Multireal Read online

  PRAISE FOR MULTIREAL

  "David Louis Edelman's vision of the future is so alive and full of energy the pages are practically buzzing. Wonderfully intricate with smart, satisfying complexity, Infoquake and its sequel, MultiReal, serve up a world where mindbending technologies promise a freedom nearly as endless as the Machiavellian ambitions of those who would control them"

  Nick Sagan

  author of Idlewild, Edenborn, and Everfree

  "A thoroughly successful hybrid of Neuromancer and Wall Street, MultiReal is the kind of thought-experiment we need more of around here: rigorously backgrounded, tightly plotted, and built around one of the most intriguing neurotech conceits I've encountered in years. William Gibson once observed that the street finds its own uses forthings. David Louis Edelman reminds us that both boardroom and back room do as well-and the people who lurk in those places are a lot scarier..."

  Peter Watts

  Hugo Award-nominated author of Blindsight

  'Just when we thought cyberpunk was dead, David Louis Edelman bursts on the scene with defibrillator paddles and shouts, ' Clear!' If there's any web more tangled than the World Wide one, it's the Byzantine networks of high finance; Edelman intermeshes them in a complex, compelling series.This DOES compute!"

  Robert J. Sawyer

  Hugo Award-winning author of Rollback and Hominids

  PRAISE FOR INFOQUAKE:

  VOLUME I OF THE JUMP 225 TRILOGY

  Barnes & Noble's Science Fiction Book of the Year 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Novel 2006 #5 on Bookgasm's 5 Best Sci-Fi Books of 2006 John W. Campbell Best New Writer Award Nominee 2008

  "David Louis Edelman's debut novel-the first installment of his Jump 225 trilogyis equal parts corporate thriller, technophilic cautionary tale, and breathtakingly visionary science fiction adventure.... Brilliantly blending the cutthroat intrigues of the high-tech business world with revolutionary world building, Edelman could quite possibly be the love child of DonaldTrump andVernorVinge.Infoquake is one of the most impressive science fiction debuts to come along in years-highly recommended"

  Barnes & Noble Explorations

  "Slick high-finance melodrama and dizzying technical speculation lift Edelman's SF debut, the first of a trilogy.... Natch's being a borderline sociopath makes him extremely creative in business tactics and personal manipulation (and thus fascinating to read about).The world in which he operates is also fascinating, with awesome personal powers being sold on a frantic open market. Edelman, who has a background in Web programming and marketing, gives his bizarre notions a convincing gloss of detail. Bursting with invention and panache, this novel will hook readers for the story's next installment."

  Publishers Weekly

  In Web designer and programmer Edelman's first novel, he moves quickly from scene to scene, building suspense with believable characters and in-the-know technical expertise.This series opener belongs in most SF collections"

  Library Journal

  "A thought-provoking and terribly imaginative book ... Infoquake is one of those books that hooks you into the story and makes you never want to put the book down. But once you have decided that you must get some sleep before work the next day, you put the book down and find yourself unable to stop thinking about the questions raised by the story."

  L.A. Splash

  "(5 Stars on Amazon.com) Libraries strong in speculative fiction will relish Infoquake.... A fast-paced, engrossing saga of social change"

  Midwest Book Review

  FROM SCIENCE FICTION CRITICS

  The manner in which people who experienced Dune upon its publication speak about Herbert's opus is not dissimilar to the feeling Infoquake elicits-the genre might not be quite the same after this book.... Infoquake is a stunning debut novel by a lucid, precise, and talented new voice in the genre.... This may beTHE science fiction book of the year."

  SFFWorld

  "A high-speed, high-spirited tale of high-powered and low-minded capitalist skullduggery, corporate and media warfare, and virtual reality manipulation. It's the sort of thing that would make a perfect serial for Wired magazine.... Edelman seems to have convincing and convincingly detailed knowledge of the physiology and biochemistry of the human nervous system down to the molecular level. And [he] cares about making his fictional combination of molecular biology and nanotech credible."

