Rating: 
Summary: A Mind-Blower
Review: Extending far into the future and far into space, Tony Daniel's mind-blowing new novel "Metaplanetary" is fiction on a grander scale than anything you've ever read before. In the 1980s author Tom Wolfe chided American writers for eschewing stories about the great mass of humanity -- which he dubbed "the billion-footed beast" -- in favor of small navel-gazing mini-fictions. But Daniel's vision makes even Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities" and "A Man In Full" seem puny in comparison. Daniel is stalking not a billion-footed beast but the infinte-footed beast of our entire known universe. His novel, like all great stories, begins "in the broken heart of a poet and the contemplation of a priest." Where it ends we won't know until the cycle is completed sometime in the next few years. But this first volume in the series contains enough action, philosophical musings, heroism, derring-do, poetry, villainy, and intelligence to satisfy even the most demanding of readers. Daniel clearly has been influenced by Cormac McCarthy and Don DeLillo at least as much as he has been by Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. This is a space odyssey like nothing you've ever encountered before or are ever likely to encounter again. Don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: Hm...
Review: I bought this book last July. I've read it six times since then. Frankly, I'm fascinated with it. After reading the other reviews here, I see a few points that are salient: First, that the novel abruptly terminates without wrapping up any loose ends. Unfortunately, it does, but this book was intended to have a companion piece--think Metaplanetary, parts I and II. And a novel on this scale naturally takes a while to write--on the order of three or four years, at least. Second, the lengthy and haphazardly-placed explanations of several fundamental aspects of this society (i.e., the origins of grist, the founding of the society of cloudships, etc.). A few people said that because of this, the novel gives one the impression of being thrown into society with vernacular that's more or less incomprehensible by modern standards. Perhaps so, but if one simply reads the reviews or blurb on the back of the book, it actually mentions the nanotechnological artificial intelligences on which the whole struggle is based. Starting the book with that context in mind may help. Third, the hard-to-follow dissemination of characters. I agree on this point--sometimes, it's difficult to tell who's speaking at what point, but when you contemplate a novel that has a conceptual framework spanning the solar system, a single character is extraordinarily limited. And fourth, the one-dimensionality of the villain. I do agree on this point, but it's only because Ames is a true psychopath--singleminded, relatively emotionless, ambitious, and goal-oriented to the exclusion of everything else. How do you show the "good" side of a villain that doesn't have one? More or less to wrap up: read the book yourself. Whether or not you're confused or irritated, at least you're not bored.
Rating:
Summary: great hard science fiction
Review: I didn't know there was anyone out there other than Dan Simmons writing great "hard" science fiction these days! I was so pleased when a friend recommended this book to me!
Daniel creates a wonderful world with fantastic hugh tech toys, and populates it with fascinating characters. He also explores some great themes, such as the future evolution of humanity.
Not to be missed by people who like intelligent space opera, with heart. :)
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Cool!
Review: I have read a lot of good science fiction lately (see my recent reviews) and this is another fine example. It would make a great movie if done true to this work. The premise of this novel is 'what constitutes a human being' and it is present throughout this book. A civil war erupts in the solar system, and much of this war concerns itself about whether or not intelligent algorithms, that is, conscious computers and/or programs, should be allowed full human rights, or are they just property. And what constitutes human status in the first place, do they have to look like us, and think like us, can they be faster, better, and more rational, than original humans? This novel is set one thousand years into the future with a despot attempting to rule the solar system and impose his will on all. Tony Daniel illustrates how we come to rely on our technology, and take it for granted, and are at a loss when we lose it. He has a multitude of interesting characters here, all with superb character development, in a complex well written plot, very imaginative in the 'hard' science fiction tradition, and it was hilarious at times. Nanotechnology, which is called grist in this novel, allows many things to become possible, and would seem to be near magic to us here in the early 21st century. My only criticism for this book is that Daniel has these characters living 1000 years from now in a world where immortality is not quite here yet, give me a break, nanotech should give immortality to us well before then, I do not take a star off my review for this, my opinion. And there is a sequel coming to this novel, called "Superluminal", I look forward to it.
