Spin State and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more



or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading Spin State on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

Spin State [Mass Market Paperback]

Chris Moriarty
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)

List Price: $6.99
Price: $6.29 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $0.70 (10%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 4 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Wednesday, May 29? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition --  
Hardcover --  
Paperback --  
Mass Market Paperback $6.29  
Summer Reading
Summer Reading
Browse the best books of summer including blockbusters, beach reads, and editors' picks in our Summer Reading Store.

Book Description

November 23, 2004
From a stunning new voice in hard science fiction comes the thrilling story of one woman’s quest to wrest truth from chaos, love from violence, and reality from illusion in a post-human universe of emergent AIs, genetic constructs, and illegal wetware...

Spin State

UN Peacekeeper Major Catherine Li has made thirty-seven faster-than-light jumps in her lifetime—and has probably forgotten more than most people remember. But that’s what backup hard drives are for. And Li should know; she’s been hacking her memory for fifteen years in order to pass as human. But no memory upgrade can prepare Li for what she finds on Compson’s World: a mining colony she once called home and to which she is sent after a botched raid puts her on the bad side of the powers that be. A dead physicist who just happens to be her cloned twin. A missing dataset that could change the interstellar balance of power and turn a cold war hot. And a mining “accident” that is starting to look more and more like murder...

Suddenly Li is chasing a killer in an alien world miles underground where everyone has a secret. And one wrong turn in streamspace, one misstep in the dark alleys of blackmarket tech and interstellar espionage, one risky hookup with an AI could literally blow her mind.

Frequently Bought Together

Spin State + Oryx and Crake
Price for both: $19.17

Buy the selected items together
  • Oryx and Crake $12.88


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In her debut novel, the terrific thriller Spin State, Chris Moriarty melds cutting-edge science with post-cyberpunk fiction and neo-noir suspense to create a complex, believable future inhabited by one of the most intriguing characters in modern science fiction.

Major Catherine Li is a veteran United Nations Peacekeeper in a future of world-nations. Humanity has spread across interstellar space by "jumping": teleportation enabled by quantum physics and a bizarre crystal found only on Compson's World. The jumps destroy memory, so jumpers back up their memories on computer. Despite this precaution, frequent jumpers still lose some memories, a fact that poses a far greater problem for Catherine Li than it does for other Peacekeepers. For Li has a dangerous, potentially deadly secret: she's an illegal clone.

When a UN mission goes awry, Li finds herself shipped on solo duty to Compson's World--her home world, to which she'd vowed never to return. Her mission initially seems simple: to determine if the death of brilliant physicist Hannah Sharifi was a crystal-mining accident or cold-blooded murder. Like Li, Sharifi is a clone--in fact, she's Li's genetic twin. Li swiftly finds herself enmeshed in the intertangled politics of the UN, the multiplanetary corporations, the miners, and the human-created Artificial Intelligences, who have enigmatic agendas of their own. --Cynthia Ward --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Despite incorporating nearly every well-worn SF theme, Moriarty still manages fresh insights into humanity-and posthumanity-in this highly atmospheric debut, a hefty far-future exploration of AI, human cloning, class conflict and plain old-fashioned murder. Major Catherine Li and her fellow UN Peacekeepers battle hive-minded Syndicate genetic constructs for domination of planets settled through FTL (faster than light) migrations enabled by mysterious crystals, quantum-level anomalies of unimagined substance mined only on Compson's World. Resembling the Victorian British empire, the UN's vast interstellar commercial empire runs on the blood and sweat of a few thousand pitifully exploited miners like Li's father, who died so she could remake herself and escape the miners' fate. Now wired into "streamspace" with an AI lover who interacts with her through both male and female hosts, Li is tapped to investigate the murder of physicist Hannah Sharifi, her cloned twin who hoped to share the crystals' power. Based on the short, dangerous life of miners as well as the heady scientific stuff of quantum physics, the book can be heavy slogging for the uninitiated. Moriarty effectively postulates the Faustian price of enhancing humanity with silicon, of playing God through genetic manipulation. Beneath this complex tale ominously simmers Orwell's question: If all animals are to be equal, what can prevent some from making themselves more equal than the others?
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 640 pages
  • Publisher: Spectra (November 23, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0553586246
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553586244
  • Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author of SPIN STATE, SPIN CONTROL, GHOST SPIN, and THE INQUISITOR'S APPRENTICE. Winner of the 2006 Philip K. Dick Award. Book reviewer for the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Owner of the most patient dog in the multiverse.


