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The Labyrinth Key
In a secret war waged in worlds both virtual and real, the fates of nations depend on the definitive weapon. And that weapon is knowledge—knowledge to die for. . . .
The race is heating up between the U.S. and China to develop a quantum computer with infinite capabilities to crack any enemy’s codes, yet keep secure its own secrets. The government that achieves this goal will win a crucial prize. No other computer system will be safe from the reach of this master machine.
Dr. Jaron Kwok was working for the U.S. government to build such a computer. But in a posh hotel in Hong Kong, a Chinese policewoman sifts through the bizarre, ashlike remains of what’s left of the doctor. With the clock ticking, alliances will be forged—and there are those who will stop at nothing to discover what the doctor knew. As the search for answers intensifies, it becomes chillingly clear that the quantum computer both sides so desperately want will be more powerful, more dangerous than anyone could have ever imagined.
For in the twenty-first century, machines become gods, gods become machines, and the once-impossible now lies within reach. The key to unlimited knowledge will create the ultimate weapon of mass destruction—or humanity’s last chance to save itself. . . .
From the Trade Paperback edition.
The race is heating up between the U.S. and China to develop a quantum computer with infinite capabilities to crack any enemy’s codes, yet keep secure its own secrets. The government that achieves this goal will win a crucial prize. No other computer system will be safe from the reach of this master machine.
Dr. Jaron Kwok was working for the U.S. government to build such a computer. But in a posh hotel in Hong Kong, a Chinese policewoman sifts through the bizarre, ashlike remains of what’s left of the doctor. With the clock ticking, alliances will be forged—and there are those who will stop at nothing to discover what the doctor knew. As the search for answers intensifies, it becomes chillingly clear that the quantum computer both sides so desperately want will be more powerful, more dangerous than anyone could have ever imagined.
For in the twenty-first century, machines become gods, gods become machines, and the once-impossible now lies within reach. The key to unlimited knowledge will create the ultimate weapon of mass destruction—or humanity’s last chance to save itself. . . .
From the Trade Paperback edition.
- GenresScience FictionFantasy
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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115 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 4, 2018
Blech. Even with the understanding that it was published in 2004 and therefore is dated in its near-future musings about the singularity, I found the chatacters and dialogue (long, unrelenting monologuing) boring. I also have problems with authors who treat their readers with condescenion. So, blech.
January 30, 2021
e super plictisitor si labirintul ca metafora e stupid.
January 29, 2012
In case you haven't figured it out,. I have never sorted fantasy from science fiction-to me, it is all speculative fiction, and if I knew how to edit my folder headings I would.
This book makes Dan Brown and others looking like kindergartners with crayons and brown paper bags. I needed to return some things to the library so I didn't really get a chance to see how he structured this thriller, but I loved his coincidence of decoding with the modern system obsession. The afterword is fascinating and actually provides a bibliography for those of who read and wonder how people amassed that particular set of data to write that novel. It's a great spy thriller amongst other things. I raced off to find his next available book.
This book makes Dan Brown and others looking like kindergartners with crayons and brown paper bags. I needed to return some things to the library so I didn't really get a chance to see how he structured this thriller, but I loved his coincidence of decoding with the modern system obsession. The afterword is fascinating and actually provides a bibliography for those of who read and wonder how people amassed that particular set of data to write that novel. It's a great spy thriller amongst other things. I raced off to find his next available book.
September 29, 2013
Posiblemente, el libro más raro, más atípico, y que crea más confusión que he leído.
Denso en determinadas partes, plantea interesantes teorías sobre la conversión del hombre en un "ángel" por medio de las máquinas, así como las ventajas y los inconvenientes de usar la binotecnología (tecnología nanométrica en el cuerpo humano). Pero la trama gira en torno a la creación de un superordenador que acabará con la guerra tal y como la conocemos, y comenzará otra: la guerra informática.
Si se va a leer hay que ir concienciado de que puede costar un poco terminarlo.
Más información en:
http://atardeceresbajounarbol.blogspo...
¡Un saludo, y feliz lectura!
Denso en determinadas partes, plantea interesantes teorías sobre la conversión del hombre en un "ángel" por medio de las máquinas, así como las ventajas y los inconvenientes de usar la binotecnología (tecnología nanométrica en el cuerpo humano). Pero la trama gira en torno a la creación de un superordenador que acabará con la guerra tal y como la conocemos, y comenzará otra: la guerra informática.
Si se va a leer hay que ir concienciado de que puede costar un poco terminarlo.
Más información en:
http://atardeceresbajounarbol.blogspo...
¡Un saludo, y feliz lectura!
May 28, 2012
Hendrix is one of the new hardscience guys, and this is the third one of his i've read. and it's not enough. i just loved this book. like Kim Stanley Robinson, his characters are a bit stiff, but the way he puts together big ideas and does stuff with them, whew: i got all kinds of sparks. lot of cultural analysis, sort of post-Gibson, buried in the narrative, which is partly about quantum computing and cryptology and virtual science. and interestingly enough, Fallowdoe, his English lit Ph.D. thesis title was The Ecstasy of Catastrophe: A Study of Apocalyptic Narrative from Langland to Milton. okay, i can sorta see how he got from there to here, yep.... hmm.
October 30, 2015
There's a lot of technobabble and mystic things that don't mean anything to a regular reader, but it's a good book. The number of ethnic minorities is high, which is a pleasant change from most sci-fi. Give it a try!
October 30, 2011
Kind of meandering. If the resolution was supposed to make sense, I missed something big. That's OK if there's important character stories or something else to focus on, but I didn't get any of that.
November 18, 2013
I agree with the slog comment. I just couldn't get into it. I didn't finish. Maybe its because I work in IT that I would rather not read about what I do at work all day... even though the book is too a much larger extent.
February 3, 2013
A little dense.
August 2, 2013
very idea-driven, but right now these are some of the main ideas that interest me. good action scenes, too.
now I need to go back and reread Cordwainer Smith.
now I need to go back and reread Cordwainer Smith.
February 21, 2008
Highly technical Sci Fi. Virtual reality and conspiracy theories abound.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews