Particularize Of Books Permutation City (Subjective Cosmology #2)
| Title | : | Permutation City (Subjective Cosmology #2) |
| Author | : | Greg Egan |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 352 pages |
| Published | : | October 1st 1995 by HarperPrism (first published April 1994) |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Fiction. Cyberpunk |
Greg Egan
Paperback | Pages: 352 pages Rating: 4.08 | 7315 Users | 486 Reviews
Commentary Conducive To Books Permutation City (Subjective Cosmology #2)
The story of a man with a vision - immortality : for those who can afford it is found in cyberspace. Permutation city is the tale of a man with a vision - how to create immortality - and how that vision becomes something way beyond his control. Encompassing the lives and struggles of an artificial life junkie desperate to save her dying mother, a billionaire banker scarred by a terrible crime, the lovers for whom, in their timeless virtual world, love is not enough - and much more - Permutation city is filled with the sense of wonder.
Be Specific About Books Concering Permutation City (Subjective Cosmology #2)
| Original Title: | Permutation City |
| ISBN: | 006105481X (ISBN13: 9780061054815) |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://www.gregegan.net/Permutation/Permutation.html |
| Series: | Subjective Cosmology #2 |
| Literary Awards: | Locus Award Nominee for Best SF Novel (1995), Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis Nominee for Bester ausländischer SF-Roman (1996), British Science Fiction Association Award Nominee for Best Novel (1994), Philip K. Dick Award Nominee (1996), John W. Campbell Memorial Award (1995) Ditmar Award for Best Australian Long Fiction (1995), Premio Ignotus Nominee for Mejor novela extranjera (1999) |
Rating Of Books Permutation City (Subjective Cosmology #2)
Ratings: 4.08 From 7315 Users | 486 ReviewsCritique Of Books Permutation City (Subjective Cosmology #2)
Permutation City: Bursting with ideas about artificial life, virtual realities, digital consciousness, etc Originally posted at Fantasy LiteraturePermutation City (1994) won the John W. Campbell Award and is probably Greg Egans best-known book. It is a very dense, in-depth examination of digital vs.physical consciousness, computer simulations of complex biological systems, virtual reality constructs, and multi-dimensional quantum universes. Yeah, pretty intimidating stuff. In fact, it was soI don't read a lot of hard sf because my understanding of science is rudimentary at best, but I do tend to enjoy it when I read one that do not go too far over my head. I feel I only need to understand the basic plot and the characters' motivation, the whys if not the hows of it. If those conditions are met then my patchy understanding of the scientific details is not too much of an impediment and the bits that get through to me tend to be quite fascinating.So it is with Permutation City which
This book has all the stuff I was thinking about in the early 1990s -- artificial life, genetic algorithms, cellular automata, philosophy of consciousness, virtual reality, neurochemistry, brain simulation -- all woven together into a premise that is absurd but with enough actual computer science (and inside jokes) to make it mind-blowingly plausible. Not a lot of action, but fun -- if you can follow the details.
Fractious FakesWhat happens when your virtual clone hates your guts? Well apparently Panic. Regret. Analysis. Acceptance in that order. People reacted badly to waking up as Copies. Well, yeah of course. Its a bit like finding out your girlfriend is really a transgender biker - a mixture of fearful awe and fascinated interest. From a literary point of view, Egan has done something both awesome and interesting: hes created a sort of reverse allegory. Instead of language taking on an alternative
I am sure I am not the first one to think or say this but I am not smart enough for Greg Egan. I got a lot out of the book, some great thoughts about what you would do if you realized (suddenly or otherwise) that you were a virtual person, cloned off of a real person and the only control you had over your life was when to end it. Some other great thoughts about that same virtual environment, expanding it and playing god or not playing god depending on how you want to interpret how the simulation
This is the second Greg Egan novel I've read, after Distress. Both books follow the same rough template: a (relative) everyman protagonist encounters a person or group of people with bizarre metaphysical beliefs about science, and is initially skeptical until some startling event vindicates those beliefs. Both of these books are very pure instances of conceptual science fiction; the philosophical and scientific ideas are the meat of the book, not just convenient setup for the plot.Permutation
Yeah, good scientific speculations, some very good philosophical dilemmas, but no story, no tension or action, no characters (just names talking to each other, but with nothing to set them apart as personalities), lame and dry writing... in short, extremely boring. I actually "did not like it", the extra star is for the speculations I thought myself because of it.
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