As a reader unfamiliar with the scientific basis for Greg Egan's ideas in this novel, I simply decided to suspend my disbelief and accept the science presented as facts revealed.... Wow, what a roller coaster ride! His writing style seems so clear and non-manipulative that I found it easy to accept ideas I hardly understood. My pleasure was not so much from learning the "hard science" but from simply basking in the presence of a higher (and benign) intelligience. I can relate with some reviewers who complain of a lack of drama in the story which is why I rate this a 4 instead of a 5, yet for some reason I didn't mind compensating for that in my own mind. After the human race has evolved to the point where there is neither a need nor desire for anything from the material world, where there is no competition for anything, then the real basic _human_ needs emerge: what is the meaning of my existence? What kind of world do I want to create for myself and others? Though I see this higher level drama being played out as a subtext; Egan doesn't discuss it directly and some readers may miss it or not care. I think the main appeal to this novel is the depth of abstraction Egan is capable of; as one character puts it "nothing is uncompehensible." Which is the oxymoron: "sentient software" or "non-sentient software"?

I Thank Greg Egan every night for writing this book.

He never pulls back or waters it down. It is hardcore.

I love it!

I've been looking for a book like this for a long time. Anthropomorphism has always been a pretty pervasive feature of sf-- it makes for better drama, but really bad speculation. For once, the ideas described here aren't restrained by what people find familiar- the aliens aren't simply alternate earth biology, the human societies are actually more then just variances of what you'd read in a history book, the underlying science is as essential to the story as the events of the novel, and the storyline is about intellectual discovery, almost exclusively.

Despite what some reviewers have written, the society the author describes clearly wasn't intended as a dystopia. Whether you see it as such depends on how you define human identity (the author, a programmer, seems to believe that the core of human identity is some sort of mathematically perfect function, and the rest is extraneous extrapolation-- I couldn't disagree more, but my own motivations have nothing to do with tissues and neurons (except as a means to an end), so I personally found the incorporeal society pretty cool). In any case, the idea is both plausible and interesting-- good speculation.

If you read sci-fi for escapism, I wouldn't recommend this book-- it offers little in the way of relatable characters or drama, and the only fantasy it fulfills is that of a physicist or programmer. If, on the other hand, you read sci-fi for interesting ideas and speculation, then this book is a godsend, a breath of fresh air in a stale room.

This is the best science fiction I've read in years. Egan takes his ideas farther and faster than most authors could dream of, and Diaspora is the wildest journey he's taken yet. At times when reading Egan my head actually gets warmer from my mind being blown continually. I've been tracking down all of his titles but many are hard to find. Grab his stuff while you can and spread the word. This is an author who deserves more recognition.

When it comes to hard science, this novel by Greg Egan is tremendous. A millennium from now, humans will have mastered the arts of digitizing consciousness into infinite networks that stretch across the universe. Through computerized manipulations of relativity and wormholes, "people" now lead "lives" that can transcend space, time, and even the laws of physics. Greg Egan makes use of cutting-edge (for the present) theories of astrophysics and cosmology, and projects current intellectual trends into some fictitious future theories, in order bring these fantastic concepts to life. And fantastic they are, if you merely look at the hard sci-fi aspects of the story. Unfortunately, these giant feats of the imagination are somehow made boring in a novel that is nearly devoid of engaging plotlines or empathetic characters.

The character of "The Orphan" has a rather interesting development through pseudo-birth in the network and socialization with other digital beings; while there are (a few) fascinating explorations of the cultures of old-school humans who demand to stay in the flesh, those who are digitized but maintain robotic bodies for some physical experience, and those who are completely digitized. The problem with the book is that the conflicts between these cultures offer occasionally great ruminations on the present and future state of humanity and what it truly means to be "human," but these intriguing themes are fighting for air beneath an avalanche of hard science. The plot development and climax of this book mostly entail whether advanced scientific theories will be proven, rather than whether events or character development will lead to a moral or message that can sink into the reader's consciousness. So that makes this book outstanding "sci" but problematic "fi." [~doomsdayer520~]