DIASPORA

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Greg Egan: DIASPORA (1997, Orion / Millenium)

Hardcover, 300 pages

Published Nov. 6, 1997 by Orion / Millenium.

ISBN:
978-1-85798-438-5
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OCLC Number:
37864849

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4 stars (4 reviews)

In 2975, the orphan Yatima is grown from a randomly mutated digital mind seed in the conceptory of Konishi polis. Yatima explores the Coalition of Polises, the network of computers where most life in the solar system now resides, and joins a friend, Inoshiro, to borrow an abandoned robot body and meet a thriving community of “fleshers” in the enclave of Atlanta.

Twenty-one years later, news arrives from a lunar observatory: gravitational waves from Lac G-1, a nearby pair of neutron stars, show that the Earth is about to be bathed in a gamma-ray flash created by the stars’ collision — an event that was not expected to take place for seven million years. Yatima and Inoshiro return to Atlanta to try to warn the fleshers, but meet suspicion and disbelief. Some lives are saved, but the Earth is ravaged.

In the aftermath of the disaster, the survivors resolve to …

9 editions

Once upon a time, there was a neutron star collapse...

5 stars

Neutron stars, gamma rays, curvature, multiverse, Euler, Planck, six-dimensional space and the gang are at it again! This time in a story which, despite not being exactly original, is challenging and captivating. Had to do a ton of googling while reading, physics is not my cup of tea, and have enjoyed myself. Cannot but recommend.

reviewed Diaspora by Greg Egan

Very creative hard scifi

4 stars

A good but demanding read with great concepts for science fiction, but at times it does feel like the author tied several great short stories into one trench coat novel. Mind you, that's not a bad thing, just something to consider.

The first chapter can be seen as its own small and can be read on the authors blog, which i highly recommend! It sets the tone of the story pretty well by introducing a level of "techno-babble" that will be present at other parts of the book. You have the choice to read it and attempt to fully comprehend it or skim through it with the necessary understanding to catch the intent. If you want to understand the techno-babble or broaden your understanding, the author even supplies visual guides and very short explanations on his website, easily findable from the link for the first chapter. www.gregegan.net/DIASPORA/01/Orphanogenesis.html

the first half may have stretched me too far, wonderful

4 stars

Similar questions of identity and purpose as Permutation City, again that satisfying hard sharp didacticism, a broader galactic exploration scope for minds to weigh their decisions, but didn't resolve nearly as clearly for me.