  Norman Spinrad, Asimov's Science Fiction

  "Infoquake is a triumph of speculation. Edelman has foreseen a nanotech future of warring corporations and stock markets of personal enhancement in which both the good and the bad of the present day are reflected with an even hand and startling clarity.... It's Wall Street meets Neuromancer.... Infoquake is a tech-heavy exercise in scientific speculation that combines economics, high technology, and business mechanics into an all-too-human story of greed, loss, and redemption."

  Bookgasm

  "Edelman has one hell of a hoot taking high-tech marketing out to draw and quarter it with style and panache. Infoquake is a very funny and insightful novel of modern economics through a futuristic funhouse mirror.... It's the kind of book that deserves to be passed quietly from cubicle to cubicle in tech companies around the nation and indeed around the world. And it's the kind of novel that you want to be passing, the kind of novel you want to be reading.... Edelman, [Cory] Doctorow, and [Charles] Stross are, like all great science fiction writers, not really writing about the future. They're responding to the present.... Edelman's vision in this regard is particularly sharp and particularly on-point. There's a certain amount of satire going on here, but Edelman is quite serious about his world, which makes it all the easier to invest in his characters and settings."

  The Agony Column

  If all novels were as chockfull of ideas as Infoquake is, then science fiction would never have to worry about a shortage of sense of wonder.... Edelman is like a more accessible [Charles] Stross; whereas Stross's fiction is about as dense as it can get and still be readable, Edelman's style is more inviting and, to me, more appealing. ... Few first novelists manage as assured a debut as Infoquake; almost all new authors stumble around a bit in their first novel, but Edelman comes off as a seasoned professional."

  Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show

  The hyperbole surrounding this novel seems justified-drawing on cyberpunk and singularitarian themes, it boldly places a banner for what is arguably a new subgenre of science fiction.... As an engaging fictional mirror of the modern world, written from an angle rarely used, this novel definitely marks Edelman as a writer to keep an eye on.

  Futurismic

  "A brisk, well-told science fiction adventure set in the normally unadventurous world of business.... Edelman handles it all with considerable narrative drive.... A simple old-fashioned story, where incident crowds onto incident, where jeopardy makes us hold our breath, and rabbits are pulled from the hat only at the very last moment"

  New York Review of Science Fiction

  "There's always the risk that a complicated setting will overwhelm character and story, but Edelman avoids this pitfall, evoking a surprising amount of empathy for the amoral yet oddly charming Natch, and injecting a tremendous amount of suspense into what is essentially a saga of corporate politics.... The novel also addresses weighty themes: the destructive price of greed, the unchanging relentlessness of the human drive to innovate and to compete.... An entertaining and intelligent debut that should leave readers eager for more"

  Fantasy Magazine

  "(4/2 stars) A very strong debut novel mixing a historically detailed timeline with an intriguing technological future. David Louis Edelman makes reading about corporate shenanigans fun.... Infoquake should appeal to just about any SF reader, but if you like [Frank] Herbert's Dune or any
of [Charles] Stross's work, you should really enjoy this book."

  SFSignal

  "(Rating: 9 out of 10) This book was superb. I simply cannot believe that this is a debut novel, it reads so much more like the work of a seasoned writer.... This book however is anything but boring-it grips you from the start and leaves you at the end of the book wishing you had book two at hand"

  The Eternal Night

  "Infoquake is practically a cyberpunk novel, although unlike the works of William Gibson, author David Louis Edelman actually knows his subject and isn't prone to making errors.... Edelman has done an excellent job of bringing characters to life for a new writer. He even made business deals interesting. This is also very highgrade science fiction, using the trappings and then adding more"

  SF Crowsnest

  An intense futuristic tale of business, intrigue, revenge, and technology... This has the potential to be a terrific series filled with innovative concepts and enough double-dealing to keep the reader guessing."

  Monsters and Critics

  "Edelman has managed to capture the mania and obsession of Internet moguls nicely.... I found Infoquake interesting, and genuinely wanted to find out what happened next. The characters in the book are quite like people I've known in the world of international entrepreneurship."

