Factoring Humanity [Import] [Paperback]

ROBERT J. SAWYER (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: VOYAGER (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006511864
• ISBN-13: 978-0006511861
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Robert J. Sawyer -- called "the dean of Canadian science fiction" by the OTTAWA CITIZEN and "just about the best science-fiction writer out there" by the Denver ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS -- is one of eight authors in history to win all three of the science-fiction field's highest honors for best novel of the year: the Hugo Award (which he won for HOMINIDS), the Nebula Award (which he won for THE TERMINAL EXPERIMENT); and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (which he won for MINDSCAN).

Rob has won Japan's Seiun Award for best foreign novel three times (for END OF AN ERA, FRAMESHIFT, and ILLEGAL ALIEN), and he's also won the world's largest cash-prize for SF writing -- the Polytechnic University of Catalonia's 6,000-euro Premio UPC de Ciencia Ficcion -- an unprecedented three times.

In 2007, he received China's Galaxy Award for most favorite foreign author. He's also won twelve Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards ("Auroras"), an Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada, ANALOG magazine's Analytical Laboratory Award for Best Short Story of the Year, and the SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE Reader Award for Best Short Story of the Year.

Rob's novels have been top-ten national mainstream bestsellers in Canada, appearing on the GLOBE AND MAIL and MACLEAN'S bestsellers' lists, and they've hit number one on the bestsellers' list published by LOCUS, the U.S. trade journal of the SF field.

Rob is a frequent keynote speaker at conferences, teaches SF writing occasionally, and edits his own line of Canadian science-fiction novels for Red Deer Press.

His novel FLASHFORWARD (Tor Books) was the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name. He enjoyed spending time on the set and wrote the script for episode 19 "Course Correction."

His WWW trilogy, WAKE, WATCH, and WONDER (Ace Books), is all about the World Wide Web gaining consciousness.

Next up is TRIGGERS, April 2012. Set in Washington D.C., TRIGGERS is a science fiction political thriller about the nature of memory.

For more information about Rob and his award-winning books, check out his web page: http://sfwriter.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb hard science and a blazing pageturner, May 3, 2000

By 

Rob - See all my reviews

This review is from: Factoring Humanity (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book in one night. I could not put it down, nor sleep. Every chapter drew me into the next and I was hopelessly lost to the real world for a fabulous evening. I felt that the family issues added a level of realism that often sci-fi lacks in its concern for high minded ideals and ultra big pictures.

My only qualm with this book was that Heather (the main character) seemed to have an unrealistically uncanny ability to make intuitive discovery after discovery that no single human likely would be capable of making by themselves, let alone in a matter of mere hours or days. In that sense it seemed forced, although if one is willing to forgive Mr Sawyer that one transgression, this book can easily be included amongst the best of the genre.

Something I found particularly satisfying was the breadth of future hard-scientific inquiry touched on. Everything from Quantum theory, Jungian overmind concepts, the nature of morality and god, defining characteristics of humanity, the future of AI's, and many other topics are addressed and add well to the plot. I heartily recommend this book to all sci-fi fans!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Near-future SF can still have really big ideas, April 9, 2000

By 

Peter Dowling (Montreal, PQ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Factoring Humanity (Mass Market Paperback)

Sawyer seems to like writing about the near future --- say, 10 to 20 years down the road. The effect is to ground his work in the everyday, in settings people can easily grasp. The setting of this novel, at the University of Toronto, should be familiar to anyone who has ever attended (or taught!) at a big city university. The details of academic life ring true ... but even more so do the details of Sawyer's characters personal lives, despite the horrific things that happen to them. Of course, this is SCIENCE fiction, and there's plenty of science, too: quantum computing, artificial intelligence, SETI (indeed, the SETI subplot, really relatively minor, is quite wonderful, especially for any fan of Alan Turing), and more. And the ending has that "sense of wonder" that is the hallmark of the best SF from the classic age. I've also read Sawyer's FLASHFORWARD, and gave that five stars, too, but between the two, this is my favourite, although both are excellent novels. Enjoy!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Enough to Read, July 5, 2000

By 

Richard Tyler "Adult Child of an Engineer" (Redmond, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Factoring Humanity (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book on a flight from Atlanta to Seattle, and it was perfect for the environment: short enough to finish in six hours, engaging enough to keep the pages flipping, and not so complex as to require more concentration than is possible on an airplane. As an alternative to the usual Clancy/Steele/Grisham airplane fare it was first-rate, as a Great Novel of Science Fiction, it was OK.

First, the bad news. The characterizations are flat and thin, with more revealed in internal dialogue than in actions. For example, our protagonist has his wife and two children ripped from him in different ways, but we are only told of his anguish. His actions in the story do not show it, although I did enjoy the scene when he asked his AI for moral comfort and support.

On the other hand, good science fiction rarely seems to also be great literature. Sawyer plays with cool ideas: quantum computers, the fourth dimension, artificial intelligence, the nature of "mind", recovered memories, and teenage angst (I find teenage angst the most difficult to understand). With so much deep thinking go on there is not much time left for finely detailed characterization.

"Factoring Humanity" seems to be a tribute to the great themes of science fiction. You get thinking machines with conscience ("I, Robot" and the other Asimov "Robot" stories, "With Folded Hands", "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress"), fun with tesseracts ("A Wrinkle in Time", "He Built a Crooked House"), and alien first contact (and sending construction plans via radio, as in "Contact").

First and foremost, it was a good read with lots of page-flipping interest. Recommended.