Transcendental

Transcendental Trilogy #1

by James E. Gunn

Riley, a veteran of interstellar war, is one of many beings from many different worlds aboard a ship on a pilgrimage that spans the galaxy. However, he is not journeying to achieve transcendence, a vague mystical concept that has drawn everyone else on the ship to this journey into the unknown at the far edge of the galaxy. His mission is to find and kill the prophet who is reputed to help others transcend. While their ship speeds through space, the voyage is marred by violence and betrayal, making it clear that some of the ship’s passengers are not the spiritual seekers they claim to be.

Like the pilgrims in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, a number of those on the starship share their unique stories. But as tensions rise, Riley realizes that the ship is less like the Canterbury Tales and more like a harrowing, deadly ship of fools. When he becomes friendly with a mysterious passenger named Asha, he thinks she’s someone he can trust. However, like so many others on the ship, Asha is more than she appears. Uncovering her secrets could be the key to Riley’s personal quest, or make him question everything he thought he knew about Transcendentalism and his mission to stop it.

James Gunn's Transcendental is a space adventure filled with excitement and intrigue that explores the nature of what unifies all beings.

A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of 2013

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy, Space, Aliens

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

American science fiction author, editor, scholar, and anthologist. His work from the 1960s and 70s is considered his most significant fiction, and his Road to Science Fiction collections are considered his most important scholarly books. He won a Hugo Award for a non-fiction book in 1983 for Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction. He was named the 2007 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Gunn served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, after which he attended the University of Kansas, earning a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in 1947 and a Masters of Arts in English in 1951. Gunn went on to become a faculty member of the University of Kansas, where he served as the university's director of public relations and as a professor of English, specializing in science fiction and fiction writing. He is now a professor emeritus and director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, which awards the annual John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award at the Campbell Conference in Lawrence, Kansas, every July.

He served as President of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1971–72, was President of the Science Fiction Research Association from 1980-82, and currently is Director of The Center for the Study of
Science Fiction. SFWA honored him as a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 2007.

Gunn began his career as a science fiction author in 1948. He has had almost 100 stories published in magazines and anthologies and has authored 26 books and edited 10. Many of his stories and books have been reprinted around the world.

In 1996, Gunn wrote a novelization of the unproduced Star Trek episode "The Joy Machine" by Theodore Sturgeon.

His stories also have been adapted into radioplays and teleplays:
* NBC radio's X Minus One
* Desilu Playhouse's 1959 "Man in Orbit", based on Gunn's "The Cave of Night"
* ABC-TV's Movie of the Week "The Immortal" (1969) and an hour-long television series in 1970, based on Gunn's The Immortals
* An episode of the USSR science fiction TV series This Fantastic World, filmed in 1989 and entitled "Psychodynamics of the Witchcraft" was based on James Gunn's 1953 story "Wherever You May Be".

Reviews

[Stefan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for Transcendental, the new novel by veteran SF author James Gunn, based on the publicity copy from publisher Tor. Unfortunately, my expectations were not met.

For the details, please read the full review on my site Far Beyond Reality!

[Leo Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's mad praise on this book's back cover but... I couldn't picture any of it, then I come on here and see it's part of a trilogy? I thought it was supposed to wrap up.

Padded with backstories of a motley crew of unlikely aliens. That look like ferrets and flowers and elephants and stuff. Would they, though?

Why were they doing this again?

What?

This book purchased by me for me for an honest review and a lark, and I got both :)

[Antigone · Rating 2 out of 5]

While a relatively recent release, this is definitely Old School science fiction. The 1950s savor is so strong that I envisioned the entire story in black-and-white, stripped down to warehouse staging, a horn-heavy soundtrack and a cast of dedicatedly earnest actors striding stiffly toward their marks. No tech. No tricks. No ninja-matrix fight choreography. Straight up roundhouse punches to the trademark alien glass jaw. This is science fiction from the era that practically invented it, which one should probably expect from James Gunn, writer of over thirty-two books in the genre, founder of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction and professor emeritus at the University of Kansas.

The tale is quite basic. Representatives from a variety of species (humans included) board a re-commissioned spacecraft headed for the farthest reaches of the known galaxy, ostensibly on pilgrimage to what they hope will be the heart of Transcendence, the core of a new religious movement. Sabotage starts early, forcing alliances, testing trust. Allegorical themes emerge, as they were prone to do in classic sci-fi - back when the most impressive special effect available was the twist of an impossible idea into a believable potentiality. If this is the kind of thing you appreciate as a reader, or are in any respect sentimental about, here is a pure blast from the past.

What I took out of it was a renewed regard for Frank Herbert, Gene Roddenberry, Ray Bradbury and Rod Serling - who were clearly light years ahead of the game.

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you took The Canterbury Tales, Ship of Fools, The Origin of Species, and And Then There Were None, mixed them all up and added a pinch of Asimov, Brin, Blish and maybe a few others, you’d have something approximating James Gunn’s newest novel, Transcendental. While those are some quality ingredients, and there were some long moments of pure deliciousness, in the end the blend felt a bit off in its proportions (I wanted more Chaucer) and the novel left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.

Lest one think I’m reading too much into the literary associations, I’ll merely point out that Gunn gives us a spaceship named Geoffrey, an AI that recites “Thanne longen folk to ... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5: Didn't like enough to recommend.

My feelings about this book are divided, so I'm going with a Pros and Cons List:

Pros:
1) Interesting Premise
2) Doesn't start with overt exposition
3) Interesting characters
4) Potentially vivid universe

Cons:
1-9) Not a single positive listed above was fleshed out.
10) Feels like an outline of a multi-novel arc

In short, this novel got be excited to start off, then left me feeling disappointed and unfulfilled. This is my first book from this author, and I may go back and read hs earlier works, which have garnered much praise. This novel, however, is hopefully not his best work.

[Gerhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is great when an author has fun with a book, because that energy often gets transmitted to the reader. Transcendental is an infectiously joyous riff on the possibilities of SF. James Gunn is not only in total control of his material here, but is absolutely up-to-date with the latest genre predilections. One would expect no less from a Grand Master, of course.

Having said that: Gunn’s writing is concise to the point of being rather bare-bones workmanlike. This could put some people off, as the clipped, almost brusque style does take some getting used to. However, once you are into the flow of the story, this is hardly noticeable. It is also very funny in places, and there are a lot of nuggets for the dedicated SF reader to ferret out.

The story is deceptively simple: an oddball menagerie of alien species, including a token human (the fly in the galactic ointment as it were) gather on a planet called Terminal to catch a space elevator to the waiting spaceship Geoffrey, tasked to hunt down a piece of technology known colloquially as the Transcendental Machine.

This could tip the balance of power in the civilised galaxy if it were to fall into the wrong hands. Needless to say, all of the representatives, or pilgrims, in keeping with the Chaucer motif (one of the many allusions that Gunn seeds his novel with), think they are the Chosen Species.

The book opens with a bang, literally, as the station where the pilgrims gather are attacked. From this breathless opening, Gunn accelerates smoothly into a fantastic SF thriller. The narrative is interspersed with each of the alien travellers recounting their origin story, and why transcendence is the prerogative of their species.

A lot of the reviews I have read give the impression that, as a result, Transcendental is merely a series of short stories strung together like beads, the string being the spaceship Geoffrey and its quest. This could not be further from the truth. Each of the stories not only gives us the back story of the storyteller, but also adds much depth and nuance to the general plot.

Gunn’s inventiveness in these sections is incredible, giving voice to a disparate range of aliens, from a plant-like to a bird-like creature, and yet another entirely self-contained in a coffin-like box on treads.

There are many surprise twists and turns, with a nail-biting build-up to a fantastic ending. I suspect this ending could prove divisive, but I thought it a lovely bow out. That there is scope for a sequel is wonderful; let us just hope Gunn does not keep us waiting as long again as we had to for this new novel.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a bit of an up and down experience with this book. After the first few chapters I was groaning about how bad this book was going to be and dreading reading the rest. It then started to impress me with its ability to combine Canterbury Tales with Darwinian evolution, and well to be frank...aliens. I will say though that the writing style wasn't really up my alley, and I thought the premise of the concepts and overall plot needed to be explained a bit more. I felt as though I was thrown into a tale that I had to draw a fair amount of conclusions myself, in order to comprehend what was going on. Also I could have used a bit more substance, the ending was very abrupt and very melodramatic. It left a fair amount to be desired, especially given that there was a large amount of promise. The majority of the book was a drawn out "whodunit" with a lacklustre ending and really could have used something more.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish this had better writing. Concept was interesting but not well fleshed out.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sci-fi novel by long time author, is set in a multi-species, space faring galactic civilization, where human beings are the newcomers. This is a definite pulp feel to the novel, where the human appearance of course sets off a war. Also, as part of the book is a story of a great alien machine and the quest to find it. One of the quest ship's passengers is on a mission to find and stop one of the passengers, rumored to be a Prophet who has the ability to interact with this machine.
The narrative gets helped along by several points of views of ship passengers.
This all lends itself to Gunn giving us an old story with some new twists.

[Bryan Thomas Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars, a masterpiece of craft which only stumbled a little in the middle with some muddiness and dragging then picked back up witha wild ride to the end. Great raed by a true master.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Há livros que nos apanham de surpresa e nos levam à frente de enxurrada. Estaria a mentir se dissesse que este é um deles, porque quando peguei nele já ia com as expectativas elevadas. Mesmo assim surpreendeu. E levou de enxurrada. Para já esta foi a melhor e mais surpreendente leitura que fiz em 2014, confissão que vale o que vale já que o ano mal fez um mês.

O transcendentalismo tecnológico é o tema deste regresso de um autor veterano, mas desenganem-se. Não estamos a falar de uma visão individualista e tecno-utopista singularitária. Aqui a transcendência assume a forma de peregrinação quase religiosa de indivíduos representativos das várias espécies de uma galáxia num misto de ultrapassar dos limites do ser e da cultura. Não é um tema novo, pareceu-me algo similar às fluídas zonas de pensamento de Vernor Vinge que levam civilizações inteiras a migrar ao longo de gerações para as extremidades da galáxia, onde o pensamento e o processamento computacional são progressivamente mais rápidas, para transcenderem e se tornarem civilizações supra-humanas. Mas a concepção de espaço de Gunn é diferente, assente numa visão mais classicista da galáxia enquanto vasto espaço povoado por múltiplas espécies alienígenas. Recorde-se que Vinge está mais na óptica da ciência computacional, que sublima de forma muito interessante nas premissas-base do universo de A Fire Upon the Deep.

Gun vai desvendando de forma metódica e implacável visões progressivamente mais vastas de uma civilização galáctica assente no consenso entre diferentes espécies alienígenas, consenso esse ameaçado pelo emergir da humanidade no palco estelar mas resolvido após uma curta e violenta guerra sem vitoriosos onde as civilizações avançadas são forçadas a conviver com o arrivismo humano. Não estamos a falar de visões imperiais mas de uma coligação de potências com fronteiras bem definidas e fortíssimas tendências xenófobas, algo de paradoxal num conceito de união de civilizações extra-terrestres que Gunn descreve como conscientes dos seus avanços ou atrasos técnicos mas todas imbuídas de um forte sentimento de superioridade inata face às restantes. Neste equilíbrio de desconfianças a humanidade vai-se espalhando pelo espaço, sempre vista com olhar duvidoso.

Implacável, Gunn dá um passo em frente e revela-nos que a imperiosa mas não imperial união galáctica ocupa apenas um braço da via láctea. É um novo patamar de ironia da visão de superioridade num espaço que à escala da galáxia é afinal ínfimo. Parte do livro lida precisamente com a possibilidade de existência de civilizações num outro braço da via láctea e o impacto presumível num conselho galáctico que busca o equilíbrio homeostático de forma tão acérrima que optou, em tempos, por não responder nem investigar mensagens provenientes de outra galáxia. O equilíbrio é tudo, a manutenção do status-quo a primeira prioridade.

Este intrigante panorama de fundo é uma das vertentes grandiosas deste romance que mistura uma boa história de aventura em modo space opera com ficção científica de ideias em especulação sem limites. Um carácter que se torna ainda mais evidente quando, através das histórias de alguns dos personagens Gunn caracteriza algumas das civilizações alienígenas. Uma das interessantes estratégias narrativas da ficção científica é o criar de toda uma civilização alienígena destacando e ampliando uma faceta da enorme diversidade humana. A partir de um elemento histórico, corrente de pensamento, tendência social ou elemento de carácter que é reduzido ao absurdo e levado ao exagero constrói-se uma visão alternativa de sociedades plausíveis, dadas as condições iniciais do gedankenexperiment. É uma forma de nos olharmos com uma lente distorcida e, ao comparar o ficcional com a inspiração saída do real, reflectir sobre alguns dos melhores ou piores aspectos da humanidade. James Gunn faz isso de forma magistral em Transcendental. Cada espécie galáctica que nos apresenta é fundamentalmente uma extrapolação de uma faceta humana ou remota possibilidade científica.

Gunn esticou a especulação sobre possibilidades de vida alienígena a novos limites com as espécies que descreve. Introduz-nos a uma raça de paquidermes herbívoros respeitada pela sua força tranquila. Mostra-nos uma aguerrida civilização de criaturas similares a furões cuja fibra moral faz os espartanos parecerem sibaritas. Com os nativos da estrela Sirius explora fobias de paternalidade com uma espécie capaz de controlar temperaturas onde os machos são comidos pela prole de que cuidam, apesar do progresso social ter conseguido aumentar a taxa de sobrevivência entre os pobres machos da espécie. O amor, aqui, devora literalmente. Gunn não esquece os singularitários com uma civilização de inteligências artificiais que traz consigo no périplo pela galáxia os últimos sobreviventes dos seus criadores congelados num caixão, uma civilização humanóide que se aniquilou numa guerra civil e que as inteligências artificiais gostariam de recuperar. Não é a habitual visão dos robot overlords que exterminam os seres vivos. Para mim, o mais extraordinário dos voos especulativos do autor é a flor ambulante, representante de uma civilização de flores sentientes com consciência colectiva que evoluiu de forma lenta e determinada. Após uma invasão cruzou os seus genes com os das plantas alienígenas para derrotar a espécie invasora e assim conseguiu desenvolver formas biomórficas de tecnologia que a tornaram membro do conclave galáctico. Leram bem. Uma civilização de flores inteligentes, em mente-enxame. Que se desenvolveu por selecção mendeliana. Que chegou ao espaço em naves biológicas. A FC a surpreender, como só a melhor o pode fazer.

Estas são as amostras de uma vasta panóplia de criaturas, humanos incluídos, que se acotovela numa nave que atravessa o espaço em busca do local onde se diz existir a tecnologia que permitirá transcender o humano e o alienígena. A viagem é atribulada, graças à confusão provocada pela coexistência de espécies nominalmente aliadas mas de facto antagónicas e pela interferência de forças que após verificaram se há veracidade nos rumores transcendentais visam eliminar o que consideram ser uma ameaça à estabilidade conservadora.

Gunn resolve o problema da travessia das vastas distâncias estelares com uma rede de pontos nevrálgicos que possibilita saltos hiperespaciais. Parece ser um fenómeno natural mapeado originalmente pelas civilizações mais avançadas mas vai-nos sendo levado a perceber que afinal são artefactos tecnológicos possivelmente criados e estabelecidos pela civilização avançadíssima que atingiu a transcendência e que se situa num outro braço da via láctea, obrigando os peregrinos que embarcaram na viagem a atravessar a vastidão do espaço profundo. Uma das características que dá gosto a este romance é a forma gradual como o autor nos vai esclarecendo e ampliando as premissas do seu mundo ficcional, sem recorrer a despejos épicos de informação. Uma migalha aqui, uma migalha ali e quando damos por nós estamos a unir os pontos de um panorama mais vasto do que o que inicialmente suspeitaríamos.

Há de facto uma transcendência tecnológica à espera no final do périplo, e está intimamente ligada com a história da aceitação da humanidade. A captura de uma nave geracional humana por patrulhas galácticas revela ao concílio civilizacional a existência de uma nova espécie, mas não há consenso sobre a inteligência dos humanos e os tripulantes da nave são mantidos em cativeiro. Um grupo de sobreviventes decide tentar a fuga e, graças aos talentos de um hacker responsável pelos sistemas, rouba o arquivo de mapas estelares da galáxia. Para assegurar a sobrevivência o grupo divide-se. Um é enviado à terra com o arquivo, e graças a este que a humanidade consegue desenvolver o conhecimento e tecnologia que lhes permitirá impor-se no palco galáctico. Outro grupo segue um mapa arcaico mantido em segredo por mapear mais do que a zona galáctica tida como aceitável pelo consórcio de civilizações, e atravessa o espaço entre braços da via láctea para se deparar com um planeta coberto de vestígios de uma civilização avançada e criaturas aracnídeas hiper-violentas que aniquilam os sobreviventes, excepto uma rapariga que se refugia numa espécie de templo e é a primeira a experimentar a transcendência - um teletransporte para o braço galáctico de origem cujo processo elimina erros biológicos e aprimora a entidade biológica. Essa rapariga fará parte da expedição que busca o planeta, guiando-os nas sombras. Mas já estou a revelar em demasia esta história que tem a virtude de estar estruturada numa tessitura intimamente interligada. Se a narrativa principal progride de forma linear as histórias secundárias interligam-se num contínuo não linear que alimenta a progressão do enredo.

Para terminar, sou obrigado a tocar na vertente do livro que recupera a estrutura narrativa celebrizada por Chaucer para a space opera. Tal como os contos de Canterbury este Transcendental conta-se pelo ponto de vista do personagem principal mas inclui as histórias narradas pelos vários personagens que Gunn decidiu salientar. Cada qual tem a sua história mas estas tocam-se, entretecendo-se numa linha narrativa fortíssima.

Obra de mestre, Transcendental leva-nos de enxurrada para um mundo de vastos panoramas cósmicos e ficção especulativa de alto calibre. Com um ritmo preciso e ideias intrigante a cada virar de página, é um daqueles raros livros que é impossível de pousar.

[Jasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

originally posted at http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2013/09/transcendental.html

Transcendental is the latest book written by Hugo award winning author James Gunn. When I found out that James Gunn was termed the Grand Master of Science Fiction my hopes were directly raised and was awaiting a stellar story! James Gunn was the founder of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction and professor emeritus at the University of Kansas. Since starting his writing career in 1948, James Gunn has written 26 books, edited another 18 and published almost a 100 stories in various magazines and other books.

The synopsis of Transcendental really spoke to me, all that is promised in here really invited a great deep space story line. However soon after I started reading the story took a turn toward a quite different story. And looking back on the whole story, it has been a interesting, eventful and great experience. Yes there is a definite amount of action hidden within Transcendental but the focus of the storyline is more on different expects, higher ulterior motives. Like self-discovery, fighting for your believes and even possible redemption. These other motives transformed the storyline to a whole new level.

In Transcendental the main focus is on Riley, an veteran of the interstellar war. Who now finds himself on a ship without any prior knowledge of how it all came to be. Riley comes over as a bit disoriented and not really knowing what he is doing, or at least why he was set on joining the pilgrims, he isn't seeking transcendence for starters. Riley's mission is to stop the Prophet at all costs in order to stop other people and galactics to gain transcendence. For me Riley was shown in a great way, he is still rediscovering himself and helping him is a small voice is his head, his pedia and kind of processor that gives him explanations and helps him translate different languages, but also feels like this pedia has a AI touch to it, especially by what happens later on. The pedia of Riley proved to add another layer in the mix, because if it is hardwired into the brain and can commune, what else can it do? Force or influence certain actions? Riley’s character only becomes more stronger throughout the book as you see him taking the lead to let the mission end in the best possible way. This brings me to a second aspect of the Transcendental, the multiple-species galaxy.

There are a few different species that all seek transcendence, each having their own reason. Now from the beginning that you are introduced to them on the spaceship Geoffrey, there is a heavy tension in the air. Each of the Galactic race has his or her own relation with a different race, often for the worse, which when you put the different races in a single space for a long time cane cause friction. In trying to calm it, Riley really jumps to the occasion, but on the backdrop of the story you still feel it as the pages fly by. The main aspect that sets Transcendental apart is the way that each galactics story is shown. Like I said there are different galactic pilgrims that each seek transcendence for their own reasons. But instead of just saying why, James Gunn gives a detail narration of how they came to seek it. And looking back on these individual stories proves to be a true pleasure indeed. James Gunn gives in a manner of a few pages such a rich and detailed descriptions of their past, that really gives more depth to the story of Transcendental. Just to name a few you have a floral–alien called 4107, a roughlike alien named Todor and a weasel/rogue-like alien called Xi. Each of these really were solid stories on their own and showed so much of the imagined universe and relations among several species. One of the stories really stood out for me and that was of the floral 4107, his story is quite compelling and when you reflect that on his whole race and how he is shown, the fragility of it produces this much stronger feeling. It was a great pleasure to read these individual stories.

The main storyline of Transcendental isn’t without any twists and turns. From the beginning of Riley’s adventure, he has to face off an barbarian attack and the perils doesn’t stop there. As soon as the ship is underway the story only really takes off. As now the pressure starts to mount and each galactic pilgrim is doing what is best for him/her/it. Just shortly after leaving, murders are being committed and no suspect can be appointed and even more so with rumors that the Prophet is among the crew everyone become suspicious. On top of this all is the relation of Riley with the captain of the Geoffrey, which proves to go back a long time but isn’t fully in the advantage of Riley himself. James Gunn wrote up these scenes in a addictive kind of way that readily pulled me into the story eager to find out how everything would be connected and at about the 2/3 mark you learn who the Prophet is, and if you think this would be the end of the story you are wrong, as now several things become clear for Riley but a certain pressure is also resting on his shoulders… because it is his job to kill the Prophet. Instead of letting the story fall into a bore, James Gunn takes all the earlier stories and what was build up with the main storyline further and throws the reader into a rapid pacing towards the end. The ending of Transcendental was totally something different of what I was expecting but proved to be just as amazing and leaves the story open for possible continuation, which I for one hope to see. I hope Transcendental is just the beginning, because if so, were in for quite a ride!

Transcendental is a book that turned out different from what I was expecting, but saying this a very positive way! I was expecting deep space fights but was given an unique take on science fiction. James Gunn shows that the Science Fiction genre is more than space battle and laser guns and talks the higher motives in Transcendental like who is right and who is wrong? Who deserves something more than the other? How can you justify your motives. Showing and tackling these motive can be heavy stuff, but mainly by highlighting these in the dialogues of several characters and the individual stories of them gave a clear grip on them. This was a definite plus of Transcendental. I have to admit that it took some getting used to but that this wasn’t the way that the story was written. James Gunn writing style is absorbing and quite addictive after a while. If you are looking for a science fiction story, that turn the table quite a few degrees of what you normally see, get Transcendental, it’s just as much a journey for you as it is for the pilgrims in the story!

[Megan Baxter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little while ago, I decided to try an experiment, as I am fond of doing. I looked at my Top Ten lists from the last few years, and decided to check out "read-alikes" of my favourite books of the last little while, using NoveList's handy sidebar for suggestions. So far, the results have been mixed. I think this is the fifth book I've read as a "read-alike," and there has really only been one that I've loved - Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union as a readalike for Jo Walton's Farthing. Oh, and I guess I really enjoyed John Steinbeck's To A God Unknown as a readalike for Marilynne Robinson. But at best, we're batting less than .500. Still, I'm enjoying the experiment and intend to continue.

Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.

In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grand Master of Science Fiction James Gunn's 2013 novel Transcendental begins with a universal experience—the tedium and claustrophobia of a long journey among strangers—before abandoning the cozy environs and close-knit star systems of the Milky Way for the agoraphobic emptiness between its spiral arms. This is old-school, big-picture stuff—hard SF, vast in scale, its mind-expanding vistas of space and time showcasing multifarious alien races, exotic technologies, and planets full of ruins older than mankind.

It's even older than old-school, in a way—James Gunn borrows structure from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, something I noticed even before reading Robert Silverberg's back-cover blurb mentioning the same thing. To be fair, Gunn does make it fairly obvious that he's doing this. The characters in Transcendental are pilgrims, each having joined the starship Geoffrey (see?) on its voyage from the planet Terminal, on the edge of inhabited space, in order to seek the rumored Transcendental Machine—and, like Chaucer's pilgrims, they are prevailed upon to share their stories while en route.

One might be tempted to call Transcendental Campbellian as well as Chaucerian. Founding editor John W. Campbell, Jr. might well have dictated this backstory to a Golden Age SF writer: despite their relative youth and inexperience as a species, human beings burst upon the galactic scene and disrupted its millennia-long stasis, and if they did not exactly win the ensuing bellum omnium contra omnes , they did manage to fight the rest of the galaxy to a standstill:

The galactics, as always, had underestimated human intelligence, ingenuity and determination.
—p.182

But Transcendental is only Campbellian up to a point. Its fundamental mood is pessimistic, despite its title and its characters' hopeful mission. The novel avoids detailing any glamorous space battles or astounding weapons of super-science. The war between humans and the rest of the Galaxy is in the past—the not-too-distant past, granted, but still too long ago to bother depicting in any detail. And, more to the point, the sapient creatures of Gunn's universe are uniformly mean-spirited, vicious and mistrustful—even paranoid—and their squabbles on board the Geoffrey are a far cry from the titanic conflicts between great good and pure evil that pervade so much of Golden Age SF. It's difficult to believe that such beings could be anywhere near as open with each other as Chaucer's pilgrims were.

It was a hell of a universe: a galaxy divided uneasily between alien species that once had sworn war to the death now trying to find a way to coexist; technology beyond humanity's dreams, some the product of human ingenuity, some modified from alien sources; and all of it used to distract, to divert, to suppress, to maintain.
—p.71

In Transcendental, what remains is an unstable, multivalent truce, perhaps the most original thing about the book—I cannot think of a previous work of SF that depicts its interactions among species in this precise way.

But... scope and grandeur and Big Ideas just aren't enough for an SF novel anymore. In ways both big and small, Transcendental mimics the flaws as well as the virtues of Golden Age SF. Overall, it's cold, detached—like Gene Wolfe's Home Fires, whose title I found ironic after recently reading it. Its tone is unrelievedly flat, with long blocks of exposition unbroken by any characters' interaction. The names of its alien characters and places are oddly unimaginative—the capital city of the Dorians' planet, for example, is named... Grandor?!? And the default gender for all characters and beings is male—Gunn uses the generic "he" throughout, in a way which might have passed muster several decades ago but which seems jarring and unnecessary to me now.


At heart, Transcendental is a well-crafted period piece, a nostalgic look at the past masquerading as a tale of the far future... and that's both good and bad. If it had been published in the 1940s, maybe even in the 50s, it might well have come to be regarded as one of the classics of the genre. But now... I think the field of sf as a whole has transcended this kind of work.

[Tamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually write book reviews but I was saddened that this book only has 39 reviews on Amazon. The other two books in this trilogy have even less, with the last book having 3 reviews. I do not read many science fiction books and gravitate more towards fantasy and urban fantasy. That may change because I really liked this book. I wish I would have know it was a trilogy before reading this first book. I may have enjoyed it a little more. I was getting very impatient with the first half wanting it to move a little faster. I did not realize that the world and specie building would be needed for a three book adventure. Additionally, my anger at the cliff-hanger ending was soon halted by realizing the story was not done!

As a novice science fiction reader I am not sure what elements make a good or bad science fiction book. What I can say is that I found Transcendental hard to put down. It was interesting to consider some of the alien species and worlds that were created and had me wanting more. It's always fun to think about how humanity might appear to others. My guess is that this first book only scratched the surface of the characters and plot and I look forward to reading the other two books to see what happens.

[Nico Cerceo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beginning riddled with questions, “Transcendental” explores alien races throughout a galactic era riddled with war and wonder. In search of perfection, or rather tweak the oddities of imperfection, Riley and his ragtag team of Galactics travel through the bleakest parts of the universe hoping to discover the final stage of evolutionary freedom.

[Sarah Arnette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a philosophy book masquerading as a sci fi.

[Michael Pryor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoughtful, measured, alert.

[Joe Karpierz · Rating 3 out of 5]

James Gunn is quite the standout in science fiction. He's a SFWA Grand Master, a Hugo Award winner, and is a past president of SFWA, among other things (this information from the "About the Author" at the end of the book). And yet, I'd never read anything written by Gunn up until now. I'd heard some good things about this book, and a few things that piqued my curiosity. Since the Hugo nominating period is open, I thought I'd pick up this 2013 book and give it a try, with the idea of nominating it if I thought it was worthy of it. We'll get back to that.

Riley, our protagonist, for want of a better term, is at a spaceport waiting to take a space elevator up to a ship to travel on a mission to find the Transcendental Machine, device that will transform anyone who enters it. The ship is the Geoffrey, a vessel that is in poor shape and that has a ragtag, sloppy crew. Riley knows the captain from past adventures in the military. It seems there was a war in the not too distant past that started when humans first ventured into intergalactic space, thus upsetting the balance of nature, as the existing Galactics don't like change, and certainly not due to those upstart humans. This is a trope we've seen numerous times in the past, and are likely to see again any number of times in the future. In any event, Riley is just one of a variety of species on the elevator heading for the ship. There is only one other human - other than the ship's crew - involved in this mission, the mysterious woman named Asha.

Riley, and apparently all the rest of the passengers, have a "pedia", a computer-like device, implanted in them, which allows them to communicate and, presumably (given the name) know things. Riley's pedia is a bit nasty. It was implanted in him bya mysterious agency which wants him to find out everything he can about the Transcendental Machine, and while he's at it, kill The Prophet, who may or may not be on board the Geoffrey and who is the leader of a cult who is spreading the word about this machine. The Galactics really don't want this machine around. It will upset the balance of power and change things, and that just won't do.

The story, then, is about journeys. On the surface, it is about the journey to find the Transcendental Machine in some distant part of the galaxy. Below the surface, however, it is a story about the journey to discover oneself amidst the chaos that is the galactic culture. Like Hyperion (and of course the ultimate source before that, The Canterbury Tales), each passenger tells its tale (because it is not easy to determine whether some of these things are male or female, and just what do you make of a coffin shaped alien anyway?) and how it came to be here. In the end, it turns out that each of them have an agenda that has been given to them to follow, and it basically comes down to killing The Prophet and stopping the pilgrimage, for that is what
it truly is, from getting to the machine.

So, which is more important, the journey or what is at the end of it? Clearly, I think, Gunn is telling us that the journey is what is important, because we get a devil of a surprise at the end. And that, above all things, is what disappointed me about this book.

To be sure, this book is old school, written by one of the Grand Masters of the field who knows all about old school. It's very
starkly written - there is no flowery prose, no complex character development (even with each character telling its story), no complicated plotline to untangle at the end. And, something that is even more different from books today, not everything is explained. There are many things left unsaid, many things left unexplained. I'm really okay with that - after all, I love 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is one of the great stories of all time without having to explain everything. I know folks are not used to not having everything laid out for them. But that's not what this story is about. And that's fine. But the ending shook me up pretty badly in that I felt it was something of a cheat. I wanted more than that. It seemed we were heading
for something monumental, but we didn't get it. And I was disappointed.

My initial reaction was that this was an awful book, based on the ending alone. That is, of course, blatantly unfair. However,
to get back to that bit about a Hugo nomination. I don't know. I'm going to have to think about it for awhile. My current feeling is that even if it gets nominated it won't have much of a chance of winning. Your mileage may vary.

[Jessica Strider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros: variety of aliens, excellent pacing, interesting mystery

Cons: impersonal protagonist, telling rather than showing makes it hard to feel immersed in the story

Riley joins a mixed group of alien and human pilgrims chasing after hints that an alien machine has been discovered that helps entities transcend. But not everyone wants such a device found, for the galaxy is enjoying a hard won peace, a peace they believe this machine will upset.

I was told that this was a sort of Canterbury Tales told in space. While Chaucer is referenced a time or two and some of the characters do tell stories, it’s not really a good comparison. Chaucer’s tales are for enlightenment and entertainment. Gunn’s tales are for exposition with regards to learning about character backgrounds and alien cultures.

Riley is an unreliable narrator. Though you’re getting the story from his point of view, you’re unclear of his motivations. You’re constantly warned not to trust anyone - including him, and told that everyone is lying about everything. This makes it difficult to get to know any of the characters, or feel like you’re really connecting with them or with the story.

Similarly, when the characters do start telling about their pasts - lies though their tales might be - it’s through narration that feels more like info dumps than a character explaining why they’ve decided to make a pilgrimage. Their stories are more about how their different races evolved or how they joined the Galactic Council than about their personal presence on the voyage. I found some of the stories more interesting than others, though they were all unique.

The book’s pacing is excellent. Each time I started to question things and need more information to maintain my interest, that information was provided. I was surprised at how early the Prophet was revealed - I expected it to be revealed as part of the climax - but it was a revelation that ramped up the tension for the end of the book.

There are a number of mysteries that come up at different times in the book from assassination attempts to what the transcendental machine actually is. Enough answers were provided that the ending felt satisfying.

It may not be the Canterbury Tales in space, but it does have some interesting elements to it and it was a quick, entertaining read.

[Mjhancock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rumors have hit the civilized galaxy that someone or something has cracked the secret of transcendence, and a crew of desperate pilgrims have set off on a voyage to find it, not knowing if their co-ordinates are true, or their colleagues can be trusted. The easiest way to describe this story is that it's Cantebury Tales with aliens (Which is also the description of Dan Simmons' Hyperion, which is nothing like this book besides also being Cantebury Tales with aliens. But never mind). Chapters on the beleaguered voyage into the unknown and attempts to sabotage the ship are interspersed with the characters providing their life stories, which in the case of the alien species in particular also generally double as an overview of their race. We also get the backstory to the galaxy in general: most of the galaxy was at peace when humans came to their attention, and our rambunctious ways disrupted existing alliances and started wars until a new uneasy peace including humans was made. It's kind of similar to Mass Effect's approach to human/alien relations; we're the scrappy upstarts everyone wishes would settle down a bit and respect their elders. The POV character is Riley, a human who's been tasked with finding the leader of the expedition, and implanted with a cybernetic pedia to give him information and make sure he does that. Gunn is very good at deadpan humor; what comedy there is in the book comes out of the aliens' laconic exasperation with humans and vice versa, and the randomness of the pedia's advice. I don't know if the pedia was meant as a satire on such devices in satire, but if it was, it works. Unfortunately, the book is less than the sum of its parts. The short stories are generally pretty good, but Riley is a reasonably underwhelming protagonist, and a story promising transcendence ends in a place that might be intended as ironic, but comes off as disappointing. It was a fun read, but I honestly think I might have been more entertained by a series of short stories describing these aliens' homeworld.

[David Chess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. The basic premise is somewhat promising: a group of beings from various species and planets are on a pilgrimage in search of a Machine that may or may not exist, and may or may not offer some sort of transcendence. The ship they are traveling in and its crew are themselves suspect, and one of them may be the Prophet who started the rumors of the Machine in the first place. Each tells a story, Canterbury-Tales-like, along the way.

But the execution falls short of the potential. The stories are not all that interesting, the beings all turn out to be like the Top Person of their societies, the idea that each of those societies and other shadowy powerful groups has sent a Top Person to investigate a vague religious rumor (of which there must be thousands active in the galaxy at any given time) is just too implausible, most of them just randomly die for no significant reason and might as well not have been there at all (unless they are going to reappear in some sequel), and so on. There is a city ruled by millions of hideous spider-like creatures who have eaten everything else that exists there, and who must therefore get awfully hungry you'd think, if they only get meals when hapless pilgrims come by.

The ending is somewhat unresolved, but if the rest of the book had been better it would've been fine. As it is I'm afraid it's just leading into a sequel, which I don't find myself eager to read. As a whole, it feels sort of like an early draft, or maybe a plot outline, of a good book...

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

Three hundred pages of talky talk as a group of humans and nonhumans take a long, long trip into another galactic arm to find a device that optimizes one's body and abilities in some vague way. The book is padded out by several characters delivering their non-relevant back stories, and even the battles with swarms of large spiders at the end are dull and perfunctory. The only reason I gave this one star was because I thought that the revelation partway through that the protagonist had been having "first time" sex with a certain woman over and over again because she had the power to make him forget each time was a clever touch.

The overall tone and setup reminded me of Robert Wilfred Franson's SHADOW OF THE SHIP---but that tale also had a real storyline rather than a premise serving as a strung out placeholder.

[Fábio Fernandes · Rating 3 out of 5]

James Gunn is a master of the trade. For works as The Listeners, he deserves all the respect of literary and SF communities. Transcendental, however, is a work of later years, and it should be read as such.

The story - a pilgrimage of humans and an assortment of aliens to the ends of the Galaxy and maybe beyond in search of a supposed Transcendental Machine - is full of clichés, but the clichés are well-worked, and Mr. Gunn belongs from a time when most of them were fresh and full of life.

It was a fun read for most of the time, if predictable. But sometimes predictable is good.

[X · Rating 3 out of 5]

The specific stories for each alien race are fantastic. The main story is a bit less so. In particular, each character feels the same. They worry about the same things, think the same way, consider the same things. Each one is particularly wordy and overly analytical. I found it difficult to believe (even boring) that every character considered every situation the same way.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my two favorite books of the summer. Sci-fi Canterburry tales. The ending was abrupt but worked for me, and I was fine just leaving it there.

Found out a month later that it's the first in a trilogy.

I experienced the audio version of this book through my local library, was happy with the narration.

[Nancy Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the main character and the Canterbury Tales like plot, but found some of the aliens' stories less than interesting and was very disappointed by the ending, which felt more like a whimper than the bang this reader was primed for. Still, some interesting and thoughtful moments.

[Chris Laskey · Rating 3 out of 5]

initially I liked the old school direction and writing but it just couldn't sustain itself and ultimately fell flat. The ending in particular was rushed and clumsy ending somewhat disappointing. There are seeds of a very good work but as such it stands as an ok read. Not a keeper.

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel reads like a parody of a science fiction story. They might as well have flown in a saucer with green aliens. At a time flush with authors of mind-bending, horizon-expanding speculative fiction, Mr. Gunn may want to try a new genre. Perhaps obituaries?

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

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