It begins the day after next year in California. A maladjusted computer industry billionaire and a somewhat crazy US president initiate a radical transformation of the world through sentient nanotechnology; sort of the equivalent of biological artificial intelligence. At first they succeed, but their plans are reversed by Chu, an autistic boy. The next time it isn't so easy to stop them.
Most of the story takes place in our world after a previously unimaginable transformation. All things look the same, and all people feel the same--but they are different (they're able to read each others' minds, for starters). Travel to and from other nearby worlds in the quantum universe is possible. And our world is visited by giant humanoids from another quantum universe, some of whom mean to tidy up the mess we've made.
Or maybe just run things.
Rudy Rucker lives in Los Gatos, California.
It all begins the year after tomorrow in California. A maladjusted computer industry billionaire and a somewhat crazy US President initiate a radical transformation of the world through sentient nanotechnology--sort of the equivalent of biological artificial intelligence. At first they succeed, but their plans are reversed by Chu, an autistic boy. The next time it isn't so easy to stop them.
Most of the story takes place in a world after a heretofore unimaginable transformation, where all the things look the same but all the people are different (they're able to read each others' minds, for starters). Travel to and from other nearby worlds in the quantum universe is possible, so now our world is visited by giant humanoids from another quantum universe, and some of them mean to tidy up the mess we've made. Or maybe just run things. "Always willing and able to embrace sf's trendiest themes, Rucker here takes on the volatile field of nanotechnology and the presumed inevitable 'singularity' of human and computer unification. In a series of interrelated vignettes, he describes the calamity that befalls nanotech inventor Ond Lutter and his would-be benefactors when Ond unleashes a variety of self-replicating nanobots. In one episode, trillions of microscopic bots, dubbed nants, chew up Mars to create a colossal Dyson Sphere orbiting the sun. When the nants move on to Earth to transform every living being into a virtual-reality doppelganger, Ond saves the day with a nant-busting virus. The real fun begins, however, when Ond 'improves' on the nants with apparently benign nanobots, called orphids, that blanket every surface and provide plugged-in users three-dimensional access to every conceivable scrap of knowledge and experience . . . Rucker's] devoted fans and dazzled newcomers to him will revel in his willingness to push technological extrapolation to its soaring limits."--Carl Hays, "Booklist"
"In the very near future, two influential and maladjusted individuals initiate a radical transformation of the world through the use of sentient nanotechnology--only to have their plans foiled by Chu, the autistic son of two scientists engaged in nanotechnology research. The persistence of money and politics, however, creates a strange new world in which humans become telepaths and can travel to other worlds in the quantum universe; finally, gigantic visitors from another place entirely arrive to sort things out. Rucker excels in mind-bending premises and thought-stretching stories peopled with appealingly flawed characters that resonate with familiarity despite their eccentricities."--Jackie Cassada, "Library Journal"
Industry Reviews
"Rudy Rucker should be declared a National Treasure of American Science Fiction. Someone simultaneously channeling Kurt Godel and Lenny Bruce might start to approximate full-on Ruckerian warp-space, but without the sweet, human, splendidly goofy Rudy-ness at the core of the singularity." --William Gibson, author of Spooks"Rucker takes on the hot topics of nanotechnology and the transformation of humanity with exuberance and irreverent wit....Wildly inventive, tossing out ideas on the cutting edge of science with attention to their most offbeat consequences." --The Denver Post"Rucker puts the weird in science. String theory might as well have been invented to give rise to mind-benders like this book." --Cory Doctorow"This is over-the-top as only Rudy Rucker can do it." --Analog Rudy Rucker should be declared a National Treasure of American Science Fiction. Someone simultaneously channeling Kurt Godel and Lenny Bruce might start to approximate full-on Ruckerian warp-space, but without the sweet, human, splendidly goofy Rudy-ness at the core of the singularity. "William Gibson, author of Spooks" Rucker takes on the hot topics of nanotechnology and the transformation of humanity with exuberance and irreverent wit .Wildly inventive, tossing out ideas on the cutting edge of science with attention to their most offbeat consequences. "The Denver Post" Rucker puts the weird in science. String theory might as well have been invented to give rise to mind-benders like this book. "Cory Doctorow" This is over-the-top as only Rudy Rucker can do it. "Analog"" "Rudy Rucker should be declared a National Treasure of American Science Fiction. Someone simultaneously channeling Kurt Godel and Lenny Bruce might start to approximate full-on Ruckerian warp-space, but without the sweet, human, splendidly goofy Rudy-ness at the core of the singularity."