the government is labeled as 'he'. I guess it just felt unnecessary? Maybe using the singular they would have helped? Also why is it that only male authors come up with horrifying alien female reproductive biology?
I guess maybe as an early career scientist and a new mother who lives in a real universe where real people in academia express horrible opinions about scientist becoming mothers, nightmare alien biology was almost too much. I just wanted to read about the fun math.
I am not sure what to make of the speculative biology. It was fairly unique, and the reproduction was supposed to be super horrifying, but it made me pretty uncomfortable to be gendered the way it was. Pronouns matter as our culture has a whole lot of baggage when it comes to gender, so I felt pretty uncomfortable that in a very, very alien species (whose reproduction, sex or gender is absolutely anything like that of ours) the gender whose brain gets slagged to reproduce asexually is labeled as 'she', and the sterile nanny who gets to live much longer and run the government is labeled as 'he'. I guess it just felt unnecessary? Maybe using the singular they would have helped? Also why is it that only male authors come up with horrifying alien female reproductive biology?
I guess maybe as an early career scientist and a new mother who lives in a real universe where real people in academia express horrible opinions about scientist becoming mothers, nightmare alien biology was almost too much. I just wanted to read about the fun math.
wyager's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
5.0
slukalesni's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
maxed's review against another edition
3.0
Excellent thought experiment; not a very good fiction book. From a simple change to basic physics laws, Egan builds a whole world. Unfortunately, describing the world and its works takes up most of the book, and little is left for any sort of adventure. The finale is also somewhat disappointing: it's clear that the author run out of things to say about physics, and didn't want to go on about anything else. Still, if you want to really challenge your brain - and understanding this world is quite a challenge - I can recommend it. Just don't expect a good adventure or really interesting characters.
provaprova's review against another edition
2.0
This read like a physics treatise more than a novel... I feel as if I ought to have a math or physics degree to appreciate; I do like my SF novels hard & educational, but this much is ridiculous!