Customer Reviews

White Light

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It is obvious to me that mankind has a built-in desire to expand - in any and every way. Today, virtual worlds of various scope and quality are common (mostly, as games) and interconnected via the internet. I am coming to believe that the impetus for these creations must lie deep within us - it seems instinctive and critical to us in some way. The dream of the Buddha? Or, some aspect of evolution?

Before the existence of the current virtual worlds came to be so common, William Gibson imagined and coined the term "cyberspace". Gibson and other writers like Bruce Sterling and Neal Stephenson wrote stories of "cyberspace" and its relation to the human spirit and evolution. I think, however, it was probably necessary for computer technology to advance to a certain level before imagining these stories was possible. Or, was there synergy? Did the desire, inspired by cyberpunk authors, to create these worlds further drive the development of computer technology once it had achieved a level that inspired the authors? Ah, now I have a headache.

Well, before the computer technology was such as would inspire the concept of "cyberspace", there was a similar concept out of which the concept of "cyberspace" also likely grew. That concept involved a higher plane of reality that could be experienced by achieving "enlightenment" or having and out-of-body experience, sometimes with the assistance of drugs and/or sensory-deprivation tanks. This is the time and place that (I think) probably inspired the book "White Light" by Rudy Rucker. If you consider it a while, you can also see how these concepts extend in many ways into human history. These all obviously have a relationship to our current concepts regarding virtual worlds and a potential next evolutionary step for mankind - the synthesis of man and a machine of his own creation that will allow him to exist both in this world and worlds of his own creation. Ah, the headache is worse, now.

In "White Light", Rudy Rucker tells the story of an out-of-body experience. Felix Rayman, the main character, is a math professor who is frustrated in many aspects of his life. His job is unfulfilling and his relationship with his wife, the mother of his toddler child, is not good. Somehow, he wills himself out of his body and into a strange realm that he struggles to understand. It is very reminiscent of the land of Oz or the Wonderland experienced by Alice with a lot of abstract mathematics added. The story is filled with discussions of abstract mathematics - infinity, infinities of infinities, the point/place/whatever where infinity and absolute zero come together. This makes the story intellectually and philosophically stimulating. I especially enjoyed the irreverent humor involving well-known figures - mathematicians, philosophers, cartoon characters, and even deities and demons. I enjoyed this work of Rudy Rucker for the same reasons I have enjoyed some of his other works. He takes me places that I have never been - in literary style, imagination, and contemplation of the nature of reality and man's current and future role in it.

If you would like to experience an absolutely lunatic and irreverent comic story that is wonderfully entertaining, intellectually stimulating, and likely a direct ancestor of the cyberpunk genre, Rudy Rucker's "White Light" is it.

I reviewed Rudy Rucker's finest nonfiction work, _Infinity and the Mind_, a while back, and it's about time I reviewed this one too. I think this is probably his finest fiction.

Nor is that an accident, as it was written at about the same time as _Infinity and the Mind_ and deals with the same primary theme: the soul's quest for God, the Absolutely Infinite. And Rucker's is my kind of mysticism.

For this novel is about a mathematician who went to college to dodge the draft and winds up working in set theory in an attempt to (as Lord Buckley would have put it) dig infinity. At one time, Rucker himself was a mathematician who was supposed to be working on Georg Cantor's Continuum Problem while stuck teaching at a college in upstate New York; the novel's protagonist, Felix Rayman, is closely modeled on Rucker in this and other respects. (Some of the other characters are modeled on real and fictional people as well: for example, "Franx," the giant cockroach, is modeled on Franz Kafka -- author of "Metamorphosis," in which Gregor Samsa finds himself turned into a giant cockroach -- and "Donald Duck" is modeled on Donald Duck.) In fact, the original subtitle of the novel was "What Is Cantor's Continuum Problem?" -- which is, incidentally, to determine what order of infinity the points in space make up.

This is thus the first novel in Rucker's series of "transreal" novels -- "transrealism" being defined as somewhat metaphorical storytelling based pretty closely on the author's own experiences. In the present case, we're talking about mystical experiences, some drug-induced, some not. At any rate, Felix Rayman does indeed get to dig infinity -- and so does the reader, although those with _no_ mathematical background may dig infinity a little better if they read _Infinity and the Mind_ either before or after this one.

Rucker writes in his introduction to the Princeton edition of _Infinity and the Mind_ that he must have settled his questions about God, because he stopped thinking about them. Here, in a short afterword, he confirms that he still accepts the premises on which _White Light_ is based, and adds that he has also adopted a new belief: that far from being merely an impersonal metaphysical abstraction, God can and will help human beings overcome our spiritual difficulties if we just ask. He also gives us a bit more information about the influences that shaped the novel.

Also included in this new edition is a somewhat informative but mostly irritating foreword by John Shirley, who helpfully expounds the novel's relationship to the ideals of the '60s but vastly overstates its relationship to cyberpunk. (Rucker's _Software_ and its sequels may be cyberpunk, but this one isn't.)

But the main feature is still the story itself, which I happen to think is mind-blowingly cool. Check it out.

