HOME | BESTSELLERS | NEW RELEASES | PRICE WATCH | FICTION | BIOGRAPHIES | E-BOOKS |

Queen of Angels Book
Eon and Eternity may have sold more copies, but Queen of Angels is Greg Bear's masterpiece; a novel of extraordinary richness and depth. The depth isn't immediately evident; the showy, well handled murder plotline keeps you reading, the many futuristic and mind-tickling ideas keep popping up to make you think, and the vaguely experimental division of the text between different viewpoints can be a little distracting. But at the core of this book is an exploration of the nature of consciousness as profound as any in literature. Martin Burke is a psychologist who investigates the motivations for a murder in a society, using nanotechnology to explore the Country of the Mind. AXIS is a sophisticated computer that has travelled to a distant planet. The two journeys of exploration are paralleled,… read more... but in their different ways they prove relative dead-ends. Bear's masterstroke is surreptitiously to delineate the shift of another sophisticated computer, JILL, from a linear intelligence based on processing data to a self-aware sentient intelligence that is a genuine consciousness. These passages at the novel's conclusion are amongst the most affecting things Bear has written. It is true that aspects of this novel work less well; it is, for instance, in part an exploration of the role race plays in society, something that doesn't gel entirely. But overall it embodies exactly what Science Fiction does best--philosophical investigation into the mystery of consciousness expressed in an popular and accessible form. You finish the novel changed. A masterpiece of the genre; the author really does deserve the appellation The Great Bear. --Adam RobertsRead More read less...
from£18.88 | RRP: * Excludes Voucher Code Discount Also available Used from £12.43
- 0446514004
- 9780446514002
- Greg Bear
- 1 July 1990
- Warner Books
- Hardcover (Book)
- 432
- First Edition
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you click through any of the links below and make a purchase we may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Click here to learn more.
Book Categories
- Art, Architecture & Photography
- Biography
- Business, Finance & Law
- Calendars, Diaries, Annuals & More
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computing & Internet
- Crime, Thrillers & Mystery
- Fiction
- Food & Drink
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Family & Lifestyle
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Humour
- Mind, Body & Spirit
- Music, Stage & Screen
- Poetry, Drama & Criticism
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science & Nature
- Science Fiction
- Scientific, Technical & Medical
- Society, Politics & Philosophy
- Sports, Hobbies & Games
- Travel & Holiday