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Prstenec Singularity
Různé frakce se pokoušejí získat kontrolu nad Prstencem, obrovitou vesmírnou stanicí vystavěnou kolem Země. Prstenec je dílem inženýrů, kteří přeměnili většinu lidstva ve skupinové vědomí zvané Společenství. To rychle zjistilo, jak proniknout do dalších realit a zmizelo z té naší. Zbytky lidí geneticky upravilo své děti tak, aby vytvořily skupiny jednotlivců spjatých tak těsně, že tvoří jedinou osobnost. Jedna z takových skupin narazí během cvičebního programu na přísně utajený výzkum a brzy se ocitne na útěku ve snaze nenechat se zabít. Děj dobrodružného románu se přesouvá ze zemské orbity do džunglí Amazonie, zažijete dramatické okamžiky ve vesmíru, ale i téměř idylickou pouť s rodinkou geneticky modifikovaných medvědů…
Poznejte jednu z budoucích hvězd žánru v románu, který se možná nevyhnul drobným chybám každého začátečníka, ale přesto zůstává skvělou zábavou až do konce. Kniha získala cenu Locus a Cenu Comptona Crooka pro nejlepší debut roku.
Poznejte jednu z budoucích hvězd žánru v románu, který se možná nevyhnul drobným chybám každého začátečníka, ale přesto zůstává skvělou zábavou až do konce. Kniha získala cenu Locus a Cenu Comptona Crooka pro nejlepší debut roku.
344 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2008
12 people are currently reading
541 people want to read
About the author
Paul Melko
20 books47 followersPaul lives in Ohio with his beautiful wife and four fairly wonderful children. He is an active member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, where he sits on the board of directors as the South-Central Regional Director and is chair of the Grievance Committee.
Paul’s fiction has appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, Spider Magazine, The Year’s Best Science Fiction, and other magazines and anthologies. His work has been translated into Spanish, Hungarian, Czech, and Russian. A collection of his science fiction stories, TEN SIGMAS AND OTHER UNLIKELIHOODS, is scheduled for release in 2008. Paul’s work has been nominated for the Sturgeon, Nebula, and Hugo Awards.
SINGULARITY’S RING (Tor Book, Feb 08) is his first novel, the protagonist of which is actually five humans who can chemically share thoughts, allowing them to act as one entity. Strom’s story, “Strength Alone,” (part of SINGULARITY’S RING) made the Nebula preliminary ballot. Paul’s novella “The Walls of the Universe” was nominated for the Hugo in 2007. It is the basis for his next novel.
Paul’s fiction has appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, Spider Magazine, The Year’s Best Science Fiction, and other magazines and anthologies. His work has been translated into Spanish, Hungarian, Czech, and Russian. A collection of his science fiction stories, TEN SIGMAS AND OTHER UNLIKELIHOODS, is scheduled for release in 2008. Paul’s work has been nominated for the Sturgeon, Nebula, and Hugo Awards.
SINGULARITY’S RING (Tor Book, Feb 08) is his first novel, the protagonist of which is actually five humans who can chemically share thoughts, allowing them to act as one entity. Strom’s story, “Strength Alone,” (part of SINGULARITY’S RING) made the Nebula preliminary ballot. Paul’s novella “The Walls of the Universe” was nominated for the Hugo in 2007. It is the basis for his next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
November 2, 2011
I know the line between science fiction and fantasy, if one exists at all, is tenuous, as is any genre brinksmanship one cares to play. I do try, however foolishly, to draw one, if only for my own personal cataloguing efforts. And I could go more into how I agree with the camp that views science fiction as a setting rather than a genre, but that’s not pertinent to my point. In science fiction, what happens is a result of science—albeit science that doesn’t quite work in our world—and, hence, is reproducible and reliable. There is no willpower or faith involved. In contrast, fantasy usually means magic of some kind, which is science if science played favourites, required innate ability (other than intelligence), and changed the rules when you weren’t looking.
But there are times, as the venerable Sir Arthur C. Clarke noted, when the science depicted becomes so “advanced” that it starts to look an awful lot like magic. Few subgenres embody this as well as posthumanism, with machines altering us on a cellular level and artificial intelligences helping us to upload our minds to a computer—or into a nice, new body. So posthumanism is like fantasy, and the more I think about it, posthumanism most resembles urban fantasy. Both involve “magic” in an environment that resembles, at least in some fashion, the urban-oriented civilization of today. Both have characters who are transhuman, either because of technological advances or because of mutations, magic, and mythology. Finally, I feel like the most common tone and pacing in urban fantasy—slightly gritty, fast-paced—translates well to posthumanism. Posthumanism is thrilling when done well.
Singularity’s Ring made me think about this correlation. It feels a little like a fantasy thriller. Our protagonist, Apollo, is actually five individuals who can share memories and thoughts chemically, to function as a single “pod”. After attempts on Apollo’s life, he becomes a fugitive, returning to the fold only to learn he has to help hunt down a psychopath. So, not your ordinary protagonist, and not exactly a great day to be the protagonist! Aside from a brief by enjoyable jaunt into orbit, the action in this book is confined to the surface of the Earth, which is a refreshing change from most posthuman fiction. Apollo even spends some time trekking up the Amazon, as well as several days in the woods with semi-sentient bears.
Yeah, it’s that sort of book.
Paul Melko demonstrates the successful recipe to good science fiction. Take one or two Big Ideas and drop them front-and-centre. In this case, it’s the pod humans like Apollo. They are now the dominant life-form on Earth after the departure of the Community, with singleton humans relegated to ghetto-like enclaves where they can’t cause as much trouble. So, the Big Idea is the first ingredient. Next, take several additional science-fiction concepts and scatter them through the background, midground, and foreground. That’s the setting I was talking about—science fiction makes it happen. Here, we have the eponymous Ring, the concept of a Singularity and a Nerd Rapture, and the Community.
At first the Community sounded like some kind of weird alien species that befriended humanity, then left. But no: the Community was a group of humans who joined together by “jacking in” with neural interfaces. They planned a technological ascension to a higher stage of being—a Nerd Rapture!—and subsequently disappeared. Well, their consciousnesses did. Their bodies just died. No one really knows what happened to the Community, whether they did ascend or just died or whatnot. Only one member of the Community is left; he missed the Exodus because his body was in suspended animation aboard the Ring, being repaired, and he becomes Singularity’s Ring’s principal antagonist.
So there is a lot going on here, but it never becomes overwhelming. As much as Melko mentions Singularity-type events, it’s not the principal focus. Any other book, any other day, and that might disappoint me. But the main plot of Singularity’s Ring is more than enough to make up for that. This is a story of survival, but it has a very unique protagonist. I suspect that one’s enjoyment of the book hangs almost entirely on how much one likes the multiple-persons persona of Apollo Papadopulos: Strom, Meda, Quant, Manuel, and Moira. Melko tells the story in chapters from the point of view of each of these constituents of Apollo, and while the concept seems confusing at first, you get used to it.
