Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was....an interesting book. I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, the story/characters/settings were delightful. The whole concept of the mods brings a whole host of interesting ethical and philosophical questions along with it, and I love that that's part of the dialog in the story. I would have liked to see that explored more. On the other hand, the whole part made my brain hurt. I mean, it was (as I read somewhere before reading this) the most approachable explanation of that I've ever read. But that whole subject is complex and dense as it is.
I enjoyed this book, but I skipped over a lot of the "hard science" parts, which I don't usually.
Spoiler
quantum mechanics/eigenstate/observerSpoiler
quantum mechanicsI enjoyed this book, but I skipped over a lot of the "hard science" parts, which I don't usually.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A noir / cyberpunk-type detective story which transitions into a discussion of very ridiculous and interesting scientific ideas. The main downside is a somewhat unsatisfying ending.
My head still hurts from reading this one, is it my head or one of my eigenstates' head?
A book that takes the idea of each individual choice creating a separate path or separate you to an extreme AND tries to define it mathematically.
Egan is sort of like PKD with a Physics degree, there is an incredible amount of interesting commentary packed into this, less than 300 page, book from bio mods changing who you are, but who cares because it is the same as drinking a cup of coffee, to this whole changing the universe idea just because you think it. I almost started over right when I finished just to see what I could get out of it the second time.
My 2 quantum physics classes in college just barely prepared me, for sort of understanding where Egan got his math and because of that I can't really recommend this to anyone other than hard sci-fi fans or someone who is searching desperately for a PKD substitute.
3.5 stars rounded up because this IS my cup of tea, demerits for the too long eigenstate discussion which made part of the book a slog. I am definitely going to read another Egan book.
A book that takes the idea of each individual choice creating a separate path or separate you to an extreme AND tries to define it mathematically.
Egan is sort of like PKD with a Physics degree, there is an incredible amount of interesting commentary packed into this, less than 300 page, book from bio mods changing who you are, but who cares because it is the same as drinking a cup of coffee, to this whole changing the universe idea just because you think it. I almost started over right when I finished just to see what I could get out of it the second time.
My 2 quantum physics classes in college just barely prepared me, for sort of understanding where Egan got his math and because of that I can't really recommend this to anyone other than hard sci-fi fans or someone who is searching desperately for a PKD substitute.
3.5 stars rounded up because this IS my cup of tea, demerits for the too long eigenstate discussion which made part of the book a slog. I am definitely going to read another Egan book.
So about 2/3 of the way through, I thought to myself, "Self, how excited should I be for a hero who can quantum crowdsource the solution to all problems?" The remaining 1/3 addressed precisely this. Pretty impressive trick for the author to threaten a hero who has access to all possible realities.
I read Permutation City by Egan a few years ago, and it made a lasting impression. The ideas in that novel were big, at moments difficult to grasp, and most interestingly to me, philosophically and morally challenging and fascinating. I knew I'd be back for more Egan at some point.
Quarantine scratched the same itches that Permutation City did, and I'd argue that it's a more accessible book for most as well, thanks to how traditionally the narrative starts: there's a PI with a dark history, and a missing person he was hired to find. The (great) world building gets done while the main character is going through procedures familiar to anyone experienced with the mystery genre. But after about a quarter or so of the novel, the narrative takes a turn, and the science and philosophy quickly becomes the star of the show.
The core of the book explores some of the implications of the observer problem in quantum mechanics, which I am not even moderately qualified to talk about or attempt to explain. And I'm sure anyone who is qualified to talk about it would wave off the science in Quarantine as impossible, far-fetched, or misguided. (And if they wouldn't, this book's premise immediately gets more frightening.)
I enjoyed all of this stuff, even though I felt like I was barely keeping up with it, but the big idea that Quarantine explores that I'll probably continue to think about for a long time to come is choice. The book uses the observer problem to explore choice - every time you make a choice and act on it, you are effectively killing off all the versions of you that made different choices, and where you exist today is a result of the elimination of all of those possibilities.
What makes this idea even more interesting, is how outside influences impact those choices. In the novel, the character had literal modifications made to his brain that made him more "efficient." Thanks to these mods, he was able to survive challenging work situations, and not only avoid the feelings of despair from losing his wife, but to go on living happily with the ability to communicate with a simulated version of her that lives in his brain. (Think something along the lines of Ryan Gosling's program girlfriend in Blade Runner 2049.)
