I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this book, but it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. In general I like hard scifi that goes as in-depth as possible about the fictional science. I think this book kind of took that concept to the next level. There are still characters in this book, but I think it is about 90% descriptions of fictional science and 10% story. It is extremely dense with technical details. There are whole pages talking about the chemical composition of molecules or the inner workings of simulated physics. The author seems to have a background in computer science and uses this knowledge to extrapolate where computers might be in the distant future. I don’t think it is actually intended to be some kind of prediction. It’s just something that is interesting to think about. The book hinges on the idea of being able to perfectly scans someones brain and then play it back on a computer as a kind of simulation. But while they can perfectly scan your brain they don’t have enough computer power to play it back at full speed.
At any rate I look forward to reading some more of Greg Egan’s books. I hope the others are as fun of thought experiments as this one.
That’s Greg Egan for you. I recommend Diaspora by him if the simulated human theme intrigued you.
I second Diaspora! Seriously one of my favorite books.
Thanks. I’ll check out that one next.
Sounds like the kind I’d like to read too, thank you!
I’ve read the orthogonal books as well as perihelion summer and a few other shorts but didn’t get around to diaspora and permutation city, which many consider his best. They’re on my to do list.
He’s not great at character and relationship but he has some of the best ideas and worlds.
I recommend his website, he goes deep into the math and physics of his worlds, great read for any physics nerds put there.
rip, tie cut toy man.
i dont think i’ve read greg egan stories for over 20 years . . . might be worth a review.i always preferred the short stories though, theres was few good anthologies. axiomatic and luminous spring to mind.
maybe there are some newer ones since then.
Greg Egan @gregeganSF has written new books, like “Scale” and “The Book of All Skies” and collections of his latest stories like “Sleep and the Soul” and “Instantiation”.
Check out his website for more info [ https://gregegan.net/ ].
I’m loving this website and how it looks like a html only web1.0 site. I don’t know why, but 90s tech is already starting to feel retro future like.
This book has been on my reading list for a long time, I really have to get around to it sometime.
I started Permutation City now and am really enjoying it. Thank you so much for this fantastic recommendation. I feel like I felt when reading Asimov. The author is indeed a physicist, funny enough I knew him from a physics note but didn’t know he was also a sci-fi writer.
Does anyone know if any seller/publisher of this book sells it without DRM?
I just bought Permutation City on Kobo, where I usually buy all my ebooks. …And what a let-down: the book is DRM-protected, so I can’t simply download the purchased ebook and read it on my laptop or phone, without having Adobe breaking my privacy.
So I returned the book.
I’ve happily bought the brilliant Mistborn, “Wax and Wayne”, and Stormlight Archive full collections by Brandon Sanderson without DRM on his books. I think it’s thanks to the Tor Publishers. Here’s what Sanderson says about DRM:
This isn’t even getting into DRM, which is a practice that punishes only those who want to do what is right by supporting the release, rather than pirating. There hasn’t been as much talk of this lately, but I haven’t forgotten. I think people should be able to move their ebooks between devices, and store them locally in case their chosen platform vanishes. (To their credit, Tor Books has released DRM-free ebooks. That is not the case at my other publishers.)
I know everyone has their own principles about this kind of thing, but I’d personally just buy a paperback copy and then download a .epub of it. I’d own the book that way and not have any qualms about having it in .epub format.
It’s also pretty easy to remove DRM from ebooks. If I paid for an ebook I’ll read it however I want.
Agree on all your points. I just don’t want to bother fiddling with adobe etc. I’ll buy a paper copy – why didn’t I think of that!
