This describes Quantum Thief‘s Jean le Flambeur, but it also describes Neuromancer‘s Case and Use of Weapons‘ Zakalwe. Someone in need of his talents fixes him up and, joined by a female operative and a talking computer, he takes on one last mission. At one time he was a player, but now he’s out of the game. The male protagonist of Quantum Thief begins the story in bad shape. Instead, while reading The Quantum Thief I frequently wondered whether the story reminded me more of William Gibson’s Neuromancer or Iain M. Fairly or not, however, knowing it had made such a big splash, I couldn’t help but expect a dynamic new voice. Since I decided early on I would read the novel as soon as it was published in the US, I only skimmed last year’s reviews and didn’t know anything about it. Rajaniemi has previously published some short stories (including one I’ve read, “Elegy for a Young Elk”) but this is his first novel. We live today, we are constantly told, in a far smaller world than of old, but in book publishing it’s still rather larger than it really ought to be, and the book only managed to cross the Atlantic a few weeks ago. Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Quantum Thief has gotten a great deal of acclaim since it was first published last year…in Europe, that is. Once again, I’m a little late to the party on a novel that a lot of people have been talking about, but this time it’s not my fault. The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi Jat 11:46 pm | Posted in 4 stars, Book Reviews, Science Fiction | 2 Comments
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