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: Fascinating science, interesting hero
Review: After the government exiles him, ordering that anyone who even talks to him also be exiled, Phaethon descends into the world of hopeless losers. He's equipped with sophisticated nanotechnology--but fears any contact with the global communications and computer system that will, he is certain, announce his whereabouts to the enemies that he knows are invading our system--enemies that only he believes exist. Somehow, Phaethon must overcome the limitations put on him by both his own society and these mysterious invaders, if he is to reclaim his space ship--the Phoenix Exultant which he built to travel to the stars. Author John C. Wright does a wonderful job building a convincing world of the future. Nanotechnology is everywhere, artificial intelligences are protected by law, and human/computer society has experimented with group minds. In many ways, it is a golden age, but an age with its limitations--and Wright's Phaethon is the kind of man who is destined to struggle against these limitations. THE PHOENIX EXULTANT combined interesting extrapolation with solid adventure. A dynamite combination, for sure. Unfortunately, the writing, especially the dialogue, is sometimes clunky to the point where characters seem to be lecturing one another. Phaethon's heavy-handed attempts to reform the losers of the water realm where he is sent may be well-meaning, but make him appear condescending and annoying rather than heroic and caring. Imperfections aside, THE PHOENIX EXULTANT is a fascinating read and worth the occasionally heavy language.
Rating: 
Summary: Extraordinary bridge for an extraordinary trilogy.
Review: I abstained from writing reviews on any volumes of this trilogy until and unless I finished them all. I just recently completed the final volume of The Golden Age Trilogy, and am happy to report that each book is a wonderful read in its own right.
For me, the first was a mind-bending introduction into a world so strange, so fascinating, it took an entire volume to get me comfortable with the basic attributes of the environment. This book, the second volume in the trilogy was a real treat to read. I was already comfortable with the "user interface" of GA, and the plot unfolded with less strain. The third book, Golden Transcendence is the most remarkable of them all.
But back to Phoenix Exultant. I won't spoil any of the developments this book offers (warning: some reviews below do), and it's difficult (having read all 3) to parse out what is now a blended understanding, but some general impressions:
This was a much more exciting read than the first book. Phaethons transition from immortal to mortal, his struggle for survival, and the effects such turmoil had on his basic belief system was at times mindblowing. The effects environment has in changing or reinforcing a mans basic virtue is always interesting, but when that man is thousands of years old, well, infinitely more so.
It was also intriguing to explore the basic history, tendencies, and roles each major character (and neuroform) play in this colorful and highly detailed future. In particular, the relationship between Daphne (Phaethons wife), their present, and VERY interesting past.
If you're like me, you'll sail through this book and enjoy every minute of it. Trust that as good as the first two volumes are, John Wright saved the best for last.
Enjoy
Christian Hunter
Santa Barbara, California
Rating:
Summary: Alas, the Poor Middle Child!
Review: I consider Wright's first book in the trilogy, "The Golden Age," to be one of the best reads one is likely to encounter in science fiction. This book, however, does not live up to the high standards set by its older brother--but nonetheless it is a good read in its own right. "The Golden Age" is hard sci-fi crossed with deep philosophy and dropped into the middle of a labyrinth; "The Phoenix Exultant" is a Shakespearean comedy or romance, with heroic adventures, damsels in distress, pirates (yes, pirates!), spies, and soldiers. Without a doubt, Wright pulls off his elaborate plot and juggles his wide-ranging characters with skill. However, because a great chunk of it is told through the eyes of the novel's heroine, Daphne, the middle book just doesn't have the same "feel"--for lack of a better word--as the bookends. Don't get me wrong, as this is still an excellent novel, one which does little to detract from the greatness of the trilogy. Like its brothers, this one was polished off over the course of a couple of days as it is so captivating. It rates 4 stars only because it is not quite as good as the other two.
Rating: 
Summary: Imaginative but stiff
Review: I did enjoy the wonderful flights of imagination in this and the previous book of the trilogy (I'll read the third when it comes out in paperback). It was pleasant to think about what life would be like in a future where every desire could be immediately satisfied, every thought brought to physical reality, and you are immortal. In the course of the story Wright does a fine job of making us aware of the kinds of problems such immense power would create, and the various constraints and adaptations the society employs (modes of consensual reality, "schools" of behavior) in order to keep things from becoming completely chaotic are entertaining. I do have some criticisms. The story itself is pretty thin, certainly not worth three volumes. The entire narrative is a simple third-person description of what the protagonist says and does and thinks (well, there are some brief sequences about the father and the wife). A more skillful writer might have added dimensionality by weaving together various threads of the tale from multiple viewpoints and perspectives. The fact that literally anything can happen in a future where everybody is an immortal superman makes for some awfully convenient plot devices. The hero is stuck in a cliffhanger? No problem, his magic armor will save him at the last minute. Or the omniscient robot superintelligences will step in and fix things up. Or it was all a dream, etc. The relationships between the characters are wooden and superficial, the prose is packed with words having excessively many syllables, peoples names are a paragraph long. But then many works of science fiction are like this. The authors are big on imagination and somewhat shorter on basic storytelling skills. I guess it sounds like I didn't like this book but not so. If you like hard science fiction then I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the First!