Then there are the bears. The bears are delightful. After escaping certain death a few times, Apollo winds up back in the same area where they had some near-fatal survival training. Strom, the tactically-oriented member of the pod, rescued the rest of the pod with the help of some very intelligent bears, whom he believed had been a pod themselves. Of course, the idea of a pod of bears was dismissed. But Apollo decides that if he is going to be a fugitive, he might as well look for these bears—and he finds them. It’s just a great part of the book, and like most of the book, so very fun.
Singularity’s Ring was almost five stars for me. Sometimes the pacing seemed to get bogged down in certain details—or maybe I just wasn’t paying enough attention to what was happening. Similarly, there are times when Melko departs from his convention of narrative to delve into memories or play with who is narrating. He always does this for a reason, but it is another way in which he interrupts the coherence of the writing. So while Singularity’s Ring had a great story, there is definite room for improvement in how it was put down on the page.
That’s a bagatelle, though. Really, I could see the argument for giving this book five stars, because the ending is amazing. It is utterly predictable yet so poignant and emotional. Somehow, Melko manages to turn a moment that should have been trite into something that made me shed tears—probably because of the strength of his characterization of Apollo’s pod members. Moreover, the ending truly exceeds the otherwise intimate scope of the novel to become epic. Although tragic for Apollo—and thus for the reader—it is also extremely hopeful. It leaves an opening for more novels in this universe, and I want them. I will pay good money for them. Or, you know, use gift cards people give me when they realize I like books. Or borrow them from the library. Or steal them from tiny, science-fiction reading babies in lieu of candy theft. (I am a terrible person, yes, but what is a baby doing reading science fiction in the first place? Huh? Think about it!)
But there are times, as the venerable Sir Arthur C. Clarke noted, when the science depicted becomes so “advanced” that it starts to look an awful lot like magic. Few subgenres embody this as well as posthumanism, with machines altering us on a cellular level and artificial intelligences helping us to upload our minds to a computer—or into a nice, new body. So posthumanism is like fantasy, and the more I think about it, posthumanism most resembles urban fantasy. Both involve “magic” in an environment that resembles, at least in some fashion, the urban-oriented civilization of today. Both have characters who are transhuman, either because of technological advances or because of mutations, magic, and mythology. Finally, I feel like the most common tone and pacing in urban fantasy—slightly gritty, fast-paced—translates well to posthumanism. Posthumanism is thrilling when done well.
Singularity’s Ring made me think about this correlation. It feels a little like a fantasy thriller. Our protagonist, Apollo, is actually five individuals who can share memories and thoughts chemically, to function as a single “pod”. After attempts on Apollo’s life, he becomes a fugitive, returning to the fold only to learn he has to help hunt down a psychopath. So, not your ordinary protagonist, and not exactly a great day to be the protagonist! Aside from a brief by enjoyable jaunt into orbit, the action in this book is confined to the surface of the Earth, which is a refreshing change from most posthuman fiction. Apollo even spends some time trekking up the Amazon, as well as several days in the woods with semi-sentient bears.
Yeah, it’s that sort of book.
Paul Melko demonstrates the successful recipe to good science fiction. Take one or two Big Ideas and drop them front-and-centre. In this case, it’s the pod humans like Apollo. They are now the dominant life-form on Earth after the departure of the Community, with singleton humans relegated to ghetto-like enclaves where they can’t cause as much trouble. So, the Big Idea is the first ingredient. Next, take several additional science-fiction concepts and scatter them through the background, midground, and foreground. That’s the setting I was talking about—science fiction makes it happen. Here, we have the eponymous Ring, the concept of a Singularity and a Nerd Rapture, and the Community.
At first the Community sounded like some kind of weird alien species that befriended humanity, then left. But no: the Community was a group of humans who joined together by “jacking in” with neural interfaces. They planned a technological ascension to a higher stage of being—a Nerd Rapture!—and subsequently disappeared. Well, their consciousnesses did. Their bodies just died. No one really knows what happened to the Community, whether they did ascend or just died or whatnot. Only one member of the Community is left; he missed the Exodus because his body was in suspended animation aboard the Ring, being repaired, and he becomes Singularity’s Ring’s principal antagonist.
So there is a lot going on here, but it never becomes overwhelming. As much as Melko mentions Singularity-type events, it’s not the principal focus. Any other book, any other day, and that might disappoint me. But the main plot of Singularity’s Ring is more than enough to make up for that. This is a story of survival, but it has a very unique protagonist. I suspect that one’s enjoyment of the book hangs almost entirely on how much one likes the multiple-persons persona of Apollo Papadopulos: Strom, Meda, Quant, Manuel, and Moira. Melko tells the story in chapters from the point of view of each of these constituents of Apollo, and while the concept seems confusing at first, you get used to it.
Then there are the bears. The bears are delightful. After escaping certain death a few times, Apollo winds up back in the same area where they had some near-fatal survival training. Strom, the tactically-oriented member of the pod, rescued the rest of the pod with the help of some very intelligent bears, whom he believed had been a pod themselves. Of course, the idea of a pod of bears was dismissed. But Apollo decides that if he is going to be a fugitive, he might as well look for these bears—and he finds them. It’s just a great part of the book, and like most of the book, so very fun.
Singularity’s Ring was almost five stars for me. Sometimes the pacing seemed to get bogged down in certain details—or maybe I just wasn’t paying enough attention to what was happening. Similarly, there are times when Melko departs from his convention of narrative to delve into memories or play with who is narrating. He always does this for a reason, but it is another way in which he interrupts the coherence of the writing. So while Singularity’s Ring had a great story, there is definite room for improvement in how it was put down on the page.
That’s a bagatelle, though. Really, I could see the argument for giving this book five stars, because the ending is amazing. It is utterly predictable yet so poignant and emotional. Somehow, Melko manages to turn a moment that should have been trite into something that made me shed tears—probably because of the strength of his characterization of Apollo’s pod members. Moreover, the ending truly exceeds the otherwise intimate scope of the novel to become epic. Although tragic for Apollo—and thus for the reader—it is also extremely hopeful. It leaves an opening for more novels in this universe, and I want them. I will pay good money for them. Or, you know, use gift cards people give me when they realize I like books. Or borrow them from the library. Or steal them from tiny, science-fiction reading babies in lieu of candy theft. (I am a terrible person, yes, but what is a baby doing reading science fiction in the first place? Huh? Think about it!)