Without these mods, our hero would likely be dead, maimed, or deeply depressed. But is his life authentic? Is he real? What do concepts of authenticity and realness even mean in a world where brain modifications are possible and common?
From there, it's easy to apply that same kind of logic to the real world. We obviously don't have literal brain mods, but we do have medication that changes our brain chemistry and some kinds of brain surgery. We also have other kinds of influences like our jobs (in the book, our hero is given a brain mod that causes him to become life loyal to a company), our government, our religion, and our interpersonal relationships.
How much of a difference is there between a choice made because we are literally wired to make that choice, and a choice made because of social, emotional, or financial pressures that push us in directions we wouldn't have gone in otherwise? How many alternate personal histories have we given up because of these external forces, which inevitably become internal ones?
"What do you think: the average person sits down one day and constructs some kind of meticulously rational moral philosophy – which they modify appropriately, if and when they discover its flaws? That’s pure fantasy. Most people are just pushed around by the things they live through, shaped by influences they can’t control."
Quarantine scratched the same itches that Permutation City did, and I'd argue that it's a more accessible book for most as well, thanks to how traditionally the narrative starts: there's a PI with a dark history, and a missing person he was hired to find. The (great) world building gets done while the main character is going through procedures familiar to anyone experienced with the mystery genre. But after about a quarter or so of the novel, the narrative takes a turn, and the science and philosophy quickly becomes the star of the show.
The core of the book explores some of the implications of the observer problem in quantum mechanics, which I am not even moderately qualified to talk about or attempt to explain. And I'm sure anyone who is qualified to talk about it would wave off the science in Quarantine as impossible, far-fetched, or misguided. (And if they wouldn't, this book's premise immediately gets more frightening.)
I enjoyed all of this stuff, even though I felt like I was barely keeping up with it, but the big idea that Quarantine explores that I'll probably continue to think about for a long time to come is choice. The book uses the observer problem to explore choice - every time you make a choice and act on it, you are effectively killing off all the versions of you that made different choices, and where you exist today is a result of the elimination of all of those possibilities.
What makes this idea even more interesting, is how outside influences impact those choices. In the novel, the character had literal modifications made to his brain that made him more "efficient." Thanks to these mods, he was able to survive challenging work situations, and not only avoid the feelings of despair from losing his wife, but to go on living happily with the ability to communicate with a simulated version of her that lives in his brain. (Think something along the lines of Ryan Gosling's program girlfriend in Blade Runner 2049.)
Without these mods, our hero would likely be dead, maimed, or deeply depressed. But is his life authentic? Is he real? What do concepts of authenticity and realness even mean in a world where brain modifications are possible and common?
From there, it's easy to apply that same kind of logic to the real world. We obviously don't have literal brain mods, but we do have medication that changes our brain chemistry and some kinds of brain surgery. We also have other kinds of influences like our jobs (in the book, our hero is given a brain mod that causes him to become life loyal to a company), our government, our religion, and our interpersonal relationships.
How much of a difference is there between a choice made because we are literally wired to make that choice, and a choice made because of social, emotional, or financial pressures that push us in directions we wouldn't have gone in otherwise? How many alternate personal histories have we given up because of these external forces, which inevitably become internal ones?
"What do you think: the average person sits down one day and constructs some kind of meticulously rational moral philosophy – which they modify appropriately, if and when they discover its flaws? That’s pure fantasy. Most people are just pushed around by the things they live through, shaped by influences they can’t control."
Oomph. Delves right into quantum mechanics. I was surprised by how (post-)cyberpunk the novel was, but I suppose it was written early 90s.
Quarantine may be classified as hard sci-fi but I would call it existential sci-fi. Reading it will make your brain hurt from thinking about the ramifications of quantum physics, observer effect, and the many worlds theory. Even though Nick, the main character, struggles with these too, most of his thoughts (and therefore most of the conflict and tension in the story itself) comes from the moral and ethical implications of taking actions in such a mixed up world.
Overall, Quarantine is a good science fiction novel, and you'll probably like it if you enjoy hard sci-fi. The plot stalled in quite a few places and galloped ahead too fast in a couple of other places. If what you're looking for is complex characters and relationships, this book probably isn't for you.
Overall, Quarantine is a good science fiction novel, and you'll probably like it if you enjoy hard sci-fi. The plot stalled in quite a few places and galloped ahead too fast in a couple of other places. If what you're looking for is complex characters and relationships, this book probably isn't for you.