Book Review
Metaplanetary: A Novel of Interplanetary Civil War
“I am a spaceship. I am about the size of the Martian moon Phobos, although not nearly as dense. I am also a human being.”
With these words, Tony Daniel captures the mind, heart and imagination in the first 3 sentences of the introduction. He is talking about the transformation of our species. He is talking of humans leaving the cradle of mother earth to …. What? The tone he uses hints at racial – no – species discrimination. How will he develop this idea? And are there lessons we can learn as Malaysians encumbered with a racially based body politic?
The answers are not soon coming; though the introduction is captivating and full of promise, one fairly has to wade though chapter one and two, pushing against a flood of ideas and concepts that challenge you to find a way to sort them in a coherent order you can relate to. But the hard work is worth it – the mad rush of new ideas only prepares you for a breathlessly readable novel.
What amazes me is the way Tony Daniel has taken some very new ideas in Science and applied them in a working universe. It seems like only recently that I read about quantum entanglement (ref-1) (ref-2), and here is a book (published in 2001) where this is an applied science. Also, with nanotechnology, virtual reality and Artificial Intelligence, he pushes the envelope and gives a perspective of how all these sciences could develop that’s – exhilarating.
I you want to read a synopsis of the book, here’s one that captures the facts but not the experience of reading it.
If you want your own copy, here it is on Amazon.
I want to get my hands on the follow up story – Superluminal.
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