Permutation City: The incredible, mind-bending look at cyberspace, afterlife and immortality from one of the greats of science fiction
Dec 2010 · Hachette UK
4.5star
59 reviewsreport
Ebook
384
Pages
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About this ebook
Immortality can be yours . . . at a price
Permutation city is the tale of a man with a vision - how to create immortality - and how that vision becomes grows beyond his control. Encompassing the lives and struggles of an artificial life junkie desperate to save her dying mother, a billionaire banker scarred by a terrible crime, the lovers for whom, in their timeless virtual world, love is not enough - and much more - Permutation city is filled with the sense of wonder and dread.
Can what makes you human be distilled into data? And what happens if you can't afford to pay?
Readers are having their minds blown by PERMUTATION CITY:
"Egan tells the story masterfully. I can only marvel at how he finds his inspiration for a high-tech tale in an ancient wisdom like Kabbalah, and then proceeds to out-Kabbalah even the Kabbalists with his creativity" - Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
"Egan questions what it really means to be human in a way that it's quite unsurpassed in my mind" - Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
"THIS is why I read SF. THIS is the sense of wonder I'm looking for in a SF story. Forget everything you read about virtual reality, artificial life & consciousness - nothing compares to the concepts and the worldbuilding in this book. This is ultimate postcyberpunk ever" - Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
"I can say without qualification that Greg Egan is the greatest science fiction author I've ever read" - Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Permutation city is the tale of a man with a vision - how to create immortality - and how that vision becomes grows beyond his control. Encompassing the lives and struggles of an artificial life junkie desperate to save her dying mother, a billionaire banker scarred by a terrible crime, the lovers for whom, in their timeless virtual world, love is not enough - and much more - Permutation city is filled with the sense of wonder and dread.
Can what makes you human be distilled into data? And what happens if you can't afford to pay?
Readers are having their minds blown by PERMUTATION CITY:
"Egan tells the story masterfully. I can only marvel at how he finds his inspiration for a high-tech tale in an ancient wisdom like Kabbalah, and then proceeds to out-Kabbalah even the Kabbalists with his creativity" - Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
"Egan questions what it really means to be human in a way that it's quite unsurpassed in my mind" - Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
"THIS is why I read SF. THIS is the sense of wonder I'm looking for in a SF story. Forget everything you read about virtual reality, artificial life & consciousness - nothing compares to the concepts and the worldbuilding in this book. This is ultimate postcyberpunk ever" - Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
"I can say without qualification that Greg Egan is the greatest science fiction author I've ever read" - Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Ratings and reviews
4.5
59 reviews
Ralf Stephan
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May 27, 2021
The first half of this book is excellent speculation, Egan at his best. The second, however, builds on an argument that is hard to swallow and ups the improbability to levels I can only endure once or twice. So I had to stop there when reading the book a third time, and will do so in future, which decreases the book's value for me.
1 person found this review helpful
Sergio Rufini Mastropasqua
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July 16, 2019
The ideas and Theories behind the story are fascinating and bold, but the development of thebstory and the characters is very confusing and made difficult to keep high interest during the reading.
Dean Pignon
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February 11, 2017
Several fascinating concepts about the nature of reality each with its own quite mind-boggling philosophical ramifications, all packed into a smotthly flowing and captivating story. It is a thoroughly enjoyable yarn built on top of some rather deep, scientifically accurate, intellectual musings.
1 person found this review helpful
About the author
Greg Egan (1961-) Greg Egan lives in Perth, Western Australia. He is a mathematician and has produced record-breaking research on supermutations. He has won the John W. Campbell award for Best Novel for Permutation City, and Oceanic was awarded a Hugo, a Locus and an Asimov's Readers' award. His work has also won the Japanese Seiun Award for best translated fiction seven times.
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