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187th out of 430 books
—
946 voters
Equations of Life (Samuil Petrovitch #1)
by
Simon Morden
Winner of the 2012 Philip K. Dick Award
Samuil Petrovitch is a survivor.
He survived the nuclear fallout in St. Petersburg and hid in the London Metrozone - the last city in England. He's lived this long because he's a man of rules and logic.
For example, getting involved = a bad idea.
But when he stumbles into a kidnapping in progress, he acts without even thinking. Before h...more
Samuil Petrovitch is a survivor.
He survived the nuclear fallout in St. Petersburg and hid in the London Metrozone - the last city in England. He's lived this long because he's a man of rules and logic.
For example, getting involved = a bad idea.
But when he stumbles into a kidnapping in progress, he acts without even thinking. Before h...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
April 1st 2011
by Orbit
(first published 2011)
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A post-apocalyptic journey of self-redemption and bildungsroman. Probably aimed at millenials who develop intellectually at the expense of interpersonal relationships; thanks to a steady diet of technologically assisted personal interactions and freely available information. It explores the divide between the physical and the virtual and draws parallels using physics and artificial intelligence. It is an intelligent novel that does not try to instruct or lecture the reader.
It took a tiny bit of...more
It took a tiny bit of...more
I was first attracted to this series by the covers alone. Then I started reading them.
The hero of the stories, Sam Petrovich, is the unlikeliest of leading men and yet he turns into a futuristic Super Hero by simply thinking three steps ahead and accessing the information. Don't understand me too quickly. This is not a DC or Marvel Super Hero we are talking about. He is just someone who is fighting for his life and his way of life and eventually for those he cares about and is willing to do any...more
The hero of the stories, Sam Petrovich, is the unlikeliest of leading men and yet he turns into a futuristic Super Hero by simply thinking three steps ahead and accessing the information. Don't understand me too quickly. This is not a DC or Marvel Super Hero we are talking about. He is just someone who is fighting for his life and his way of life and eventually for those he cares about and is willing to do any...more
Okay. I gotta say, the cover hooked me. I mean, come on. If it doesn't hypnotize you, then it'll leave you quivering on the ground in a seizure. I found myself traveling without a book to read. I can't take two steps without a book on call, so I popped into a local Barnes and Nobles, scoured the shelves and BANG!
Then I opened it. I'm not sure what to call it. Post-apocalyptic cyberpunk? Apocalyptic Punk? Whatever you call it, Equations of Life is a terrific entry book into the world of Simon Mor...more
Then I opened it. I'm not sure what to call it. Post-apocalyptic cyberpunk? Apocalyptic Punk? Whatever you call it, Equations of Life is a terrific entry book into the world of Simon Mor...more
Samuil Petrovitch knows how to survive in the post-Armegeddon world. He's a 22 year-old Russian post-graduate student in in the London Metrozone, living in one of the high rise complexes of shipping containers that have taken over all of London's parks. He has already survived a shady past in St. Petersburg, and he has a heart that badly needs replacing. He knows what pathways through the city are least likely to get him mugged, and although he must be something of a shrimp physically he has on...more
I read this when it was nominated for the Philip K. Dick award in 2012, and I'm glad it showed up on that list as I hadn't come across it in any other way. Technically the entire trilogy is nominated.
This is set in a post-apocalyptic London (in the "Metrozone"), in a time where bombs have destroyed most of the world and countries like Japan have completely disappeared due to environmental disaster (war-related).
Samuil Petrovitch is around 20, having recently escaped from St. Petersburg and work...more
This is set in a post-apocalyptic London (in the "Metrozone"), in a time where bombs have destroyed most of the world and countries like Japan have completely disappeared due to environmental disaster (war-related).
Samuil Petrovitch is around 20, having recently escaped from St. Petersburg and work...more
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I checked Equations of Life out when I saw Science Fiction on the spine of the audio book. I was not familiar with Simon Morden but did know that Equations of Life was the first book in a series so I decided to give it a try.
Equations of Life is set in the London Metrozone. Earth has suffered from a disaster that wiped out some countries and damaged others with nuclear fallout. Samuil Petrovitch is a survivor of the fallout in St. Petersburg. He is keeping a low profile as a PhD student in the M...more
Equations of Life is set in the London Metrozone. Earth has suffered from a disaster that wiped out some countries and damaged others with nuclear fallout. Samuil Petrovitch is a survivor of the fallout in St. Petersburg. He is keeping a low profile as a PhD student in the M...more
This book is such a--dare I say it?--charming departure from what I've been seeing in sci fi! Had to give it the 5 stars. It's post-Armageddon "London Metrozone." Ok, I know what you're thinking. "Charming" and "post-Armageddon" together? Has she taken leave of her senses? But I have to call it as I see it. (And, yes, probably millions of people die in this one, along the way. But the story isn't really about those people, though they do factor in, of course.)
