Superluminal

By Tony Daniel

Book Overview

Once or twice in a score of years, the realm of science fiction reveals a vision of tomorrow of epic and transforming scope. These are the dreams of the Asimovs, the Heinleins, the Bears, and the Brins. Tony Daniel brilliantly dreamed this future in his groundbreaking Metaplanetary, and now continues with Superluminal. It is a time when individuals take astounding forms and live astonishing lives. But it is also a future at war for humankind's very soul.

Civilization has extended itself far into the outer reaches of our solar system -- and in so doing has developed into something remarkable, diverse, and perhaps transcendent. But the inner system -- its worlds connected by a vast network of cables -- is supported by the repression and enslavement of humanity's progeny, nanotechnological artificial intelligences.

Now the war for human civilization shifts into high gear. A pogrom against the A.I. "free converts" moves toward a Final Solution, even as the elite super-beings, called LAPs, are co-opted into Napoleon-like Director Am s's all-encompassing, all-powerful personality. Superluminal flight is being secretly developed, and with it a weapon that promises utter victory for Am s.

But hope remains alive in the outer system with General Roger Sherman and his Federal Army. From the tattered remnants and fleeing refugees of a dozen moons and asteroids, these contentious, democratically minded warriors have been forged by the fire of battle into an effective and adaptable military force. Given time, the Federal Army stands a fighting chance to beat Am s. But the nanotech-driven war-machine of the Met is in full production, and time is the one commodity the forces of freedom lack.

It is total war for humanity in all its myriad shapes: war between the vast cloudships of the outer system and the deadly armada of the Met; between massive regiments of soldiers equipped with almost unimaginable firepower. Most of all, it is war within the hearts and minds of every human being. For this is the fight that will decide, once and for all, what form -- and which way of life -- humankind will take to the stars.

In Superluminal, Tony Daniel fulfills the promise of his critically acclaimed novel Metaplanetary. With gritty realism, a touch of wry humor, and -- most of all -- with an old-fashioned science fiction sense of wonder firmly in place, Daniel continues his saga of courage, sorrow, and glory brought on by total war for the soul of humanity itself.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061051438
• ISBN13: 9780061051432
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Length: 470 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Amazing

This book, a sequel to the amazing Metaplanetary, was meant as one more part of the epic series that started with Metaplanetary. Unfortunately, his publisher at Eos decided not to continue his contract with them and so he was unable to finish the series. Personally, I find that very tragic, these two books are some of the best SF I've read, interesting and intriguing in some of the very original concepts put forth. The way the author presents the ideas behind time towers and LAPs (Large Array Personalities) is fascinating; the entire culture he creates is very unique among the other SF I've read. He hopes to one day find a way to finish the story, and I truly hope he does, this story really needs to be finished.

great followup to Metaplanetary!

Superluminal is the sequel to the wonderful Metaplanetary, and it rocks as well! Set in an interconnected solar sytem in the far future, it tells of the war which will determine the form (or forms) humans will wear when they reach out to the stars...intelligent space opera with lot of heart... :)

Great fun despite the lack of any resolution

I went looking for this book after reading Metaplanetary. I ended up so wrapped up in that book that I had to know how it all turned out. Like some of the other reviewers, I had no idea when I picked up Superluminal that it was the middle book of a more extended series, not the conclusion I had sought. It was clear by the time I was half way through the book, though, that there was far too much complexity and far too many quantum-entangled plot lines for it all to be resolved in one book. Despite my dashed expectations (Thanks, EOS), I very much enjoyed this book. It features technology that's advanced in very believable ways, a society that appears to have evolved naturally from this technology, complex and evolving characters, a grand sweep and vision, wonderful inventiveness, intelligent writing and on and on. It's everything a really good space opera can and should be. My only criticism, and it's a weak one, is that the complexity and the presentation might make it difficult to keep track of all of those interweaving threads if the book were read over an extended period. I doubt that "extended" will be an issue for most readers. In any case, there are convenient appendices in the back to refresh one's memory on the characters and locations as needed. So imagine my dismay when I went looking for information on the sequel and discovered that there wasn't one planned! Thanks, EOS (Or did I already say that?). I sincerely hope that the author finds an outlet for the last book. It's a story that deserves to be told. Oh - this is not a warning against purchasing the book. It's worth it even without a conclusion. There's more than enough intriguing material here to serve as a good start for imagining your own.

Excellent world-building and military action

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.