Scan barcode
A review by yevolem
Axiomatic by Greg Egan
5.0
Most of the "Ok"s here are at the threshold of enjoyable, so it was almost the case that I enjoyed every story. Although Egan is known for Hard SF, several of these aren't. Quite a few are arguably horror stories as well. I couldn't have reasonably expected to have enjoyed myself more than I did. His ideas all are almost always interesting, but it's less often that they have enough substance outside of the idea itself for me to enjoy.
The Infinite Assassin (1991)
A relatively invariant assassin is to sent to kill those who create reality whirlpools, which is where an infinite number of realities swirl together. If this were represented visually, it'd be extremely surreal. What I assume to be the relevant mathematical concepts are presented, but I only understood the most basic aspects required to understand their relevance to the narrative.
Enjoyable
The Hundred Light-Year Diary (1992)
At birth every child receives a diary, provided that they wrote one, that chronicles their life as written by their future self. Are these absolute decrees? Can we trust who we will be in the future? Are there other unknown forces acting upon our lives?
Enjoyable
Eugene (1990)
The title is a play on words, as it's primarily about eugenics, but many other social issues are forcibly expounded upon as well.
Ok
The Caress (1990)
A crime investigation horror story about the titular chimera.
Ok
Blood Sisters (1991)
Biological warfare research goes awry and infects the world. This provides the backdrop for exploring the ethics of triple-blind medical trials.
Ok
Axiomatic (1990)
Beliefs can be bought and implanted. Anything you want to believe is possible. A cautionary tale about moral clarity.
Enjoyable
The Safe-Deposit Box (1990)
A man awakens every day as a different pre-existing man in the same city and almost the same exact age.
Enjoyable
Seeing (1995)
A man is shot in the head and has a brain lesion that forces him to view himself from a bird-eye view that feels like an out of body experience.
Ok
A Kidnapping (1995)
A kidnapper holds a questionably conscious digital reproduction of his wife hostage for ransom.
Ok
Learning to Be Me (1990)
A story about identity, consciousness, and mind uploading.
Highly Enjoyable
The Moat (1991)
An attack on anti-immigration racists and the ultra-wealthy who may be conspiring to create a genetically engineered master species which would be unable to reproduce with normal humans.
Ok
The Walk (1992)
A man is held at gunpoint. His murder is imminent. The murderer decides to engage him in a philosophical discussion about the meaning of life and existence.
Ok
The Cutie (1989)
Greg Egan's first published story. An obsession with having a baby leads to a male pregnancy and birth that becomes a horrific nightmare.
Enjoyable
Into Darkness (1992)
Some suspected alien technology changes the local physics of an area from being isotropic to radially anisotropic. In practical terms, this means any movement away from the core is lethal. The protagonist tries to rescue people by leading them towards the core, where they then wait for the effect to dissipate.
Ok
Appropriate Love (1991)
An insurance company wants to cut costs in a full body replacement procedure. His wife is coerced into carrying his brain in her womb for two years until the clone is an a viable state for transplantation.
Enjoyable
The Moral Virologist (1990)
A deranged religious virologist develops a virus that will kill all homosexuals and adulterers, which he defines as anyone who has ever had sex with more than one person. It will also kill anyone who gets blood on them from someone else. However, he's overlooked one critical issue. I laughed a lot because I read this as a tragicomedy. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I found it to be utterly hilarious in how ridiculously absurd it all was.
Highly Enjoyable
Closer (1992)
An exploration of sexuality, intimacy, and identity.
Highly Enjoyable
Unstable Orbits in the Space of Lies (1992)
Ideology has become infectious and has formed ideological basins. Anyone who enters them becomes indoctrinated. There are still a few yet who remain in the center and have not fallen into ideology. But, perhaps there's no escape from ideology and they're unable to accept their own.
Ok
The Infinite Assassin (1991)
A relatively invariant assassin is to sent to kill those who create reality whirlpools, which is where an infinite number of realities swirl together. If this were represented visually, it'd be extremely surreal. What I assume to be the relevant mathematical concepts are presented, but I only understood the most basic aspects required to understand their relevance to the narrative.
Enjoyable
The Hundred Light-Year Diary (1992)
At birth every child receives a diary, provided that they wrote one, that chronicles their life as written by their future self. Are these absolute decrees? Can we trust who we will be in the future? Are there other unknown forces acting upon our lives?
Enjoyable
Eugene (1990)
The title is a play on words, as it's primarily about eugenics, but many other social issues are forcibly expounded upon as well.
Ok
The Caress (1990)
A crime investigation horror story about the titular chimera.
Ok
Blood Sisters (1991)
Biological warfare research goes awry and infects the world. This provides the backdrop for exploring the ethics of triple-blind medical trials.
Ok
Axiomatic (1990)
Beliefs can be bought and implanted. Anything you want to believe is possible. A cautionary tale about moral clarity.
Enjoyable
The Safe-Deposit Box (1990)
A man awakens every day as a different pre-existing man in the same city and almost the same exact age.
Enjoyable
Seeing (1995)
A man is shot in the head and has a brain lesion that forces him to view himself from a bird-eye view that feels like an out of body experience.
Ok
A Kidnapping (1995)
A kidnapper holds a questionably conscious digital reproduction of his wife hostage for ransom.
Ok
Learning to Be Me (1990)
A story about identity, consciousness, and mind uploading.
Highly Enjoyable
The Moat (1991)
An attack on anti-immigration racists and the ultra-wealthy who may be conspiring to create a genetically engineered master species which would be unable to reproduce with normal humans.
Ok
The Walk (1992)
A man is held at gunpoint. His murder is imminent. The murderer decides to engage him in a philosophical discussion about the meaning of life and existence.
Ok
The Cutie (1989)
Greg Egan's first published story. An obsession with having a baby leads to a male pregnancy and birth that becomes a horrific nightmare.
Enjoyable
Into Darkness (1992)
Some suspected alien technology changes the local physics of an area from being isotropic to radially anisotropic. In practical terms, this means any movement away from the core is lethal. The protagonist tries to rescue people by leading them towards the core, where they then wait for the effect to dissipate.
Ok
Appropriate Love (1991)
An insurance company wants to cut costs in a full body replacement procedure. His wife is coerced into carrying his brain in her womb for two years until the clone is an a viable state for transplantation.
Enjoyable
The Moral Virologist (1990)
A deranged religious virologist develops a virus that will kill all homosexuals and adulterers, which he defines as anyone who has ever had sex with more than one person. It will also kill anyone who gets blood on them from someone else. However, he's overlooked one critical issue. I laughed a lot because I read this as a tragicomedy. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I found it to be utterly hilarious in how ridiculously absurd it all was.
Highly Enjoyable
Closer (1992)
An exploration of sexuality, intimacy, and identity.
Highly Enjoyable
Unstable Orbits in the Space of Lies (1992)
Ideology has become infectious and has formed ideological basins. Anyone who enters them becomes indoctrinated. There are still a few yet who remain in the center and have not fallen into ideology. But, perhaps there's no escape from ideology and they're unable to accept their own.
Ok