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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I picked this up because I was drawn in by the private investigator/missing persons description, which the book definitely started with. Ironically, I had trouble concentrating on this book until it ended up taking a screeching turn away from a PI storyline and turned into a mindf*ck of a speculative science fiction novel; then, I was intrigued and reeled in until the end of this short "big idea" book.
It's incredibly difficult to describe what this books is about, but contrary to my experience with other "hard" speculative science fiction novels that establish a modified framework for the story's reality based on the author's mathematics or physics knowledge, Quarantine didn't make me feel like Greg Egan is a pompous ass or that he was condescending to the reader. This could be because the tone of his writing is matter-of-fact, which others might find dry, but which helped me go along with Egan's thought experiment, pun intended.
By using the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, Greg Egan explores the "big" questions about the nature of reality and the multitude of possibilities for the individual, society, and humanity. I think that knowing that this book was published in 1992 increased my intrigue, because it was prior to other novels that I've read that explore the idea of posthumanism, and its writing predates the widespread use of smart technology and apps, which are actually primitive versions of the brain "mods" in Quarantine.
This book definitely isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it, since I'm the type of person who enjoys imagining systems that are technically not "real," that have user-specified parameters, and thinking, "Hmm, what would happen if we poked the system?"
It's incredibly difficult to describe what this books is about, but contrary to my experience with other "hard" speculative science fiction novels that establish a modified framework for the story's reality based on the author's mathematics or physics knowledge, Quarantine didn't make me feel like Greg Egan is a pompous ass or that he was condescending to the reader. This could be because the tone of his writing is matter-of-fact, which others might find dry, but which helped me go along with Egan's thought experiment, pun intended.
By using the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, Greg Egan explores the "big" questions about the nature of reality and the multitude of possibilities for the individual, society, and humanity. I think that knowing that this book was published in 1992 increased my intrigue, because it was prior to other novels that I've read that explore the idea of posthumanism, and its writing predates the widespread use of smart technology and apps, which are actually primitive versions of the brain "mods" in Quarantine.
This book definitely isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it, since I'm the type of person who enjoys imagining systems that are technically not "real," that have user-specified parameters, and thinking, "Hmm, what would happen if we poked the system?"
Enjoyable for the first half or so, but the more things get explained, the more sluggish it gets and the less interesting the probabilities become.
Starts off as a detective novel, then expands into a larger world of nanotech, alien contact and world manipulation through quantum mechanics. Comparable to [b:The Lathe of Heaven|59924|The Lathe of Heaven|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433084322l/59924._SX50_.jpg|425872], with more specifics given on the engines behind manipulation. Le Guin's book has the better story, though.
This book has a lot going on in a short count of pages. Some force that has put out solar system into a kind of "bubble", a doomsday cult reacting to that event, nanotech and brain modifications similar to smartphone "apps", potential alien contact and the aforementioned quantum mechanical manipulations. I can see how tags like "cyberpunk" landed on it, but this really is more of a "what if" story focused on quantum states.
I can't say much about the ending without spoiling the story. The author freely admits one of his interpretations is wrong, discussing it in a spoiler-filled essay on his website. Like most good science fiction, though, the exact method isn't the important factor in the examination. Discussions of the right to manipulate and which evils to choose are held between characters, with a lot of science in the mix, which could turn away more casual readers.
Quibbles aside, I liked it - a solid 3½ stars. While listed as part of a "series", the author has clearly stated they are not connected at all; this book stands alone. I plan to read other stories from Egan in the near future.
This book has a lot going on in a short count of pages. Some force that has put out solar system into a kind of "bubble", a doomsday cult reacting to that event, nanotech and brain modifications similar to smartphone "apps", potential alien contact and the aforementioned quantum mechanical manipulations. I can see how tags like "cyberpunk" landed on it, but this really is more of a "what if" story focused on quantum states.
I can't say much about the ending without spoiling the story. The author freely admits one of his interpretations is wrong, discussing it in a spoiler-filled essay on his website. Like most good science fiction, though, the exact method isn't the important factor in the examination. Discussions of the right to manipulate and which evils to choose are held between characters, with a lot of science in the mix, which could turn away more casual readers.
Quibbles aside, I liked it - a solid 3½ stars. While listed as part of a "series", the author has clearly stated they are not connected at all; this book stands alone. I plan to read other stories from Egan in the near future.
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoy how Egan plays with identity and technological modification, some of his novels are extreme in modification and some are less so, for Egan this was a "less so" and felt similar to a PKD novel - in the best possible way. There is a lot of overlap between how he deals with quantum woo and multiverse and how Neal Stephenson handles it in his great novel, Anathem. NS published Anathem 16yrs after Egan published Quarantine and I wonder if he was influenced by it.
Anyway, its a fun sci-fi novel, especially for fans of Greg Egan.
Anyway, its a fun sci-fi novel, especially for fans of Greg Egan.
The writing was a tad clunky (and I haven't read sci-fi in a while, so there's that...), but the story was quite compelling and well-done.
The idea and the noir style was OK, but the quantum machanic theory went too far, I lost track after a while. However, it was nice to read it.
Not the usual stuff. Refreshing. :)
It wasn't perfect, but never mind. Also, once I read that "The Ender's Game is unfilmable, because most of it happens in Ender's head"; that's exactly the feeling I had with this book.
It wasn't perfect, but never mind. Also, once I read that "The Ender's Game is unfilmable, because most of it happens in Ender's head"; that's exactly the feeling I had with this book.