Scan barcode
leflambeur's review against another edition
5.0
One of those books that can easily stand up to multiple readings. Very complex, but in an engaging way. Highly recommend.
jjmp1993's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
aceinit's review against another edition
4.0
For now, all I am going to say is I need to read this one again. It unfolds layer by layer, and I will definitely be doing a back-to-back reading of this novel and its predecessor in the near-future.
centaurea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
frithnanth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mllocy's review against another edition
5.0
Nothing pleases me more than when a novel refuses the reader exposition. Instead, they immerse you in the world and let you sink or swim. And let me tell you, that first gulp of air is so sweet. I read 'The Quantum Thief,' to which this book is the sequel. I was worried that, having already swam in that ocean of post-human lives, sentient machines, and cultures based solely on MMORPGs, that navigating these waters would be too easy. I was delightfully wrong. I had many gasps of sweet sweet air, but I was deliciously worried that a wave will come crashing down on me and pull me under. Three cheers for 'The Fractal Prince.'
Jean le Flambeur, the gentleman thief, returns in this novel with a plan to steal the soul of a god. With the help of Mieli, the Oortian warrior woman, and Perhonen, the sentient ship, he travels to an Earth that is at once oddly familiar and unrecognizable.
Again, Hannu Rajaniemi creates a world where, try as you might, you cannot fully grasp it's intricacies. And you aren't supposed to (sometimes I wonder if even he does). This is a post-Singularity human microcosm where all the rules are different and even death can be overcome. A futurist might eagerly anticipate an Earth full of quantum tech, enslaved minds, and stories that can control your body. Or he might recoil in fear. Even the characters, who look at this strange new world with the same jaded eyes that your or I might view our own lives, sometimes react in terror to the ways it has changed.
Some authors take you to alien landscapes in distant galaxies to put a mirror up to humanity. Mr. Rajaniemi keeps us within our solar system, and holds that mirror to our nose. References to ancient human mythologies mixed with startlingly prescient visions keep us staring at that alien face, trying to find our own.
Jean le Flambeur, the gentleman thief, returns in this novel with a plan to steal the soul of a god. With the help of Mieli, the Oortian warrior woman, and Perhonen, the sentient ship, he travels to an Earth that is at once oddly familiar and unrecognizable.
Again, Hannu Rajaniemi creates a world where, try as you might, you cannot fully grasp it's intricacies. And you aren't supposed to (sometimes I wonder if even he does). This is a post-Singularity human microcosm where all the rules are different and even death can be overcome. A futurist might eagerly anticipate an Earth full of quantum tech, enslaved minds, and stories that can control your body. Or he might recoil in fear. Even the characters, who look at this strange new world with the same jaded eyes that your or I might view our own lives, sometimes react in terror to the ways it has changed.
Some authors take you to alien landscapes in distant galaxies to put a mirror up to humanity. Mr. Rajaniemi keeps us within our solar system, and holds that mirror to our nose. References to ancient human mythologies mixed with startlingly prescient visions keep us staring at that alien face, trying to find our own.
theaurochs's review against another edition
5.0
The sheer glee of the Jean Le Flambeur novels is almost unparalleled. In this second book, the relentless pace of fast-turning twists does not let up, and neither does the unstoppable onslaught of mind-blowing ideas. Ideas which somehow, against all odds, coalesce into a coherent and deeply believable world. We’ve got disembodied conciousnesses living in the sand of the smartmatter deserts on old Earth, we’ve got self-recursive dragon-entities that eat everything in their path, we’ve got quantum gods with so much computing power they’re about ready to bootstrap a new universe or two. Every time something new pops up in these books it gives me a fresh little hit of wonder and awe. The sweeping vision of a post-post-singularity solar system is a true joy to experience, even from just a worldbuilding perspective.
Incredibly, pure worldbuilding is not the only thing these books have to offer. Despite my love for the world and tech, they are not even remotely the focus of the books; in fact the vast majority of the concepts are completely unexplained. They are simply there, and inform the ways in which the characters interact with each other and with the world. It is up to the reader to puzzle out what much of this stuff is or was or could be. This is an experience that I expect could be frustrating for some readers; there is absolutely no handholding and you have been thrown into the deepest of deep ends. What really saves it is how not understanding the world barely even matters. The story and characters are so excellent that you can follow along without ever really having to care what a zoku router is. Le Flambeur is a master thief, very much after the fashion of Maurice LeBlanc’s Lupin, and the whole book evokes that magnificent smooth criminal vibe; that delicious Oceans Eleven-style fun of watching someone pull off a really clever heist.
The heist in question in this book is how to effective steal a memory. The minds of the “founders” of the Sobornost, the entity that control the inner solar system, use specific memories as passwords/identifiers. In order to break in to some of the inner system computers, Jean is going to need one of these passwords. In attempt to do this, they need to convince a founder mind to tell them. Not an easy feat, and it’s going to involve layers upon layers of nested virtual-realities and stories; Inception-style dreams within dreams within dreams. This complicated fractal of realities is reflective in the narrative style, which is told in nesting stories, a Russian doll of Arabian nights that brings the audience with the characters; whose story am I listening to now, and why? What agenda do they have when they tell it? It’s easy to see how the body-thieves can take over minds with pure stories, if the stories they tell are half as fascinating and well-crafted as this one. Honestly, the sheer craft needed to create something so well-constructed is infuriating in its brilliance. The prose continues to be electric and it’s crazy how much thought is packed into so small of a space.
I've read so few authors where there is such grand ambition, actually backed up by the talent to pull it off. Rajaniemi is a revelation, and this book has it all. It's got a rip-roaring plot with joyous twists and turns. It has a thoroughly well-realised world with intriguing concepts packed in. It has deep philosophical and social commentary, without ever shoving these in your face. It has incredible literary inventiveness and deft skill. It has well rounded characters even when they are detached from what we might recognise as human; we still comprehend them and their drives. I've tried to keep this review short, because I could gush about every aspect of this book and still have more to say. Wholeheartedly recommend.
Incredibly, pure worldbuilding is not the only thing these books have to offer. Despite my love for the world and tech, they are not even remotely the focus of the books; in fact the vast majority of the concepts are completely unexplained. They are simply there, and inform the ways in which the characters interact with each other and with the world. It is up to the reader to puzzle out what much of this stuff is or was or could be. This is an experience that I expect could be frustrating for some readers; there is absolutely no handholding and you have been thrown into the deepest of deep ends. What really saves it is how not understanding the world barely even matters. The story and characters are so excellent that you can follow along without ever really having to care what a zoku router is. Le Flambeur is a master thief, very much after the fashion of Maurice LeBlanc’s Lupin, and the whole book evokes that magnificent smooth criminal vibe; that delicious Oceans Eleven-style fun of watching someone pull off a really clever heist.
The heist in question in this book is how to effective steal a memory. The minds of the “founders” of the Sobornost, the entity that control the inner solar system, use specific memories as passwords/identifiers. In order to break in to some of the inner system computers, Jean is going to need one of these passwords. In attempt to do this, they need to convince a founder mind to tell them. Not an easy feat, and it’s going to involve layers upon layers of nested virtual-realities and stories; Inception-style dreams within dreams within dreams. This complicated fractal of realities is reflective in the narrative style, which is told in nesting stories, a Russian doll of Arabian nights that brings the audience with the characters; whose story am I listening to now, and why? What agenda do they have when they tell it? It’s easy to see how the body-thieves can take over minds with pure stories, if the stories they tell are half as fascinating and well-crafted as this one. Honestly, the sheer craft needed to create something so well-constructed is infuriating in its brilliance. The prose continues to be electric and it’s crazy how much thought is packed into so small of a space.
I've read so few authors where there is such grand ambition, actually backed up by the talent to pull it off. Rajaniemi is a revelation, and this book has it all. It's got a rip-roaring plot with joyous twists and turns. It has a thoroughly well-realised world with intriguing concepts packed in. It has deep philosophical and social commentary, without ever shoving these in your face. It has incredible literary inventiveness and deft skill. It has well rounded characters even when they are detached from what we might recognise as human; we still comprehend them and their drives. I've tried to keep this review short, because I could gush about every aspect of this book and still have more to say. Wholeheartedly recommend.
artofmulata's review against another edition
3.0
This series is fun and there's something about the occasional casualness of the everyday inserted into mythic storytelling that's reminiscent of Zelazny. Not as good as Mr. Zelazny yet, but hopefully with time...
branch_c's review against another edition
3.0
Equally as ambitious as the first in the series, and with the same confident tone. But if anything, this one is even more convoluted, while being somewhat less thematically interesting to me.
Rajaniemi has certainly put a lot of thought into the divergent entities and societies that humanity might evolve into, and I suppose the nature of identity is explored a bit. But the complex setting isn’t conveyed as clearly as it might have been, with unexplained jargon flowing freely, so it comes across as a bit too chaotic, where practically anything can happen. The characters, too, are not quite relatable enough for me, though Tawaddud comes the closest, and I also like Perhonen more than either Jean or Mieli.
The story is certainly slick and polished, but less strikingly original than The Quantum Thief seemed to be. This one reminds me more of Gibson, with a dash of Egan. Worth the read though, and I’ll probably pick up the third volume of I come across it.
Rajaniemi has certainly put a lot of thought into the divergent entities and societies that humanity might evolve into, and I suppose the nature of identity is explored a bit. But the complex setting isn’t conveyed as clearly as it might have been, with unexplained jargon flowing freely, so it comes across as a bit too chaotic, where practically anything can happen. The characters, too, are not quite relatable enough for me, though Tawaddud comes the closest, and I also like Perhonen more than either Jean or Mieli.
The story is certainly slick and polished, but less strikingly original than The Quantum Thief seemed to be. This one reminds me more of Gibson, with a dash of Egan. Worth the read though, and I’ll probably pick up the third volume of I come across it.