Ra is a 2013 science fantasy novel by the British author and software engineer Sam Hughes, published under the pseudonym qntm. Originally released as a web serial on the author's website, it was later self-published in print and ebook formats.
The novel is a prominent example of Rationalist fiction, a subgenre that deconstructs fantasy tropes through the application of the scientific method.[1] It imagines an alternate history where magic was discovered in the 1970s not as a mystical force, but as a new branch of physics capable of being harnessed through engineering.
Synopsis
In an alternate timeline, "magic" is discovered in the late 20th century. Rather than being mystical, it is treated as a natural resource that can be manipulated through complex mathematical proofs and "thaumaturgical engineering."
The story follows Laura Ferno, a student of magic whose mother was killed during a botched attempt to use magic for spaceflight. Laura discovers that magic is an artificial system created by a pre-human intelligence, and that the universe itself functions like a computer simulation with exploitable code.
Publication history
Hughes wrote the initial draft of Ra during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). He later reworked the material into a serialized format, publishing chapters freely on his website, Things of Interest, from 2013 to 2014.[2]
Ra is frequently cited as a core text of the "rationalist" or "hard fantasy" genre.[4] Critic Andrew Liptak described the novel as part of Hughes's body of work characterized by "innovative writing" and ambitious conceptual scaling.[1] Reviewers have praised the novel's "hard magic" system, which treats spellcasting with the rigor of computer programming.[5]
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