Count to Infinity

October 15, 2017
Curious to learn why our universe, at the largest scale, consists of clumps and filaments of matter interspersed with enormous voids--and have several billion years at your disposal? Draw up a chair. Wright has all the answers. Yes, we're still in the realm of fiction. This, the sixth and final chapter in the Eschaton sequence, following The Vindication of Man (2016), begins--as most of these books do--with post-human supergenius and uncouth libertarian Menelaus Illation Montrose waking in a remote future and struggling to understand where and when he is, his place in the larger scheme of things, and the whereabouts of two people, one his bitter rival, supercilious totalitarian Ximen del Azarchel, the other the mysterious Rania, whom both Menelaus and Ximen love and claim as their bride. Over the (billions of) years, the pair have fought many fatal yet inconclusive duels--but now so many copies of them exist that it's doubtful one might be permanently removed. And where is Rania, whose mission was to contact the universe's presiding intellect, a being a trillion trillion trillion times more intelligent than a base-line human and whose substance comprises superclusters of galaxies converted into smart matter? In substantial appendices Wright provides timelines, definitions, and historical summaries, none of which will help unless the foregoing makes sense. You may be aware, for instance, that scientists predict that in 2 billion years the Milky Way will collide with the Andromeda galaxy; in Wright's account, this is not some random event but a coldblooded war fought between deadly philosophical antagonists. And you might wonder if the once-human characters tend to get lost against such a vast backdrop. Well, to a certain extent they do, but such is the scope and depth of Wright's imagination that it doesn't matter overmuch. Intriguing, astounding stuff, though likely to appeal only to those who've read Wright's previous installments.

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December 4, 2017
In this lugubrious far-future epic, Wright concludes his Eschaton Sequence (after The Architect of Aeons) by bringing his hero, Menelaus Montrose, to the far end of time. For much of this volume, Montrose has center stage to himself as he seeks his love, Rania Grimaldi, across millions of light years, assisted by other races and intelligences vastly greater than his. Exposition, description and the history of galactic intellectual evolution replace action; even a war between galaxies where “supernovae were weapons, and the nebulae were smoke from the discharges” is but a momentary incident in Montrose’s quest for Rania. Montrose takes very few actions in the first sections of the book, and Rania and his enemy, Ximen del Azarchel, appear only as rumors and legends until the final acts, rendering this more of a huge-scale fictional history than a story of characters. Readers fascinated by phrases such as “there is a frame-dragging effect here, acting like a Penrose cylinder” will enjoy this high-concept work, but those looking for physical beings acting in understandable time scales will be unsatisfied. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates.

November 15, 2017
The conclusion to Wright's epic six-book SF saga, the Eschaton Sequence, begins almost unimaginably far in the future (the first book in the series, by way of comparison, began merely hundreds of years in the future). The immortal Menelaus Illation Montrose and Ximen del Azarchelsometimes mortal enemies, other times uneasy allieshold the future of humanity in their hands. As they prepare for their most hair-raising adventure yet, the author takes us back into the depths of history to reveal the true, untold story of the human species. It should be acknowledged that this book might not make much sense to readers unfamiliar with the previous installments in the series; you can't expect to pick up the last volume in a series that spans about 100,000 years and know what's going on. On the other hand, fans of these incredibly imaginative novels will be thrilled: the author's conclusion to this galactic-scale saga is both satisfying and astounding.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)