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S - Science Fiction
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Adams, Douglas (S)
Asher, Neal (S)
Aylett, Steve (S)
Banks, Iain M (S)
Barclay, James (F)
Barker, Clive (H)
Baxter, Stephen (S)
Brin, David (S)
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Card, Orson Scott (S)
Cherryh, CJ (S/F)
Clute, John (S)
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Egan, Greg (S)
Feist, Raymond (F)
Gaiman, Neil (F)
Gibson, William (S)
Goodkind, Terry (F)
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Hamilton, Peter (S)
Jeter, K.W. (S)
Jordan, Robert (F)
Lethem, Jonathan (S)
McAuley, Paul (S)
MacLeod, Ken (S)
Martin, George RR (F)
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Miéville, China (S)
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Simmons, Dan (S)
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Sterling, Bruce (S)
Vinge, Vernor (S)
Westerfeld, Scott (S)
Williams, Sean (S)
Williams, Tad (S/F)
Collections (S/F)
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| The Classics |
Bradbury, Ray (S/H)
Burgess, Anthony (S)
Tolkien, JRR (F) |
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| John C. Wright |
| Author Information |
Reviewed Books |
Other Books |
Notes: (G) - Part of the Golden Age Trilogy
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The Golden
Age(G)
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The Phoenix Exultant(G)
The Golden Transcendence(G)
The Last Guardian of Everness |
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Our Ranking The Golden Age is the debut
novel by John C. Wright, and is also the first of a trilogy. I found this one
trailing through the "customers who bought this, also bought this" links in Amazon.com.
While I can't remember the book that actually brought me to this one, I can say
that it should be linked to Egan's Diaspora if it
isn't already. Both books have a very similar setting and concept behind them.
Just like Diaspora, The Golden Age takes place thousands of years in the future,
10,000 to be exact. Mankind has evolved into a near Utopian Society, where they
live in a mix of the physical world and the virtual world. (this is actually a
little confusing at the beginning, but you figure it out pretty quickly. Also,
one thing I did like is that Wright didn't completely ignore the physical aspects,
which I think is very tempting to do) This mix, has allowed humans to get a kind
of immortality. In addition, their society is nearly perfect. It is run by a group
of incredibly advanced artificial intelligences, known as Sophotechs. These AI's
govern mankind based on a strict morale (logical) fashion, allowing mankind to
devote their time to other activities, as long as they are in the confines of
the rules upheld by the Sophotechs. Wright does a fantastic job of delving into
the various social and philosophical issues that would arise in a society like
this. What really is a living being? Is a clone? Is an AI? Is a backup copy of
yourself? Is a backup copy the same "being" if the original dies and loses an
hour of his life that the backup did not have recorded? What about the issues
of using technology to alter your memories or even your perception of yourself?
This is precisely what the main storyline of the book is about. Phaethon, the
main character, has willingly erased over 200 years of memory. Once he discovers
that he's done this to himself, he's brought into a long, complicated mystery
around what the memories entail and the ramifications he will face if he remembers
them. Fortunately, the world and debate around its issues and technology make
the book interesting enough, because plotwise (another similarity to Diaspora),
the Golden Age is very slow. Most of the book is spent exploring these issues
as Phaethon goes through the turmoil surrounding his lost memories. There is a
quote on the back of the book, describing the Golden Age as "..Transcendence,
big ideas and slam-bam action...". The author of this was either very well paid
or on drugs while reading this. (or just an incredibly boring individual) Because,
while the first two are spot on, aside from maybe 10 pages, there is no action
whatsoever in this novel. With that said, if you are a fan of some great ideas,
and a lot of detail around what those technological improvements could mean to
mankind, this is your book. Wright displays a great attention to detail. One of
my favorite aspects is the nuances and the etiquette that Wright describes around
how virtual beings would interact. However, if you are looking for a little more
excitement, I would pass on this one. The beginning is very slow, and it doesn't
pick up much more from there pace wise. Overall though, I'm intrigued enough by
the ideas and the world, that I'll be picking up the sequel. |
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