July 22, 2009
The more I think about it, the more I am still enjoying this book. I will admit that the title put me off. I'm beginning to dislike the term 'singularity' as much as I used to dislike the 'cyberpunk.' I like my fiction to make sense, and lately whenever someone uses the term singularity it is because they don't have a logical reason for doing what they want to do in their novel. I am happy to report that there are no toasters raining from the sky in this novel. I believed Melko's world from the very beginning, including the strangeness of the multiple-person pods. As the story progressed, I started asking questions. Why? Where is this going? Am I going to be annoyed? The answer to the last question is unequivocally "No!" Through many twists and turns, the novel ends with satifactory answers. A great ride through an imaginative future world. Why is this novel not winning a bunch of awards? I found it reminiscent of Arthur C. Clarke's 'Childhood's End,' with the difference that I LIKED this book.
July 13, 2018
An interesting story, great characters, wonderful concept of a very strange future. I enjoyed the book but found a few plot holes and other glitches that left me shaking my head. All in all, I'd recommend this for anyone who likes character driven hard SF with interesting elements of what the future might bring. Don't dwell on the details, and don't get worried about the seemingly wandering plot. I fun read if you don't take your SF too seriously.
August 15, 2015
Im Zentrum seines Erstlings (in Deutschland ist es sein 2. Buch) steht das Konzepts der Quintette. Damit ist ein sog. Pod gemeint, eine Gruppe künstlich gezüchteter Menschen, dazu entworfen, sich zu einer Art Überperson zusammenzusetzen. In dem Buch heißt sie Apollo Papadopulos und ist dafür bestimmt, Raumschiffe durch die Weiten des Alls zu manövrieren. Apollo setzt sich aus den fünf Individuen Strom, Meda, Moira, Quant und Manuel zusammen; jeder für sich ist auf einem Spezialgebiet hoch spezialisiert und trainiert, zusammen sind sie ein schier unschlagbares Team.
Melko konzentriert sich in seinem Buch auf die Beschreibung einer nicht genau datierten fernen Zukunft, in welcher die Erde von solchen Pods bevölkert wird. Es gibt zwar noch immer „Einzelwesen“, die sogenannten „Singletons“, aber diese gelten als minderwertig und beschränkt. Die Zukunft gehört den Pods, die wie einer denken und fühlen können – nur effizienter. Diese Idee beschreibt er sehr gut, allerdings bleibt die Handlung unausgegoren und bleibt im episodenhaften stecken, zumal begonnene Handlungsstränge wie eine rätselhafte militärische Verschwörung gegen „Apollo Papadopulos“ immer wieder fallen gelassen oder nur halbherzig verfolgt werden.
Die zwei Gegenspieler bleiben seltsam gesichtslos und nebelhaft. Der wahnsinnige „Singleton“ Malcolm Leto strebt zwar die Weltherrschaft an, bleibt aber eine schattenhafte Randfigur, genauso wie der Attentäter Andrew McCorkle, der es aus undurchsichtigen Gründen auf unseren Pod abgesehen hat.
Das Buch ist wieder mal ein ambitioniertes Beispiel, das die Erwartungen nicht erfüllen konnte...
Melko konzentriert sich in seinem Buch auf die Beschreibung einer nicht genau datierten fernen Zukunft, in welcher die Erde von solchen Pods bevölkert wird. Es gibt zwar noch immer „Einzelwesen“, die sogenannten „Singletons“, aber diese gelten als minderwertig und beschränkt. Die Zukunft gehört den Pods, die wie einer denken und fühlen können – nur effizienter. Diese Idee beschreibt er sehr gut, allerdings bleibt die Handlung unausgegoren und bleibt im episodenhaften stecken, zumal begonnene Handlungsstränge wie eine rätselhafte militärische Verschwörung gegen „Apollo Papadopulos“ immer wieder fallen gelassen oder nur halbherzig verfolgt werden.
Die zwei Gegenspieler bleiben seltsam gesichtslos und nebelhaft. Der wahnsinnige „Singleton“ Malcolm Leto strebt zwar die Weltherrschaft an, bleibt aber eine schattenhafte Randfigur, genauso wie der Attentäter Andrew McCorkle, der es aus undurchsichtigen Gründen auf unseren Pod abgesehen hat.
Das Buch ist wieder mal ein ambitioniertes Beispiel, das die Erwartungen nicht erfüllen konnte...
March 27, 2016
2.5/5.0
Read
November 25, 2020I really enjoyed the base concept of the novel and most of the main characters. The antagonists were very cartoonishly evil, and most of the main characters make at least one nonsensical decision in order to keep the plot rolling. I feel like the world is very rich, and it was very interesting to get the different perspectives of a semi-shared hivemind. The worldbuilding implied so much that I thought about it for days after I finished. But the issues I have with it plague me too. I would really like to see another novel in this world without those issues. I know it was this author's first novel and I think it shows a ton of potential.
September 17, 2017
Clever SF conceit in which groups of people are permanently mentally bonded together--especially clever since it's from multiple viewpoints within the same cluster, who consider themselves a single person. The actual plot, involving a cryogenic defrostee trying to restart the Singularity and take over the world, is somewhat less compelling, to be honest. And some of the paranoia-inducing "they're trying to get you" stuff doesn't really work in hindsight. But entertaining overall.
January 7, 2017
The book had an interesting plot and I was really excited about the unusual division of narrator into 5 people. Overally well written, however sometimes a particular quick shifts in story made me a little bit confused.
November 13, 2020
This was not what I was expecting, given the books teaser. But, it didn't take very long before I was fully engaged by the likable characters and the pod that was the union of the five main characters. The world building was as original as the characters. Highly recommended.
May 12, 2018
Surprisingly good read. I did not expect much, and it took a little to get into, but hard to put down once you do.
June 28, 2020
Die Welt hat sich verändert. Einst gab es die "Community", die zu den Sternen aufbrechen wollte und in einem gigantischen Ring um die Erde lebte. Nach dem so genannten Exodus, kam es auf der Erde zu Kriegen und Verwüstungen, und eine neue Gesellschaftsordnung musste sich konsolidieren. Nur eine Minderheit besteht aus "Singletons", aus Individuen. Der Großteil der Erdbevölkerung besteht aus "Pods".
Apollo Papadopulos ist so ein Pod, eine Kollektivpersönlichkeit, die aus genetisch veränderten Menschen, die über Pheronome und Körperkontakt miteinander kommunizieren, besteht. Allein fühlen sie sich nicht vollständig, sie sind auch emotional stark miteinander verbunden. Die Fünfheit wurde schon im Kinderhort zusammengeführt, mit dem Ziel, später ein Raumfahrzeug steuern zu können. Doch bis es soweit ist, muss trainiert und gelernt werden. Zu Beginn des Romans ist Apollo knapp Zwanzig Jahre alt und es steht Überlebenstraining in der Wildnis auf dem Programm. Da wird es schon gefährlich, denn in den Rocky Mountains löst sich eine Lawine und begräbt den Pod beinahe unter sich. Dieses Kapitel wird aus der Perspektive eines Teil des Pods erzählt, aus der Sicht von Strom, der für körperliche Kraft steht, und auch Verteidigung des Pods übernimmt. Später bekommt jeder Teil des Quintetts ein Kapitel, wird so eingeführt. Meda und Moira sind Zwillinge, Meda fungiert als Sprecherin, während Moira die moralische Seite des Pod verkörpert. Quant ist Autistin, sie löst alles in Zahlen auf, und berechnet es. Manuel ist die Geschicklichkeit. Es wid für den Leser recht klar, wie sich die Fünf ergänzen.
