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A Weapon of Mathematics
The Sorcerer's Deluge swept the world, destroyed civilization, blew the Moon out of the sky and ushered in the Age of Magic.
It was triggered when a mathematician discovered a new series of numbers. Like negative, irrational and imaginary numbers, "commotic" numbers seem like purely mental constructions but turn out to describe the real world. Unlike the others, expressions written with magical or "commotic" numbers also directly affect the world, by changing the relationships between things and places. Used ignorantly, mathematical magic leveled cities, brought down fire from the skies and killed millions. But a mathematician trained in magic can bring needed rain, heal wounds, travel instantly between places and use spells to do a hundred other useful things. For eight hundred years, society has been painfully rebuilding, aided by magicians of mathematics.
There are two new, lunatic cults gaining power in the Kingdom, each crazier than the other. They worship the "Unborn Gods," one repressed and puritanical, the others Dionysian and drunk. They threaten the Kingdom, and more importantly, they threaten the very concept of rationality. Hondoll, the King's Magician, is charged with standing against them. He has a few allies and many enemies.
Will reason and courage be stronger than craziness?
It was triggered when a mathematician discovered a new series of numbers. Like negative, irrational and imaginary numbers, "commotic" numbers seem like purely mental constructions but turn out to describe the real world. Unlike the others, expressions written with magical or "commotic" numbers also directly affect the world, by changing the relationships between things and places. Used ignorantly, mathematical magic leveled cities, brought down fire from the skies and killed millions. But a mathematician trained in magic can bring needed rain, heal wounds, travel instantly between places and use spells to do a hundred other useful things. For eight hundred years, society has been painfully rebuilding, aided by magicians of mathematics.
There are two new, lunatic cults gaining power in the Kingdom, each crazier than the other. They worship the "Unborn Gods," one repressed and puritanical, the others Dionysian and drunk. They threaten the Kingdom, and more importantly, they threaten the very concept of rationality. Hondoll, the King's Magician, is charged with standing against them. He has a few allies and many enemies.
Will reason and courage be stronger than craziness?
230 pages, Paperback
Published June 28, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 14, 2024
Full disclosure: I got this book as a gift from the author.
As set forth in Chapter Zero, mathematicians in the middle of the 21st century discovered a new series of numbers that permitted magic, but the new mathematics also smashed civilization and pushed the Moon out of its orbit. Now, eight hundred years later, at the end of Chapter Two, the King’s magician has been captured by the cult of an irrational god that could destroy what still remains of civilization.
This fun and often humorous short novel offers well-drawn characters and a fast-moving plot with surprises and twists. Feuding lovers must work together, a low-born man must prove his talent, and a capable magician makes it her job to hold them all together as a team. The math is clever, carefully thought-through, and believable as the basis of a fantasy – but don’t worry, there are no equations. There is, however, a dragon that can be both smart and stupid at the same time.
I think this is a self-published novel. It’s hard for those to get a lot of traction. Even if you have a major publisher behind you, selling books is hard — and much harder if you’re on your own. This seems to be the first Goodreads review of A Weapon of Mathematics, and I hope it gets more attention.
As set forth in Chapter Zero, mathematicians in the middle of the 21st century discovered a new series of numbers that permitted magic, but the new mathematics also smashed civilization and pushed the Moon out of its orbit. Now, eight hundred years later, at the end of Chapter Two, the King’s magician has been captured by the cult of an irrational god that could destroy what still remains of civilization.
This fun and often humorous short novel offers well-drawn characters and a fast-moving plot with surprises and twists. Feuding lovers must work together, a low-born man must prove his talent, and a capable magician makes it her job to hold them all together as a team. The math is clever, carefully thought-through, and believable as the basis of a fantasy – but don’t worry, there are no equations. There is, however, a dragon that can be both smart and stupid at the same time.
I think this is a self-published novel. It’s hard for those to get a lot of traction. Even if you have a major publisher behind you, selling books is hard — and much harder if you’re on your own. This seems to be the first Goodreads review of A Weapon of Mathematics, and I hope it gets more attention.
March 5, 2024
I bought a copy of this book on the strength of a recommendation by Sue Burke (if you haven't read Semiosis, you should). It arrived yesterday and kept me awake overnight.
What an original concept - a mathematical(ish) explanation of magic, religion and the end of the world, mixing mythology, religion, science and fantasy into something that both carries you along with its plot and leaves your head full of new thoughts.
Get yourself a copy and fill your mind with fireworks!
p.s. I don't normally give books five stars, to leave room for something better but I find it hard to imagine a better book of this type.
What an original concept - a mathematical(ish) explanation of magic, religion and the end of the world, mixing mythology, religion, science and fantasy into something that both carries you along with its plot and leaves your head full of new thoughts.
Get yourself a copy and fill your mind with fireworks!
p.s. I don't normally give books five stars, to leave room for something better but I find it hard to imagine a better book of this type.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews