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A review by yevolem
The Clockwork Rocket by Greg Egan
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