Nicht zum Programm gehört die Begegnung mit Malcolm Leto, dem letzten der Community. Meda lässt sich mit ihm ein, und er setzt ihr eine Interface-Buchse ein, wie es die Menschen in der Community hatten, um biodigital mit allen anderen Menschen verbunden zu sein. Er reißt sie gewaltsam aus dem Pod, will mit ihr in den Ring zurückkehren, doch Apollo verhindert das. Diese Ereignisse sorgen fast dafür, dass der Pod nicht zum Praktikum auf dem Raumstation zugelassen wird. Bei einer Übung kommt es wieder zu einem Zwischenfall, bei dem sich Apollo aber auszeichnen kann. Doch er hat langsam den Eindruck, dass man einen Anschlag auf ihn verübt hat. Mit auf die Raumstation kommt ein Zweier-Pod, der sich bald als Militär-Pod herausstellt, der es auf Apollo abgesehen hat. Aber weshalb? Apollo flieht über den Ring zur Erde zurück. Die Geschehnisse im All gehören zu den spannendsten Kapiteln im Buch.
Es folgt eine Verfolgungsjagd durch den südamerikanischen Urwald. Danach geht Apollo dem Verdacht nach, dass man es auf ihn abgesehen hat, und sie finden Bestätigung, durch seine Nachforschungen erfährt er auch mehr über ihren Ursprung als Pod, ja über die Pods allgemein. Auch seine Fähigkeit nonverbal zu kommunizieren nimmt zu. Schließlich nachdem er wieder zurück zur Farm von "Mother" Redd gelangt , auf der er die letzten Jahre verbracht hat, bekommt er von Overgovernment einen Auftrag, Malcolm Leto stoppen. Denn der schart um sich eine neue Community, die er aus den "Singletons" rekrutiert. Er will den Ring wieder bevölkern und einen neuen Exodus initiieren, ein Wahnsinnstat mit unübersehbaren Folgen. Dieser Auftrag führt Apollo nach Zentralafrika, einem Singleton-Reservat.
Ring ist Paul Melkos Erstling und es ist ein Jugendroman, das heißt die Zielgruppe sind "Young Adults". Ein actionreiches, spannendes Garn ist ihm da gelungen, auch wenn es Längen gibt, wie die Exkursion in die Rocky Mountains und die Suche nach dem Bären-Pod. Die Interaktionen im Pod, seine Funktionsweise ist gut geschildert. Die Abenteuer, die das Quintett erlebt, sind farbig geschildert. Melko hat ein facettenreiches und durchaus originelles Bild einer (möglichen) Zukunft entworfen. Deutlich ist der Einfluss der Singularitäts-Theorie (daher auch der Originaltitel 'Singularitys Ring') erkennbar, nach der verkürzt dargestellt die Menschheit durch die exponentielle Ansammlung von Wissen hinsteuert auf einen Punkt hinsteuert, der das Ende der Geschichte bedeutet, und in dem auch etwas (Neues) entsteht, das jenseits des Ereignishorizontes liegt. Melkos Roman nimmt dazu implizit kritisch Stellung.
Allerdings bleibt manches offen, der Zukunftsentwurf ist zu groß, der Ring und die Community wecken die Neugier des Lesers, lenken die Aufmerksamkeit auf andere Bahnen, so dass er nicht richtig befriedigt fühlt. Irritationen bleiben nicht aus. Auch der Showdown hat Konstruktionsschwächen. Die Begründung warum Leto den Ring nicht betreten kann, erscheint ziemlich an den Haaren herbeigezogen. Am Ende hat Apollo dann eine neue Bestimmung gefunden.
Fazit: Ein beeindruckender Erstling mit Schwächen.
Apollo Papadopulos ist so ein Pod, eine Kollektivpersönlichkeit, die aus genetisch veränderten Menschen, die über Pheronome und Körperkontakt miteinander kommunizieren, besteht. Allein fühlen sie sich nicht vollständig, sie sind auch emotional stark miteinander verbunden. Die Fünfheit wurde schon im Kinderhort zusammengeführt, mit dem Ziel, später ein Raumfahrzeug steuern zu können. Doch bis es soweit ist, muss trainiert und gelernt werden. Zu Beginn des Romans ist Apollo knapp Zwanzig Jahre alt und es steht Überlebenstraining in der Wildnis auf dem Programm. Da wird es schon gefährlich, denn in den Rocky Mountains löst sich eine Lawine und begräbt den Pod beinahe unter sich. Dieses Kapitel wird aus der Perspektive eines Teil des Pods erzählt, aus der Sicht von Strom, der für körperliche Kraft steht, und auch Verteidigung des Pods übernimmt. Später bekommt jeder Teil des Quintetts ein Kapitel, wird so eingeführt. Meda und Moira sind Zwillinge, Meda fungiert als Sprecherin, während Moira die moralische Seite des Pod verkörpert. Quant ist Autistin, sie löst alles in Zahlen auf, und berechnet es. Manuel ist die Geschicklichkeit. Es wid für den Leser recht klar, wie sich die Fünf ergänzen.
Nicht zum Programm gehört die Begegnung mit Malcolm Leto, dem letzten der Community. Meda lässt sich mit ihm ein, und er setzt ihr eine Interface-Buchse ein, wie es die Menschen in der Community hatten, um biodigital mit allen anderen Menschen verbunden zu sein. Er reißt sie gewaltsam aus dem Pod, will mit ihr in den Ring zurückkehren, doch Apollo verhindert das. Diese Ereignisse sorgen fast dafür, dass der Pod nicht zum Praktikum auf dem Raumstation zugelassen wird. Bei einer Übung kommt es wieder zu einem Zwischenfall, bei dem sich Apollo aber auszeichnen kann. Doch er hat langsam den Eindruck, dass man einen Anschlag auf ihn verübt hat. Mit auf die Raumstation kommt ein Zweier-Pod, der sich bald als Militär-Pod herausstellt, der es auf Apollo abgesehen hat. Aber weshalb? Apollo flieht über den Ring zur Erde zurück. Die Geschehnisse im All gehören zu den spannendsten Kapiteln im Buch.
Es folgt eine Verfolgungsjagd durch den südamerikanischen Urwald. Danach geht Apollo dem Verdacht nach, dass man es auf ihn abgesehen hat, und sie finden Bestätigung, durch seine Nachforschungen erfährt er auch mehr über ihren Ursprung als Pod, ja über die Pods allgemein. Auch seine Fähigkeit nonverbal zu kommunizieren nimmt zu. Schließlich nachdem er wieder zurück zur Farm von "Mother" Redd gelangt , auf der er die letzten Jahre verbracht hat, bekommt er von Overgovernment einen Auftrag, Malcolm Leto stoppen. Denn der schart um sich eine neue Community, die er aus den "Singletons" rekrutiert. Er will den Ring wieder bevölkern und einen neuen Exodus initiieren, ein Wahnsinnstat mit unübersehbaren Folgen. Dieser Auftrag führt Apollo nach Zentralafrika, einem Singleton-Reservat.
Ring ist Paul Melkos Erstling und es ist ein Jugendroman, das heißt die Zielgruppe sind "Young Adults". Ein actionreiches, spannendes Garn ist ihm da gelungen, auch wenn es Längen gibt, wie die Exkursion in die Rocky Mountains und die Suche nach dem Bären-Pod. Die Interaktionen im Pod, seine Funktionsweise ist gut geschildert. Die Abenteuer, die das Quintett erlebt, sind farbig geschildert. Melko hat ein facettenreiches und durchaus originelles Bild einer (möglichen) Zukunft entworfen. Deutlich ist der Einfluss der Singularitäts-Theorie (daher auch der Originaltitel 'Singularitys Ring') erkennbar, nach der verkürzt dargestellt die Menschheit durch die exponentielle Ansammlung von Wissen hinsteuert auf einen Punkt hinsteuert, der das Ende der Geschichte bedeutet, und in dem auch etwas (Neues) entsteht, das jenseits des Ereignishorizontes liegt. Melkos Roman nimmt dazu implizit kritisch Stellung.
Allerdings bleibt manches offen, der Zukunftsentwurf ist zu groß, der Ring und die Community wecken die Neugier des Lesers, lenken die Aufmerksamkeit auf andere Bahnen, so dass er nicht richtig befriedigt fühlt. Irritationen bleiben nicht aus. Auch der Showdown hat Konstruktionsschwächen. Die Begründung warum Leto den Ring nicht betreten kann, erscheint ziemlich an den Haaren herbeigezogen. Am Ende hat Apollo dann eine neue Bestimmung gefunden.
Fazit: Ein beeindruckender Erstling mit Schwächen.
November 9, 2008
I really wanted to like this book. I'm a sucker for everything Singularity-related. But it failed to draw me in. By the way -- maybe it's just me, but by stating the protagonist was a starship-pilot-to-be, the cover blurb lead me to believe that this is a space adventure. I was mistaken: the book takes place almost entirely on Earth.
To quote Amazon.com synopsis of the book, "Various factions struggle for control of the Ring, a colossal space station built around Earth by engineers who turned most of humankind into a group mind called the Community, which promptly figured out how to access other realities and vanished from this one. The few remaining humans genetically engineer their children to form pods of individuals so closely bonded that they function as one person. After stumbling on secret research during a training exercise, the teenage pod called Apollo Papadopulos soon find themselves on the run from shadowy forces who want to seduce or kill them." That's a fair description of the plot. However, the devil is, as always, in the details.
The first few chapters: like watching a bored child
The beginning of the story, where the pod wonders around the countryside, undergoes training and occasionally gets into trouble, did not hold my interest. There's something about the idea of young, physically perfect, superhuman characters roaming around and feeling vaguely bored, that turns me off. To make it worse, some chapters are written in the present and others in the past tense, but that doesn't mean the past-tense chapters happened before the present-tense ones. The timeline of the first few chapters is unclear.
For a book about Singularity, the first few chapters are oddly low-tech. Even though there are offhand mentions of the Community (consisting of humans that disappeared in the recent Singularity), the Ring (a structure around the Earth where they lived just before they disappeared), the Exodus (disappearance of the said Community), and even something called the Rift (of which nothing more is said), those remarks are so scarce and non-specific they don't provide interesting clues as to what exactly this Ring and Community is / was and what happened to them. Basically, you don't immediately get a picture that there's something interesting going on; rather, reading about the teens' capers they filled me with ennui similar to that which comes from watching a bored child. :-)
The bear storyline is disconnected from the rest of the plot
The pace picks up with the accident in the space station. (Yes, there is a chapter or two that take place in space station, and then it's back to Earth.) At that point I finally felt things were starting to move along, and the characters were taking charge of their own story. Alas, then they go back to Earth, and more aimless roaming ensues. Well, it's not entirely aimless. The pod has a goal of finding a family of genetically engineered bears they suspect of holding clues to certain secrets they've stumbled upon. Ultimately, though, the bear storyline turns out to be nothing more than a digression. Yes, the teens get a certain clue that explains some things, but that whole episode (and it makes a good third of the book) is so dissociated from the rest of the plot that it does not feel like a part of the same story.
Interesting concepts not integrated into the plot
Overall, there are some interesting concepts there, but they are only revealed at the end, instead of being integrated into the story. Reading this book you don't get that satisfaction a reader can get when separate clues add up to the big picture and a realization slowly dawns. Maybe this was the aim in this book, but it just didn't happen. The most interesting concepts of the book are not woven seamlessly into the plot. That's actually a common flaw in many science fiction books. It's hard to do it right. Well, this is Paul Melko's first novel, so maybe there's still hope.
To quote Amazon.com synopsis of the book, "Various factions struggle for control of the Ring, a colossal space station built around Earth by engineers who turned most of humankind into a group mind called the Community, which promptly figured out how to access other realities and vanished from this one. The few remaining humans genetically engineer their children to form pods of individuals so closely bonded that they function as one person. After stumbling on secret research during a training exercise, the teenage pod called Apollo Papadopulos soon find themselves on the run from shadowy forces who want to seduce or kill them." That's a fair description of the plot. However, the devil is, as always, in the details.
The first few chapters: like watching a bored child
The beginning of the story, where the pod wonders around the countryside, undergoes training and occasionally gets into trouble, did not hold my interest. There's something about the idea of young, physically perfect, superhuman characters roaming around and feeling vaguely bored, that turns me off. To make it worse, some chapters are written in the present and others in the past tense, but that doesn't mean the past-tense chapters happened before the present-tense ones. The timeline of the first few chapters is unclear.
