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?
Rating: 
Summary: Innovative and original SF
Review: Metaplanetary is one of the most original and innovative SF novels I have read in years. While it isn't perfect, its strengths more than make up for the shortcomings in the story. Ted Daniels has created an excellent universe. This is what science fiction at it's best. Most of what is here is feasible, unbelievable to some extent, but feasible. One thousand years in the future nano-technology and computer technology have altered the nature of humanity and changed the solar system. Humans can make virtual copies of themselves and inhabit non-biological states if they choose. But human nature stays the same, the old jealousies, prejudices and craving for power still remain. The story takes on a "civil war" nature between different groups with different visions occurring within the solar system. It's not a perfect novel. The antagonist, Ames, is a cookie-cutter bad guy with little real emotional complexity, a psychopath really. I wish that Daniels would have spent time at the beginning giving a social history of the nature of the virtual change in society and the philosophical arguments brewing for much of the question involved in Metaphysical is: What constitutes a human being? Sadly, I think this was a lost opportunity to make this a classic of SF that it had the potential to be. (I also agree with many others that a definition of terms would certainly have helped, only by staying with the first seventy pages was I able to begin to make sense of what was happening.)
Still, a great SF novel that stretches the bounds of reality and what might be.
Rating:
Summary: Once every few years a new universe is created in SF...
Review: Once every few years a Science Fiction author creates a believable, coherant and totally unique portrayal of what our future may be.... with characters that become real.... with science that is part of the story, not just tacked on... with awareness of cultural evolution... Tony Daniel has done that with Metaplanetary. I will re-read it while eagerly waiting for the sequel.
This goes into my permanent collection.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting space epic
Review: One millennium earth time from now, humanity has colonized much of the solar system. However, a social schism of major magnitude has occurred during the post settlement stages. The inner planets are totally ruled by Ames, the great dictator, who decides what is human and what is fodder especially with the growth of technology such as grist to host an individual's consciousness. On the outer ring, control is totally decentralized as diversity in human form is cherished as it is considered a basic freedom. As the outer ring begins to head towards other stars, Ames sees an opportunity to gain control of the solar system. With his totalitarian ability to raise troops fast, Ames seems to have a major advantage over the apparently scattered opponent. However, led by Colonel Sherman, the outer ring knows they have everything to lose and draw their line in the sand, ready to risk their lives for freedom. Though the year is not even half over, METAPLANETARY may be the best science fiction novel of 2001 and will appear on most people's short lists. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action while describing an extremely complex and extraordinary solar system that is actually two competing cosmos. The differences between the inner and outer rings seem like a futuristic Cold War or World War II with totalitarianism vs. freedom on a grander scale. In his third science fiction, Tony Daniel has written a novel that is so exemplary that the author will earn a place among the genre's stars, a rarity based on one book (though the other two are very good too). Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Well, it isn't as bad as Warpath.
Review: One of the worst books I've read in the sci-fi genre. Outlandish tech, horrible storyline, paper-thin characters... this is ALMOST as bad as Warpath.
Rating: 
Summary: Worthwhile...
Review: Others have described the plot very well. I almost gave up on this because of the seemingly ridiculous "science" in this science fiction. I found myself skimming through much of the "scientific" explanations and just took this universe on faith. So it became more of a fantasy for me. Also, I found the creation of the evil Ames and the interesting Jill characters somewhat sickening. Still, I found most of the characters very interesting and I was rudely surprised to find that I have to wait for a sequel to find out what happens. At the end of this, I was reminded of the Hyperion series by Simmons, although it clearly is not in the same league. Any interesting read--glad I persevered.
Rating:
Summary: May need to be read twice to truly appreciate it
Review: Some books are so involved with high tech sci-fi and have such an ensemble of characters over a lengthy period of time within the context of the book's story that some people give up on it or derive a confused notion of the book and its execution. But should one read it twice, if necessary, one would definite come to appreciate it as one appreciates such books as "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Starship Troopers", "Foundation", "Ringworld", and even cyberpunk books like "Neuromancer", "Cryptonomicon", "Cyber Hunter" and others. So I say give this book a chance. It really is good!
Rating: 
Summary: Would make a nice Sci-Fi TV series
Review: The two main stumbling blocks that brought me to abandon this novel at page 67 was the scifico-babble (similar to psychobabble) terms like "grist", that are not defined up front or somewhere close to the beginning of the book, and, for me, the necessary ingredient of clarity/coherence. The reader is forced to jump in and immediately believe the alien concepts of life forms in the far distant future without a "glossary of terms" as it were that enhance the reading experience from page one. I regret that tossing the reader into the incomprehensible does not work for me.
Rating:
Summary: can't wait til part 2
Review: This is another of those books I've read recently, the others being Ventus by Karl Schroeder and Evolution's Darling by Scott Westerfeld, that just blow my mind with their inventiveness. These new young turks have flattened Neal Stephenson, like William Gibson before him, like a pancake with their advanced extrapolations of nano, AI and cyberspace. It's so refreshing and inspiring that an author can take the debris and detritus of countless SF tales and re-combine them, like the AI sculptor in Evolution's Darling, into something compelling, dramatic and mind-boggling. This book was so fun and full of satisfying twists and turns I just wonder if the author is going to be able to pull it all together in the wrap-up to come. I had a few problems visualizing the Met cabling concept - how does it compensate for all the motions of the planets relative to each other- seems like everything would snarl up and become a big twisted knot. Except for this hitch in the tech, the rest of it is great space opera...
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: This novel is the first I have read of Tony Daniel's. It starts off slow and, like many complex books in the genre, somewhat confusing at first, but it slowly starts developing a focus. By the time you are half-way through it, it actually starts to seem kind of normal. By the end, it is action packed with several really interesting characters. Unfortunately, like another reviewer wrote, it also becomes obvious there are going to be loose threads left around. Annoying when you really want to know how things turn out for several characters. This is a book that begs for a sequel. If Mr. Daniels doesn't finish what he started, I may look him up and strangle him with his own "grist."
| 
