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Initial Conditions
When Danielle Meller starts to work for professor George Green, she expects the new job will jumpstart her academic career. Soon enough, she discovers that integrating herself in the competitive group is a constant struggle. It is even harder to convince her boss that she is capable of conducting innovative research in theoretical physics.
Danielle is fascinated by the recently discovered dark energy – it entices her imagination and draws her to explore its origins. A battle of wills ensues when Green stops her attempts to go beyond the assigned research. Danielle’s boyfriend, Jonathan, also warns her against taking unnecessary risks. Headstrong and ambitious, she doesn’t back off – until she inadvertently opens a personal and professional Pandora’s Box. Now, she has to face the price of following her dreams – if she fails, she might lose the man she loves and everything she has worked for.
Danielle is fascinated by the recently discovered dark energy – it entices her imagination and draws her to explore its origins. A battle of wills ensues when Green stops her attempts to go beyond the assigned research. Danielle’s boyfriend, Jonathan, also warns her against taking unnecessary risks. Headstrong and ambitious, she doesn’t back off – until she inadvertently opens a personal and professional Pandora’s Box. Now, she has to face the price of following her dreams – if she fails, she might lose the man she loves and everything she has worked for.
347 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 2, 2015
348 people want to read
About the author
T.K. Flor
2 books6 followersAs a child, T. K. read Asimov, watched Star Wars, and dreamed of someday writing stories about stars. That wish was partially fulfilled – T.K.'s first published work was a scientific paper in the Astrophysical Journal. Years passed, more research papers were written and published, a PhD in physics was earned. One day, an ambitious and headstrong physicist settled in T.K.'s mind, and began telling a story. Bit by bit, that story unfolded. Ten years later, T.K.'s first novel, Initial Conditions, was published.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 1, 2015
This, dear readers, is an inspiring book.
As a former student of physics engineering, I can easily relate to the sometimes horrifyingly high expectations workers in the field of physics are subject to, and I also happen to have a keen interest in recent discoveries. As a direct result, Initial Conditions was a read which had me scrambling enthusiastically to catch up to the epic assault on the unknown that our heroic physicists all over the world are engaged in. I enjoyed this book more than I should have. I think many others will too.
This book was very well written but somewhat sabotaged by slow pacing and a relatively undramatic climax. This might be my fault, of course; it seems that most books nowadays center on epic or apocalyptic events with cataclysmic climaxes galore. If their books aren’t good enough, why not put aliens in there somewhere to spice things up – that’s your average indie sci-fi author’s mentality. In a genre where the scope and scale of events are outrageous, one risks becoming desensitized and undervaluing more grounded stories.
Initial Conditions isn’t the abovementioned kind of book and I respect the author’s decision in this; this book, as she so clearly warns, is not quite a sci-fi but instead a serious work of fiction revolving around science. It also appears to have been properly edited and, aside the somewhat excessive use of adjectives in dialogue attribution, it is beautifully written.
In all, this is not a book for everyone but still a very worthwhile read for anyone who, like me, identifies with the subject matter and academic life in general.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for a fair, honest and non-reciprocal review.
As a former student of physics engineering, I can easily relate to the sometimes horrifyingly high expectations workers in the field of physics are subject to, and I also happen to have a keen interest in recent discoveries. As a direct result, Initial Conditions was a read which had me scrambling enthusiastically to catch up to the epic assault on the unknown that our heroic physicists all over the world are engaged in. I enjoyed this book more than I should have. I think many others will too.
This book was very well written but somewhat sabotaged by slow pacing and a relatively undramatic climax. This might be my fault, of course; it seems that most books nowadays center on epic or apocalyptic events with cataclysmic climaxes galore. If their books aren’t good enough, why not put aliens in there somewhere to spice things up – that’s your average indie sci-fi author’s mentality. In a genre where the scope and scale of events are outrageous, one risks becoming desensitized and undervaluing more grounded stories.
