Dark Integers and Other Stories

Last updated

Dark Integers and Other Stories
Author Greg Egan
Language English
Genre Science fiction, Hard science fiction
PublisherSubterranean Press
Publication date
2008
Pages232
ISBN 978-1596061552

Dark Integers and Other Stories is a collection of five science-fiction short stories by Australian writer Greg Egan, published in 2008 by Subterranean Press. One of them, "Oceanic", won the Hugo Award for Best Novella, [1] [2] [3] while two others were nominated. [4] [5] [3]

Contents

Contents

Background

"Luminous" and "Dark Integers" are connected with each other. The events of the latter are set ten years after the events of the former. "Riding the Crocodile" is set in the same universe as Egan's novel Incandescence , but the short story is not part of it with the plot being set 300,000 years prior.

Reception

Reviews

Rich Horton, writing on the SF Site , gets the impression that "this book serves as a good sampling, and as a sort of link between the old Egan and the new." He thinks that it "makes sense to include both older and newer stories", claiming that "the new stories range from solid to excellent", that "the book at hand is strong work, and very welcome" as well as that "it only further whets the appetite for Egan's new novel, Incandescence ." In further detail, Horton desribes "Luminous" as "fascinating" for its central premise, but says that "it didn't quite sell this idea, and the thrillerish material wasn't convincingly integrated." Its sequel "Dark Integers" concerns "not so much the idea, though that remains fascinatingly loopy, but the sad political reality that Egan derives from the underlying state of affairs." In "Oceanic", "Egan succeeds again in marrying character with idea – perhaps in part because the central idea is more sociological than mathematical." [8]

Writing in Strange Horizons , Karen Burnham discussed suspension of disbelief in regard to multiple of Egan's short stories. Burnham indicated that "Luminous" and "Dark Integers" "aren't necessarily Egan's best stories" as they "both rely heavily on their plots, with very little characterization", and "it's very hard to find a narrative toehold when the infodumping gets confusing". However, she found that "reading the introduction" of Dark Integers and Other Stories makes "them easier to read". She explained, "Then I knew that my feeling of disjointedness wasn't because I was stupid, but because the stories' conceit really was completely without basis in any real-world science or genre convention." [9]

Salik Shah claims in the Reactor Magazine , that the idea behind "Luminous" and "Dark Integers" "would make an exciting premise for radio or film adaptation." [10]

Russell Letson, writing in the Locus Magazine, says that "Oceanic" "edges into extreme post-human and/or far-future territory, but that story’s armature is a kind of bildungsroman" and "is a whole novel’s worth of material that remains background." [11]

Awards

The collection reached the 6th place in the Reader Poll of the Locus Award in 2009. [12] [13]

"Luminous" was nominated in 1996 and [4] [3] "Dark Integers" was nominated in 2008 for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette. [5] [3] "Oceanic" won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1999. [1] [2] [3] In 2001, "Oceanic", in 2003, "Luminous", and in 2010, "Dark Integers", all won the Japanese Seiun Award. [14] "Oceanic" was also a finalist in the 1998 Aurealis Award for best science fiction short story, a long list nominee for the 1999 James Tiptree Jr Memorial Award, and a short-list nominee for the 1999 HOMer Award for best novella. [15] [16] [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

Greg Egan is an Australian science fiction writer and mathematician, best known for his works of hard science fiction. Egan has won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Hugo Award, and the Locus Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damien Broderick</span> Australian writer

Damien Francis Broderick is an Australian science fiction and popular science writer and editor of some 74 books. His science fiction novel The Dreaming Dragons (1980) introduced the trope of the generation time machine, his The Judas Mandala (1982) contains the first appearance of the term "virtual reality" in science fiction, and his 1997 popular science book The Spike was the first to investigate the technological singularity in detail.

<i>Teranesia</i> 1999 novel by Greg Egan

Teranesia is a 1999 science fiction novel by Greg Egan. The novel follows protagonist Prabir Suresh, who lives on an island in the South Moluccas with his biologist parents, who are investigating the unique evolutionary traits of butterflies on the island. As civil war erupts in Indonesia, Prabir and his baby sister Madhusree must escape the islands. When they grow up, Madhusree becomes a biology student, motivated to carry on her parents' legacy in uncovering the evolutionary phenomenon. Prabir reluctantly follows her, as he must navigate and confront the truth that shaped his past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Wilhelm</span> American science fiction writer (1928–2018)

Kate Wilhelm was an American author. She wrote novels and stories in the science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres, including the Hugo Award–winning Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang. Wilhelm established the Clarion Workshop along with her husband Damon Knight and writer Robin Scott Wilson.

Aurealis is an Australian speculative fiction magazine published by Chimaera Publications, and is Australia's longest running small-press science-fiction and fantasy magazine. The magazine is based in Melbourne.

Michael Pryor is an Australian writer of speculative fiction.

"Wang's Carpets" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in New Legends edited by Greg Bear and Martin H. Greenberg on 5 April 1995. It was later included in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirteenth Annual Collection in 1996 and Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction in 2005, both edited by Gardner Dozois, as well as The Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction edited by Mike Ashley in 2006. The short story was also included in Egan's novel Diaspora. The title refers to the mathematician Wang Hao.

<i>The Years Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection</i> 2008 anthology edited by Gardner Dozois

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection is a science fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois that was published on July 8, 2008. It is the 25th in The Year's Best Science Fiction series and won the Locus Award for best anthology. The UK edition is titled The Mammoth Book Of Best New SF 21, the "21st Annual Collection" (ISBN 978-1845298289) and contains the same stories listed.

<i>Incandescence</i> (novel) 2008 novel by Greg Egan

Incandescence is a 2008 science fiction novel by Australian author Greg Egan. The book is based on the idea that the theory of general relativity could be discovered by a pre-industrial civilisation.

<i>The Years Best Science Fiction: Ninth Annual Collection</i> 1992 anthology edited by Gardner Dozois

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Ninth Annual Collection is a science fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois that was published in 1992. It is the 9th in The Year's Best Science Fiction series and won the Locus Award for best anthology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oceanic (novella)</span> 1998 novella by Greg Egan

"Oceanic" is a science fiction novella by Australian writer Greg Egan, published in 1998. It won the 1999 Hugo Award for Best Novella.

Rachel Swirsky is an American literary, speculative fiction and fantasy writer, poet, and editor living in Oregon. She was the founding editor of the PodCastle podcast and served as editor from 2008 to 2010. She served as vice president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2013.

"True Names" is a 2008 science fiction story by Cory Doctorow and Benjamin Rosenbaum. It was first published in the anthology Fast Forward 2.

"Axiomatic" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone 41 in November 1990. The short story was included in the collection The Best of Greg Egan in 2020.

The Best of Greg Egan is a collection of science fiction stories by Australian writer Greg Egan, published by Subterranean Press in 2019.

Oceanic is a collection of 12 science fiction short stories by Australian writer Greg Egan, published on 16 July 2009 by Gollancz.

"Luminous" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Asimov’s Science Fiction in September 1995. The short story was included in the collections Luminous in 1998, Dark Integers and Other Stories in 2008, and The Best of Greg Egan in 2020. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 1996. It has a sequel, the short story "Dark Integers".

"Dark Integers" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Asimov's Science Fiction in October/November 2007. The short story was included in the collections Dark Integers and Other Stories in 2008, Oceanic in 2009 and The Best of Greg Egan in 2020. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2008. It is a sequel to the short story "Luminous".

"Reasons to Be Cheerful" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone 118 in April of 1997. The short story was included in the collections Luminous in 1998 and The Best of Greg Egan in 2020.

"Crystal Nights" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone 215 in April 2008. The short story was included in the collections Crystal Nights and Other Stories in 2009, Oceanic in 2009 and The Best of Greg Egan in 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 "Hugo Awards 1999". thehugoawards.org. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  2. 1 2 "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1999 Hugo Awards". Locus Online. Archived from the original on 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Greg Egan Awards Summary". 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  4. 1 2 "1996 Hugo Awards". thehugoawards.org. 26 July 2007. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  5. 1 2 "2008 Hugo Awards". thehugoawards.org. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  6. Egan, Greg (October 2007). "Dark Integers". Asimovs.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  7. "Harper Voyager Books: FREE HUGO SHORT STORIES: Ken Macleod and Greg Egan". Outofthiseos.typepad.com. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  8. Horton, Rich. "Dark Integers and Other Stories". sfsite.com. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  9. Burnham, Karen (2008-06-02). "Axiomatic and Dark Integers by Greg Egan". Strange Horizons . Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  10. Shah, Salik (2020-04-08). "Why Greg Egan Is Science Fiction's Next Superstar". reactormag.com. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  11. Letson, Russell (2019-06-14). "Russell Letson Reviews The Best of Greg Egan by Greg Egan". Locus Magazine . Archived from the original on 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  12. "2009 Locus Poll Award" . Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  13. "Greg Egan Awards Summary". 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  14. "星雲賞受賞作・参考候補作一覧". Prizes World (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  15. "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1999 Aurealis Awards". Locus Online . Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  16. "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1999 James Tiptree Jr Memorial Award". Locus Online. Archived from the original on 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  17. "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1999 HOMer Awards". Locus Online . Retrieved 2010-03-24.