For a book about Singularity, the first few chapters are oddly low-tech. Even though there are offhand mentions of the Community (consisting of humans that disappeared in the recent Singularity), the Ring (a structure around the Earth where they lived just before they disappeared), the Exodus (disappearance of the said Community), and even something called the Rift (of which nothing more is said), those remarks are so scarce and non-specific they don't provide interesting clues as to what exactly this Ring and Community is / was and what happened to them. Basically, you don't immediately get a picture that there's something interesting going on; rather, reading about the teens' capers they filled me with ennui similar to that which comes from watching a bored child. :-)
The bear storyline is disconnected from the rest of the plot
The pace picks up with the accident in the space station. (Yes, there is a chapter or two that take place in space station, and then it's back to Earth.) At that point I finally felt things were starting to move along, and the characters were taking charge of their own story. Alas, then they go back to Earth, and more aimless roaming ensues. Well, it's not entirely aimless. The pod has a goal of finding a family of genetically engineered bears they suspect of holding clues to certain secrets they've stumbled upon. Ultimately, though, the bear storyline turns out to be nothing more than a digression. Yes, the teens get a certain clue that explains some things, but that whole episode (and it makes a good third of the book) is so dissociated from the rest of the plot that it does not feel like a part of the same story.
Interesting concepts not integrated into the plot
Overall, there are some interesting concepts there, but they are only revealed at the end, instead of being integrated into the story. Reading this book you don't get that satisfaction a reader can get when separate clues add up to the big picture and a realization slowly dawns. Maybe this was the aim in this book, but it just didn't happen. The most interesting concepts of the book are not woven seamlessly into the plot. That's actually a common flaw in many science fiction books. It's hard to do it right. Well, this is Paul Melko's first novel, so maybe there's still hope.
August 13, 2016
I think I put this on my to-read list because it was referred to somewhere, talking about the idea of having multi-unit entities (pods). Maybe it wasn't from there, but certainly it brings to mind Hofstadter's twin world, where everyone is a double unit, and people made up of only one physical individual are considered weird, incomplete. It's all a matter of what's normal. So definitely an interesting concept to pursue, touching on all manner of ideas about identity, self, consciousness, blah-de-blah.
But as the book went on, I found myself not particularly intrigued or impressed. Yes, people in this world are pods - made up of 2-5 individuals. Singletons, individual humans not a part of a pod, are seen as weird and incomplete. Yes there's even a larger community, where millions of people are all connecting into one, along with an AI as a backbone. These are all potentially very interesting and exciting notions, yet I didn't feel like nearly as much was done with them as could have been. We didn't get a lot about the nature of the Ring community - there can be deliberate literary reasons for that, but it kind of made the entire thing unsatisfactory. I grant that as a stepping ground between our current singleton nature, and a possible future where people merge into pods, it seems relatively workable - the existence of pods is still somewhat new, singletons still exist and are not a distant memory, or gone from memory entirely. But maybe this is either too early or too late in the timeline of such a change to set the story - earlier on when pods are brand brand new might be exciting, to see how they develop, although some amount of that is referred to throughout the book. Or later when the existence of singletons is much more exotic or unthinkable and a society of pods has had much longer to develop and stabilize, then we can get into very interesting speculation. But it didn't feel so fundamentally different here. Maybe because the story treated each member of Apollo individually - so it came off as a story about five people. Sure, much was said about how they're a pod, certainly there were cool aspects of how they think together, and a few changes in language and behavior around how to interact with and talk to pods. But as a large, qualitative change into a structure of identity, society, and humanity into something completely different than what we are now - it didn't quite get that far. Maybe I just didn't absorb the nuances correctly or deeply enough, but I guess I was left wanting the idea to be taken so much further.
I think with that alone, I would have given it 3 stars. It's still interesting, nicely written, has enough to go on for a decent science fiction novel. Yet, perhaps driven by my disappointment in the extent of the novelty, I started to find myself judging more about it as kind of stupid. The need for a villain in Leto - his motivation and pathological tendencies very poorly supported. The luck and skill of the protagonists along with the misfortune and poor choice of the villains. The repeated prop of the pod being captured, separated into different rooms - all in the same building, along the same hallway, and then left minimally guarded so that as soon as one breaks out, it's no problem to get all the others. The somehow ad hoc and shallow existence and role of the AIs, the tired old knee-jerk reactions of everyone to the terrible fear of becoming a ZOMBIE by being absorbed into the community. I suppose there was just a hint at the end of something like the community actually being a positive development, but again, I would have been happier if it had gone farther in this direction. I don't need to read science fiction to have my pre-existing notions about self and individuality and how horrible it is to be absorbed into a greater whole reinforced. I read science fiction to have those notions challenged.
But as the book went on, I found myself not particularly intrigued or impressed. Yes, people in this world are pods - made up of 2-5 individuals. Singletons, individual humans not a part of a pod, are seen as weird and incomplete. Yes there's even a larger community, where millions of people are all connecting into one, along with an AI as a backbone. These are all potentially very interesting and exciting notions, yet I didn't feel like nearly as much was done with them as could have been. We didn't get a lot about the nature of the Ring community - there can be deliberate literary reasons for that, but it kind of made the entire thing unsatisfactory. I grant that as a stepping ground between our current singleton nature, and a possible future where people merge into pods, it seems relatively workable - the existence of pods is still somewhat new, singletons still exist and are not a distant memory, or gone from memory entirely. But maybe this is either too early or too late in the timeline of such a change to set the story - earlier on when pods are brand brand new might be exciting, to see how they develop, although some amount of that is referred to throughout the book. Or later when the existence of singletons is much more exotic or unthinkable and a society of pods has had much longer to develop and stabilize, then we can get into very interesting speculation. But it didn't feel so fundamentally different here. Maybe because the story treated each member of Apollo individually - so it came off as a story about five people. Sure, much was said about how they're a pod, certainly there were cool aspects of how they think together, and a few changes in language and behavior around how to interact with and talk to pods. But as a large, qualitative change into a structure of identity, society, and humanity into something completely different than what we are now - it didn't quite get that far. Maybe I just didn't absorb the nuances correctly or deeply enough, but I guess I was left wanting the idea to be taken so much further.
I think with that alone, I would have given it 3 stars. It's still interesting, nicely written, has enough to go on for a decent science fiction novel. Yet, perhaps driven by my disappointment in the extent of the novelty, I started to find myself judging more about it as kind of stupid. The need for a villain in Leto - his motivation and pathological tendencies very poorly supported. The luck and skill of the protagonists along with the misfortune and poor choice of the villains. The repeated prop of the pod being captured, separated into different rooms - all in the same building, along the same hallway, and then left minimally guarded so that as soon as one breaks out, it's no problem to get all the others. The somehow ad hoc and shallow existence and role of the AIs, the tired old knee-jerk reactions of everyone to the terrible fear of becoming a ZOMBIE by being absorbed into the community. I suppose there was just a hint at the end of something like the community actually being a positive development, but again, I would have been happier if it had gone farther in this direction. I don't need to read science fiction to have my pre-existing notions about self and individuality and how horrible it is to be absorbed into a greater whole reinforced. I read science fiction to have those notions challenged.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2009
I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this new author.
The storyline was new and interesting. "Regular" people have disappeared, and most of those who are left are pods -- groups of two to five people who can share thoughts and feelings and work together as a unit. This particular story is about a quintet.
