The Golden Transcendence: or, The Last of the Masquerade (The Golden Age, Book 3) (Hardcover)

by John C. Wright (Author) "Personality and memory download in progress..." (more)
Key Phrases: noetic unit, noetic reader, stealth remotes, Phoenix Exultant, Silent Oecumene, Golden Oecumene (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A movie based on Wright's modernized space opera could easily appeal to fans of The Matrix: both contain a charming bulletproof last-best-hope-of-mankind protagonist, sociological philosophy debated by hyperintelligent computers and fanatically purposeful people, and exciting (but relatively unimportant) action scenes. Many of the flatter descriptions might translate well to the screen, and the long, meandering discussions would be more tolerable with the addition of body language and vocal inflection. Such a film would, however, lack the grand polysyllabism that sets the tone of this volume and its predecessors, The Golden Age (2002) and The Phoenix Exultant (2003)-language both deeply literary and deeply essential. Wright's fondness for a well-turned phrase is genuine-he never repeats himself-and he's clearly taken the time to study the science and mythology that underlie his tale of a visionary wanderer returning to the utopia that has rejected him. Unfortunately, the author is so excited by his ideas that he pours torrents of them onto the head of the unsuspecting reader, a shower that leaves one more bedraggled and bewildered than refreshed. Once Wright starts parceling out his fascinating concepts a bit more stingily and decides whether he's writing fast-paced space opera or sociopsychological treatises, his work will really shine. Until then, most readers will have to take notes just to keep track of everything that's going on.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The third Phaethon Radamanthus vehicle (after The Golden Age [2002] and The Phoenix Exultant [BKL Ap 15 03]) starts with a battle for control of the starship Phoenix Exultant and ranges from the outer planets to the heart of the sun as Phaeton struggles to comprehend what's right and why and to prevent the destruction of the Golden Oecumene and his own near-utopian way of life. Meanwhile, the Golden Oecumene-Silent Oecumene face-off begins a war between the highly logical Sophotechs of the former and the machine minds of the latter, which are equipped to kill other AIs as a result of the refusal of self-aware machines to act as servants only, which makes them also capable of irrational behavior. The machine minds continue in some ways to be the most interesting characters in Wright's series, which is crammed with everything from bizarre high-tech space battles to the mental battles of obscure future philosophies. With this book, the first of Phaethon's trilogies concludes, freeing him to gallivant through the galaxy, spreading the Golden Oecumene. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (November 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765307561
• ISBN-13: 978-0765307569
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #970,629 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A satisfying conclusion to a great series, January 11, 2004

By	Michael Pusateri (South Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I recently finished reading The Golden Transcendence by John C. Wright. A great novel that serious science fiction readers should pick up.

The Golden Transcendence is the third book in The Golden Age trilogy. The first two books were The Golden Age and The Phoenix Exultant.

The book are firmly in the space opera genre with a dash of Heinlein libertarianism tossed in for good measure. The story takes place in the far future when artificial intelligences (known as sophotechs) and humans live immortal lives in a libertarian society of near unlimited technology. The experience of real physical interaction is replaced in many cases by remote bodies, recorded experiences of others, and complete control of what a person perceives. Humanity has moved beyond the one body - one brain system and has adopted many different systems of thought and even physical form.

Mr. Wright puts forth a brilliant vision of technology and society in the far future where wealth is measured in seconds of computer time and physical labor is non-existent. In this future, there is are still wealthy and poor people but in a different way. In a good interview, Mr. Wright explains:

"There would still be rich and poor, even if the poorest of the poor were absurdly well off by our standards. No advancements can eliminate differences in the abilities of men, or the differences in how men value the abilities of their fellow man (which is what causes inequality of prices and hence of incomes). If only by comparison, there will be poverty, even in Arcadia. My characters Ironjoy, Oshenkyo, and the Afloats [...] are meant to represent this idea of future poverty; the Seven Peers represent wealth."

