The Causal Angel

Description

With his infectious love of storytelling in all its forms, his rich characterisation and his unrivalled grasp of thrillingly bizarre cutting-edge science Hannu Rajaniemi has swiftly set a new benchmark for SF in the 21st century. And now with his third novel he completes the tale of his gentleman rogue, the many lives and minds of Jean de Flambeur. Influenced as much by the fin de siecle novels of Maurice leBlanc as he is by the greats of SF Rajaniemi weaves, intricate, warm capers through dazzling science, extraordinary visions of wild future and deep conjecture on the nature of reality and story. And now we find out what will happen to Jean, his employer Miele, the independently minded ship Perhonnen and the rest of a fractured and diverse humanity flung through the solar system.

Hannu Rajaniemi was born in Finland. At the age of eight he approached the European Space Agency with a fusion-powered spaceship design, which was received with a polite "thank you" note. Hannu studied mathematics and theoretical physics at University of Oulu and Cambridge and holds a PhD in string theory from the University of Edinburgh. He co-founded a mathematics consultancy whose clients included UK Ministry of Defence and the European Space Agency. Hannu is the author of four novels including The Quantum Thief (winner of 2012 Tahtivaeltaja Award for the best science fiction novel published in Finland and translated into more than 20 languages). His most recent book is Summerland (June 2018), an alternate history spy thriller in a world where the afterlife is real. His other works include Invisible Planets: Collected Fiction, a short story collection. Hannu lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a co-founder and CEO of HelixNano, a venture- and Y Combinator backed biotech startup.

A widescreen-baroque grandeur... A maddening, dizzying and dazzling novel * SFX * Hannu Rajaniemi is without question one of the smartest and most exciting writers working in science fiction as we speak, and I can't wait to see what he does next. * Tor.com * The bottom line for The Causal Angel and the Jean Le Flambeur series: it's evocative and can be mind-bogglingly at times but this creates a highly addictive air around it, and once you get through to the fine details you will be amazed. This is must read science fiction. * The Book Plank * With The Quantum Thief, Hannu Rajaniemi set a new standard for science fiction that dared to imagine a post-human future. With its sequel, The Fractal Prince, he successfully built on his narrative foundations to add a greater depth to his characters - not least the gentleman thief Jean le Flambeur - and an added strength to his ideas. So it's something of a relief to report that the trilogy's conclusion, The Causal Angel, doesn't disappoint. * The Skinny * It's all things to all people, opening up to deliver whatever you want from it - action and adventure, memorable characters, rich stories and weighty themes. This is what Science Fiction should aspire to. * SF Crowsnest * The author, who has a PhD in string theory, uses the tropes of the genre to present cutting-edge explorations of post-humanism, quantum physics and cybernetics. The plot is pell-mell, the theory intellectually challenging, and Flambeur appears as a fully rounded human being, with hopes and desires, strengths and flaws. * The Guardian *