I think one of the greatest strengths of the story is the method of storytelling -- each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the quint, with their particular view and their particular strength foremost.
The problem with the story? No emotional depth. In the first chapter, one member believes the rest of the quintet is dead. It's earthshattering, and leaves him nearly despondent. In the second chapter, another member of the quint leaves her pod for "love," something she's only read about but is drawn to. In that brief relationship, she's raped, assaulted, and brainwashed (while remaining aware of this). But her emotional reaction is described even less than the guy's response in the first chapter. Sorry, but that's pathetic. It doesn't have to be a "chick" book to have emotional depth, and would be greatly enriched for some additional inner lives.
Scott found this book to be a page-turner, with always enough going on that he had a terrible time putting it down, and lost a lot of sleep when this was at the top of his reading pile. It wasn't that for me, but I thought I'd pass that on, as well.
So definitely an author to watch. I'll certainly try his second novel, presuming there is one someday.
The storyline was new and interesting. "Regular" people have disappeared, and most of those who are left are pods -- groups of two to five people who can share thoughts and feelings and work together as a unit. This particular story is about a quintet.
I think one of the greatest strengths of the story is the method of storytelling -- each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the quint, with their particular view and their particular strength foremost.
The problem with the story? No emotional depth. In the first chapter, one member believes the rest of the quintet is dead. It's earthshattering, and leaves him nearly despondent. In the second chapter, another member of the quint leaves her pod for "love," something she's only read about but is drawn to. In that brief relationship, she's raped, assaulted, and brainwashed (while remaining aware of this). But her emotional reaction is described even less than the guy's response in the first chapter. Sorry, but that's pathetic. It doesn't have to be a "chick" book to have emotional depth, and would be greatly enriched for some additional inner lives.
Scott found this book to be a page-turner, with always enough going on that he had a terrible time putting it down, and lost a lot of sleep when this was at the top of his reading pile. It wasn't that for me, but I thought I'd pass that on, as well.
So definitely an author to watch. I'll certainly try his second novel, presuming there is one someday.
November 14, 2012
In the not too distant future, circling 10,000 kilometres above Earth is the massive post-Singularity 'Ring', now empty after an unexpected rapture that took billions of people. Those that are left on Earth are divided between the unconnected singletons and the group minds, genetically engineered post-humans preparing their own exploration of the far reaches of the solar system. Apollo Papadopoulos is a five-person group who is training to pilot the starship Consensus to the mysterious Rift beyond Neptune, except that someone is out to kill Apollo for far-reaching reasons that must be learned the hard way. Paul Melko's debut novel is something of an understated winner. The post-human future he imagines is original and complex but not too far-fetched, and the story more often than not goes where you don't expect. Some inevitable linguistic complexities are tackled directly, and the melée of themes that are present right from the beginning all discreetly disentangle then reassemble with clarity. In Apollo we have five well-drawn personalities who not only each carry their weight in driving the plot forward but also, to Melko's credit, allow you to get under the collective skin of their group mind experience. Melko has a straightforward but intellectually engaging style; give him the seventy-or-so pages he uses to get the story going and he rewards you very well. This certainly deserves a sequel.
February 16, 2011
With so many different styles of science fiction floating about these days it is often hard to find something new. Mr. Melko has created something fresh and new in the genre while crafting a complete, fascinating story.
Apollo Papadopulos is a 5-person POD of sentience, each a unique teenager, yet together a strong, smart, talented entity. This is their story. The narrator shifts from individual to individual in a very interesting perspective-shifting way, however since they share the same experiences, it isn't quite like reading from completely different character view-points.
The story, set far in the future is both adventurous and exciting, with plenty of hard science to go along with the dystopian world, and the intelligent exploration of a group of teenagers out in the world for the first time.
Part space opera, part coming-of-age this is well thought-out novel with a fascinating cast of characters and technologies, and I thoroughly enjoyed everything from the space opera, to the pod bears to the military intrigue.
I will certainly be watching for more titles from this gifted author.
Apollo Papadopulos is a 5-person POD of sentience, each a unique teenager, yet together a strong, smart, talented entity. This is their story. The narrator shifts from individual to individual in a very interesting perspective-shifting way, however since they share the same experiences, it isn't quite like reading from completely different character view-points.
The story, set far in the future is both adventurous and exciting, with plenty of hard science to go along with the dystopian world, and the intelligent exploration of a group of teenagers out in the world for the first time.
Part space opera, part coming-of-age this is well thought-out novel with a fascinating cast of characters and technologies, and I thoroughly enjoyed everything from the space opera, to the pod bears to the military intrigue.
I will certainly be watching for more titles from this gifted author.
August 15, 2012
Picked this book up for a dollar at the shore and wasn't expecting much, but the first episode interested me enough to make me want to read the rest.
The book revolves around the interactions of specialized meta-humans who shed their individual identities to form symbiotic clusters (pods), communicating through pheromones and shared memories. It also posits a future where the technological singularity doesn't quite have the result people were expecting.
There are also talking bears.
The book introduces or references many advanced technology and singularity-related topics (including nanotech, space elevators, quantum computing), with some explored more deeply than others.
The narrative device, alternately representing the viewpoints of individual cluster members and sometimes the group perspective, had the potential to be annoying, though author Melko does a good job of keeping it interesting and not gratuitous.
One criticism -- the book is marred by a handful of annoying grammatical error typos (including a jarring pendant/pedant error in the middle of a passage meant to help explain a facet of intra-pod communication, which had me scratching my head)
The book revolves around the interactions of specialized meta-humans who shed their individual identities to form symbiotic clusters (pods), communicating through pheromones and shared memories. It also posits a future where the technological singularity doesn't quite have the result people were expecting.
There are also talking bears.
The book introduces or references many advanced technology and singularity-related topics (including nanotech, space elevators, quantum computing), with some explored more deeply than others.
The narrative device, alternately representing the viewpoints of individual cluster members and sometimes the group perspective, had the potential to be annoying, though author Melko does a good job of keeping it interesting and not gratuitous.
One criticism -- the book is marred by a handful of annoying grammatical error typos (including a jarring pendant/pedant error in the middle of a passage meant to help explain a facet of intra-pod communication, which had me scratching my head)
May 28, 2008
I would call this a young adult sci-fi book rather than adult sci-fi. The protagonist is a quintet of young people who are able to share thoughts, feelings, etc. and are in many ways considered one person. Think of them as a human version of the doglike group minds in Vernor Vinge's Fire Upon the Deep. Like Vinge's characters the group minds aren't plausible because there is not even remotely enough bandwidth for them to be able to share consciousness. The shared consciousness conduit in this case revolves mostly around the use of pheromones and other forms of chemical communication with speech, sign language and nonverbal cues playing supplementary roles. Quite honestly none of it really makes any sense. But it is an interesting enough story and it does explore the notion of group minds of various types. As young adult science fiction it was a good read. As adult science fiction, not really.
July 1, 2009
‘Singularity’s Ring’ (Tor, $24.95, 316 pages) is pretty much straight hard science fiction – which you don’t find much any more, if only because modern science is so complex as to be almost incomprehensible to a lay reader. When authors start talking about entangled Bose-Einstein condensates resonating across the galaxy, or virtual superstrings snapping in and out of existence, it makes good old-fashioned rocket science seem like Legos.
But Paul Melko does an excellent job of making biotechnology, advanced artificial intelligence and space elevators seem like a natural part of the landscape, and delivers a nice, action-packed book with heroes and villains that are clearly delineated. ‘Singularity’s Ring’ is a fun read and will open your eyes to some possibilities you may not have considered, as well as being a cautionary tale about moving too far too fast.
But Paul Melko does an excellent job of making biotechnology, advanced artificial intelligence and space elevators seem like a natural part of the landscape, and delivers a nice, action-packed book with heroes and villains that are clearly delineated. ‘Singularity’s Ring’ is a fun read and will open your eyes to some possibilities you may not have considered, as well as being a cautionary tale about moving too far too fast.
August 1, 2010
Big, hardcover science-fiction novels from first-time novelists — which Paul Melko’s SINGULARITY’S RING is — usually get published because a publisher can hang an easy hook on them (with quotes from big-name authors saying “like NEUROMANCER … on speed!”) and they easily fall into slots in a publisher’s slate. (“THE ROAD is really hot right now. We need a post-apocalyptic dystopia stat!”)
These big, hardcover science-fiction debuts are not normally terrible, but are many times mediocre and better suited to being throwaway airport paperbacks than big, hardcover novels with a “Sci Fi Essentials” tag on them. Is it obvious by now that there’s a big “but” coming?
More: http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/sci-f...
These big, hardcover science-fiction debuts are not normally terrible, but are many times mediocre and better suited to being throwaway airport paperbacks than big, hardcover novels with a “Sci Fi Essentials” tag on them. Is it obvious by now that there’s a big “but” coming?
More: http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/sci-f...
March 27, 2008
This exploration of the post-human stands out due to the originality of the main character, Apollo Papadopulos--a collective entity composed of five people genetically engineered to think and act as one. Imagine if all the facets of your personality could tell their own story--each with a unique perspective, but all of them nonetheless you. Paul Melko has set himself a difficult challenge, but he pulls it off well. The formulaic "and-then-they-saved-the-world" ending is pretty rushed, but the book as a whole makes up for it. This is his first book, so I'm curious: how do you follow up post-singularity pod people?
October 2, 2016
This story is about what's left of humanity AFTER a transcendence event (i.e., when people "transublimate" or whatever to the next "plane of existence"). Now, this premise makes sense to me... why would everyone choose to transcend?
The story has three groups of people: the missing transcended, the group-thinking duos/trios/quads/quintets, and the singletons. We slowly find out how these three groups interact with each other. Really interesting.
I think the only shortcoming of this book was it was not as far-reaching and grandiose as it could have been. It was ultimately lacking in "grand ideas". But everything else was there, thus 3 stars.
The story has three groups of people: the missing transcended, the group-thinking duos/trios/quads/quintets, and the singletons. We slowly find out how these three groups interact with each other. Really interesting.
I think the only shortcoming of this book was it was not as far-reaching and grandiose as it could have been. It was ultimately lacking in "grand ideas". But everything else was there, thus 3 stars.
April 24, 2008
The gimmick for this novel is that the protagonist(s) is/are a group mind: five individuals who chemically share thoughts and feelings. It's a good gimmick as far as it goes, and the worldbuilding stands out as the book's strong point: a post-singularity world that doesn't feel like Accelerando reprised.
The story itself is servicable but not inspired and the writing craft is a little rough: what you'd expect from a first novel. Overall, enjoyable, and I'll be interested to see more from Mr. Melko.
The story itself is servicable but not inspired and the writing craft is a little rough: what you'd expect from a first novel. Overall, enjoyable, and I'll be interested to see more from Mr. Melko.
January 8, 2012
A fun read. This is down as teen fiction. I don't really agree with that. The themes seem too adult and the tans-human aspects are really quite advanced. Slightly disappointed in the way Mr Melko wrote Apollo as a gestalt entity - Apollo didn't seem melded enough. it was a small thing and didnt distract from my enjoyment of the book which is a good read and great trans-lit.
The end was a little sudden but as it seems like the first in a series on Apollo I'm fine with it ending like it did - a touch abruptly.
The universe of the story is a very interesting place and I want to go back.
September 4, 2015
It has a great premise and some really innovative ideas about the future. I loved the first chapter, and liked the next two, but it just kept going down hill.
It started with describing the inner worlds of its main characters wonderfully, giving each such unique personalities and tough choices. But it soon devolved into chase sequences, mad scientist cliches, and extremely silly nonsense about an AI, a super-villain, and nonsense singularity stuff.
The first chapter can stand alone, and I recommend reading it.
It started with describing the inner worlds of its main characters wonderfully, giving each such unique personalities and tough choices. But it soon devolved into chase sequences, mad scientist cliches, and extremely silly nonsense about an AI, a super-villain, and nonsense singularity stuff.
The first chapter can stand alone, and I recommend reading it.
June 21, 2008
An interesting take on a post-singularity society where humans are divided into singles and pods (people made up of groups of individuals who are bonded together chemically). The story deals with what one such pod goes through when they fail to achieve the purpose for which they were made. The plot could have been a little more developed and there are a lot of loose ends never tied up, but overall it was enjoyable.
August 22, 2016
This is science fiction where a person can be two or more people acting telepathically as one. This book features on a "pod" of five: Each gets a chapter at the beginning in which each experiences terror at the thought of becoming isolated from the other members of their pod. Then each chapter speaks with a "we" voice. It's really good at portraying their sense of oneness. Meanwhile the plot and mystery are engaging. It was fun and different and interesting.
June 28, 2016
What a well organized well thought out book. It does everything you want in sci-fi novel.
It has:
interesting technology
the explanation of said technology does not weigh down the narrative
there's a creative main character and plot
it's not just good ideas, those ideas are executed well
the plot and the themes explored can really only be explored in sci-fi
Most importantly it's just great interesting story the whole way through.
It has:
interesting technology
the explanation of said technology does not weigh down the narrative
there's a creative main character and plot
it's not just good ideas, those ideas are executed well
the plot and the themes explored can really only be explored in sci-fi
Most importantly it's just great interesting story the whole way through.
January 29, 2009
I found this book on the reader's choice table. I really enjoyed the author's exploration of ideas like having a group consensus to make decisions and to explore morals. It also makes us examine how much we need to be plugged in to others. I wish he had spent more time with the sentient bears, very engaging distraction for the main characters. This book begs for a sequel.
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