The Brain from Beyond

by Ian Watson

When (comparatively speaking) time machines run out of power in the wrong bit of spacetime, the intrepid, laid-back crew of the Time Machine Salvage Ship have a job to do helped by their on-board A.I., Homer, who homes in. However, this time things go awry for Xiaolong and Ngela and Zbeth and Yatta. Soon (comparatively speaking) they are involved with aliens who were stored in stasis under the Antarctic icecap which melted when an asteroid hit the south polar regions a glancing blow in our own near future, as everyone knows. Did something aim the asteroid? What and whence the Tall Ones, which have heads like those of hammerhead sharks? Might the far future bring into being a Boltzmann Brain? yes, one of those! Why are there so many chickens in the year 2776? Why, in the silence of space, does the Time Machine Salvage Ship have a ship's bell? And does Homer have a private agenda? There s also some ado about the nature of Nothing. And a Creation Geologist woman from Kristian Homeland USA. Plus, golden humanoid robots are operating a circus. Partly set in Antarctica as well as in Australia s capital, Cranberry; also in the tunnels of dwarf planet Ceres where giant spiders dwell, and in a totally empty universe, and a few other places The Brain from Beyond resolves its enigmas in sprightly vein.

Genres: Science Fiction

114 pages, Hardcover

Published April 16, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been quite a while since I’v read anything from Ian Watson. His new novella “The Brain from Beyond” turned out to be not only quite a lot of fun, but also hopefully indicates his welcome return to new fiction.

The story begins in the year 2776 and time travel has been available for a number of years. In fact this story concerns the adventures of the Time Machine (TM) Salvage Ship (TMSS) Fibonacci on its fourth excursion to recover and salvage time machines adrift in space/time.

The Fibonacci’s crew consists of the four members “who pass the times of transit congenially by concocting tales, by neobarbershop quartting, as well as by measuring the nature of Nothing”. Also along for the ride is the first enhanced AI, “Homer” .

The story is a hoot. At times laugh out loud funny (think Douglas Adams), at times a space/times adventure, at times totally thought provoking. We meet strange aliens ("The Tall Ones" large tentacled, Hammerheaded superior beings), stranger gods, Barbara from the past, and an earth changing catastrophic cataclysmic event.

The tale is well told and deals quite well with conundrums associated with time travel and some of the technical aspects of the space/time/void.

A sequel is "promised" on the last page titled, "The Trouble With Tall Ones"
Greatly enjoyable !

[Marc Pastor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Déu n'hi do, quina bogeria espacio-temporal. Una historieta de sci-fi sobre paradoxes i fins del món amb alienígenes i màquines del temps i molta molta molta xerrameca tècnico-indesxifrable.
Es llegeix bé, però hi ha un moment en què li has de donar crèdit a l'autor i creure que allò que diu té algun sentit, sense preocupar-te de voler seguir-li el fil o pararàs boig.

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ha sido una lectura muy densa y complicada de seguir, pero no me ha disgustado. La parte central ha sido especialmente entretenida. Las explicaciones metafísicas y filosóficas se me han hecho bastante cuesta arriba, eso sí. Pero se lleva puntos por el humor.

[Consuelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un 7/10. Es el primer libro que leo de Ian Watson, y me ha sorprendido bastante. La verdad, no sabía lo que iba a encontrar, ha sido toda una aventura. La sinopsis me hizo pensar en algo ligero, con humor (esa versión del Volando vengo...). Y sí que hay humor, ironía y hasta un poco de absurdo. Pero de lectura ligera nada. Ha sido una buena lectura, sin duda, pero reconozco que hubo partes que me superaron, en concreto esa mezcla de física y filosofía con lo del cerebro del Boltzman y demás. Eso sí, me ha picado la curiosidad y voy a tener que investigarlo.

[Virginia de la de la Fuente · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un novela corta y amena sobre viajes espaciales, IAs listillas, alienígenas perdidos y máquinas del tiempo diseminadas por el cosmos.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

With Ian Watson, weird is an insufficient word. Ditto for meta, and most other words. He likes to invent new ones and uses language like few others do, which helps to keep things fresh. But the amazing thing about him is how while pushing boundaries and going to new heights of seemingly randomness, there's still a methodical core of genius holding it together. But you can be forgiven for not catching it. It takes quite a bit to get through this short book with its density of character dialogue and its present tense, quasi-subjective narration. The subjects jump wildly as each crew member and Homer opine, pun or discuss subjects in a free-association sort of way a bit too much like real speech between people too smart for their own good. The subjects range from the future history of the world, actual history, biology, physics, philosophy, chickens and 20-21st century movie references almost like you're lost clicking links on a wikipedia page. It starts to come together over half way through in a way that made me feel brilliant for realizing that the narrative style itself plays right into the beginning of the story; almost an infinite tale, though it isn't and doesn't need to rely on that cheap trick. After all, it's a story about time travel featuring an alien causal-paradox that can only be solved by the accidental discovery of a supposedly impossible meta-dimensional hyper intelligence. I think.

Like other things I've read by Watson, it has lots to say about many things, and only he can somehow make it all seem to work together and 'natural'. If I had one wish from this book it would be only some more to like and grow on the characters individually. It was hard to concentrate with all the chattering riff-driven dialogue. The crew almost feels like a scifi collective-mind as they interacted with Homer, aliens and the Brain from Beyond. But certainly interesting and fun to revive me right when I was beginning to worry that I was growing bored of fiction.

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Al igual que los sucesos no lineales del relato, no sabría por dónde empezar a contar lo que me ha parecido su lectura.

Cuando una historia mete muchos conceptos científicos que me son desconocidos dudo de hasta qué punto son reales o inventados, pero desde luego para un lector medio la mayoría le va a sonar incomprensible y con la sensación de que sólo aporta confusión.

La historia resulta algo caótica en su narración y cuesta un poco seguirla, pero creo que es bien ejemplo de lo que significa la causalidad de los viajes en el tiempo y de la integridad de los eventos temporales. Por otra parte los personajes, aunque elaborados, parecen desarrollados a golpes con facetas de su personalidad muy forzados y remarcados.

Al final me he quedado con algunas dudas sobre el por qué de algunos personajes y sus motivaciones. La consistencia de algunas faltas de ortografía me hace suponer que están a propósito por lo que imagino que también estarán en su idioma original, pero no he sido capaz de entender el motivo.

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regalo del día del libro por parte de la editorial Gigamesh. La Fibonacci es una nave espacio temporal que se dedica a rescatar pecios perdidos. Al encontrar una nave que no debería estar ahí se pondrá en marcha una serie de acontecimientos que incluyen el pasado y futuro remoto . Entretenida sin pretensiones y de fácil lectura. Es lo que es, un regalo para pasar el rato.

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 3 out of 5]

No esperéis aventura ni misterio. Sí que hay algo de humor.
Una nave que viaje por el tiempo (todo el rato en la nave) un grupo de personas en ella con una inteligencia virtual. Se tiran todo el rato hablando sobre la situación en la tierra y posibilidades del viaje en el tiempo. Hasta que detectan algo.

[Ana López Gómez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Space opera corta y divertida.
Se lee estupendamente

[Rakel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Al empezar no lo tenía muy claro, y de hecho incluso de dieron ganas de dejarlo, pero pasadas las primeras páginas ya empecé a engancharme y a pillar la historia. Entretenida.

[Álex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Que no, que el humor medianamente absurdo no es lo mío.

[Raimon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprising.
Also liked the space time and how he developed it! I'll look for the second part!

[Jordi Salazar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Algo confuso a ratos.