Initial Conditions isn’t the abovementioned kind of book and I respect the author’s decision in this; this book, as she so clearly warns, is not quite a sci-fi but instead a serious work of fiction revolving around science. It also appears to have been properly edited and, aside the somewhat excessive use of adjectives in dialogue attribution, it is beautifully written.
In all, this is not a book for everyone but still a very worthwhile read for anyone who, like me, identifies with the subject matter and academic life in general.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for a fair, honest and non-reciprocal review.
March 4, 2015
Danielle Meller is a physicist, engaged in post-doctoral work at King Solomon University, and the story follows her experiences in work/research, her interactions with her colleagues, professors, and other university staff, and her relationships with her parents, her extended family, her boyfriend and his family.
I have mixed feelings about this book.
On the one hand, Danielle Meller's obsession with physics was refreshing, her long-distance relationship with her software programmer boyfriend Jonathan and her uneasy relationship with his snooty mother Sarah was well-portrayed, the theoretical descriptions were interesting, and the fact of gender discrimination in academia/research was disheartening.
On the other hand, the story pacing was too slow, and certain sections seemed superfluous and irrelevant to the overall story arc. This section for instance -
"Michelle asked Sophia to sit first, then, leaving an empty chair, she invited Sarah and Richard to sit down. Joseph sat next to Sarah, and before Natalie could protest, she was directed to a seat between Joseph and Jonathan. Danielle sat by Jonathan’s other side. Subtly but firmly, Dorian was flanked to a chair between Danielle and his grandmother. Finally, Michelle sat between Sophia and Richard."
Disclaimer - I received a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair, unbiased and non-reciprocal review
I have mixed feelings about this book.
On the one hand, Danielle Meller's obsession with physics was refreshing, her long-distance relationship with her software programmer boyfriend Jonathan and her uneasy relationship with his snooty mother Sarah was well-portrayed, the theoretical descriptions were interesting, and the fact of gender discrimination in academia/research was disheartening.
On the other hand, the story pacing was too slow, and certain sections seemed superfluous and irrelevant to the overall story arc. This section for instance -
"Michelle asked Sophia to sit first, then, leaving an empty chair, she invited Sarah and Richard to sit down. Joseph sat next to Sarah, and before Natalie could protest, she was directed to a seat between Joseph and Jonathan. Danielle sat by Jonathan’s other side. Subtly but firmly, Dorian was flanked to a chair between Danielle and his grandmother. Finally, Michelle sat between Sophia and Richard."
Disclaimer - I received a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair, unbiased and non-reciprocal review
February 2, 2021
I read this book a few years ago; I will comment on what has stuck with me through the years. Like much of good literature, the book was born out of pain. The pain of having done what was reasonable and even brave but without a real shot at professorship, which Danielle seems to feel somewhere in her gut even before she can “see” it, as described in a highly memorable scene that I recall often: of Danielle watching a seminar presenter and seeing “stardust” descending upon him, marking him as a candidate for an academic job. If she feels so utterly mystified by the process of becoming a viable candidate, clearly she hasn’t got a chance - she doesn’t even know what it is that she doesn’t know. I find this very insightful and authentic. I don’t really remember any of the detail about the physics or the romance, but this stardust moment stayed with me.
June 4, 2015
What I really liked about Initial Conditions was its portrayal of a young woman trying to make her way in theoretical physics, working as a post-doc at a university. The professors are too self-absorbed and committed to their own theories to listen to her. She’s forced to do tedious work she doesn’t believe in, and she relentlessly does this work to the point that it harms her health. Mostly she writes code for computer models which have questionable validity since the universe is far too complex to be modeled without drastically simplifying it. Ever since the financial collapse of 2008, one would think we would have learned not to trust computer models of complex systems, but clearly we haven’t. I totally believe this portrayal of a physics department that’s primarily focused on writing grants. Danielle also has issues with her boyfriend, who is not only equally overworked but rarely in one city any length of time. So their relationship takes place mostly on the phone, often with the boyfriend working on his computer at the same time he’s talking to her.
This human side of the story I found truthful and captivating. But I had a hard time getting into the book. There are a lot of proofreading errors, and for me there was a bit too much physics. I respect the way the story is based on physics as it’s understood now rather than stretching into the realm of science fiction, but Flor seems to think a reader needs a lot of background in order to understand the story. This results in huge info dumps at the beginning of the book. I’m actually interested in physics, but I didn’t want to hear about all the particles that make up the Standard Model when Danielle was being snubbed and ridiculed. And I thought the snubbing and ridicule could easily be understood without knowing much of anything about the Standard Model. Some of the physics is necessary, since Danielle is so passionate about it, and in the second half of the book, I think Flor achieves a better balance between the science and the story, maybe because the science is shown more through Danielle’s eyes as she sees swirling snowflakes as swirling galaxies. So once you get past the slow beginning, it becomes an engaging and interesting story about ambition, academia and love.
I was given a copy for this honest review.
This human side of the story I found truthful and captivating. But I had a hard time getting into the book. There are a lot of proofreading errors, and for me there was a bit too much physics. I respect the way the story is based on physics as it’s understood now rather than stretching into the realm of science fiction, but Flor seems to think a reader needs a lot of background in order to understand the story. This results in huge info dumps at the beginning of the book. I’m actually interested in physics, but I didn’t want to hear about all the particles that make up the Standard Model when Danielle was being snubbed and ridiculed. And I thought the snubbing and ridicule could easily be understood without knowing much of anything about the Standard Model. Some of the physics is necessary, since Danielle is so passionate about it, and in the second half of the book, I think Flor achieves a better balance between the science and the story, maybe because the science is shown more through Danielle’s eyes as she sees swirling snowflakes as swirling galaxies. So once you get past the slow beginning, it becomes an engaging and interesting story about ambition, academia and love.
I was given a copy for this honest review.
September 1, 2015
Recommend for science students of any level and anyone who loves a science student. That being said if you don't know or like physics it might be dense in places or just not feel relevant.
I think this book does a good job of describing some of the micro (and macro) aggressions that women in science face. A lot of the situations described have happened to me personally. The conflict between marriage and a professional career was very accurate for a lot of people. The constant doubt and conflict about how to interact with senior male colleges who aren't being outright sexist (till they are) is well described.
I liked the way the scientific process was discussed. I loved the interplay with scifi and the honest portrayal of Danielle's romantic relationship. I especially liked how the support/non-support of Jonathan is portrayed as that felt very honest and real.
I struggled reading this because I like Flor but I really didn't like Danielle. I saw that she was responding to situations in ways that many women in science have responded but every response felt exaggerated to me, making me feel like she was a caricature of a female scientist. Mostly I really wish their had been a different ending because I felt like the focus on choosing life balance rather than work, devalued a lot of the conflict throughout the book, making me only more frustrated with Danielle as a character.
I think this book does a good job of describing some of the micro (and macro) aggressions that women in science face. A lot of the situations described have happened to me personally. The conflict between marriage and a professional career was very accurate for a lot of people. The constant doubt and conflict about how to interact with senior male colleges who aren't being outright sexist (till they are) is well described.
I liked the way the scientific process was discussed. I loved the interplay with scifi and the honest portrayal of Danielle's romantic relationship. I especially liked how the support/non-support of Jonathan is portrayed as that felt very honest and real.
I struggled reading this because I like Flor but I really didn't like Danielle. I saw that she was responding to situations in ways that many women in science have responded but every response felt exaggerated to me, making me feel like she was a caricature of a female scientist. Mostly I really wish their had been a different ending because I felt like the focus on choosing life balance rather than work, devalued a lot of the conflict throughout the book, making me only more frustrated with Danielle as a character.
February 16, 2015
Years ago, Danielle Meller’s mother gave up a flourishing career in physics to be a mom. Now Danielle, doing her post-doc work at King Solomon University, is tested in more ways than one by a long-distance relationship, two reserved and arrogant professors, and a coterie of unappreciative peers. The underlying assumption is that women aren’t as good in physics as men and Danielle proves them wrong in spectacular fashion.