Review: I found the first one slow moving and hard to get through, although that was admittedly because I was in school when I read it and concentrating more on other things. The Golden Age held my attention, however, enough for me to purchase the second book, which I read over Christmas vacation. I have to say that this one held my attention much more, and I found I could barely put it down. It was much more entertaining, I thought, than the first one. The only problem I had with it was Phaethon's condescending attitude. It added dimensionality to the character, but almost went so far as to make him un sympathetic. Daphne quite literally goes to the ends of the earth for him and he treats her like she's some kind of burden, always ignoring her when she's probably the smartest of the bunch. "No no no honey, space travel is for big strong men only, why don't you run along like a good little girl and clean the house" -- UGH! SO annoying. Other than that though it was a very good book.
Rating:
Summary: Solid read - more focused than the first
Review: I was a huge fan of the first book, Golden Age and eagerly waited the arrival of The Phoenix Exultant. The biggest disappointment in this book is that you find out in the front matter, we get to wait for yet another book to see how this amazing story ends. The first book has a tendency to knock people over with Wright's fire hose introduction to the world of the far future. The first few chapters of Golden Age bounced around between Phaethon, the Peers and other things happening at the festival leading up to the millennial transcendence. This book launches out of the gate with our hero now the penultimate outcast, and by and large the story focuses solely on him. Unlike the first book that spent time laying out the landscape of a world where most of the human race has been computationally augmented along one of several stereotypes, The Phoenix Exultant focuses on how a man who has lived in this digitally enhanced world for thousands of years now finds ways to do without. In the end Phaethon emerges a stronger, more focused man, more intent than ever that his vision and future are in his hands alone, and that no power on earth (or in the Galaxy really) can stop him from achieving his dreams. Through this tale of struggle and survival, Wright weaves in several side trips that delve into this fascinating future world: What role does the military play? What happens at the "bottom" of the food chain? Surely with nearly unlimited power and wealth, everyone is happy? Don't count on it! In this second installment the enemies that hunt Phaethon are closer and more real than ever, the powerful forces of the status quo more intent to keep him down than ever before. Through it all one person is willing to give up everything this nearly magical world has to offer at a chance to save him from exile and certain death. The Phoenix Exultant is a wonderful book full of imagination and invention. The Golden Age series is shaping up to be one of the pivotal works of Science Fiction.
Rating:
Summary: An elaborate bridge between start and finish
Review: John C. Wright has done it again with a fantastic follow-up to "The Golden Age", which set the stage for a sweeping space opera pitting an adventerous soul against a complacent and stagnating society. "The Phoenix Exultant" begins with our hero, Phaethon, in exile. He finds relative safety in a Seussian town peopled by the dregs and outcasts of the Golden Oecumene. Phaethon is trying to reclaim his ship, from which the book takes its title, but to do so he must first overcome the vice and lethargy of those around him, skirt the terms of his exile, and battle agents of his unknown enemy. One of Mr. Wright's strengths is his ability to craft an amazing array of fascinating characters, and he certainly delivers again in this book. We learn quite a bit more about Phaethon's wife, Daphne. Or rather, it is a close copy of Daphne, which sets the stage for interesting complications in the love story. Some reviewers found the Daphne subplot too corny, but I felt it charming. Other interesting characters include, but are not limited to, Old-Woman-Of-The-Sea, the Bellipotent Composition, and the soldier Atkins, who sees a little action. There are many more characters, and Mr. Wright helpfully includes a lengthy list of "dramatis personae" at the beginning of the tale to help readers keep track. The book also continues the philosophic and moral themes begun in the first volume. Phaethon, a man of ability, intelligence and ambition opposed in the first book by society's elite for threatening the peaceful order of civilization, is challenged in this story by the lowest rung of humanity, people who prefer to lose themselves to drugs or computer stimulation rather than to engage in productive and satisfying work. Phaethon also grapples with fundamental questions when he realizes whom he is fighting and comes to understand that they stand for everything anathema to his understanding of a rational and sane universe. Those looking for something meaty in their space opera will find plenty to gnaw on here. As in the first book, there is plenty of imaginative technology kicking about Mr. Wright's future. He avoids the temptation to flaunt fundamental physics like the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the Special Theory of Relativity, but delights in speculating about the far-out possibilities offered by quantum weirdness and computing on a planetary scale. Practically each page has something weird and wonderful that would be worthy of a short story in its own right. Finally, the writing is simply great. These novels have more in common with classic literature and plays than with the gritty, journalistic/pulp style that marks much science fiction today. It has been a long time since I've had the pleasure of simply savoring dialogue and turns of phrase in a science fiction book. If there's anything negative to say about "The Phoenix Exultant" it is that it is wedged between two stronger tales (the sequel is "The Golden Trascendence", which I read before writing this review). The first book concluded by saying Phaethon's tale would be wrapped up in "The Phoenix Exultant", so it appears Mr. Wright may have had too much material for one sequel. This proved to be a good thing since the trilogy definitely stands as is, but the second volume perhaps suffered slightly by being made into a bridge between the firmer shores of the first and third books. Nonetheless, I wholeheartedly recommend this book for those who liked the first one.
