Theories of Flight

Samuil Petrovitch #2

by Simon Morden

Winner of the 2012 Philip K. Dick Award

Theorem: Petrovitch has a lot of secrets.

Proof: Secrets like how to make anti-gravity for one. For another, he's keeping a sentient computer program on a secret server farm - the same program that nearly destroyed the Metrozone a few months back.

Theorem: The city is broken.

Proof: The people of the OutZone want what citizens of the Metrozone have. And then burn it to the ground. Now, with the heart of the city destroyed by the New Machine Jihad, the Outies finally see their chance.

Theorem: These events are not unconnected.

Proof: Someone is trying to kill Petrovitch and they're willing to sink the whole city to do it.

Genres: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Fiction, Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic, Near Future, Science Fiction Fantasy

340 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2011

About the author

Aka S.J. Morden
Dr. Simon Morden, B.Sc. (Hons., Sheffield) Ph.D (Newcastle) is a bona fide rocket scientist, having degrees in geology and planetary geophysics. Unfortunately, that sort of thing doesn’t exactly prepare a person for the big wide world of work: he’s been a school caretaker, admin assistant, and PA to a financial advisor. He’s now employed as a part-time teaching assistant at a Gateshead primary school, which he combines with his duties as a house-husband, attempting to keep a crumbling pile of Edwardian masonry upright, wrangling his two children and providing warm places to sleep for the family cats.

His not-so-secret identity as journeyman writer started when he sold the short story Bell, Book and Candle to an anthology, and a chaotic mix of science fiction, fantasy and horror followed. Heart came out to critical acclaim, and Another War was shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award, but with The Lost Art, things suddenly got serious. Contracts. Agents. Deadlines. Responsibility. Scary stuff. The Lost Art was subsequently a finalist for the Catalyst Award for best teen fiction.

As well as a writer, he’s been the editor of the British Science Fiction Association's writers’ magazine Focus, a judge for the Arthur C Clarke awards, and is a regular speaker at the Greenbelt Arts Festival on matters of faith and fiction. In 2009, he was in the winning team for the Rolls Royce Science Prize.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Returning to the Metrozone after the first book and several years in-between was NOT an issue. In fact, this one was pretty much awesome when it came to catching us up and re-building the world and heading us straight into the gee-whiz awesomeness of an anti-grav breakthrough and soon into the darker underbelly of a complete civil war.

Best features: cyberpunk, a great AI, super smart Samuil Petrovitch being rightfully egotistical and badass, and a truly great world to play in.

Oh, and it's quite Russian. With plenty of Russian humor. :)

This novel was pretty much a ramp-up in pacing and tons of streamlined action. The characters are pretty damn memorable, too. But what's the best part of this?

The resolution. It goes from an awesome flight to a massive turnaround with even more massive repercussions across the world. :)

I'm not letting this sit on the sidelines again. I'm going to enjoy the hell out of reading the other two. :)

[Metodi Markov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Доволен съм, че не се отказах от поредицата след прочита на първата книга.

"Теории за полета" е много по-добра от първата част - задъхано действие, бързи и тежки за взимане решения, събития създаващи проблем след проблем, истински постапокалиптичен кошмар.

Петрович е отново неразглобяем, като всеки истински савеЦкий человек. Но вече има подход към жените и това се отплаща богато. :)

Започнах трета част и се надявам темпото и качеството да се запазят.

P.S. И корицата е готина, можело значи!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Further adventures of the foul-mouthed physicist-turned-savior of the remains of London after some unnamed apocalypse. Not quite as laugh out loud funny as the first book but still some great lines:

We're out of explosives, and experimental physics is all we have.

Are you familiar with Schrodinger's Cat?
No.
And another metaphor dies whimpering on the altar of ignorance.

Ha!

[Христо Блажев · Rating 4 out of 5]

Петрович пак трябва да оцелява в ада на Метрозоната: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/t...

Ето го! Петрович е пак тук, неунищожим като хлебарка, вбесен като гръцки бог, упорит като политик на власт. В началото на “Теории за полета” той току-що е постигнал невъзможното – открил е антигравитацията (или нещо много подобно, но кой ли ще му слуша умните приказки?), но на никого не му е до това точно сега. Полуразрушената в “Уравненията на живота” Метрозона е под яростна атака от външните, жена му – някогашната бойна монахиня Маделин – е първо ранена, а после изпратена на фронтовата линия, а пътем американски агенти ровят усърдно и се опитват да научат какво се е случило в легендарната Дълга нощ, както и какво, по дяволите, бе Джихадът на машините и къде се е дянал сега. А, и искат да пречукат Петрович по възможност, твърде опасен е.

