Secret Passages [Hardcover]

Paul Preuss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1997

A revolutionary physics experiment taking place on the island of Crete--the home of the legendary Minoan civilization and an isle filled with long-hidden treasures that figure in the plot--may forever transform the world."

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Using some of the same characters who appeared in his Broken Symmetries (LJ 10/15/83), Preuss leisurely sets the scene for a groundbreaking physics experiment by telling the life story of its inventor, the mysterious physicist Manolis Minakis, in flashbacks to 1920s-40s Crete. Preuss, who established his reputaion with hard sf but has since expanded into psychological themes, intertwines Minoan artifacts, Greek customs, and quantum physics with love, incest, secrets, and the theory that the future creates the past. The hard science (and science fiction) only sneaks into the last few chapters of this fine character- and place-driven novel. Highly recommended for both fiction and sf collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Physicist Peter Slater and his wife, Anne-Marie, arrive on Crete at the invitation of legendary quantum theorist Dimitris Minakis. Dimitris hopes to interest young Peter in taking up his work, which is a questioning of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, and, concurrently, a proof of reality. Preuss, author of Core (1993), is a subtle writer who handles such grand questions beautifully, but in the end, his story is about Anne-Marie's ulterior motives with regard to Dimitris and Dimitris' long recounting of his childhood on Crete, his British education, and his efforts during the war to oust the Germans. Preuss writes extremely well about war, archaeology, and even love, but his novel isn't exactly what it purports to be, unless, as it sometimes seems, his characters are working out the shifting principles of quantum mechanics through their scheming, loving, and dying. In any event, whether or not it is really science fiction, Secret Passages is a good novel by a fine writer. John Mort

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 381 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312863462
• ISBN-13: 978-0312863463
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,475,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quest for Identity in the Cretan Wilds, August 30, 2002

By 

Diana F. Von Behren "reneofc" (Kenner, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Secret Passages (Hardcover)

Troubled Anne-Marie Brand has a secret that she has held inside of herself for her entire adolescent and adult life. Now this secret may be the leverage she needs to get her son out of the legal grasp of her vindictive ex-husband. She needs only to acquire a bit of archaeological treasure to set her trap and quantum physicist Manolis Minakis seems to hold the key to the very treasure trove she seeks.
There is one unknown that challenges her scheme: it seems that Manolis himself has masterminded the entire game from the very start. He has lured Anne-Marie's new husband to a symposium on quantum physics, manupulated the man whom Anne-Marie desperately needs to aid her in her quest for her son and enticed Anne-Marie herself to his homeland on Crete where he enfolds his own strange personal history.
The outcome is a pleasing story of two people of different generations with the identical need to salvage the good from their past in order to face the future in a positive manner.
I enjoyed this story immensely---I did not buy it because it was supposedly a Sci-Fi tale; it has little science fiction. Rather I found the characterizations and descriptions of Greek village life vivid and fulfilling, especially when set against the foil of such archaeological greats like Sir Arthur Evans and John Pendlebury.
A most satisfying story!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting book, August 23, 2001

By 

K. Delaney "Kevin Delaney" (Salt Lake City, Utah USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secret Passages (Paperback)

Preuss does an excelent job developing characters, and bringing us in to the lives and history of the people of isolated island of Crete.

When I started the book, I was expecting more physics. I was not prepared for the 100 page biography of Minakis, and did not enjoy the interlude as much as I would have if I was expecting it.

The writing style was fantastic. I loved the characters. This book about the lives of scientists. It is a welcome relief to all the quirky sci-fi books filling the bookstore shelves. A previous reviwer made a good point labelling "Secret Passages" as fiction about science instead of science fiction.

The characters and writing style are fantastic. Preuss does an excellent job weaving together anthropology, the history of Crete, philosphy and physics. On the downside, many of the transitions in the book were weak and the plot a little disjoint. This was truly a refreshing book, but I gave the book a 4 instead of a 5.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a very deep and thoughtful work on the lives of scientists. I admit, I wish I had a map of Crete at hand while reading it. I expect it would be better on the second read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fiction with Science, rather than "Science Fiction", August 14, 1997

By 

Edward Alexander Gerster "miamibooks" (South Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secret Passages (Hardcover)

This was the first book by Preuss that I have read, and I will be looking for his others. The story is a remarkable work of fiction with enough speculative physics thrown in only where needed to advance the tale. A pleasure to read, engrossing, intelligent and thoughtfully written. Highly Recommended