Rating:
Summary: "Fun in Exile"
Review: Plot Summary: We continue from the end of the last book where Phaethon was exiled from civilization and the life that he is used to and boycotted by every service he had previously taken for granted. As far as Phaethon knows, he is falsely in exile. Due to the nature of the society they live in, it is very hard to prove that the things that happened to him in The Golden Age are not just self delusions. He will not submit to a full memory reading because those events have made him paranoid that opening himself to the mentality will kill him. There are enemies that want him, and his ideas and spaceship, dead. Most of this book deals with finding out who those enemies are. The other main plot line is Phaethon trying to prove himself innocent of breaking his self imposed memory wipe and thus the unfair exile. He wants his ship, the only one of its kind, meant to travel the stars and expand the reach of man, back. The setting is almost entirely on Earth, specifically in the community of the exiles. Civilization is still in the midst of celebrating the coming Transcendence which will set the prevailing thoughts on politics and arts and such for the next millennium. This book closes with only 7-10 days left until the big event. Opinion: Wow again! These books will provide entertainment on my 2nd and 5th readings I'm sure due to me missing half the connections I'm supposed to be making. I just can't keep everything straight in my head as to who is projecting themselves ans who and why and what their normal state of being is. However, the story is so good that it doesn't really matter on the first reading. There are several groups out to stop Phaethon and several who secretly wish to eschew the boycott and help him. Loopholes abound. Hooray for a lawful society. The ending sets up the next book The Golden Transcendence. I found the conclusion wholly satisfying. The plot was advanced sufficiently and enough questions were answered just enough to feel like stuff happened even though only about 2 weeks pass. I would rate this 4.5 stars out of 5 same as the last book. Recommendation: I recommend this book again to anyone enjoying sci-fi. I especially recommend it to anyone who read the first book.
Rating:
Summary: Going Downhill
Review: This science fiction book follows the continuing adventure of Phaeton, the hero of "The Golden Age", after he is exiled from the Golden Oecumene, and is no longer able to participate in the mind-joined activities of his society. We follow his adventures in a society made up of other exiles and see an example of the one-eyed man being a king in the land of the blind. We also remeet Daphne Tercius, an iteration of Phaeton's wife, Daphne and follow the couple in a joint adventure.
Literary critics often suggest that nothing should be in a story that does not contribute to the ultimate story line. However, most of this book seems to be a diversion from the story of Phaeton's effort to take the Phoenix Exultant into deep space. However, given the author's penchant for surprises, deception and red herrings, it may be that what appears to be a diversion will be essential to the story. But certainly as a stand-alone novel, the diversion seems unnecessary. But that is just one of the many literary elements that preclude consideration of this volume as a stand-alone book.
Part of the excitement of the original book was the discovery of the nature of the society that the hero lived in. There are few additional surprises about the societal organization in this book.
The relationship between Phaeton and Daphne is fleshed out in this volume. Unfortunately, it reminded me of the bantering Nick and Nora Charles from the old Thin Man movies. Even though humor is always appreciated in a novel, most of the attempts here fall flat.
The surprise revealed near the end of the novel reminded me of the finding that an entire season of the TV show Dallas was merely a dream. Any hints of where the story was going, something that readers might expect from an author who is dealing with them fairly, were too subtle for me.
Finally, Phaeton reveals himself as even more of a pompous, naïve bore than he seemed in "The Golden Age". It's hard to get excited about a hero who the reader does not care about.
In summary, if "The Golden Age" delighted you, you will probably need to read this book, and the third in the trilogy, "The Golden Transcendence". But you will probably be disappointed.
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