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Re-Printed Matter
Humanity’s second chance comes at a terrifying cost.
Maja Nygaard’s groundbreaking invention—atomic reprinting—was meant to be a miracle. In the aftermath of a devastating pandemic, her technology erases disease, rebuilds bodies, and offers desperate souls a fresh start on the frozen, toxic expanse of Titan. But perfection is an illusion, and in the wrong hands, identity is fragile. Memories can be altered. Lives can be rewritten. The essence of self—erased.
At the heart of it all is Phanes, an artificial intelligence unlike any other. More than a creation, it is Maja’s conscience, watching, learning, and seeing truths others would rather keep buried. As power-hungry governments, ruthless corporations, and the dying claw for control, Maja faces an impossible safeguard the integrity of humanity—or let those in power reshape it in their image.
But when the line between original and copy begins to blur, one question haunts
If you could be printed anew, would you still be you?
Maja Nygaard’s groundbreaking invention—atomic reprinting—was meant to be a miracle. In the aftermath of a devastating pandemic, her technology erases disease, rebuilds bodies, and offers desperate souls a fresh start on the frozen, toxic expanse of Titan. But perfection is an illusion, and in the wrong hands, identity is fragile. Memories can be altered. Lives can be rewritten. The essence of self—erased.
At the heart of it all is Phanes, an artificial intelligence unlike any other. More than a creation, it is Maja’s conscience, watching, learning, and seeing truths others would rather keep buried. As power-hungry governments, ruthless corporations, and the dying claw for control, Maja faces an impossible safeguard the integrity of humanity—or let those in power reshape it in their image.
But when the line between original and copy begins to blur, one question haunts
If you could be printed anew, would you still be you?
396 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 14, 2025
1 person is currently reading
4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 21, 2025
dnf @ 6%
I decided to dnf in the third chapter or so, but I was still only 6% in! if that doesn't tell you about the length of some of the info-dump paragraphs in here, I don't know what else can. This book is filled with big ideas, deep concepts, and an intriguing premise that was new to me (which I appreciate!)
I did want to love it, it deals with atomic re-printing, which you can do a LOT with, especially from the ethical angle.
But unfortunately, the writing style didn’t work for me at all. It was overloaded with info dumps—literally every page, every chapter. I felt like I was constantly being told things. I ended up not finishing it because of that. Cool concept, but just not my kind of execution.
I decided to dnf in the third chapter or so, but I was still only 6% in! if that doesn't tell you about the length of some of the info-dump paragraphs in here, I don't know what else can. This book is filled with big ideas, deep concepts, and an intriguing premise that was new to me (which I appreciate!)
I did want to love it, it deals with atomic re-printing, which you can do a LOT with, especially from the ethical angle.
But unfortunately, the writing style didn’t work for me at all. It was overloaded with info dumps—literally every page, every chapter. I felt like I was constantly being told things. I ended up not finishing it because of that. Cool concept, but just not my kind of execution.
April 16, 2025
This was an ARC I received via NetGalley. A science fiction novel set in the near future, it introduces a world where it’s possible to 3D-print living organisms at the atomic level—an innovation that naturally brings with it a host of ethical and moral quandaries. Against this backdrop, Earth is struck by a devastating pandemic, a mutated variant of something akin to Mad Cow Disease.
The narrative follows three distinct storylines: astronauts stationed on Titan; Maja, the brilliant mind behind the first truly sentient AI and atomic printing; and Kirillov, a Russian billionaire who wins a controversial auction run by hacktivists, granting him and his family the chance to ‘teleprint’ themselves to Titan in a desperate bid to escape the global crisis.
The book is built on a strong and compelling concept, full of potential.
It did take me a while to get into it—I was around a quarter of the way through before it really started to engage me. The writing is fine, but it feels like the manuscript could benefit from tighter editing. It felt slow to read, but not that the pacing of the book was slow, and at times the info dumping feels repetitive, with certain ideas being reiterated more than necessary.
A great deal happens to the characters and the stakes are undeniably high, yet emotionally it didn’t hit home for me. The resolution for the characters felt a little too tidy, and the prologue—though intriguing—needs to be more meaningfully tied into the main narrative. A more concise structure could free up space to develop deeper emotional connections with the characters.
I’m glad I read this after *Project Hail Mary* rather than before.
I did enjoy the book, but it’s one of those stories that I feel could be so much more with just a bit more polish and editing.
The narrative follows three distinct storylines: astronauts stationed on Titan; Maja, the brilliant mind behind the first truly sentient AI and atomic printing; and Kirillov, a Russian billionaire who wins a controversial auction run by hacktivists, granting him and his family the chance to ‘teleprint’ themselves to Titan in a desperate bid to escape the global crisis.
The book is built on a strong and compelling concept, full of potential.
