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monal8822's review
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
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
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
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
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
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
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!
skylar2's review
5.0
Not only does Greg Egan create a believable universe with physics much different than our own, he also manages to address social norms, gender issues, sexuality, and philosophy of science. Definitely a worthwhile read, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.