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
75 of 86 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Spin State" starts out full of promise for fans of "hard" sci-fi, the sub-genre that loads stories with lots of plausible technology and science. It is a good debut novel. However, after a solid beginning that has the reader's mind racing to keep to pace, the book backs away from its potential, dragging on far too long before concluding in a rather predictable and unsatisfying manner.

It is clear that Moriarty has done her homework on quantum mechanics. This is one of the only sci-fi books I've read that supplies a bibliography of dozens of academic papers and books on the subject. She writes convincingly about a quantum-based communications system that is one step shy of actual teleportation -- even sensations like taste and temperature are conveyed through the magic of quantum entanglement.

Other cool features of Moriarty's far-out future include urbane yet shadowy AIs, hardware enhancements for the body, mind and memory, and people who have had their genetic makeup so radically altered that they aren't legally considered to be human any longer.

Although this theme of genetics is supposed to be central to the development of the main character, I felt the theme was never really fleshed out. Indeed, perhaps the book's greatest flaw is that most of the characters -- with the exception of the AI called Cohen -- come across as two- or even one-dimensional. The main character is a decorated commando running from a murky past. We meet a greedy and corrupt mine boss, a manipulative and ruthless general, a selfish and naive beauty, and a selfless and brilliant scientist. Not many surprises.

There are quite a few similarities between this work and "Altered Carbon" by Richard Morgan. Specifically: 1) both books are set a few hundred years ahead in a future where the UN is the chief political authority 2) the heroes are special UN commandos haunted by brutal past missions who are called on to investigate mysterious deaths 3) in "Spin State", the hero is from a planet called "Compson's World", in "Altered Carbon", the hero is from "Harlan's World" 4) both books feature bionic enhancements ("neurachem" in AC, "ceramsteel in SS") 5) in AC, human consciousness is backed up by a hardware "stack", in SS, memories and knowledge are backed up in hardware. I read these two books very close together, so the similarities really stood out.

Spin State's story revolves around the investigation of a mining disaster that killed society's pre-eminent quantum scientist, who had been conducting secretive experiments that could turn humanity's interstellar order on its head. I had trouble keeping track of the minor characters who disappeared for long stretches only to reappear later with no reference to earlier actions. The story had trouble holding my attention and I found myself slogging through the second half mainly out of obligation to just finish the book.

I give this book serious credit for painting a detailed picture of quantum, genetic and computing technology a few centuries hence. For hard sci-fi buffs that will probably be more than enough to offset the thinly drawn characters and convoluted plot. Moriarty obviously has a lot of skill and ambition, and I hope her future efforts -- hopefully in the Spin State universe -- are able to deliver on the promise of this book.

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Quantum Romance February 21, 2005
Format:Paperback
Spin State packages itself as a far future military space opera/murder mystery on the rear cover. It fits these sub-genres, but is also a thoughtful romance of quantum theory that tackles cultural identity, bigotry, imperialism, and has a fully developed political universe.

Catherine Li is assigned to investigate a delicate and suspicious accident at a vital mine on her homeworld. The mine contains a type of crystal needed for interstellar communication and whoever controls the source of these crystals basically controls known space. Li's presence doesn't settle things down, with military factions, oppressed locals, cut-throat corporate executives, and a genetically modified splinter of humanity jockeying to control and exploit the situation.

Catherine Li is a terrific protagonist. She had a tough background that was honed by experience - or did she? Spin State is a universe where individuals store their memories while traveling cryogenically frozen to avoid decoherence - the bleed of information from the soft tissue. Long term travelers begin to lose their identity unless bolstered by computer backed memories. But if you wanted to hide something, would you remember it? Would it be erased in the next flight? I think this central question of identity hasn't been fully appreciated by other reviewers.

