It's often said the best sci-fi is that which requires a sci-fi setting. It seems obvious, but the vast majority of sci-fi consists of stories that could be told equally well when transposed to another setting. Greg Egan is one of a very few writers whose work who satisfies this basic tenet. Many of his stories would simply not be tellable in any other setting. The concepts and events related within absolutely depend on technologies and ways of thinking that do not exist at the time of writing.
This is proper HARD sci-fi. But it's not hard to read.
A common criticism of hard sci-fi is that it contains only ideas, and little plot or action. Plenty of both are to be found here.
Another criticism commonly leveled at sci-fi is that the characters are wooden, and show no development thru the course of the story. Egan again bucks the trend, one may truly use the term 'novel' to describe many of his books, especially this one.
Egan is renowned for his extremely creative and mind-bending ideas. This is perhaps not his weirdest excursion, but there's plenty to sink your teeth into in that regard.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this particular work is how all these elements, which are not often found together at all, are perfectly balanced here. There's not too much action at the expense of character development, and there's not to much introspection at the expense of action. Everything fits together to make one cohesive and immensely satisfying whole.
I've read a lot of Egans books, he's one of my favourite authors, but this one is still my favourite, for the reasons outlined above. I don't think I could go into any more detail without risk of plot spoilers. It's a good 'un, what are you waiting for?!
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| Length: 429 pages | Word Wise: Enabled | Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled |
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Top reviews from other countries
GeekDaddy
tour de force!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 January 2013Verified Purchase
GBE
Truth disguised as "bad" science fiction (with a bad audio-book narration)
Reviewed in the United States on 8 October 2014Verified Purchase
Brux
Necessarily Eganesque
Reviewed in the United States on 17 November 2016Verified Purchase
Jenny
Sexuality, understated philosophies, anarchy, biochemistry... All of my favorite things?
Reviewed in the United States on 4 May 2017Verified Purchase
Rp
The characters are better developed, the story has more dimensions
Reviewed in the United States on 2 August 2016Verified Purchase