Flor wrote the book over a span of ten years and it covers a whole lot of theoretical physics making it sometimes more of a tutorial than a story: ‘Cosmological Standard Model’, ‘High-Energy Standard Model’, ‘Dark Energy’, ‘Dark Matter’, ‘Accelerating Universe’, ‘Simulations’, ‘Evolution / Expansion of Universe’, ‘Angular Velocity of Rotating Space-Time’, ‘Modeling Large-Scale Perturbations in Flat Universe’, ‘General Relativity’, ‘Theory of Expanding Rotating Universe’, etc. etc. Danielle’s boyfriend Jonathan and his family frame the rest. But the book is strictly for people who love the subject of physics.
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair, unbiased and non-reciprocal review.
Flor wrote the book over a span of ten years and it covers a whole lot of theoretical physics making it sometimes more of a tutorial than a story: ‘Cosmological Standard Model’, ‘High-Energy Standard Model’, ‘Dark Energy’, ‘Dark Matter’, ‘Accelerating Universe’, ‘Simulations’, ‘Evolution / Expansion of Universe’, ‘Angular Velocity of Rotating Space-Time’, ‘Modeling Large-Scale Perturbations in Flat Universe’, ‘General Relativity’, ‘Theory of Expanding Rotating Universe’, etc. etc. Danielle’s boyfriend Jonathan and his family frame the rest. But the book is strictly for people who love the subject of physics.
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair, unbiased and non-reciprocal review.
April 19, 2016
This isn't a bad book, so much as a slow book bogged down by technical details. At times while I was reading it I felt alternatively really stupid and then brilliant. As it follows a woman studying physics, it can get very technical. And as someone who cheated a handful of times in math and had to really stare at the pages in science in order to get it, a lot of it kind of went over my head. I tried to understand as much of it as I could, but there you go.
The other thing is there was kind of a lot of telling rather than showing. Danielle would come to some awesome conclusion about dark energy, or make some conclusion about someone's behavior without really giving us too much in the way of background. Or maybe my brain was too addled to tell when she was giving us background. Either way. If anything, this book just kind of makes me feel like an idiot. I couldn't grasp a lot of the intricacies of the inter-office politics and the dynamics of academia, but then I'd look at the cover and go, "Ooh, pretty!"
FirstReads giveaway, yay!
The other thing is there was kind of a lot of telling rather than showing. Danielle would come to some awesome conclusion about dark energy, or make some conclusion about someone's behavior without really giving us too much in the way of background. Or maybe my brain was too addled to tell when she was giving us background. Either way. If anything, this book just kind of makes me feel like an idiot. I couldn't grasp a lot of the intricacies of the inter-office politics and the dynamics of academia, but then I'd look at the cover and go, "Ooh, pretty!"
FirstReads giveaway, yay!
February 20, 2015
Well, this was wonderful.
Judging by the summary, it sounded like a corny book I'd never pick up to read (or end up liking). However, it's nothing like what my stereotype-loving mind imagined; it's so much better!
I'm a lawyer and therefore physics is as far from my field of interests as it possibly could be, yet somehow, this book made me want to understand it more. I found the segments with physics-related talk everything but boring (even if I didn't understand most of it, naturally).
One other review mentioned how the build up is slow. I think I liked it, actually. The story is much closer to what would happen in reality rather in fiction. Things develop slow and most often not like anything we planned or imagined.
I recommend this to anyone, really; especially those who are knowledge hungry :)
Judging by the summary, it sounded like a corny book I'd never pick up to read (or end up liking). However, it's nothing like what my stereotype-loving mind imagined; it's so much better!
I'm a lawyer and therefore physics is as far from my field of interests as it possibly could be, yet somehow, this book made me want to understand it more. I found the segments with physics-related talk everything but boring (even if I didn't understand most of it, naturally).
One other review mentioned how the build up is slow. I think I liked it, actually. The story is much closer to what would happen in reality rather in fiction. Things develop slow and most often not like anything we planned or imagined.
I recommend this to anyone, really; especially those who are knowledge hungry :)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews