Rating: 
Summary: Distressingly Anticlimactic, Needlessly Opaque...
Review: ..and slow as molasses. The jargony, overwrought prose of this debut novel might fool some of the people, but when you strip away the words that hang like too-ripe grapes, one sees that there is, in effect, no real plot. The Golden Age is vista after vista of astonishing sights and as vast as the ocean...if the ocean were about knee-deep. I kept thinking to myself, as I slogged my way through the first hundred pages - "Tanith Lee already wrote this story twenty years ago, and she did it much better." (Don't Bite The Sun, Daw Books)I found this novel an unfinishable disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: Enter a paradise where all is not as it seems...
Review: 10,000 years into the future, mankind has perfected the very concept of existence. By placing the human body in a computer interface/cryostorage tank and assigning it an avatar (or "mannequin") to freely roam the world, the mind of man can live forever without the restrictions of the human body. With the added abilities of a sense-filter, the human mind can discern between that which is desirable or undesirable to see or hear and literally turn off undesired content. In addition, artificial intelligence units, known as sophotechs, are commonplace in this futuristic utopia and some even have been assigned to govern over the affairs of men.
It is in this paradise that Phaethon lives. The son of the ruler of the great noble house of Rhadaman, Phaethon is attending the great Millennial Celebration, the eve of the High Transcendence, when mankind became immortal. At this great party, he meets someone claiming to be an old friend, who tells him that he is literally not himself--that the goverment he trusts completely has taken several centuries of his life's memories and stored them. To have them replaced would be to exile himself from society. So Phaethon embarks on a quest to discern the truth-- a voyage to find himself. Besides the intricate plot and fascinating detail, Wright's first novel displays several other elements worthy of note. First, the number of original SF concepts contained in the space of this novel is astounding. As an aspiring writer with some original ideas of my own, I can truly appreciate this. Second is the way Wright convinces you that his masterpiece creation is real. The level of detail is immense. Some would say the language tends to bog the average reader down through his use of terms unknown to the reader. This is, in fact, a sign of the inexperience of the reviewer. SF is unique in its use of descriptive terms; this is the only genre where you can throw around terms without explaining what they mean. Here's one just for the sake of throwing one around: his full name is Phaethon Prime Rhadamanth Humodified (augment) Uncomposed, Indepconciousness, Base Neuroformed, Silver-Gray Manorial Schola, Era 7043. Were Phaethon recalling his own name, he would not stop to explain what each term meant; neither does Wright. He leaves it for the reader to interpret, as a good SF writer should.
All that as a note of caution: If you are not familiar with SF and the quirks of its authors, proceed with caution and much thought. You will enjoy it far more.
I could go into more detail with this review, but I feel that would be excessive. Just go and buy the book and read it. But for heaven's sake, don't treat it lightly.
Rating: 
Summary: A great read!
Review: A great read! I truly enjoyed reading this It's a rarity these days to find an author capable of such good storytelling. The story is well written and very engaging, and despite the fact that it lost some momentum in the middle, I found myself eagerly turning pages to find out what would happen next. All in all, though this is not quite a perfect novel, it comes close.
Rating:
Summary: Inventive
Review: After you get past some of the new jargon Wright creates for his world, its a wonderful sci-fi/mystery novel. If you're looking for a book that has a totally new perspective on the world in 10,000 years than the usual galactic empire or such, check this one out.