  SFRevu

  "A study in drive and power, Infoquake shows the drive and need behind the rise of new corporations....Infoquake remains a raw and fascinating novel, with a fast pace and nifty economic themes"

  Prometheus, the newsletter of the Libertarian Futurist Society

  "Edelman has created a fascinating world.... The interactions between Natch, Horvil, and Jara (who is both attracted to and disturbed by her boss) are volatile, complex, and very, very realistic. It is easy to believe in these people, and even feel like maybe this is a future that is not too far away.... It would be good to have a few months to ponder Infoquake before plunging into the next work, as I plan to do this summer, exploring more of this utopia/dystopia and enjoying a truly compelling tale."

  Fast Forward TV

  FROM AUTHORS

  "So fresh and good I shamelessly stole an idea from it: the whole premise of a future corporate thriller.... Buy Infoquake, read it.... Give him the Philip K. Dick award"

  Ian McDonald, author of Brasyl

  "Inventive and provocative, with a surprisingly emotional kick. Read this book, and then argue about it."

  Kate Elliott, author of Crown of Stars

  "Infoquake is a rare beast: a future history that is simultaneously convincing and wondrous. David Louis Edelman takes no shortcuts to a destination quite unlike any visited before-and we are richer for it."

  Sean Williams, author of Saturn Returns

  "A fascinating glimpse into an all-too-possible future of business, software, wetware, and over-powerful technocrats"

  Tobias Buckell, author of Ragamuffin

  "My favourite SF novel of the year. A future of business and competition that we can all identify with, which neatly avoids apocalyptic cliche.... [Infoquake] stayed with me, kept on impressing me way after I'd finished it.... Its setting is something I haven't seen for a long time, a quite distant future that is nevertheless utterly plausible.... I have faith in this Mundane masterpiece."

  Paul Cornell, novelist and screenwriter for Doctor Who

  "David Louis Edelman's Infoquake may be a new subgenre unto itself: the science fiction business thriller. Set in a fully realized future world, the narrative is more interested in the economic impact of future technologies than in the technologies themselves. The suspense derives entirely from politics and economics, and the most exciting moments (and they are exciting!) surround new product launches. Edelman doesn't resort to any of the typical tricks to keep the reader turning pages, but I found that I still couldn't turn them fast enough"

  Chris Roberson, author of Set the Seas on Fire

  If you like Charlie Stross, you'll like this book. If you wish you understood what everyone else is saying about Charlie Stross, you will really like this book."

  Matthew Jarpe, author of Radio Free fall

  FROM BLOGGERS

  "Infoquake just might be THE Science Fiction novel of the year, if not the past five years. David Louis Edelman has done so many things right in this book, from the plausible next steps in human society to the characters, all the notes ring true"

  Rob H. Bedford, Rob's Blog o' Stuff

  One of the best books I read in 2006 was Infoquake by David Louis Edelman."

  EvoTerra,The Dragon Page and Podiobooks.com

  "(Rating: 8 out of 10) Edelman has created a fully realized future with many parallels to the world we live in now.... But the real power of this novel is in the players. Natch is brilliantly intimidating and mysterious, and Edelman is at his best as he delves into Natch's past.... Edelman's first book is a wonderful debut and one of the best books released this year."

  Ken Fergason, Neth Space

  "David Louis Edelman's Infoquake just might be one of the very best science fiction debuts I have ever read.The book deserves all the praise it has garnered, and then some! ... Had I read it when it was originally released, Infoquake would have trumped Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon, Brian Ruckley's Winterbirth, and Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself."

  Pat's Fantasy Hotlist

  "(5 Stars) The reason this futuristic science fiction seems plausible is the depth of detail interwoven into the cat-and-mouse story line, so much so that the audience will accept nanotechnology bio/logics as happening today.... In the first Jump 225 tale, David Louis Edelman writes an exciting thriller that grips the audience."