Gregory Benford once stated that he was skeptical on the literary effectiveness of math stories because "mathematical languages have such a wonderful aura of precision and controllability, which is why scientists are intuitively drawn to them; but they lack a quality I can only describe as human expressiveness." To those who concur with Benford I point out Rucker's White Light as a counterexample. White Light is hilarious, intriguing and even poignant at times. The hero Felix Rayman is actually likeable and he keeps the story grounded in the sphere of human emotions even at its most fantastical moments. What does Felix as Donald Duck think about after he has had his heart ripped out by an Aztec priest? - That he never told Hewey, Dewey and Louie that he loved them! However, I must add that this book might be confusing to someone who has had minimal exposure to math beyond calculus. The enjoyment of the book is heightened if you've read Cantor's proof that the cardinality of the real numbers is greater than the cardinality of the natural numbers, know something about the Banach-Tarski paradox and the Axiom of Choice, and have a general knowledge of the great mathematicians of the late 19th century. If you like Stanislaw Lem, are interested in higher mathematics and are tired of those space operas I would highly recommend White Light.

A modern 'Alice in Wonderland' for grown-ups, this easily-digestible novel (it's very short) tells the possibly-imaginary tale of a man who falls out of his body one day and takes off in pursuit of the infinite, and beyond. It doesn't really have much of a point, and the author was clearly making it all up as he went along (the abstract nature of 'Cimon' renders conventional plotting superfluous), but provided you don't take it at all seriously it's a light-hearted romp through a surreal, infinite world.

This particular edition was published in associated with Wired magazine - despite the awful essay that introduces it, it has nothing to do with cyberpunk at all (there are *no* in-line skates, and at no point does our hero plant explosives in somebody's head), and is all the better for it.

This is a pretty twisted book,which blends a kaleidescopic array of mathematical concepts with surreal and enigmatic situations and inncidents.There's some really colourful writing here,and it's very impressive the way Rucker brings to life the various chaos and infinity theorems.VERY out-there cybermetaphysipunk!!

____________________________________________

Felix Raynor is a new assistant math professor at SUCAS Bernco, a cow

college in upstate New York -- but wait, Rudy Rucker was an asst prof at

SUCAS (really) Geneseo in upstate NY, 1972-78... Raynor is struggling

to adapt to rural academe while (occasionally) working on Georg

Cantor's Continuum Problem -- as was Rucker in RL: he started

writing WL when he got bogged down with Cantor. Raynor's & Rucker's

lives diverge ( I presume) when Raynor discovers astral projection and

checks into Hilbert's Hotel on the flipside of Cimon, after getting a

personal command from Jesus Christ to climb Mt. On...

As Rucker notes in his afterword, "White Light" has "nice

visualizations of infinity, fine evocations of the time when it was

written, heartfelt attempts to break thru to ultimate truth, good surreal

imagery, and lots of laughs." It's been on my "to read" list for years, and

I'm pleased to see it back in print.

Is it worth your $13? Ummm. Are you a serious collector/Rucker fan?

It's certainly worth picking up at the library. If you happen to be new to

Rucker (SF's own mad mathemagician) I'd start with "Master of Space

& Time" (1985 pb, OOP but easily found), still my favorite Rucker novel,

in which the tale of three wishes granted is explored via quantum

mechanics, with wonderfully bizarre results. The apotheosis of Harry

Gerber... I've read MST at least three times, & laughed aloud each time.

This is the book "White Light" is trying to be.

review copyright 1998 by Peter D. Tillman

http://www.sfsite.com/05a/wite32.htm

Blaze` math professor at an obscure university experiences astral projection and embarks on the trip of a lifetime in search of infinity and what lies beyond. Wild associations and images induced by drug abuse and alcohol intoxication constitue the core of this not so fresh cyber punk novel. Recommended on a dull winter day (or night) in the northern hemisphere. Definitively captivating and intriguing with a mind boggling plot. If you are lucky, you might find out what ALEF-NULL stands for...

I read "White Light" when it first came out in 1980. I liked it so much I lent it to a friend, and of course never saw it again. Rudy Rucker has a masterpiece here, as far as I am concerned. He deals with infinity in a very interesting fashion, and makes it entertaining to us average types. Rudy Rucker deals with the soul; and the concepts of heaven and hell are approached in a very strange fashion. White Light refers to the melding of the soul with God, The Absolute, or Infinite, and in a sense, with the loss of one's ego and sense of self. While being irreverent, Rucker, a professor of mathematics at San Jose State, has very seriously written about the concept of mathematical infinity and with the absolute brain busting theory of infinity plus one. This is a novel, and you travel to the afterlife with Felix Rayman and, almost like Odysseus, embark on a journey of discovery. You will experience what it would be like to be in a place where you can change body shape, defy gravity, meet weird creatures, and deal with the infinite and eternal. But all is not groovy. You and your guide, Felix Rayman, encounter many frustrations and even sinister spirits now incorporated into bodies and who inhabit a strange place reminiscent of an R. Crumb landscape. Prepare yourself for a wild ride with "White Light". Oh, I ordered 2 copies this time, in case my loaner copy goes astray.

Light, fun writing style. Concepts beyond human comprehension presented in humorous and approachable style.

I read it again after a couple years and liked it better than I had the first time.

This is an interesting and amusing novel. It deals with some deep
things like infinity, consciousness, and the nature of reality.
As a physicist, I appreciated that the author connects the plot to
some actual mathematical truths in speculating about an alternate
reality and alternate states of consciousness. In addition it is just
an amusing and thought-provoking book. The plot is sort of dark
i.e. the characters are troubled and there is some drug use. This
may be a reflection of the author's own experiences or just his views
on modern life. I could certainly empathize with the characters and
enjoy the sort of dark humor that runs through this book, however
some other readers may not.