--William Gibson, author of "Spooks ""Rucker takes on the hot topics of nanotechnology and the transformation of humanity with exuberance and irreverent wit....Wildly inventive, tossing out ideas on the cutting edge of science with attention to their most offbeat consequences.""--The Denver Post ""Rucker puts the weird in science. String theory might as well have been invented to give rise to mind-benders like this book."--Cory Doctorow "This is over-the-top as only Rudy Rucker can do it.""--Analog" Praise for "Postsingular" "Rudy Rucker should be declared a National Treasure of American Science Fiction. Someone simultaneously channeling Kurt Godel and Lenny Bruce might start to approximate full-on Ruckerian warp-space, but without the sweet, human, splendidly goofy Rudy-ness at the core of the singularity."--William Gibson, author of "Spooks""Rucker takes on the hot topics of nanotechnology and the transformation of humanity with exuberance and irreverent wit....Wildly inventive, tossing out ideas on the cutting edge of science with attention to their most offbeat consequences.""--The Denver Post""Rucker puts the weird in science. String theory might as well have been invented to give rise to mind-benders like this book."--Cory Doctorow"This is over-the-top as only Rudy Rucker can do it.""--Analog" Praise for "Postsingular": "Rudy Rucker should be declared a National Treasure of American Science Fiction. Someone simultaneously channeling Kurt Godel and Lenny Bruce might start to approximate full-on Ruckerian warp-space, but without the sweet, human, splendidly goofy Rudy-ness at the core of the singularity."-William Gibson, author of "Spooks ""Rucker takes on the hot topics of nanotechnology and the transformation of humanity with exuberance and irreverent wit....Wildly inventive, tossing out ideas on the cutting edge of science with attention to their most offbeat consequences.""-The Denver Post ""Rucker puts the weird in science. String theory might as well have been invented to give rise to mind-benders like this book."-Cory Doctorow "This is over-the-top as only Rudy Rucker can do it.""-Analog" Praise for "Postsingular": "Rudy Rucker should be declared a National Treasure of American Science Fiction. Someone simultaneously channeling Kurt Godel and Lenny Bruce might start to approximate full-on Ruckerian warp-space, but without the sweet, human, splendidly goofy Rudy-ness at the core of the singularity."--William Gibson, author of "Spooks ""Rucker takes on the hot topics of nanotechnology and the transformation of humanity with exuberance and irreverent wit....Wildly inventive, tossing out ideas on the cutting edge of science with attention to their most offbeat consequences.""--The Denver Post ""Rucker puts the weird in science. String theory might as well have been invented to give rise to mind-benders like this book."--Cory Doctorow "This is over-the-top as only Rudy Rucker can do it.""--Analog" Praise for "Mathematicians in Love" "Rudy Rucker should be declared a National Treasure of American Science Fiction. Someone simultaneously channeling Kurt Godel and Lenny Bruce might start to approximate full-on Ruckerian warp-space, but without the sweet, human, splendidly goofy Rudy-ness at the core of the singularity."--William Gibson, author of "Pattern Recognition" "Dr. Seuss meets Dr. Wolfram by way of Dr. Leary. This is vintage Rucker: whimsical and weird, with a chewy center of hard physics that's gnarly as hell." -Cory Doctorow, author "of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town" "A mind-bending tale. In a riotously twisting plot, complete with hypertunnels, alien shellfish from a parallel universe, and an improbable resolution to the threesome's romantic dilemma, Rucker pulls out all the stops for one of his most entertaining yarns to date." --"Booklist" Praise for Mathematicians in Love & nbsp; "Rudy Rucker should be declared a National Treasure of American Science Fiction.& nbsp; Someone simultaneously channeling Kurt Godel and Lenny Bruce might start to approximate full-on Ruckerian warp-space, but without the sweet, human, splendidly goofy Rudy-ness at the core of the singularity." --William Gibson, author of Pattern Recognition & nbsp; " Dr. Seuss meets Dr. Wolfram by way of Dr. Leary. This is vintage Rucker: whimsical and weird, with a chewy center of hard physics that's gnarly as hell." - Cory Doctorow, author of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town & nbsp; " A mind-bending tale. In a riotously twisting plot, complete with hypertunnels, alien shellfish from a parallel universe, and an improbable resolution to the threesome ' s romantic dilemma, Rucker pulls out all the stops for one of his most entertaining yarns to date. " -- Booklist
