Fraa Erasmas is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside "saecular" world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Over the centuries, cities and... read more
“"We would get lost for days as rumor or convincingly wrong data sent us up some promising path that only later proved a logical cul-de-sac. It didn't help that all of us had suffered the psychic equivalent of third-degree burns."”
“"Orolo said that the more he knew of the complexity of the mind, and the cosmos with which it was inextricably and mysterioulsy bound up, the more inclined he was to see it as a kind of miracle- not in quite the same sense that our Deolaters use the term, for he considered it althogether natural. He meant rather that the evolution of our minds from bits of inanimate matter was more beautiful and more extraordinary than any of the miracles cataloged down through the ages by the religions of our world"”
““Conservation of momentum,” he announced, “it’s not just a good idea—it’s the law!””Yulassetar Crade
“Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs,” I said. “We have a protractor.”Highlighted by 257 Kindle customers
“Nothing is more important than that you see and love the beauty that is right in front of you, or else you will have no defense against the ugliness that will hem you in and come at you in so many ways.”Highlighted by 161 Kindle customers
And it happened all the time that the compromise between two perfectly rational alternatives was something that made no sense at all.Highlighted by 131 Kindle customers
People who couldn’t live without story had been driven into the concents or into jobs like Yul’s. All others had to look somewhere outside of work for a feeling that they were part of a story, which I guessed was why Sæculars were so concerned with sports, and with religion.Highlighted by 108 Kindle customers
They knew many things but had no idea why. And strangely this made them more, rather than less, certain that they were right.Highlighted by 102 Kindle customers
Thousands of years ago, the work that people did had been broken down into jobs that were the same every day, in organizations where people were interchangeable parts. All of the story had been bled out of their lives. That was how it had to be; it was how you got a productive economy.Highlighted by 95 Kindle customers
“The mystic nails a symbol to one meaning that was true for a moment but soon becomes false. The poet, on the other hand, sees that truth while it’s true but understands that symbols are always in flux and that their meanings are fleeting.”Highlighted by 85 Kindle customers
Diax said something that is still very important to us, which is that you should not believe a thing only because you like to believe it. We call that ‘Diax’s Rake’ and sometimes we repeat it to ourselves as a reminder not to let subjective emotions cloud our judgment.”Highlighted by 81 Kindle customers
“I always tend to assume there’s an infinite amount of money out there.” “There might as well be,” Arsibalt said, “but most of it gets spent on pornography, sugar water, and bombs. There is only so much that can be scraped together for particle accelerators.”Highlighted by 75 Kindle customers
“Consciousness amplifies the weak signals that, like cobwebs spun between trees, web Narratives together. Moreover, it amplifies them selectively and in that way creates feedback loops that steer the Narratives.”Highlighted by 51 Kindle customers
1. Provener
2. Apert
3. Eliger
4. Anathem
5. Voco
6. Peregrin
7. Feral
8. Orithena
9. Inbrase
10. Messal
11. Advent
12. Requiem
13. Reconstitution
While there is nothing offensive or sexually explicit in the material, the intellectual depth is likely to make it inaccessible to children. It does contain an implicit tilt away from religious faith. An excellent choice for a deep thinking young adult who wants to grapple with very complex ideas. Becomes more conventional sci-fi in the last third. Definitely a book that a 13-year old kid would re-read at 25.
We’re hiding the movie connections section. If you would like to add content to it, you must first make it visible.