Mind Blowing
Distress is a very unique novel. It is a quest for the intelect, a discussion of the implications of technology on our lives, and even more importantly, discussion about the implications of actual science on life.If you want to know what the future will be like, Egan is a place to look for inspiration (although not for answers). Egan not only understands technology and science, and not only has the imagniation to forsee the future in ways which are original and thought provoking, but is able to see the social consequences of technology.
Egan's story, especially in the first two thirds of the novel, is an almost entirely successful and constant challange to the mind, in an enjoyable story. Egan's prose is powerful, and you can often enjoy his phrases, and while his minor characters are awfully indistinguishable, the two major ones, Violet Mosala and Andrew Worth, are very well realised and are sympathetic.
The novel contains ideas about the Theory of Everything. The theory of Everything is a unification of Einstein's theory of Relativity and Quantom Mechanics - it's a theory that can explain, at least theoretically, EVERYTHING, from the motions of planets to those of electrons.
The novel doesn't speculate as much about TOE itself, but about the social and psychological and even ethical responses of it, and it does so by introducing a pseudo-scientific religion which glorifies and demonises the descoverer of the theory.
This religion is interesting, but it is one of the two major failure of the novel because (slight spoiler here) it turns up that it is true in a sense. This changes the story from a scientific to a metaphysic one, and pushes us towards the realms of fantasy.
The other major weakness is that Egan's plotting and story elements are relatively poor. Crisises can be resolved in manners which are hardly satsifactory to the reader, in the sense that they rarely are well established or given proper pay off. Egan attempts to write a 'thriller' especially at the end, and it doesn't work.
But those are relatively minor problems. Distress is a novel of ideas, and thus it functions brilliantly. It'll make you think. So go read it.
Tons of Technology Presented Awkwardly
I gave it my best shot, but I guess I'm not a "hard" science fiction fan (if that means all technology and no character development). There was too much technology, or it was presented awkwardly with the narrator introducing concepts/gadgets to the reader with no cultural context or a very rushed development of one. The use of technology in science fiction works best for me when the reader see it's social ramifications. I didn't get that here. All the different cults and scientific organizations seemed very unrealistic, hard to follow and over done. I didn't care about the characters or the story after part one. I had high hopes because the first part of the book was so engaging with technical and emotional depth. Chapter 1, especially, with it's great first line, works so well. It introduces a technology which raises important ethical issues and also strikes an emotional cord with the reader. The other characters in Part 1 where interesting and the situations were engaging. The author then moves the local of the story to Stateless, a manmade Island into he middle of nowhere. This is also where the story and character development went. For me the book took on more than it could present in an interesting way. 2 stars for part one.
A science fiction gem.
Distress is not only the best of Egan's novels that I've yet read, but one of the most inventive and accomplished sf novels I've read in many years. Andrew Worth is a science journalist in a world populated with ignorance cultists, voluntary autists, and gender migrants. Having finished the 'frankenscience' series Junk DNA, he turns down an offer to tape a show on the newly endemic Acute Clinical Anxiety Syndrome (a.k.a Distress), to compile a profile of quantum physicist Violet Mosala, currently at work on a Theory of Everything, or TOE. Worth leaves Sydney and his marriage (both in ruins), and travels to Stateless, a utopian anarchy on an island constructed with pirated biotech. Plots against both Mosala and Stateless escalate as the novel heads towards an astonishing climax. While Egan is best known for his ideas - and there are more ideas in the first chapter of this book than in many sf novels - his characterization in this book is excellent: Worth is a well-rounded character with his own opinions and motivation, Mosala is a welcome example of a fictional sane scientist, and the asex Akili Kuwale is a masterpiece of sf characterization.
First Class Hard Science Fiction
If you like the "Killer B's" (David Brin, Gregory Benford, or Greg Bear) you'll like this. Egan keeps his characters interesting, and his science strong and plausible, while moving well beyond the universes favored by most SF writers these days. It's hard work to do this, but it pays off. An excellent book, well worth the money. It would be worth it in hardcover!
I was never a fan of sci-fi until now
Most of the time when I read Sci-Fi I thought that it was ridiculous, until now! Greg Egan writes Sci-Fi the way that it should be written. He writes with realism that is set in real science or real science theory. Once you have read Greg Egan it's difficult to read anyone else. This is the first Greg Egan book I've ever read and I am planning on buying everything's he's written. This book was entertaining, thought provoking and very well written. It comes highly recommended and I disagree with other negative reviewers ... you need not be a physicist to enjoy it, just a higher thinker, maybe even a dreamer!