Colibri Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/t...

[Liviu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second Petrovitch book starts well and for the first 100 pages I thought it will match the debut and maybe even take the series to the next level; then it turns repetitive, predictable and a little boring since there is nothing essentially new introduced despite tantalizing hints

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable, for those who like action and destruction, with the occasional bit of science and politics. Sam ends up with a harem, in a way, and as his wife describes it. All of his male acquaintances have died, though, so it is not really his fault. Then there is the British aspect. This all goes on in a near future London. And those Brits using archaic language (according to American dictionaries), the most noticeable is the past tense verb 'span'. Plus all those odd place and street names, but the highways are numbered and the major ones recognizable even to foreigners. So the EU and US, including the CIA are involved this time, and the sentient computer, too. The New Machine Jihad makes a comeback, but under human management, sort of. Impressive.

[Ivan Bogdanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Тази беше малко по-слаба. Изведнъж бяха вкарани някакви нови герои - Външните, които почти превзеха Метрозоната.
Маделин беше отстранена за цялата книга, а Петрович направи всичко възможно да мине през огън и вода и да се намеси в една война, която не е негова, само за да я спаси.
И един ИИ, който почва да се осъзнава.
Но го нямаше очарованието на първата книга, макар че и тази ме държа цяла нощ. Ще видим третата.

[Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was chugging along and truly loving this book and the manner in which Mr Morden was developing the storyline - especially fond of the manner in which he described the evolution of the New Machine Jihad merging with Petrovich including his interaction with the avatar. You gotta love this character as he is an immoral son of a bitch with an irrational love of humanity and a belief in people yet he has zero patience for incompetence or lack of a spine to 'do the right thing'.

The reason I am only giving three stars relates to my disappointment in how the book ended. From chapter 30 onward it begins to feel thrown together as characters pop up, return, die and come together so rapidly and randomly as to leave me feeling a bit dissipated - there was so much potential and build up and then... pfft.

Other minor notes:
Not enough Maddy, love Lucy and Valentine and how Petrovich has a "harem". The sequence in which he acquires the bus is spectacular. I truly hope the third book brings it all home as I am rooting for this series!

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sci-Fi novels typically plunge the reader into another time, another place, or both. Some explain the fictional world more or less pedantically, and then let the story roll. Others just charge ahead, leaving the reader to pick it up along the way. In the best of these, character and story carry it all. This is one of those. By the end, I still didn't really have a handle on much of the back-story. And that just didn't matter, not really. Morden peopled his tale with interesting characters and then threw them into a wildly impossible predicament, well, war against impossible odds. I liked this so much I missed my dance class this evening, because I just couldn't put it aside. Such is life.

[kattykatkat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all three of the trilogy back to back and this was just as entrancing as the first one. I will say that by the end of this book Sam has become a bit of a Stu, but not in such an overwhelming way that it killed my joy. I did have the same complaint that I had with the first book which is that you are thrown in this world and not a lot of the back story is explained. For example: America is some crazy right wing theocracy and the author continuously refers to it as "Reconstructionist" and vaguely talks about us apparently shutting our borders to refugees. I wish he had gone in to a little more detail about the world political situation. that said it is still a fine read.

[A Manatee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read the whole trilogy and I loved every bit of it. Reminds me of Cowboy Bebop a bit in how they feel. The first book felt very anime-like. However, in this second book, the plot thickens, as it should. It's just a fun read. I highly recommend to anyone interested in the cyber-punk genre. You've got your hero, you've got your trusty side kicks, the action, and what have you. It's a very colorful adventure. It's probably not one of the 'greats', but if they made a movie out of this, I'd sure as hell pay to see it and complain about how the book was better.

[Петър Атанасов · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ако обичате да четете забавни и ненатоварващи романчета, това би трябвало да ви хареса. И да не сте чели първата книга, не се притеснявайте, не е фатално. Не че героите не са същите и не е полезно да ги познавате по-отрано, просто не е необходимо, за да усетите почти изцяло „Теории на полета“. Ако пък сте я чели, то може би помните, че тя условно може да се раздели на две половини – завръзка и разруха. Тук завръзката е доста кратка, а разрухата заема около 4/5 от обема, така че правете си сметка кое ви е харесало повече. Ако е второто – честито! Лично аз останах малко разочарован, защото ми се щеше Мордън да наблегне повече на другата половина, тази със сюжета, и евентуално да развие нещо оригинално от нея. Но не би.

Цялото ревю на http://scifi.bg/?p=30374

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a funny way this and the first book of the trilogy form a kind of duology. The story in the third book is picked up after what remains from the first two books. Another fun romp with Petrovich as he refuses to accept the reality of the political order and brilliantly changes things.
Petrovich in these stories is a brash,perceptive, smart, smartass who is both human and too perfect. The story has some wish fulfillment in that the good people prevail and are headed to form a more perfect union.

[Borislava Kratunkova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Определено 2рата книга от трилогията за Самуил Петрович е много по-добра от първата. Нивото на динамиката е увеличено двойно. Появяват се и някои нови и изключително интересни персонажи, а вече познатите разкриват свои непознати страни в ситуациите в които са поставени. Удивителен е и ентусиазмът на Петрович да води мащабна битка, която няма представа дали ще може да спечели. Но това, което ме впечатли най-вече в него е способнастта му да убеждава хората около себе си в правотата на своята кауза. Ако тази поредица бъде филмирана ще чупи боксофисите по света.

[Frederick M Martone · Rating 5 out of 5]

2nd time through is even better. Wish there was a translation for all the italicized language.

Great theatre, intriguing science and most excellent cast of characters. Page Turner if there ever was one. Science fiction action adventure.

[Charles Haworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still loved this one

Same world even if London is more battered and bruised. Much more violence as civil war wracks the street and great AI usage.

Good science. Petrovitch becomes a bit too much of an action hero as he is after all a scientist at heart but even so I love it

[Claire Binkley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the first volume of this series MUCH better. The library made the right decision in not carrying this part of the series. I found it a cheap action thriller.

Not amused. (As you can see, it took me half a year to admit as much.)

[Dale Parnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story that expands and builds on the previous novel in the series, my love for the main character Petrovitch only grows during this book.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't like it as much as the first book. He sets up an interesting plot at the beginning. Then wipes it off the table as it has almost nothing to do with the rest of the book.

[Stephen Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russian physicists are obviously indestructible.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good summer read

Entertaining easy read. Not the most original plot, but the story moved at a pleasant pace with just enough suspense and action to keep the reader engaged

[Dea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curving a bit too hard into the Marty Stew territory. Still good, but hoping it will even out in the future installments.

[Robert Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review of the first book in the series. Well rounded characters continue to develop in this satisfying sequel. And the arc of the story line starts to clarify.

[Paul Bard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this the rare perfect middle book of a trilogy?

The plot is epic. The stakes higher. The characters brilliantly drawn.

Just fantastic leisure reading.

[John Hodgkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like the first book, a good rollicking read, almost un-put-downable. Nothing too fancy, some science thrown in and a great story.

[Jill Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. More violent, less fun and less focused than the first book.

[usagi ☆ミ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is one for all three books. Just a warning.

I totally did NOT expect to get sucked into this series as much as I did, and the fact that it’s only a trilogy makes me profoundly sad. This is an awesome, awful alternate present/future that Morden has created, and I’m sad to see it go. But let’s take a look at what makes it so great, shall we?

This world is split off from ours at 2000, says Morden in an interview in the back of the first book. However, he doesn’t say how far in the future the Metrozone exists in – presumably at least 25-30 years down the line, as they have things like implantable/replaceable body parts and the like. Japan is gone, sunk under the sea, and the US is run by a “reconstructionist” religious party (not so far from today, it sounds like?).

I love books that consider alternate histories. It’s the Schrodinger’s Cat idea that gets me the most – instead of choosing A, what if I’d chosen B? What if I’d said no instead of yes? What are the possibilities of those choices? I know Doctor Who did a whole bunch of episodes about that in season 4 (some of the best of that season, and that season was pretty awesome). Morden’s alternate history of what might have happened in the year 2000 forward is a wonderful exploration of the darkest parts of the human psyche – our needs, our wants, and our most base animal parts. This is a dark bunch of books – so if you’re not into dystopian, let alone math-related books, bail out now. This just won’t be your cup of tea.

But if you like cyberpunk, math, thrillers, dystopia all in one insane mix, these books are so definitely for you. The math isn’t overwhelming, but there are some confusing points that I had to google to be sure on. Luckily, the rest are made up (the Ekinobi-Petrovitch Theorem, for example), so if you’re math-stupid like me, you’ll be fine.

I think the best part about Sam as a character and Morden is an author is that you really live through Sam’s eyes the entire trilogy. You’re right there with him, right there next to him, inside of his head. This means everything – from his stuttering heart in the first book, to his broken heart over Maddy by the third book. You see, think, feel, smell, touch everything he does. Morden is a master with sensory language and the amount of showing over telling is overwhelmingly, joyously tipped in the “showing” direction – automatically making me love Morden. It’s so hard to do that, and doing that in a sci-fi genre book/series is even harder. I tip my hat in major respect for him being able to do that.

The pace of these books start out slow but once they get going, don’t let up until you’re panting until the very end. But you know what? It’s a great panting, a great sheen of sweat you feel by the end of each book (especially book three). Never have I been so thrilled and on the edge of my seat for a hard sci-fi novel/series – at least not in a long, long while.

And the best part? OUR HERO IS A NERD. GEEK. DORK. But totally brilliant. He’s not big and brawny and gorgeous – he’s scrawny and pale and geeky. Morden makes math sexy with this hero, though, because I’d totally date Petrovitch. In a heartbeat.

I’m keeping this review spoiler free, so all I can say that’s left is to go read these books if you’re even remotely a sci-fi fan. It may be a pretty dark world Petrovitch and his friends are in, but he’s the light that shines within it, even if he doesn’t want to be. I seriously recommend the “Petrovitch” trilogy and any other future books in this world by Morden, should/if they ever come out. A great summer read, for sure!

(posted to goodreads, shelfari, and witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com)

[Scott Holstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in a three book series and I loved the first book so much, I had to get the next two. However, this one wasn't quite as good as the first one, in my opinion. Still, it was pretty good and I enjoyed it.

Dr Samuil Petrovich is a scientist who has just discovered how to make anti-gravity. He works and lives in the Metrozone, which used to be London before Armageddon changed the world some 20 odd years ago. Before that, he lived in Russia. We're never told just how he came to the Metrozone from Russia, nor how he survived Armgeddon.

In the first book, he meets a great woman named Maddie who's an Amazonian nun with a huge gun who helps him defeat the New Machine Jihad. This book picks up four months later. And they're married. The romantic in me had hoped to see the two of them together and I'm thrilled that they're married. Unfortunately, the book starts out with his discovery of anti-gravity, only to have him receive a call that Maddy's been shot -- she's in the army now. His face is all over TV, but he can't stop to enjoy the fame -- he's got to get to the hospital. He does and she's generally OK and actually goes back to the front lines quite soon after. Meanwhile, Sonja contacts him, as does Chaim, the old cop he barely got along with from the first book. He tells Sam that the CIA is after the technology behind the New Machine Jihad and has sent agents to the Metrozone. Unfortunately, he's killed shortly thereafter. Then, the gist of the story starts. The Outties, the people who were barred from entering London during Armageddon and have lived in the outskirts in radiation ever since, are attacking with a force of some 200,000 people and the Metrozone army has to fight them off, and they don't have enough forces. Sam takes his rat, his tablet I guess, and takes off across town in search of Maddie, but finds he's on the wrong side of town and is surrounded by Outties and all of the bridges are wired to explode. Not good. He has a VR companion named Michael who he has running data crunches for him and he takes over command of the army with his help, using the US government's own computers for computing power, as well as Wall Street's. And then the book gets repetitive. See Sam run. Run Sam run. Watch Sam run. Sam runs. A lot. He's shot at too, and does his share of killing people, but mostly he runs. Along the way, he gathers up a 14 year old wonder girl named Lucy as a companion, Sonja's ninja bodyguard is killed, Valentina, a Russian mobster's hit woman who's helping him out, is along for the ride, and they all search for Maddie. Fruitlessly. By the end of the book, you're banging your head against the wall, wishing the two would just get reunited to stop the damn running. However, along the way, Sam is able to keep up with his VR, command the military, stop the attack, attack the CIA agents, rescue Maddie and Lucy, who had been captured, and the end is grand. Except you don't get to see Sam and Maddy together. She rides up on a motorcycle after he's had a meeting with some city leaders and talks to him for a minute and then rides off. And that's it! Very unsatisfying. I hope the third book will have more of her because she was such a great presence in the first book and I really missed her in this one. Still, it was a fun read, even with all of my complaints, and certainly recommended for any cyberpunk/sci fi fan.

[Desmond Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Petrovitch - life is good.

After the Metrozone nearly got destroyed by a sentient computer known as the New Machine Jihad, Sam saved the day and got the girl! Now married to the former Nun known as Sister Madeleine, Sam is on the cusp of scientific immortality having discovered the secret to anti-gravity.