  Harriet Klausner, Amazon's #I Customer Reviewer

  "David Louis Edelman keeps the action coming at a breakneck pace, and despite the lack of SFnal tropes such as interstellar travel and space battles, Infoquake never lacks in excitement.... Infoquake seems an obvious frontrunner in the race to win this years Philip K. Dick Award.... Perhaps the best recent take on the dangers of widespread capitalism. A wondrous and scathing debut novel. It is the most successful attack on the future of mega-corporations and the inevitable failure of our current economic system thus far written ... a must-read of 2006"

  William Lexner, I Hope I Didn't Just Give Away the Ending

  "(Rating: 9.3 out of 10 for science fiction fans) Some of the ideas Edelman bandies about here are insanely great enough to make your head pop right off your neck.... It's a great novel to be sure, an infinitely smart page-turner that will have your brain spinning for days afterward.... This dense story is literally a genre fan's dream; an entire universe with an entire glossary full of backstory, and even with an expansive Web site devoted to those who want to know more, allowing fans of such expansive universes to really wallow in the details of it all.... This fan-turned-professional delivers in spades everything a lover of smart science fiction would ever want"

  Jason Pettus, Chicago Center for Literature and Photography

  "A good and solid SF debut that should put Edelman in consideration for the Dick and Campbell awards.... Edelman has obviously paid attention during his own dotcom experience, and the result is a science fiction novel that has fully internalized the lessons of the past decade.... Fluent in the languages of business and information technology, Infoquake is a ride through a fresh future, a strong debut from a promising writer, and a proud representative of Pyrs early lineup."

  Christian Suave

  "Despite a high-tech gleam and plausible hard science polish, [Edelman's] debut novel, Infoquake, is the sort of SF that non-SF readers can enjoy too.... It is SF, yes, but SF about cutthroat business practices and competitive programming (a waycool concept of sorta programming in thin air), with an endearingly sociopathic protagonist, lotsa, lotsa nifty techno-supposings, and an interesting concept of guild/spiritual family/religion/union groups in a technocracy.... Highly imaginative use of the current Zeitgeist."

  Paula Guran, DarkEch
o Blog

  "David Louis Edelman's postcyberpunl< Infoquake is the imminent business thriller Richard Morgan wishes it could be"

  Chris Nakashima-Brown, No Fear of the Future

  "Edelman has succeeded in making the world of the corporate boardroom into an adventure-filled narrative. What John Grisham has done with the legal thriller, Edelman has done with business.... The climax is fulfilling and exciting, yet it is only a speech, and a marketing one at that. Edelman has so well woven the elements of his plot together that Natch's simple speech has as much power and excitement to it as another science fiction story's destruction of a spaceship or a fantasy's evil overlord dying hideously at the hands of a hero. That takes skill to write, and Edelman has it in spades. I highly recommend this novel."

  Grasping for the Wind

  "(Rating 8.5 out of 10) The book is fast paced from the start, although the action is much more cerebral than physical.... [Edelman] is clearly a master at fleshing out his concepts.The story drew me in from the start, and I'm eagerly anticipating the forthcoming volumes."

  Steve Spaulding,The Human Race

  The book is clever and imaginative, and Edelman, a Web programmer by trade, makes this far-future story feel completely contemporary, as though we were living in his invented world."

  David Pitt, Between the Lines

  "Engaging and interesting....As promised by other reviewers, the book was just bursting with new ideas and lots of fun. Besides, when the highlight of the book isn't killing people but is, instead, shipping a software project, it is pretty close to home"

  Al Billings, In Pursuit of Mysteries

  "David Louis Edelman attacks the sci-fi genre and infuses it with his stunning vision of humanity's future.... This book carved a brand-new universe using alternate history, detailed imagination, and Edelman's computer programming background"

  Multiverse Reviews

  This biotech-based future is astonishingly believable. It's remarkable to have a novel that's packed with action, excitement, and tension when the action itself is more what you'd see in the Financial Times or the Wall Street Journal. With the sequel, MultiReal, out later in 2008, you'd be well advised to pick this one up and refresh your memory on one of 2006's great debuts"