Wil McCarthy is a certified science fiction treasure. A real-life rocket scientist with a gorgeous writing style and rapier wit to boot, McCarthy ...
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reviews
Aug 07, 2011
Andreas
rated it: 
Humanity has discovered Collapsium and Wellstone, substances that have made possible immensely powerful computers, teleportation and even immortality. “Faxes” allow the creation of any conceivable thing, from food to servitor robots to spaceship components. “Fax gates” allow teleportation and even duplication of people. The inventor of said substances, Bruno de Tovaji, is now living in self-imposed exile on his own asteroid in the Oort Cloud. Here he conducts experiments aimed at “seeing” the en
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Nov 03, 2009
Woodge
rated it: 
A few weeks ago I was flipping through the New York Times Book Review when I came across a brief, favorable review for this science fiction tale. This one was pretty wild too. The author is a former rocket scientist who now works in the field of commercial robotics so the science within The Collapsium is both informed and a little dizzying. But you don't need to be a rocket scientist to enjoy this book (or even a super genius like me). The hero of the story is the brilliant scientist Bruno de To
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Dec 15, 2009
Ryan
rated it: 
A lot of science fiction literature takes a somewhat negative view of scientific progress, 'cautionary tales' that point out the problems with scientific inquiry. I enjoy a lot of stories like that, but, when that type of story becomes too dominant within the genre, you end up with a very pessimistic view of things - I once heard an author refer to Michael Crichton's entire publishing history as "Here's a great scientific idea - AND HERE'S HOW IT WILL KILL US ALL."
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Jul 24, 2009
Chris
rated it: 
I enjoyed the series and I enjoyed this novel but the main character as a super hero of science with one guy knowing all can get tiring. I would just enjoy it for the physics and ideas and enjoy that someone decided to pack as much hard science into a space opera as possible.
Mar 17, 2011
Steven
rated it:
As far as story goes it's not too bad. Three interlinked stories featuring the same characters.
Very driven by the science within the universe. I really liked the science part of it, and the story was made to fit the science. Not a bad read at all, just not at the top of favorite science fiction stories.
I enjoyed Bloom (also by McCarthy) more than this one.
Very driven by the science within the universe. I really liked the science part of it, and the story was made to fit the science. Not a bad read at all, just not at the top of favorite science fiction stories.
I enjoyed Bloom (also by McCarthy) more than this one.
May 11, 2009
Brian
rated it:
Not my favorite of the series, the different chapters read a bit too much like individual short stories.
Mar 03, 2008
Leif
rated it:
It was a fairy tale. A science fiction fairy tale. Don't start reading this expecting your average space opera. Actually, maybe you should. I expected harder science fiction, and was pleasantly surprised and amused by the constant footnotes and appendices, and the whimsical plot twists. It was a very entertaining book. And a lot of the science was at least kind of backed up. Oh, and don't worry, it's not some kind of Buck Rodgers knock-off or anything. It's pretty good.
Jan 23, 2008
Mark
rated it:
Not as good as I expected from the reviews. It was certainly imaginative, and a solid grounding in Physics and the current state of the art was evident, but for me it was too much of the EE Doc Smith with a single scientist hero running around solving all the worlds ills on the spot. It also read as three shorts bolted together rather than one overall narrative which was a little disappointing as this wasn't obvious from the blurb.
Sep 16, 2008
Laurel
rated it:
If you like physics, you may like this book. I enjoyed the story of it, but I would have to say that my favorite part was all the theoretical technology and physics.
Jul 10, 2008
Lindsay
rated it:
There were some interesting ideas and themes in this futuristic novel.
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