I'm about 200 pages into Metaplanetary by Tony Daniel and it's got me by the cojones! Knowing my unrequited love for Neverness and Req. for Homo Sapiens you understand my passion 4 Sci-Fis in the far-far future. So far Metaplanetary has not disappointed. Like Zindell there is alot of mathematical stuff and quantum theory being knocked around here, but also like Zindell Daniel has the ability 2 break it down easily 4 the layman 2 understand. Sometimes Daniel's own personal quantum theories r a little difficult 2 see, but when u do-WOW-it's like entering a neat new little dimension.
Like Zindell's "fenestering" and Walter Jon William's "plasm" (in Metropolitian & City on Fire) Daniel's concept of "grist" may require u 2 suspend ur imagination 4 at least the first 100 pages. However, like Zindell and Williams, grist will grow (inside pun!) on u and later the thesis of Raphael Merced goes on 2 explain how it came about. Grist is basically tiny nanotech combined w/time fluxtuation and gravition encoding--one of the best ways of illustrating it is Star Trek the Next Generation: remember when Capt. Picard asks 4 his Earl Grey tea from the "convenience" and it simply builds itelf? Well u get the idea....
Actually Daniel is borrowing from alot of great Sci-Fi masters: The "Met" is sort of a combination of Clarke's space ladders and Simmons' WorldWeb. You can also feel touches of Heinlien, Bradbury, Aldiss, Herbert and Brin here and there. In fact he makes fun references 2 some great Sci-Fi writers in interesting places. His originally and intelligence is what establishes him--Daniel is a very young man but he is outrageously intelligent. His characters aren't totally human but they are immediately engaging and in no way does he belittle the reader's intelligence. In fact, like Zindell, he seems so exicted about creating his completely new future that you can't help being caught up in that.
Intense virtual worlds and crossovers too! I'd say more 'bout this but I'd really b spoiling...
I didn't know if I wanted 2 read this book or not, there is so much pap on the new Sci-Fi selves it's almost a crap-shoot nowadays, but after reading glowing recommendations from Gardner Dozois, Greg Bear, Lucious Shepard AND Roger Zelazny (who helped discover Daniel b4 his passing) I just had to. Daniel has also written: Earthling, Warpath and is now working on the sequel 2 Metaplanetary. And now Danlo looked in that direction, too. He remembered that snowy owls mate in the darkest part of deep winter, and so along with this beautiful white bird perched in a tree a hundred feet away, he turned to face the sea as he watched and waited.
Ahira, Ahira, he called out silently to the sky. Ahira, Ahira<i>Edited by: danlo60 at: 11/20/06 1:01 pm </i>
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