As an example as just one of the concepts presented, we can look at the idea of 'sensefilters'. Perception is no longer what organic senses directly tell the mind. The signals received by the body or remote bodies are processed to be acceptable to the person's particular preferences. If a person doesn't like to see advertising, their mind eliminates the advertising from their vision and fills in the scene with what would be there if the advertisement wasn't there. Consciously, the person isn't aware of this, only that they have requested not to see advertisements. Sensefiltering can be used to remove (or add) objects, people, and even ideas from an individual's perception. The plot devices are interesting stuff that Mr. Wright explores in just enough detail to keep you wanting more throughout the trilogy.

The protagonist, Phaethon, is the son of one of the most important people in the society (known as the Golden Oecumene). In the first two books, Phaethon struggles against first the realization that he is missing parts of his memory, his struggle against society, his fall into exile, and his return to strength.

The third book finds Phaethon poised to fight against the true enemy that has been revealed to him. Without spoiling too much, Phaethon is forced to fight for the very survival of his society (which tossed him out) or allow it to be destroyed.

The author, John C. Wright, obviously has a libertarian heart and embodies the attributes of individuality, resourcefulness, ingenuity and desire for progress in Phaethon, the hero. In the opening novel, we find a society content with things how they are, willing to simply stop progress to prevent anything from changing their utopia in any meaningful way. Phaethon is a man of action in opposition to the statist Golden Oecumene. The underlying theme is that without mankind's strive for exploration and new goals, it is doomed.

Overall, an excellent book and series for the science fiction reader looking for something more than blasters and evil six-legged aliens. Getting used to the terminology and concepts is slow at first but well worth the effort.

If you enjoy Iain Banks's Culture series, Peter Hamilton's Night's Dawn, or John Varley's Eight Worlds, you will enjoy the The Golden Transcendence and the entire Golden Age Trilogy.

The author, John C. Wright, is a retired attorney and is working on the upcoming novel, Orphans of Chaos.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing, April 20, 2004

By	Brian A. Schar (Menlo Park, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"The Golden Transcendence" is a book of ideas that works--a rare bird indeed. Wright weaves philosophy, action, and character skillfully into a wildly creative novel that is very hard to put down. It's refreshing to read a good optimistic space opera that isn't all about galactic-scale battle strategy and tactics.

Most "books of ideas" at some point become talky at best, or preachy and didactic at worst. Wright avoids these pitfalls and integrates the ideas pretty seamlessly into the story. For those familiar with objectivist philosophy, you will be on familiar ground. In some respects, the hero Phaethon, more so in than in the previous few books, is reminiscent of the architect from "The Fountainhead." Both have similar values, and both have constructed a magnificent structure to express those values. However, this novel is far from a clone of "The Fountainhead," and any baggage the reader may have with regard to Rand's novels should not affect his or her opinion of this book.

The glossary at the end does clear up some of the terminology and naming conventions used in the three books of this Golden Oecumene trilogy. However, I recommend waiting to read it until you're done, unless you are completely baffled, because there are potential spoilers in there.

A great read--don't hesitate to read all of the books in this trilogy. You'll be glad you did.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be up for a Hugo/Nebula, May 24, 2004

By	Emperor Norton (Interstellar Suburbia) - See all my reviews

It's a bit of a sin that this book hasn't been nominated while a book like Singularity Sky is, but the Golden Transcendence series really should get wider exposure. It is a truly original series with very memorable characters (especially Atkins, the one-man military force of the Golden Oecumene) and some truly funny scenes, yet also manages to have a sense of grandeur and scope by this, the last volume of the series, My only complaint about the series is that it is obvious in hindsight that it was meant to be two books, as The Phoenix Exultant was a little longer than necessary and felt too drawn out.

The hyper-libertarian future portrayed in these books is an interesting contrast to the quasi-socialist futures seen in books by Ken MacLeod or Charles Stross, quite a cultural commentary on American writers like Wright versus UK writers.