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The Quantum Thief
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Dec 2021 READER Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
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I read it in 2016 (thank you Goodreads for helping me keep track of such things). I found it quite baffling. Most of the details have slipped away from my aging brain, but I remember enjoying the overall arc of the story while thinking that many aspects of the character were put there for the sole purpose of confusing me. The fact that much of the story has faded from my memory is probably a good indication that it wasn't worth the storage space.
It took me two tries to get into it.
It's definitely hard to grasp. I took quite long to finish it, still then didn't understand the whole of it. It's just that the author does not explain all the futuristic things clearly.
I read this a few years ago and never had the urge to re-read. Clever stuff (if baffling at times), but I never warmed to the characters. It lacked humanity... but maybe that was the point?
I’m just about finished with it - I had read reviews about it being hard to follow so I started it with trepidation but have been enjoying for the most part. Some of it goes past me and then I feel like an idiot because the author has a PhD in string theory so I think I am just not up to his level enough to understand what’s going on. Glad to know others find some of it challenging. I like the writing style and I find the characters and their interactions appealing. It being part detective story is a good hook.
I tried it because it was listed as SF mystery but dnf because "replay the day" etc. is not my thing.
I added it to my TBR which is why I seconded it, and on first approach, I found it as weird as everyone else.But since it’s not as dense, for me, as Space Opera—which really disappointed me—I’m persevering.
At this rate I might not finish by the end of the month, though. ‘Digestible chunks’ comes to mind!
I’m 100% positive that Rajaniemi was tripping his brains out when he wrote this.
It definitely has some world-building that is quite unusual.
Mary wrote: "It definitely has some world-building that is quite unusual."Sneaking in an Understatement of the Year contender just at the buzzer. 😆
Adding to my 'might not finish by the end of the month' comment... I definitely won't, as somewhere in the Christmas turmoil my copy has disappeared! Yes, the Thief has been stolen. Or maybe it's a quantum singularity: maybe it's both there and not there. A Heisenberg Uncertainty or a Schrodinger's book?If found, please return to...
Jemima wrote: "Adding to my 'might not finish by the end of the month' comment... I definitely won't, as somewhere in the Christmas turmoil my copy has disappeared! Yes, the Thief has been stolen. Or maybe it's a..."Perfect post, A++, would read again.
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Love it!
Teresa wrote: "Jemima wrote: "Adding to my 'might not finish by the end of the month' comment... I definitely won't, as somewhere in the Christmas turmoil my copy has disappeared! Yes, the Thief has been stolen. ..."You're going to love this even more...
I’ve been looking everywhere for it at least twice a day since Boxing Day.
It was on my Kindle.
ROFL
Both there and not there, as I thought!
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Space Opera Fans
Books mentioned in this topic
Space Opera (other topics)The Quantum Thief (other topics)
We discuss this book back in 2016 and you can see that discussion here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Official description:
Jean le Flambeur gets up in the morning and has to kill himself before his other self can kill him first. Just another day in the Dilemma Prison. Rescued by the mysterious Mieli and her flirtatious spacecraft, Jean is taken to the Oubliette, the Moving City of Mars, where time is a currency, memories are treasures, and a moon-turned-singularity lights the night. Meanwhile, investigator Isidore Beautrelet, called in to investigate the murder of a chocolatier, finds himself on the trail of an arch-criminal, a man named le Flambeur...
Indeed, in his many lives, the entity called Jean le Flambeur has been a thief, a confidence artist, a posthuman mind-burgler, and more. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but his deeds are known throughout the Heterarchy, from breaking into the vast Zeusbrains of the Inner System to stealing rare Earth antiques from the aristocrats of Mars. In his last exploit, he managed the supreme feat of hiding the truth about himself from the one person in the solar system hardest to hide from: himself. Now he has the chance to regain himself in all his power—in exchange for finishing the one heist he never quite managed.
The Quantum Thief is a breathtaking joyride through the solar system several centuries hence, a world of marching cities, ubiquitous public-key encryption, people who communicate via shared memory, and a race of hyper-advanced humans who originated as an MMORPG guild. But for all its wonders, The Quantum Thief is also a story powered by very human motives of betrayal, jealousy, and revenge.