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Title: The Collapsium by Wil McCarthy ISBN: 055358443X Publisher: Bantam Books Pub. Date: 26 November, 2002 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.82
Rating: 4
Summary: Immortality: Gift? Or Curse?
Comment: Maybe it's because I'm an old f**t, but I think a lot of reviewers have missed a key theme of this book.
I'll quickly mention points made by others before I center in on the immortality & "meaning of life" themes I've found here.
First, this is hard science fiction, but if like me you're no scientist, there is a way to read it and get the gist of the science without getting hopelessly confused.
Secondly, while the second half of the book is more serious with bad things happening, there's a playful perspective to the entire book that can be compared to fairy tales, or to "Tom Swift" solutions, or to glorious "pulp" science-fiction of the '30's and '40's. This might put off some readers and charm others.
However you react to the hard science and/or the allusions to
more faniful genres, don't overlook what is being said about immortality.
The novel's protagonist and antagonist are both among the first to embark into immortal life and are reacting to such a life's implications. As if immortality isn't enough to deal with, there's also the faxing of people creating copies of individuals who have the memories and personalities of the originals but go into divergent paths.
The principal character, after a long period of being the Queen's "Philander", has become a hermit buried in endless scientific research which will hopefully enable him to see the end of time. His opposite number, also for a time the Queen's "Philander", has a similar goal, but due to his immortality has become what could be thought of as a souless entity, with little regard for humanity. We're also given glimpses at other characters, each of whom attempt to deal with the prospect of immortality and the challenge to make unending life meaningful.
The question of God, of religion, or of lack of either is also looked at. In fact, it seems to me that contemporary science-fiction as a whole is giving religion and its impact on society much more consideration than it once did. Either that, or I'm noticing it more.
At any rate, if you bear in mind that this book does have a serious philosophical theme along with the "technobabble" and is framed in a pulpish, Tom Swiftian, fairy-tale like mold, you should find it well worth your time.
Rating: 4
Summary: Minus 1 star for a character development
Comment: This is a sweet little gem of a book that combines good storytelling with wild science that really hangs together quite well.
Since I see so many glowing reviews (and really agree with most of them), let me just tell you what disappointed me about the Collapsium: the story is brilliant and witty as it begins and seems to become less so as it progresses, until at ending (despite saving the solar system several times) our protagonists are roughed up and punished with imposed roles as "fitting rewards" to their efforts.
An interesting comment on the culture created here, but a bit of a downer for this reader.
I enjoyed the craft and storytelling, loved the characters and science, but found an entertaining read becoming too suddenly grim and sad.
Rating: 5
Summary: Ambitious and Enduring
Comment: This is a story with fabulous science, easily the equal of anything Larry Niven or Stephen Baxter have served up, or better. You can't swing a dead cat in this book without hitting another mind-blowing concept. Yet McCarthy's style is not the stiff deadpan of a NASA flight controller (which he is), but the romping satire of a Neal Stephenson or Salman Rushdie. It's an eerie combination. The language is deceptively simpler and more casual than "Bloom" or "Murder in the Solid State", but hiding behind it are layers of technical and human detail that lend this book the feel of a genuine classic.
The world and characters are quirky and compelling. Never mind that the sun is going to be crushed into a black hole, I wanted to live here anyway. The author's love of the place is obvious and infectious. The story moves from court politics to murder to battles in space, heady sf fare with a hard strange twist, but the opening and closing scenes which bookend this action set it apart, as a work of genuine thought and depth. I've read it twice in six months, and still want more.
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Title: The Wellstone by Wil McCarthy ISBN: 0553584464 Publisher: Spectra Pub. Date: 04 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan ISBN: 0345457684 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 04 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Hacking Matter: Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, and the Infinite Weirdness of Programmable Atoms by Wil McCarthy ISBN: 046504428X Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 18 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Bloom by Wil McCarthy ISBN: 0345424654 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Murder in the Solid State by Wil McCarthy, Charles Sheffield ISBN: 0812553926 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 1998 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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