- Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
- Publisher: Eos; Reprint edition (Feb 10 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0061020265
- ISBN-13: 978-0061020261
- Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 10.8 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #652,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Daniel's much praised Metaplanetary (2001) presented an awesome vision of the future in which the Met (a system of super-strong cables like spider webs) connects the inner planets and people can communicate instantly across impossible distances due to the presence of "grist" (a form of quantum nanotechnology that permeates the solar system). In this ambitious sequel, war breaks out between the inner planets, ruled over by the increasingly despotic Chairman Amés, and the outer planets, led by the maverick Federal Army commander Roger Sherman. Meanwhile, a large cast of characters, some of them human, some complex computer-programs, but most some combination of the two, live out their lives. This is large-scale space opera with an enormous cast, spectacular battle scenes and 11 appendices to help readers keep things straight. The novel doesn't work quite as well as Metaplanetary, in part because the space warfare becomes a bit repetitious and in part because, as the middle book in what will be at least a trilogy, the tale comes to no real conclusion. Nor is Daniel's work as intellectually challenging as that of such writers as Ken MacLeod, Alastair Reynolds and Stephen Baxter. Still, there's much to like here, particularly for fans of Golden Age great E.E. "Doc" Smith.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Daniel's critically acclaimed Metaplanetary (2001) left readers dangling on the brink of an explosive civil war between the inner and the outer planets of the solar system. In the long-awaited sequel, Daniel returns to his brilliantly realized vision of evolving humanity in the thirty-first century, when planets are strung together by super-strong, kilometer-wide cables, and a ubiquitous nanotech-based substance called grist makes possible both sentient machinery and instantaneous interplanetary communication from Mercury to Pluto. As the action continues, Ames, the despotic leader of the inner planet collective known as the Met, renews his assault on all manner of semihuman and quasi-human life forms, while his chief rival, General Sherman, plots a counterattack with the added muscle of intelligent spacecraft. Daniel's inventiveness occasionally stretches credulity, as when showcasing the exploits of a sentient jeep or the matter-bending powers of Jill, an enigmatic being who is--literally--part grist, part ferret. Yet the story remains gripping throughout, and it is packed with enough ideas to leave readers hungering for another volume. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
It was late autmn in the nothern hemisphere of planet earth Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
It was late autmn in the nothern hemisphere of planet earth Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic space opera action!,
By Eric (New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Superluminal: A Novel of Interplanetary Civil War (Hardcover)
I had to read this book a second time after finishing it because it was so incredibly well-written and action-packed! Being an avid sci-fi fan of books old and new, I have happily added this amazing work of sci-fi adventure to other books: "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Puppet Masters", "Foundation", "2001", "2010", "Rendezvous with Rama", "Ringworld", all the "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" books, as well as books as new to the genre as "Advent of the Corps" and others.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding continuation ... but not a conclusion,
By Edward Barnett (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Superluminal: A Novel of Interplanetary Civil War (Hardcover)
Superluminal is a strong continuation of Metaplanetary. Other reviewers' comments regarding the quality of characters, plot, and writing are spot on. If you enjoy classic space opera (as we all should), you'll be grateful for Superluminal. Be aware, however, that this volume does not provide a conclusion to the story begun in Metaplanetary, merely a continuation. I wish that the publisher had been honest enough to flag clearly that this is an open-ended series, each ending in a cliffhanger rather than a climax. There's nothing wrong with that approach, either from a literary or a commercial point of view -- I just wish that publishers would note which books are self-contained and which are installments in a series.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent world-building and military action,
By booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Superluminal: A Novel of Interplanetary Civil War (Hardcover)
A thousand years from now, humanity has spread through the solar system--and mankind is no longer alive. Artificial intelligences have grown so complex that they have taken on life--become 'free converts.' And 'physical' humans themselves have uploaded themselves into the omnipresent nanotechnology/communications net. War has broken out between the inner (Mercury/Venus/Earth/Mars) systems and the interconnected 'Met' and the outer systems with the inner systems, under director Ames, attempting to eliminate human rights for the free converts and to bring everyone under centralized control. The outer systems are outnumbered, outgunned, and faced with stupid generals, but they have powerful weapons of their own and fight back hard. Author Tony Daniel examines the lives of a number of people living in both the Met and in the outer systems, exploring the developing war through their eyes and virtual eyes. A young woman develops an affair with a nine-hundred year-old jeep, a rock-balancing monk re-falls in love, a punk-kid is adicted to 'glory' and a free-convert military leader tries to hold off the overwhelming force of the inner systems' attack. Daniel does a fine job balancing the lives of different 'people' with the need to move the story along. His powerful world-building provides a strong structure on which to hang the story and it works. SUPERLUMINAL is a big book (and part of a series) but it didn't take long for me to get hooked into it--reading until my wife had to beg me to turn the light off so she could sleep. The combination of first-class world-building, intriguing characters, and innovative military action adds up to one of the best Science Fiction titles I've read in years.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