Rating:
Summary: Mind-bending futurism in a gripping tale
Review: I knew I was in for a treat with this book after my dad, who has consumed two or three sci-fi novels a week for the past 30 years, handed it to me and said, "You know, just when you think you've read it all, someone comes out with something like this with stuff you've never even dreamed of." Sure enough, Daniel has spun an incredible tale stuffed with mind-bending technology and ideas. It is surely one of the best sci-fi books I've read lately. While some SF authors often base a story around one central idea, this work has enough conceits to fill the dressing room at the Victoria Secret fashion show. He gives us the ubiquitous nanobots known as "grist", and "pellicles", nano-based prosthetics that can acquire their own legal status and civil rights. There is a bizarre if not entirely believeable interplanetary subway system of interlocking organic tubes. And there are the massive thinking spacecraft that have become the bodies holding the minds of their centuries-old human pilots. Daniel also gives us a good old-fashioned epic tale to chew on, with an ambitious dictator pitted against believers in individual liberty. I sense Daniel has a lot to say on this issue and I hope it is fleshed out in the upcoming sequel, "Superluminal". One other thing I liked was Daniel's attention to finance and economics through one of the main characters, who is the far future equivalent of a high-powered Wall Street trader, though he deals in things like meson futures rather than the familiar commodities of today. This is a refreshing change from many other sci-fi tales, which tend to paint future economies as mercantilist empires or hyperdemonic capitalism with evil corporations crushing the little guys. Daniel's skill isn't limited to dreaming up fantastic settings and technology. He is adept at painting his characters in rich colors, and in using them to raise interesting questions of ethics and identity. He manages to elicit empathy for even the oddest of the bunch, such as the financial wheeler-dealer's wife, who is a disembodied AI with no physical features or expressions to describe. Yet Daniel succeeds in making us anxious for her fate as she is ensnared in a move to strip AIs of their civil rights and press them into virtual concentration camps. Metaplanetary is a worthy investment of time and money, and I have high hopes the sequel will prove just as enjoyable, intriguing and thoughtful.
Rating:
Summary: Mind-bending futurism in a gripping tale
Review: I knew I was in for a treat with this book after my dad, who has consumed two or three sci-fi novels a week for the past 30 years, handed it to me and said, "You know, just when you think you've read it all, someone comes out with something like this with stuff you've never even dreamed of." Sure enough, Daniel has spun an incredible tale stuffed with mind-bending technology and ideas. It is surely one of the best sci-fi books I've read lately. While some SF authors often base a story around one central idea, this work has enough conceits to fill the dressing room at the Victoria Secret fashion show. He gives us the ubiquitous nanobots known as "grist", and "pellicles", nano-based prosthetics that can acquire their own legal status and civil rights. There is a bizarre if not entirely believeable interplanetary subway system of interlocking organic tubes. And there are the massive thinking spacecraft that have become the bodies holding the minds of their centuries-old human pilots. Daniel also gives us a good old-fashioned epic tale to chew on, with an ambitious dictator pitted against believers in individual liberty. I sense Daniel has a lot to say on this issue and I hope it is fleshed out in the upcoming sequel, "Superluminal". One other thing I liked was Daniel's attention to finance and economics through one of the main characters, who is the far future equivalent of a high-powered Wall Street trader, though he deals in things like meson futures rather than the familiar commodities of today. This is a refreshing change from many other sci-fi tales, which tend to paint future economies as mercantilist empires or hyperdemonic capitalism with evil corporations crushing the little guys. Daniel's skill isn't limited to dreaming up fantastic settings and technology. He is adept at painting his characters in rich colors, and in using them to raise interesting questions of ethics and identity. He manages to elicit empathy for even the oddest of the bunch, such as the financial wheeler-dealer's wife, who is a disembodied AI with no physical features or expressions to describe. Yet Daniel succeeds in making us anxious for her fate as she is ensnared in a move to strip AIs of their civil rights and press them into virtual concentration camps. Metaplanetary is a worthy investment of time and money, and I have high hopes the sequel will prove just as enjoyable, intriguing and thoughtful.