Rating:
Summary: Space Opera, Adventure, Poetic Vision
Review: An epic first novel from a major new SF talent; a rare mind blowing treat that is both space opera, adventure and poetic vision. Set in The Golden Oecumene, a utopia in which humanity has achieved immortality and nearly omniscient powers, the aristocracy is in a struggle for control of the status quo. Phaethon, an aristocrat of Radamanthus House, discovers that essential parts of his memory have been removed and stored for a crime he does not remember. Phaethon must search among humans, intelligent machines and bizarre life forms in a quest to recover his memories, and learn why they were taken. Highly Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Dazzling Vision of the Far Future
Review: Author John C. Wright has received a lot of praise for this, his first novel - and deservedly so. Set millennia in the future, he envisions humanity at a time when its command of the physical world, already very advanced, almost pales beside its command of the world of mentality. People have the ability to alter their perceptions and memories, to achieve immortality by making backup copies of their minds, and even to change their mental architecture. This last ability results in a wide variety of physical and mental forms, each with a different set of capabilities, broadening the kinds of "people" who inhabit Wright's Golden Oecumene. The effect of these and other advances is to render society completely free of crime and deception. People can tailor the way in which they experience reality, and can even choose to live within a virtual reality of their own making. In many ways, it's a Utopian vision that Wright puts forward, hence the title of the book. However, under this brilliant near-perfect facade, troubling questions remain. What is the value of the privacy that citizens relenquish when they join the shared mind-space that makes Golden Oecumene society possible? How are the long-term prospects for humanity affected when no one has need or reason to strive for ever greater goals? And how can a society that has seen no war for thousands of years deal with an unseen and unexpected external threat? Wright tackles these questions and more through this tale of Phaethon, his protagonist, who discovers that he has been accused of deeds so threatening to the Oecumene that his memories of them have been erased. Not only is The Golden Age enthralling for its grand vision of the future, but the tale of mystery and discovery that Wright crafts is compelling and quite enjoyable. I was drawn into this tale from the beginning, and never once lost interest. The only warning I would give a potential reader is that this is the first installment of a trilogy, and that more questions are asked than answered here. But having read the first two installments, I would say without reservation that this is a trilogy worth investing some time in.
Rating:
Summary: The New Golden Age
Review: Bear, Brin, Baxter, and Clarke, you have company. Wright is going to be a powerful new voice in SF and "The Golden Age" proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Stunning. Gary S. Potter Author/Poet
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Ever
Review: Combine the politcal machinations of "Dune," the philosophy of "Neuromancer" or "The Matrix," and the social norms (and twists and turns) of Iain Banks' Culture novels, and you have "The Golden Age." I admit that during the first 70 pages or so of this novel, I thought I was going into that pile of paperbacks I seem to have accumulated over the years. However, once I was hooked, I literally could not put this book down, polishing it off over the course of this past weekend. I actually regretted that I finished it at 8:00 on a Sunday night--too late to run out to the local books store and find a copy of its sequel. (Do yourself a favor and order both at the same time--you'll save yourself some grief.)
Rating:
Summary: Overrated - Should have been shorter, at least.
Review: Don't read this - read books by Alastair Reynolds instead. His books cover some similar ideas, but he wields them with vastly greater skill. In The Golden Age, the author seems smitten with explaining every shining detail of his libertarian utopia, and the god-like technology that makes it possible. In fact, he spends so much time belaboring the libertarian ideals and the abilities of the technology that the plot gets crowded out most of the time. The book seemed to want to bang the reader over the head with its inventiveness and philosophy. At the end, though I was mildly interested in what would happen next in the sequel, I just can't bring myself to read it. It's not worth it. The whole story could have fit much nicer into novella size, I felt. Or the whole trilogy could have fit into one novel. The politics in the book are also seriously flawed - it's definitely not a libertarian utopia, no matter what the author and his readers think. There's a council of a few extremely wealthy individuals who practically run everything through coercion and deception; there's an unmoving, dictatorial judicial system; and the god-like machine intelligences acting behind the scenes lend an almost socialist backdrop to the whole system. I realise part of the point of the novel is to explore the flaws such a system might have, but the libertarian pretense should have been dropped, and some other name adopted or invented. Perhaps "technocracy" or "corporate fantasyland" would suit it better.
Rating:
Summary: Shockinlgy incredible!
Review: Few authors have left my mouth so agape with the excellence of their writing. I've never heard of John Wright before, and it was only a coincidence I happened to see and pick up this book. Providence is kind! Due warning: it takes a little work to get into the book, and those of little imagination may have some trouble. But, if you'd like to stretch your mind more than its been stretched by concepts before, run out and pick up The Golden Age. If you've read Greg Egan's Diaspora or even Greg Bear's Eon, it'll serve you well, sort of like training wheels, for John Wright's book.
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