Spin State works on a number of levels. The mystery story element is passable, but not great. The military ops sections are exciting and fluid, but infrequent. The political scene Moriarty creates is rich and fascinating. Moriarty's thoughts on imperialism and worker's rights are neither shallow nor moralizing. But Li's search for herself and her feelings were unusually compelling for a science fiction novel. I like SF, but unconvincing love interests are the norm. I found myself really pulling for Li to get it together. By the end of Spin State so will you.

Much of Spin State revolves around political maneuvering and relationship issues. If you are expecting "Altered Carbon II - Now With a Girl!" you will be sorely (and deservedly) disappointed. To enjoy Spin State you should: A) enjoy the science in science fiction, B) appreciate a detailed political backdrop, and C) like a good romance.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Spin State is great May 22, 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Spin State" delivers exactly what is promised in the little blurb printed on the front cover; an interesting and highly original mix of quantum physics, A.I.. FTL, and an enjoyably atypical love story.

The physics revolves around the consequences of the discovery on a distant planet (Compson's World) of a unique material that is a macroscopic Bose-Einstein condensate at room temperature. That means that pieces of this stuff, known as crystal, act as single quantum entitities and taking one piece, (obtained by mining on Compson's World and no where else in the known universe) splitting it in two and separating the two pieces gives an instantaneous method for FTL communication and travel because of stable quantum entanglement.

This is the setting for a murder mystery that also is built around genetically modified humans, clones, superpowerful A.I.s, military mysteries and perhaps most originally, a believable love story between the main character, Catherine Li, and an A.I. named Cohen. Cohen appears in willing hosts who allow him to take control of their bodies for periods of time in exchange for (one supposes) monetary payment.

The story moves quickly, there are red herrings all over the place and unless you are a lot sharper than me, you won't actually figure out why the murder was committed or by whom until very late in the book.

I liked the writing and the ideas, and will certainly give Ms. Moriarty's next book a read.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Good debut effort
I enjoyed this novel but my feelings on it are mixed. What Chris did well was done really well. What she did poorly, on the other hand, fell flat. Read more
Published on March 27, 2011 by Lisa Love
3.0 out of 5 stars Convincing Interstellar Thriller Suffers Some Decoherence
Overall Spin State is a strong freshman effort that begins as a crime novel. Halfway through, the crime is fairly transparent and the real mystery starts to develop as the... Read more
Published on March 24, 2011 by Aaron Harts
3.0 out of 5 stars A Likeable World With An Unlikeable Heroine
This was an entertaining story. Moriarty's world-building is fabulous. Page after page adds layer upon layer of complexity and depth to a world that, by book's end, is every bit... Read more
Published on February 22, 2010 by Vee
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting technologically
Spin State has an interesting use of the Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci, a concept I haven't seen referenced in years. Read more
Published on October 31, 2009 by C. Sheppard
3.0 out of 5 stars Malformed science for prototypical plot
According the the Editorial Reviews above, this novel is "post-cyberpunk fiction with neo-noir suspense. Read more
Published on February 1, 2009 by M-I-K-E 2theD
4.0 out of 5 stars Well-imagined
Takes the reader outside the realm of the familiar. One wonders throughout the book at the seeming cruelty of those in control. Questions we wonder about are answered. Read more
Published on October 12, 2008 by Skeptic
2.0 out of 5 stars I gave up half-way through
Maybe I'm getting too old, but I just gave up. I realized I didn't care what happened to any of the characters and the technologies/realities were too vague and confusing to keep... Read more
Published on August 20, 2008 by Robert Arning
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing posthuman debut novel
I picked this one up on a whim. I had wanted a good sci fi that was hard, real and written well. I couldn't have found a better book than Moriarty's Spin State. Read more
Published on June 14, 2008 by Brian Hawkinson
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Hard SF Read
Spin State is probably the best hard hard SF book I've read in the last couple years. I say 'hard hard' because this book is more deeply rooted in certain sciences than a lot of... Read more
Published on May 8, 2008 by Shaun Duke
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read!
I have to say that Moriarty's debut was a fantastic read. Not for the SF amateur. This book combines elements of military SF and cyberpunk beautifully and just throws you in. Read more
Published on March 14, 2008 by S. S. White
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Forums

There are no discussions about this product yet.
Be the first to discuss this product with the community.
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category