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing Ideas
Review: I picked this book up on a whim, but I ended up being very glad I did so. It was a bit slow getting into the book, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit, in spite of some bits that annoyed me. A very minor spoiler at the end of this review. Overall the book was well written and it kept me interested enough to finish it fairly quickly. The characters were pretty well developed, though this definitely leaned in the direction of being a milieux-driven story. The basic plot is pretty straightforward; we have an interplanetary society with very high technology scattered all over it, and war is coming. Very high technology; Daniel's book is an intriguing depiction of a society which has: - deeply embraced and omnipresent nanotechnology, - superstructures (including a sort of web of vast, nano-constructed supermaterial interplanetary monorails), - a quantum FTL communication-based cyberspace, - and is going through social upheavals in coming to terms with the the fact of a large population of AIs as members of society. I think this would have been enough to keep me pretty well interested by itself, but I found the characters and the plot well-drawn enough that I don't have to make that excuse for this book. There were various bits about the AI stuff that were naive enough to annoy me, but overall Daniel kept the AI stuff high-level enough that I could ignore those slips. First, even through some of the more interesting action scenes, the whole thing felt oddly contemplative. Then again, that may just be my current state of mind. I generally don't seek out contemplative books, but there have been a few that really worked for me. This ended up being one of them. Second, it's one of those multi-character, multi-points-of-view extravaganzas. I suppose any novel of an interplanetary war across the solar system would be inclined towards that. Not to say that this is a valid criticism of the book, it's just usually not to my taste. I enjoyed this book in spite of that contemplative feel, not because of it. Finally, the spoiler: this book, thick as it is, is only the events leading up to and the opening acts of the war. There is definitely going to be a sequel. I generally find this annoying as all get out, but in this case I'm not sure. And I guess that shows you my overall opinion of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Science Fiction Book
Review: I'd had this book on the shelf for a long time, so when I picked it up I was expecting pretty standard fare. What I got instead was an absorbing, involved epic on the scale of Dan Simmons' Hyperion series, an excellent blend of space opera and cutting edge cyberpunk with a great deal of humor mixed in. Metaplanetary has a huge cast of characters, all of which you end up caring about to a great extent. There's also evil in the form of Director Ames, a man with ambitions to control not just the real world, but the virtual world as well, which is where a great many of the characters/situations are in this book. The idea of a actual web that connects the planets of the solar system together is fascinating and done very well. Also interesting was how the book would break off to give you historical perspective on some of the gadgets that are part of the universe, very useful information. I was a little confused when it started talking about the "aspect", the "convert" and the "grist pellicule", but it sorts itself out eventually, and you can see where its heading with this triumverate of forces within everyone. Great space battles are fought between kilometers-long starships and living ships borne from comets and asteroids, wonderful images that would make a great movie. Alas, it comes to an end all too quickly, and you have to read "Superluminal", which is the sequel, to get more of the story. Anyone who liked "Hyperion" and the classic "Foundation" novels would love this book.
Rating:
Summary: If you enjoy science fiction ...
Review: If you ask a gazillion people the same question about this book you'll run the gamut of broad characterizations to whiney nit-picking from self-aggrandized literary critics. For those of you who like a good science fiction novel, and who don't mind spending a few dozen pages figuring out what is what, the book is worth reading. Indeed, I'm back here only because I was looking to see if the next one was ready. The book was a little over 500 pages, but could have easily been 1000. The author introduced a lot of interesting "what ifs" about the future and the story line kept you hooked once you got going. I don't know if I would recommend this to a casual SciFi reader, but if you enjoy SciFi for what it is - a good story of sufficient complexity without trying to nitpick it to death, then this book is worth your time. For those of you who use these reviews to rant and rave about "it should have been done this way, or that isn't possible ..." all I can say is - get a life. It's a fricken book. Mr. Daniel, if you happen to read this, thank you for a good story and I'm looking forward to the next one. Feel free to make it 1000 pages, I like a good story to keep going :)
Rating:
Summary: Vamping Till Ready
Review: In "Metaplanetary," Tony Daniel provides a prologue to what is (or was--the planned sequel is nowhere in evidence) apparently going to be a solar-system wide war between Director Ames, your standard-issue cape swirling sadistic villain and the usually motley crew of humans, AIs (called "free converts" here), and sentient "Cloudships," to say nothing of the rats and ferrets. It's entertaining for the most part, if a bit on the wild side. You may find yourself using up your entire annual quota of suspension of disbelief on this one: In Mr. Daniel's construction, the planets of the inner system are tied together by nanotech cables (who would do that? why? how could it be made affordable?), the AIs (they serve as the Group Against Whom There Is Predjudice) can have biological children (wait for it!), and the sentient cloudships debate endlessly out there by the Oort Cloud (skim those parts!). The book's far too long though. It seems as if the author doesn't really yet know how the war, just begun here, is going to turn out, and maybe he even lost interest half the way through and simply decided to concentrate on the characters he created and figure it all out later. Not a bad thing, actually, but clearly Mr. Daniel sent "Metaplanetary" out to warm us up for the main act, and that's apparently still in the dressing room. Notes and asides: For all the far-out science here, Mr. Daniel seems to lack basic knowledge of astronomy. From page 464: "the sun set in the west, and a crescent moon rose in the sky. Venus burned near the moon's arms." Oh really?
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