You've got your Russian organized c...more
You've got your Russian organized c...more
You may also read my review here:http://www.mybookishways.com/201...
In a postapocalyptic London, Samuil Petrovitch is just trying to keep his head down when he stumbles upon a kidnapping attempt on the daughter of a Japanese tycoon (and head mobster). Deciding to rescue the girl is certainly not the way to keep a low profile, but something inspires Sam to act, and as a result, he’s brought into a vast conspiracy that threatens his entire existence. During his adventure, Sam will capture the hea...more
In a postapocalyptic London, Samuil Petrovitch is just trying to keep his head down when he stumbles upon a kidnapping attempt on the daughter of a Japanese tycoon (and head mobster). Deciding to rescue the girl is certainly not the way to keep a low profile, but something inspires Sam to act, and as a result, he’s brought into a vast conspiracy that threatens his entire existence. During his adventure, Sam will capture the hea...more
http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2...
The moment I saw the cover for Simon Morden's Equations of Life I was intrigued. In a genre known for covers like S.M. Stirling's Rising(google it, right now), the art put together by Orbit Books screamed unique. I have to give them credit for giving a new author something that differentiates him on the shelf. Throw in a blurb that has Armageddon, jihads, and complex math and there was little doubt I was pumped to get my hands on it.
Morden's novel features...more
The moment I saw the cover for Simon Morden's Equations of Life I was intrigued. In a genre known for covers like S.M. Stirling's Rising(google it, right now), the art put together by Orbit Books screamed unique. I have to give them credit for giving a new author something that differentiates him on the shelf. Throw in a blurb that has Armageddon, jihads, and complex math and there was little doubt I was pumped to get my hands on it.
Morden's novel features...more
Equations of Life is the first novel of the 'Metrozone' series. Set in a near future where mankind is still rebuilding from a devastating global war as well as environmental catastrophe, London has become an overcrowded quasi-refuge for immigrants fleeing the destruction of their homelands. Samuil is a Russian math and technology genius with a dying heart who is sucked into criminal politics when he rescues a teenage girl from a kidnapping attempt. The girl also happens to be the daughter of the...more
Equations of Life by Simon Morden introduces the reader to a fascinating place -- Metrozone, a post-apocalyptic London full of emigrants from the war-torn world who are housed in apartment blocks built out of stacked up shipping containers. Gangs abound, including the Japanese Yakuza who fled when Japan sank into the Ocean, Ukrainians who fled when the Soviet Union & environs were nuked, and disaffected slum-dwellers.
Enter our antihero Samuil Petrovitch, a Russian expatriate mathematics stu...more
Enter our antihero Samuil Petrovitch, a Russian expatriate mathematics stu...more
Awesome world - post-some sort of an Apocalypse that's kept pretty vague in this novel, although there are references to nuclear fallout and radiation issues. The story takes place in a London that's had all of its parks converted into refugee camps, basically, filled with shipping containers turned into living quarters. The world is technologically-speaking not that far from our own - possibly because the Apocalypse came along and halted development for a number of years, I guess. There are hin...more
I was caught a bit off guard by how much I enjoyed this book perhaps because the last one or two sci-fi/dystopian thrillers were so disappointing. Mr Morden creates unique, quirky yet truly believable characters who speak and view their world using dialogue that rings true. Equations of Life reminded me what makes a great book - believable characters that you care about, invest in and impart with your own beliefs and emotions(duh).
The main character Samuil is an individual whom I initially disli...more
The main character Samuil is an individual whom I initially disli...more
The cover was the first thing that drew me into this book. It's hypnotic. What kept me in was Sam. There are probably spoilers.
He's a jerk. He cares only for himself and science. Or at least that's what he'd like everyone, including the reader to believe. And I would guess most people who pick up this book will believe he could care less about the rest of the people that surround him. He certainly seems to believe his act.
But if you stick with him through his whole crazy journey, you learn along...more
He's a jerk. He cares only for himself and science. Or at least that's what he'd like everyone, including the reader to believe. And I would guess most people who pick up this book will believe he could care less about the rest of the people that surround him. He certainly seems to believe his act.
But if you stick with him through his whole crazy journey, you learn along...more
http://lightningtreelive.wordpress.co...
Welcome to Simon Morden’s Metrozone series. If you’re on the lookout for a dystopian thriller with plentiful lashings of humour, Equations of Life could be your thing. It’s fun, fast-paced, and mischievous, crammed with gun battles, car chases, and general chaos. Fans of Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash will recognise its exuberant OTT-ness – and although Equations of Life does not reach the same level as this eminent forebear, it’s definitely an enjoyable rom...more
Welcome to Simon Morden’s Metrozone series. If you’re on the lookout for a dystopian thriller with plentiful lashings of humour, Equations of Life could be your thing. It’s fun, fast-paced, and mischievous, crammed with gun battles, car chases, and general chaos. Fans of Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash will recognise its exuberant OTT-ness – and although Equations of Life does not reach the same level as this eminent forebear, it’s definitely an enjoyable rom...more
post-apocalyptic london, most of the country is wiped out, and all the refugees have fled to the big city. parks have become cargo container tower blocks, gang wars rife, high density population.
petrovitch is a young russian, keeping his head down, desperate to avoid attention. a phd student in physics on the edge of a break through, when he foolishly puts his head above the parapet by preventing a kidnapping. which suddenly puts him slap bang in the middle of an imminent gang war between the r...more
petrovitch is a young russian, keeping his head down, desperate to avoid attention. a phd student in physics on the edge of a break through, when he foolishly puts his head above the parapet by preventing a kidnapping. which suddenly puts him slap bang in the middle of an imminent gang war between the r...more
Постапокалиптичните уравнения на живота на Саймън Мордън: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/y...
Добре дошли в лондонската Метрозона, последният град на Острова след Армагедон. Тук нещата са доста объркани, но ще се ориентирате малко по малко през погледа на Самуил Петрович, главният герой в “Уравненията на живота” на Саймън Мордън (трилогията спечели наградата “Филип К. Дик” за 2012 г.!). Той е от оцеляващите – видял повече, отколкото му се иска, успял да избяга от ядрения ад в Санкт Петербург...more
Добре дошли в лондонската Метрозона, последният град на Острова след Армагедон. Тук нещата са доста объркани, но ще се ориентирате малко по малко през погледа на Самуил Петрович, главният герой в “Уравненията на живота” на Саймън Мордън (трилогията спечели наградата “Филип К. Дик” за 2012 г.!). Той е от оцеляващите – видял повече, отколкото му се иска, успял да избяга от ядрения ад в Санкт Петербург...more
This book is set in the future after Armageddon, where Japan has disappeared into the sea and England has dissolved into one city - London Metrozone - that is divided into sections by various mobs.
Samuil Petrovitch is a Russian PhD student with a mysterious past, and a heart that needs to be replaced. He usually keeps to himself, but when he saves a woman from being kidnapped, everything turns on its head. Now he is just trying to survive.
I found the world the book is set in hard to understand....more
Samuil Petrovitch is a Russian PhD student with a mysterious past, and a heart that needs to be replaced. He usually keeps to himself, but when he saves a woman from being kidnapped, everything turns on its head. Now he is just trying to survive.
I found the world the book is set in hard to understand....more
Actually the first book of a trilogy. Each released one month apart. I'm 50% through the three. It is a human thriller of love and treachery, and shifting loyalties, in a post apocalyptic earth at the brink of the singularity and the solution of the grand unification equation combined with a seemingly endless and yet deeply engrossing chase for survival and redemption.
And, it presents a storyline that is actually sequential chapter after chapter instead of the attention deficit syndrome of alte...more
And, it presents a storyline that is actually sequential chapter after chapter instead of the attention deficit syndrome of alte...more
This is a classic hard boiled accidental hero story set in a futuristic city. For the majority of the book, the science fiction element is really only a back drop for a classic man on the run noir scenario. One of the things that Morden firmly believes in though is escalating action, and just when you think that he can't top himself he shifts the book firmly into his science fiction world. While the feel of the book is noir, Morden is clearly standing on the shoulders of William Gibson, and it i...more
I tried a sample of this on my Kindle on Sunday....fast forward to 3am and I finished this and immediately bought the second. I am not a "hard" scifi person but I LOVED this book. Dystopian future, brilliant yet flawed hero, gun toting nuns, AI...it has it all. My only complaint is that while the world building was decent I wanted to know more about how they got to this place and the author doled it out slowly and in little bits. Better than a huge infodump but I wish a little more detail about...more
See the full review on Short & Sweet Reviews.
The action in Equations of Life is virtually non-stop, from the moment when Sam Petrovitch makes the split-second decision to save Sonja Oshicora from being kidnapped by a rival mob, until the very end, where every character has been battered and bruised and significantly worse for wear. I could easily see this be made into an action movie, with some pretty awesome special effects: there are explosions, sentient machinery, train wrecks, car chases...more
The action in Equations of Life is virtually non-stop, from the moment when Sam Petrovitch makes the split-second decision to save Sonja Oshicora from being kidnapped by a rival mob, until the very end, where every character has been battered and bruised and significantly worse for wear. I could easily see this be made into an action movie, with some pretty awesome special effects: there are explosions, sentient machinery, train wrecks, car chases...more
This is post-Apocalyptic, warring mafias, hardcore math and harder tech all running amok. There were zombies at one point. These things happen after radiation has become a part of daily life. It explores the possibilities of math to define the universe and allow manipulations. It looks at the possibilities of insanely powerful computers and virtual reality. What happens when a computer-generated copy of a man dreams?
