Sushi Never Sleeps (Neoreality Series) [Paperback]

Clifford Pickover (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Add together... Asimov, Gardner, and Sagan, and you get Pickover, one of the most thought provoking writers of our time." -- Michael Shermer, author of Borderlands of Science

"Bucky Fuller thought big; Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Pickover outdoes them both!" -- Wired

"Clifford A. Pickover is the heir apparent to Carl Sagan..." -- Robert J. Sawyer, author of Calculating God

"I can't imagine anybody whose mind won't be stretched by his books." -- Arthur C. Clarke

"Pickover has published nearly a book a year in which he stretches the limits of computers, art, and thought." -- Los Angeles Times

"Pickover inspires a new generation of da Vincis to build unknown flying machines and create new Mona Lisas." -- Christian Science Monitor

"Pickover just seems to exist in more dimensions than the rest of us." -- Ian Stewart, author of Flatterland

From the Publisher

The books in the Neoreality series may be read in any order. The books are on similar themes but are separate and distinct.

Rumi, the 13th-century Sufi poet and mystic, once wrote: "The nature of reality is this: It is hidden, and it is hidden, and it is hidden." But what is reality? What is transcendence? How can we open our minds so that we can reason beyond the limits of our intuition? When Albert Einstein was asked about reality, he replied, "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." In an effort to stretch reader's minds, Pickover has considered both Einstein and Rumi while publishing thirty books on topics on the borderlands of science and religion. Most recently, and perhaps most importantly, he published four science-fiction novels in a "Neoreality" series in which both the reader and protagonists cope with parallel realities.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Lighthouse Press (September 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971482780
• ISBN-13: 978-0971482784
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,385,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

From my publisher:

Clifford A. Pickover received his Ph.D. from Yale University and is the author of over 30 books on such topics as computers and creativity, art, mathematics, black holes, religion, human behavior and intelligence, time travel, alien life, and science fiction.

Pickover is a prolific inventor with dozens of patents, is the associate editor for several journals, the author of colorful puzzle calendars, and puzzle contributor to magazines geared to children and adults.

WIRED magazine writes, "Bucky Fuller thought big, Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both." According to The Los Angeles Times, "Pickover has published nearly a book a year in which he stretches the limits of computers, art and thought."
The Christian Science Monitor writes, "Pickover inspires a new generation of da Vincis to build unknown flying machines and create new Mona Lisas." Pickover's computer graphics have been featured on the cover of many popular magazines and on TV shows.

His web site, Pickover.Com, has received millions of visits. His Blog RealityCarnival.Com is one of his most popular sites.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fractals, Math, Romance, Parallel Universes, September 13, 2002

By 

Melanie Michaels (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sushi Never Sleeps (Neoreality Series) (Paperback)

I love Sushi Never Sleeps! This is the book in Pickover's Neorealty series that describes fractal sex. The main character, Garth, is a professor and expert in insects. His life is rather ordinary until, at the start of the novel, he purchases a lovely android woman named Neuron. I don't want give too much away, but together they discover a hidden fractal society, with inhabitants living at different size scales. The book takes place in a parallel-universe Westcheter County, New York -- in towns like Peekskill and Yorktown. The book has something for everyone: mathematics, fractals, romance, strange creatures, and the concept of parallel universes.

The book makes me wonder: Is God omniscient in all universes? I've read the four books in this Neoreality set (they can be read in any order) and recommend this book. Does anyone know what molecule is depicted on the cover by Neuron's shoulder?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, September 10, 2003

By 

Jane Brisson (Toms River, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sushi Never Sleeps (Neoreality Series) (Paperback)

This book is very broad in its concepts and imagery, covering such delights as: androids, flying stingrays, human sexuality, spider beings, fractal trains, and more. I found that once I started the book, I could not put it down. Excellent pace. Deep thoughts. Absurd and unusual mind benders. I'd call it "Alice in Wonderland meets a mathematical LSD trip." Hop on board the Fractal Express for the mind-bending ride of your life!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An unusual story with many original ideas, May 24, 2004

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sushi Never Sleeps (Neoreality Series) (Paperback)

The book starts with a guy most would consider a geek, in a shop, either renting or buying a custom girlfriend. She can come fully equipped with all the latest options, including complete knowledge of Shakespeare, cosmology, the old and new testaments and extra orifices. At extra expense of course. His name is Garth and it is obvious that his love life leaves a lot to be desired. The girlfriend, Neuron, arrives at his residence and she is beautiful, intelligent and they begin getting to know each other.
Garth's specialty is biology, and he is an expert in spiders. This is advantageous, as they are suddenly transported to an alternate Earth where the inhabitants are in a vicious war with sentient spiders (Mygalomorphs). The alternate Earth is called Fractalia, as the inhabitants are duplicated in many sizes, from the normal down to the microscopic. The queen of Fractalia is Azalandra, who is naked with rainbow colored pubic hair, a trait quickly noticed by Garth. She turns out to be very talented, as her breasts are photosynthetic and produce a very nutritious fluid, consumed by both Garth and Neuron.
They travel with Azalandra across Fractalia by train, occasionally fighting the spiders, but mostly interacting and learning more about Fractalia and how it has been devastated in the unequal war. There is a climactic battle where the Fractalians and Mygalomorphs fly on aerial stingrays, where the Fractalians emerge victorious with Garth and Neuron returning to their version of Earth.
The story moves along fairly quickly, it is well written and has many original elements. Pickover proves once again that his mind is a storehouse of new ideas. Mathematics makes an occasional appearance, Fractalia is of course based on fractal objects and Garth recites the factorial of twenty whenever he wants to prove to himself that he is not dreaming. Throwing weapons in the form of Koch curves are one of the most effective weapons used against the spiders and a large river in Fractalia is called the Mandelbrot river. An unusual story, I found it fun to read and completed it in two sittings.

Published in the recreational mathematics e-mail newsletter, reprinted with permission.