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Singularity Sky Paperback – 3 Feb 2005

by Charles Stross (Author)

46 customer reviews

Book 1 of 3 in the Singularity Series

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In the twenty-first century man created the Eschaton, a sentient artificial intelligence. It pushed Earth through the greatest technological evolution ever known, while warning that time travel is forbidden, and transgressors will be eliminated.

Distant descendants of this ultra high-tech Earth live in parochial simplicity on the far-flung worlds of the New Republic. Their way of life is threatened by the arrival of an alien information plague known as the Festival. As forbidden technologies are literally dropped from the sky, suppressed political factions descend into revolutionary turmoil.

A battle fleet is sent from Earth to destroy the Festival, but Spaceship engineer Martin Springfield and U.N. diplomat Rachel Mansour have been assigned rather different tasks. Their orders are to diffuse the crisis or to sabotage the New Republic's war-fleet, whatever the cost, before the Eschaton takes hostile action on a galactic scale.

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Product details

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Orbit; New Ed edition (3 Feb. 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1841493341
ISBN-13: 978-1841493343
Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 2.4 x 18 cm
Average Customer Review: 46 customer reviews
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 334,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #16825 in Books > Fiction > Science Fiction
- #28367 in Books > Fiction > Fantasy
- #43175 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

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Product description

Review

Breathtaking ... a real contender for "space opera of the year" (LOCUS)

Stross is an author who anyone interested in SF should read and relish (SFX)

Darkly funny and crackling with high-bandwidth ideas (PAUL McAULEY)

Where Charles Stross goes today, the rest of science fiction will follow tomorrow (Gardner Dozois)

Book Description

A major SF debut from a British writer who will stand alongside Banks, Hamilton and Reynolds.

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Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars

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A different, intelligent and witty space opera

18 September 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Charles Stross is probably one of the most exciting writers in sci-fi, and perhaps one of the most exciting writers in fiction. Singularity Sky represents a lot of what makes him a great writer, the universe he creates is clever and well thought through with an interesting take on the traditional human-centric view of most space opera; this is combined with an ironic appreciation of the genre and well developed characters.
It is perhaps the element of irony and irreverence to the genre that makes the work such a delight. The story line focuses on a particular human empire's response to an attack on one of their colonies, Stross uses this to satirise the genre on a range of topics including the need for spaceships to look good, through to the place of authoritarian regimes in space.
The work also handles the subject of time travel and causality in an intelligent way, certainly far better than most novels in the genre. Whilst Stross certainly gives space opera a humorous and at sometime cheeky send up, what does shine through is his awareness, in depth working knowledge and appreciation of the genre. In this respect humour is used perhaps to help create things that are truly alien and never at the expense of the integrity of the story. Purists I'm sure will be offended however I can't believe that Stross irreverent tone is not born out of a sincere appreciation of the genre.
I'll avoid an in depth discussion of the plot to avoid spoiling the story for potential readers, however it is enough to say that it is thoroughly engaging and intelligent and will reward both new readers and experienced sci-fi fans. The sequel Iron Sunrise is also an excellent read!

One person found this helpful2 people found this helpful

DavidMatthewson

A 'Marmite' book - love it or hate it - I loved it.

31 March 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I've read many of Mr Stross's books -including the excellent 'Laundry files' series - and thoroughly enjoyed them. I stumbled over this one, which I gather is his first book, and read the reviews on Amazon with interest before I bought it. I'm glad I was not put off by some of them.

I guess this - and indeed all his books - are 'Marmite' books - love them or hate them. If you like Gibson, or Banks (Culture universe), if you like word play, political philosophy and defective charters, then you'll like this. If you are looking for a straightforward 'easy on the tired brain book' then this isn't it. Good plot, good science, clever book.

One person found this helpful

18 May 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Having really enjoyed the 'Laundry Series' by the author I thought I would give some of his other works a try. This was the first one and I must say I did not really enjoy it. It seems to be space opera in one volume - I love space opera, but this is too condensed. Also there are too many pages devoted to how a captain orders his crew to move ships (think most submarine films you have seen). In places Mr. Stross is guilty of slinging together random sciency words which have no business being together.

There are some good bits of the book - especially the towards the star, but after about 1/3 if the book it becomes a hard slog; slow paced with just too much detail. Overall, I would have to say I don't recommend it, but if you do decide to read it, you may well have a different opinion - it's a bit of a marmite book I think!

One person found this helpful

Willy Eckerslike

Modern sci-fi with some of the atmosphere of a classic.

10 May 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

At last! A modern science fiction writer who can write a whole book without trying to baffle the reader with a superfluous treatise on quantum mechanics. The best bits of the story roll along with a real Harry Harrison vibe; witty, intelligent and creative, the only baffling bits being the totally alien Festival culture (which should, I suppose, be a bit baffling).

Unfortunately, I did find the quality of the writing unaccountably inconsistent; Stross is clearly a talented author but, on the strength of this book alone, an Iain M. Banks he is not. However, on the whole, I really enjoyed this book. I will definitely read more of Stross' work, but I'm not sure whether to go for the next in the series (`Iron Sunrise') or `Accelerado'.

One person found this helpful2 people found this helpful

13 September 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is the third Stross book I have read in a fortnight. During that time I have repeatedly made myself late for work by finding somewhere to sit on the way from the station to the office just so I can read 'a few more pages', which then becomes a whole chapter.

Great characters and well realised scenes. The science fiction is there but does not push out the plot or the readability. I certainly felt engaged with the characters from the off, and immediately followed this book by reading the follow up Iron Sunrise (which is also excellent).

One person found this helpful

It's how SF should be.

7 May 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book and it's sequel Iron Sunrise are two of the best examples of present day hard SF. It's a great shame that Mr. Stross has so far failed to complete the trilogy these so obviously should have been a part of.

One person found this helpful

14 July 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Excellent

One person found this helpful

Stephen W. Cooke

A brilliant book for proper sci fi fans

1 May 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A whole space opera in a book, many layers, great characters, even a love interest. Read it and you will not be disappointed

One person found this helpful

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