It did take me a while to get into it—I was around a quarter of the way through before it really started to engage me. The writing is fine, but it feels like the manuscript could benefit from tighter editing. It felt slow to read, but not that the pacing of the book was slow, and at times the info dumping feels repetitive, with certain ideas being reiterated more than necessary.
A great deal happens to the characters and the stakes are undeniably high, yet emotionally it didn’t hit home for me. The resolution for the characters felt a little too tidy, and the prologue—though intriguing—needs to be more meaningfully tied into the main narrative. A more concise structure could free up space to develop deeper emotional connections with the characters.
I’m glad I read this after *Project Hail Mary* rather than before.
I did enjoy the book, but it’s one of those stories that I feel could be so much more with just a bit more polish and editing.
December 18, 2025
Re-printed Matter is a lot of very interesting ideas crammed into a story that needs a little editor TLC to polish to glowing.
There are a large number of info dumping sections that need to be teased out and shown to the reader in better ways.
Yes, sometimes being told the information can happen, but massive packages of this repeatedly being told to the reader slows the pace of the book to almost glacial in the first 40%.
If you overlook the info dumps, this story has, at its core, some pretty cool ideas and explores some hefty thoughts and beliefs about what it means to be human.
I enjoyed the split POV between Maja, Kirillov, Phanes and Hsu. It allowed a good amount of different perspectives and provided a richer experience for the reader.
I think a bit more time could have been spent exploring Titan and I am hopeful that there might be another book exploring Ross.
More time could have also been given to allowing the reader to understand the printing changes in the second half of the book. Exploring some of the science that supports the theories. It could have been more, more detail, more granular, more iterative with each printing.
As it stands, the last 20% of the book feels rushed and swept under the rug rather than explored and offered up to the reader. We put the effort in to read the first 80% of the book, but the ending doesn’t feel worth it.
As previously mentioned, this could do with another edit to cut out info dumps and also to pick up a few line edits.
Things I noticed:
8% - prototype (missing capitalisation) at no cost…
22% - … Mars would (be) more inaccessible…
28% - …you have taken our(out) further loans…
44% - On(e) quick snip later…
*Note: I was provided an electronic copy of this book from NetGalley*
There are a large number of info dumping sections that need to be teased out and shown to the reader in better ways.
Yes, sometimes being told the information can happen, but massive packages of this repeatedly being told to the reader slows the pace of the book to almost glacial in the first 40%.
If you overlook the info dumps, this story has, at its core, some pretty cool ideas and explores some hefty thoughts and beliefs about what it means to be human.
I enjoyed the split POV between Maja, Kirillov, Phanes and Hsu. It allowed a good amount of different perspectives and provided a richer experience for the reader.
I think a bit more time could have been spent exploring Titan and I am hopeful that there might be another book exploring Ross.
More time could have also been given to allowing the reader to understand the printing changes in the second half of the book. Exploring some of the science that supports the theories. It could have been more, more detail, more granular, more iterative with each printing.
As it stands, the last 20% of the book feels rushed and swept under the rug rather than explored and offered up to the reader. We put the effort in to read the first 80% of the book, but the ending doesn’t feel worth it.
As previously mentioned, this could do with another edit to cut out info dumps and also to pick up a few line edits.
Things I noticed:
8% - prototype (missing capitalisation) at no cost…
22% - … Mars would (be) more inaccessible…
28% - …you have taken our(out) further loans…
44% - On(e) quick snip later…
*Note: I was provided an electronic copy of this book from NetGalley*
April 19, 2025
In the near future, a sentient AI develops a 3D printer that can scan matter at an atomic level and to print it's using raw elements as cartridges. It follows three groups of characters, the scientist that created the AI, a rich Russian family and a group of astronauts on Titan. The story moves when because the two groups on Earth are trying to escape a pandemic that is killing everyone, really fast, and seems to be uncurable.
The first part of the book is much stronger of the rest, but overall is a good debut novel. I'll give it 3.5/5 rounded to 4/5 because it deserves attention despite not being perfect.
It's hard science, but it is mostly right, the same attention wasn't given to the psychology of the characters that thus feel more characters in a story than real people. It's a good "what if" story, but it doesn't have the political and moral implication of the good speculative fiction. This makes it perfect if you want just pure adventure and crazy technology. It also is pretty accessible, since the hard science is explained enough to not make it difficult to read. The AI character is maybe too powerful without any consequence, making the ending feel somewhat cynical.
The first part of the book is much stronger of the rest, but overall is a good debut novel. I'll give it 3.5/5 rounded to 4/5 because it deserves attention despite not being perfect.
It's hard science, but it is mostly right, the same attention wasn't given to the psychology of the characters that thus feel more characters in a story than real people. It's a good "what if" story, but it doesn't have the political and moral implication of the good speculative fiction. This makes it perfect if you want just pure adventure and crazy technology. It also is pretty accessible, since the hard science is explained enough to not make it difficult to read. The AI character is maybe too powerful without any consequence, making the ending feel somewhat cynical.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews