'The Quantum Thief' by Hannu Rajaniemi is a mind-bending hard science fiction novel set in a future universe filled with complex concepts, intricate world-building, and a heist plot. The story follows the thief Jean le Flambeur as he navigates through a world where time is currency, memories are recycled, and societies are based on structured manners and mores. The book delves into themes of posthumanity, virtual worlds, and the evolution of political movements, all wrapped in a narrative that challenges readers with its unique writing style and unconventional storytelling approach.
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Triggers and content warnings include themes of violence, death, and existential threats in a complex societal context.
From The Publisher:
The Quantum Thief is a Kirkus Reviews Best of 2011 Science Fiction & Fantasy title. One of Library Journal's Best SF/Fantasy Books of 2011
Jean le Flambeur is a post-human criminal, mind burglar, confidence artist, and trickster. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but his exploits are known throughout the Heterarchy- from breaking into the vast Zeusbrains of the Inner System to stealing rare Earth antiques from the aristocrats of Mars. Now he's confined inside the Dilemma Prison, where every day he has to get up and kill himself before his other self can kill him.
Rescued by the mysterious Mieli and her flirtatious spacecraft, Jean is taken to the Oubliette, the Moving City of Mars, where time is currency, memories are treasures, and a moon-turnedsingularity lights the night. What Mieli offers is the chance to win back his freedom and the powers of his old self-in exchange for finishing the one heist he never quite managed.
As Jean undertakes a series of capers on behalf of Mieli and her mysterious masters, elsewhere in the Oubliette investigator Isidore Beautrelet is called in to investigate the murder of a chocolatier, and finds himself on the trail of an arch-criminal, a man named le Flambeur....
Hannu Rajaniemi's The Quantum Thief is a crazy joyride through the solar system several centuries hence, a world of marching cities, ubiquitous public-key encryption, people communicating by sharing memories, and a race of hyper-advanced humans who originated as MMORPG guild members. But for all its wonders, it is also a story powered by very human motives of betrayal, revenge, and jealousy. It is a stunning debut.
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1 comment(s)
Como buen libro de ciencia ficción tirando a dura, está complicado cogerle el hilo de primeras: demasiadas razas, tecnologías y términos en general que no terminan de explicar del todo.
Conforme avanza la historia, te empiezas a dar cuenta de que da un poco igual, todo está tan bien hilado que a la segunda o tercera vez que mencionan el término, ya lo has entendido.
La historia tiene la base de las novelas de robos, con su detective y su ladrón cruzándose por la ciudad, sus conspiraciones y sus secretos que se van desvelando poco a poco. Lo típico, vamos. Lo bueno del giro SciFi del libro, es que las conclusiones te pillan aún más de sorpresa, pero siguen teniendo sentido con todo lo que te han mostrado antes.
Muy recomendable, y buscaré la secuela a ver que tal.
What can you read after
The Quantum Thief?
About the Author:
HANNU RAJANIEMI is from Finland and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was a director of a think tank providing business services based on advanced math and artificial intelligence. He holds a Ph.D. in string theory and is a member of the same writing group that produced Hal Duncan. He wrote The Quantum Thief in English.
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