The Quantum Thief - Hardcover

Rajaniemi, Hannu

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765329492 ISBN 13: 9780765329493

Publisher: Tor Books, 2011

Synopsis

Broken free from a nightmarish distant-future prison by a mysterious woman who offers him his life back if he will complete the ultimate heist he left unfinished, con man Jean le Flambeur is pursued by an Oubliette investigator in a multi-planetary cat-and-mouse chase in worlds where people communicate through shared memories. 25,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

Rajaniemi spins a yarn that ties old-fashioned adventure to cutting edge science without ever seeming contrived. The science fiction debut of the year, no contest. (SFX)

A brilliant debut. (Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN)

It is, at heart, a noir thriller in cosmic drag. In addition to its amnesiac antihero there's a down-at-heel detective and any number of femmes fatales. Wild SF concepts come thick and fast. Cities are mobile, spaceships are sentient, memories can be shared, and portions of a person's lifespan form the basis for financial transactions (time literally is money). (James Lovegrove THE FINANCIAL TIMES)

The first line of The Quantum Thief promises a lot: humour, suspense, time paradoxes, philosophical puzzles and futuristic action, all tied up in a succinct and stylish knot. All this and more, the novel delivers. Inventive, exotic, densely plotted and compelling, this is an impressive debut. (Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES)

"A brilliant first novel. The Quantum Thief, like so much of the best space opera of this century, is a prodigy house, where propositions are instant heritage, and arguments are eyeclick." (STRANGE HORIZONS)

The story unfolds briskly with barely a pause for breath, the plot is gripping, the ideas complex but thought-provoking, and there are all the requisite shocking revelations and intriguing plot twists you could wish for. The Quantum Thief is a bravura debut novel, a confident and accomplished work that reinvigorates the genre. It is easily the best SF debut since Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon. (WERTZONE)

Comes together piece by piece in the mode of M. John Harrison's Light - and it's every bit the equal of that modern-day genre masterpiece. Beneath the science, you see, beneath the staggering speculative wonder of it all, Hannu Rajaniemi has a knack for spare, no-nonsense storytelling that approaches the poetic at times. The Quantum Thief is a revelation, in the end, and make no mistake: we have here the sci-fi debut of 2010. (SPECULTIVE SCOTSMAN)

"With its engaging narrative and characters backed by often almost intimidatingly good sci-fi concepts, it's easy to see why The Quantum Thief is being heavily, and deservedly touted, as the big SF debut of the year." (SCI FI NOW)

The Quantum Thief is bursting with ideas and there sufficient action/battle scenes to slake any thirst for vicarious violence." (INTERZONE)

Serious SF disguised as a crime thriller with great success... a fun, addictive read. (Anthony Brown TOTAL SCI FI)

Book Description:

The most exciting SF debut of the last fiive years - a star to stand alongside Alastair Reynolds and Richard Morgan.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0765329492
• ISBN 13: 9780765329493
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 330