Math geniuses in fiction

So, reading the Master Able Six series by Carla Kelly has made me try to think of other math geniuses in fiction. I can think of just a handful.

a) Archimedes, in The Sand Reckoner by Gillian Bradshaw.

You aren’t going to beat Archimedes as a math genius, period. The amazing thing is that Bradshaw turned Archimedes into such a great protagonist. You can really relate to him as he drifts off into reflections about how many grains of sand it would take to fill the universe or pays people compliments by comparing them to parabolas, or whatever. This is one of my favorite of Bradshaw’s historicals. Not my absolute favorite — probably — but it’s up there.

b) Cora in The Shadow Campaigns series by Django Wexler.

Cora is not one of the protagonists, but she is important nevertheless. She’s Raesinia’s secret weapon: a financial genius perfectly capable of destabilizing the economy of a nation in order to help Raesinia negotiate from a position of strength.

c) Lady Tehre in The Griffin Mage series

Tehre is not exactly a mathematical genius, but materials science is close enough.

That’s three — four, counting Able Six. Is there another fictional math (or finance, or materials science, or physics) genius anyone can think of? It’s a more exclusive club than the political or tactical geniuses we see scattered here and there in fiction.

By the way, I notice the Griffin Mage omnibus is $1.99 today in ebook form. I have no idea how long that will last, but if you want it in ebook form, now would be a good time to pick it up.

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