Permutation City
by Greg Egan
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Read in January, 2001
recommends it for:
Geeks and Philosophers
This was my first introduction to Greg Egan and it blew my mind. Permutation City was the first book I ever read that made me say, 'Wow, that's a really interesting argument.' Other books made me think, 'huh, maybe we will have jet blaster space rays in the future.' but this one presents a serious and troubling philosophical argument. Permutation City isn't as fast paced or as idea dense as some of his other works but the ideas are much bigger and more provocative.
Egan is often criticize...more
Egan is often criticize...more
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Egan writes sci-fi, heavy on the sci. It’s what sci-fi was meant to be: a tale that takes a scientific idea and leads the imagination, wide-eyed, past the event horizon. The protagonists of Permutation City are software humans, scanned from fleshly originals, virtually immortal, and fated to craft a purpose for themselves in a world of infinite flexibility. Those who revel in the vertigo of Egan’s world may want to move on to Diaspora next.
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
Gibson fans, Matrix fans, Dao of physics types
I think i really liked this one. Like all scifi, it would have been better in one sitting. I brought it on a trip, and got halfway through it on the way to Chicago. The plan to finish it on the way back was foiled by a really loud events coordinated with an obnoxious laugh two seats over.
Nice read. Reminds me a lot of the themes in Tippler's Physics of Immortality, but since it's fiction, it's not as dopey.
Nice read. Reminds me a lot of the themes in Tippler's Physics of Immortality, but since it's fiction, it's not as dopey.
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Read in June, 2007
Humanity has gained immortality, by placing perfect
simulations of humans onto a computer chip after they die.
The humans on the chip learn how to create artificial
life. And so on, in an ever-ascending chain of machines.
Prepare to have your mind blown.
simulations of humans onto a computer chip after they die.
The humans on the chip learn how to create artificial
life. And so on, in an ever-ascending chain of machines.
Prepare to have your mind blown.
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Read in January, 2002
It's kind of the most typically Egan-esque of the books I've read - slowly trudging through misery and the pain of being human until the main theory of story makes the plot take flight and soar into the stratosphere. Making it to the end can be hard but it's totally worth it.
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Read in May, 2008
Diaspora-lite; the "computing on dust" concept confounded and didn't thrill me, but setting it in Sydney more than made up for any lack of comprehension on my part.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Fredrik by:
glenn
friggin' awesome framtidsroman om virtualism med vackra metaforer för en bruten samtid. verkligen, VERKLIGEN rekommenderad.
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Trippy as all hell. Slow to start, excellent development, weird end. Creation/Identity seems to be the main theme(s).
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