Oh, and there's an Amazon warrior nun who totally kicks butt and goes rogue. Ho...more
Oh, and there's an Amazon warrior nun who totally kicks butt and goes rogue. Ho...more
this is the first novel is simon morden's metrozone series featuring the character of samuil petrovitch, a fool talking russian with a genius iq and a penchant for getting into trouble at every turn. this book sets up a wonderful world that takes place in a post-apocalyptic london. it is a world teeming with criminal activity as most of the worlds nations have fallen to the nuclear fallout. the london metrozone however houses the brilliant and slightly broken samuil petrovitch who makes a rash d...more
A fun exploration of post-apocalypse London through the eyes of a displaced Russian hacker and mathematician with a bad heart and a worse attitude, Equations of Life kept me coming back to read more until I finished it. The characters are fresh takes on old cliches: the hacker who Doesn't Want To Get Involved in this case is always a few minutes from a heart attack; the badass female warrior is a nun. There are plenty of gangsters, a corrupt police detective, and more, all set against the backdr...more
A fast moving, dystopian, near future cyber thriller. Main character is a nihilistic Russian physics grad student who gets dragged into doing the right thing despite himself. Setting is the Metrozone, London after the rest of the UK has been made uninhabitable by nuclear terrorism. The world is very convincing as the author has a pretty clear understanding of humanity in the mass. Despite the current dystopia there is a strong note of optimism by the end. I pretty much inhaled the book before mo...more
Serious page turner. Morden has turned the chapter hook into a science. The characters were fairly archetypal, which was fine for the pacing of the plot left little room for deep development. All the same, the archetypes were chosen wisely and the play between the characters is sometimes simplified but often satisfying within the grand scheme of events. In reflection, I would say I enjoyed the first half of this book much more than the second. There was more going on in setup, more mystery, more...more
I quite enjoyed Equations of Life, and I'm looking forward to reading the remaining two-thirds of the trilogy. A couple of nits: while I found the anti-hero's... well, "anti-heroic" protestations engaging at first, they became increasingly irksome as the story progressed. I felt the same way about his heart problems: a little overdone.
And one little thing: I've never seen the word "Okay" capitalized (consistently) in the middle of a sentence. Is this a convention I don't know about? Even if so,...more
And one little thing: I've never seen the word "Okay" capitalized (consistently) in the middle of a sentence. Is this a convention I don't know about? Even if so,...more
Fast-paced story set in post-armageddon, but still high-tech, London. The protagonist is a ex pat Russian with a past; he spends most of his time shooting or fighting or sleuthing, or telling everyone what idiots they are, and especially rescuing some damsel in distress, or conversely being rescued by a damsel. When he is not doing this, he is solving the General Unified Field theory equations which will give mankind all sorts of great advances, such as antigravity.
Fun, entertaining, and a bit...more
Fun, entertaining, and a bit...more
Author delivers a good story, solid characters, and has a great time with some punchy dialogue.
The main character, Sam, says he doesn't spend time wishing he could chage the past. There are a few other things in the book like this that you can take with you after you finish the reading.
I felt I had to read this book fast because the story seemed to move even faster like it could rip on ahead and leave me behind. I thought Equations of Life started better than it ended like four stars winding d...more
The main character, Sam, says he doesn't spend time wishing he could chage the past. There are a few other things in the book like this that you can take with you after you finish the reading.
I felt I had to read this book fast because the story seemed to move even faster like it could rip on ahead and leave me behind. I thought Equations of Life started better than it ended like four stars winding d...more
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Dr. Simon Morden, B.Sc. (Hons., Sheffield) Ph.D (Newcastle) is a bona fide rocket scientist, having degrees in geology and planetary geophysics. Unfortunately, that sort of thing doesn’t exactly prepare a person for the big wide world of work: he’s been a school caretaker, admin assistant, and PA to a financial advisor. He’s now employed as a part-time teaching assistant at a Gateshead primary sch...more
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“People like us, we think differently, don't we? We are different. We do all the things that others do. But when it comes down to it, we don't need anyone else. We're happy doing what we do and having obligation interferes with that. And sometimes I think we don't even need ourselves. What's most important is to find out whether we're right or not.”
—
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Apr 12, 2013 10:56pm