Yet, the megacity is still broken. With Metrozone at its most vulnerable, the 'Outies' - those masses left outside its boundaries since the Armageddon - finally sense their chance to take back the city and burn it to the ground.

But not if Sam can stop them.

For unbeknown to the world, the 'New Machine Jihad' didn't die. Sam actually kept it alive on a secret server farm, and now is the time to turn it loose once again.....

It is only mere months after the adventures portrayed in Morden's first book: 'Equations of Life'. We find Petrovitch as feisty and sardonic as ever. He appears to dazed that he and the Amazonian Ex - Nun known as Sister Madeline are now married! A soldier of the MEA, Madeline is still having a hard time keeping Sam out of trouble and potential killing himself. This is especially true, when D.I Chain of the Metropolitan Police informs Sam that the CIA are now out to find him. They want to know who or what caused 'The Long Night' which almost paralyzed Metrozone (as portrayed in Book one).

The CIA want to stop whoever caused such chaos permanently. To add to Sam's troubles, Metrozone is about to become over run by the marauding savage mass's known as the 'Outies'.

But Sam makes a stand for his adopted city.

In a straight line from the pivotal sci-fi novel 'Neuromancer' (by the Godfather of Cyberpunk: William Gibson in 1984), Morden's 'Theories of Flight' is Cyberpunk 3.0! Like the anti-hero Henry Dorsett Case of this earlier novel, Petrovitch also becomes a walking 'console cowboy' himself. With the immense help of the secret cloned A.I, he re-purposes the 'New Machine Jihad' to send back the Outies back to where they come from.

Once again, Sam is aided in his fight, by a several supremely intelligent and strong females.
Valentina is the right hand women to the Russian gangster Marchenko. Sonja, the daughter he saved in Book One is now leader of half million Nikkeijin. Proving equally savvy is Lucy, an unfortunate schoolgirl who was left behind in the chaos by her parents. One isn't actually sure how he attracts the help and admiration of all these women, but they are all immensely likable and worthy additions to Petrovitch journey.

Madeline's broad shoulders compensates for Sam also being just a good guy.

If you are a fan of cyberpunk manga inflected violence, against dystopian backdrops with a hearty dose of sarcastic wit, the Petrovitch series is for you. Suspend your disbelief in peace as this is just good fun, fast paced with little literary flab.

I have already surfed cyberspace for book three titled 'Degree's of Freedom'!
9/10

[Charles Dee Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

When we last saw our hero in Equations of Life he was awaiting a new heart in a London Freezone hostpital, having survived encounters with the Yakuza, the Russian Mafia, the New Machine Jihad, possibly saving the world and solving the solution The Theory of Everything at the same time. Sammuil Petrovitch is both a survivor and a genius. Theories of Flight pits him against old and new enemies, forces him to form new alliances, and once again possibly save the planet. But in the first chapter we learn that he has in fact created atificial gravity, thereby changing the course of human history should human history still have a course, and he has married Maddy, the six-foot-tall now ex-nun he fell in love with in Volume One.

Morden doesn't let the action flag for a page in this second novel. Petrovitch can enjoy his immediate international fame for only a few minutes before he is off to the side of his injured wife, now with the London Metrozone police. Soon he learns his own life is danger. CIA agents are snooping around to discover just what happened during the event now referred to as The Long Night. No one, but Petrovitch, fully understands just what the New Machine Jihad was, but the CIA can smell a potential new weapon and they want it bad. People start to die, no one can be trusted, and the London Freezone, for years one of the few livable if miserable places in Great Britain, is under attack by the Outies, those who were exposed to too much radiation during the New Armageddon and have been forcibly kept out of the city for two decades.

Petrovitch seems to be running for most of the book -- it's a good thing he got that new artificial heart -- and I couldn't help but think of Jason Bourne while I was reading. I've never read a Bourne book but I've seen the movies and marveled at their narrative drive. Bourne knows how to keep himself alive and has an amazing skill set to help him with that task. Petrovitch is similar, but what Morden's books really celebrate is that fact his hero is a genius, and its because of that he can successfully lead the defense of London with the the help of a sentient artificial intelligence named Michael, a ninja bodyguard, a woman from the Russian mafia, and fourteen-year-old London schoolgirl who proves to be fearless in combat. Remember, if the book's first chapter he has solved one of the great remaining questions of modern physics. With his new team, saving London is a fantastically blood battle, but he is fierce in pursuit of his goal.