Rating: 
Summary: Philosophy meets cyberpunk
Review: Permutation City at first seems like just another cyberpunk book having to do with copying one's self and the implications thereof. The book however deals with much more and by the middle of the book I was hooked. The book's themes touch on issues that are either present today or may soon be pressing issues in society. There is much description of technological workings in the book but Egan does a great job of explaining things so everyone can comprehend.The plot line of the book is weak but I think it is only there to hook the reader into the more important themes within the book. The society within the book feels that copies are some eccentric thing that millionaires do. Paul Durham goes and offers a sanctuary, based on the "Dust Theory" that Egan puts forth in the book, to copies at the cost of 2 million dollars a each. He manages to convince 15 people to copy themselves into this "TVC" universe. He even contracts someone to build an "Autoverse" planet in which Alien life will develop. What he promises them is immortality. Not the ability to live for a long time but just simple immortality, never dying. But this TVC universe is turned upside down once they make contact with the aliens from the Autoverse.
The main character Paul Durham is a 24th generation copy. This raises the question of what constitutes a human. Is a copy still considered a human even though he/she lacks a human body? One of the characters in the book, Francesca, doesn't want to be copied because she feels that since copies are different and not an extension of one's being it is not the same person. This is also a dilemma that presents itself. If a copy is different then would copying yourself be for yourself or your loved ones? The copy would act the same as the real person but it would not be a direct extension of consciousness so one could not directly achieve immortality. Another problem that presents itself is the needs of the living versus the needs of the copies. In the book there is a looming threat of diverting computing power to controlling the weather, meaning that copies would have further "slowdown". Slowdown is the factor in which real time is faster than perceived time in a VR environment. These are questions and issues that society needs to deal with although we may face them through cloning rather than copying. I think that this book is a great read. It is not for those that like the traditional cyberpunk novel where there is a structured plot line and the main character ends up saving the world. This novel makes one think about the issues brought up by Egan. I don't know how to classify it, possibly Philosophical Cyberpunk, but it is a good read none the less. And a must read for those tired of traditional Cyberpunk novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Good in parts, mundane otherwise
Review: Permutation City certainly has its hard sf elements, but its essential hard sf core is not immortality (as heavily advertised and misunderstood), but causality. The whole edifice of the plot is based on a almost grade-school variaton of causality and existence, and leaves giant sf loopholes that some of the characters in fact comment on, but never and cannot answer satisfactorily. The only interesting portions I found were the ones that dealt with nested and recursive simulations towards the end, which were much more plausible. This was definitely a plod most of the time. The other thing that irritated me was its gratuitous use of names from the techie world for characters (Lesbegue, Riemann, Lambert,..)
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Summary: William Gibson in fast-forward
Review: Pretty darn good! The basic idea is not purely original, but Egan has taken to the extreme what Gibson only hints, and I LOVE Gibson's novels... It was my first Egan book, and it sure won't be the last.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating, but let down by the ending
Review: Set in the mid 21st century, this sci-fi novel, like Egan's later novel Diaspora, ties together many fascinating scientific and metaphysical ideas in a single book (The emphasis is very definitely on the "sci"). However, unlike Diaspora, there is a strong central theme underlying the story, a baffling idea called the "Dust theory". Any attempt to describe that theory here would be pointless, but I can say that it compels the reader to ponder some fundamental questions about the nature of reality. The theory is completely absurd yet not all that easy to refute. It has certainly caused me a few headaches... The dust theory is motivated and explained via another key theme in both this book and Diaspora - the concept of having a human "download" his mind onto a computer. Aside from the suspension of disbelief required in order to accept that such a thing is possible, Egan presents us with a well-thought-out and plausible scenario regarding these downloaded humans or "copies". There are several other themes, of lesser importance, but fascinating in their own right, notably the "Autoverse": A piece of software that allows you to have complete control over your own virtual mini-universe - a world capable of modelling objects as complex as bacteria, down to the level of individual atoms. Well that's the sci part. The human story behind all this doesn't have much intrinsic interest - the characters are vehicles for the ideas, and often one gets the impression that it is Egan who is speaking, not the character (they all seem to be uncannily good at making detached, intelligent comments on whatever is happening). This aspect didn't really bother me, as I think the ideas deserved some detached, intelligent commentary anyway. The biggest flaw, I found, was the contrived ending. I won't go into details here, but needless to say, the dust theory turns out to be correct (in the story, at least). Once this is established, the author needs some kind of crisis with which to sustain the reader's interest, and it is this crisis, and the circumstances that brought it about, that I found to be rather contrived. All in all though, I would definitely recommend Permutation City to any fan of "hard" sci-fi, or anyone interested in metaphysics or the philosophy of mind.
Rating: 
Summary: fascinating subject matter in a boring book.
Review: The author has managed to make a fascinating subject somehow seem boring and predictable. At least that is what I thought of the characters and plot of this book. Although the book is only 341 pages long I thought it would never end.
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Summary: Reality, let me tell you about reality...
Review: The best science fiction isn't about science, it uses actual or potential developments in science in order to examine ourselves. Greg Egan's writing is among 'the best science fiction'. This book might appeal to techies who are just interested in the computer technology, but what it is really asking, like many of Egan's stories, is 'what does it mean to be human?'. He doesn't answer the question (how could he?), but he gives the reader more than enough to think about. Greg Egan's work is so far beyond the work of most dull mainstream (mostly US) SF authors, it is just ludicrous. Drop your Orson Scott Card, your Larry Niven - all your triumpahalist military SF garbage - and pick up Egan. You might learn something.
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Summary: Highly thought provoking solid philosophical themes
Review: The concept of mind uploading has been a common theme in fiction and science fiction for years. The concept of personality transferal and immortality has captivated mankind for centuries. Egan takes these themes and combines them artifical reality. A play on Descartian themes and the question of "what really is reality?" The end result of Permutation City is a internal world outside of our reality. A world that exists purely in digital form. How does this world exist in regard to ours? Can a world like that have another world inside it? Without its own concept of "our" reality, could it therefore understand/ comprehend our reality? Can we in the same vein comprehend another reality outside our own? It raises further questions on the nature of artifical electronic intelligence- Whilst people may exist in this electronic form, would shutting down their world be murder? Do they really exist? Do they really have free will? Is their future predetermined? At points this novel has a little to much detail, however it is an excellant story. A book that, if read deeply, has a surprising trail of deep dualistic and philosophical issues and questions.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much technical detail, too little plot
Review: There are a lot of interesting ideas in this book, but unfortunately none are fully developed. There is very little plot and the characters, who were difficult to tell apart, are simply devices to carry out the techical details. The author missed a great chance here to explore the philosophical implications of the technology. Without knowing anything about the author, I'd guess he writes technical manuals and this is his first try at a novel.
Rating:
Summary: Keyword: Permutation.
Review: This book is a mind bender of an exploration into consciousness and reality. Takes you on a first hand trip into many theoretical concepts in cognitive theory (reality theory?). There are some way out implications, so read carefully or you might miss them. I cant help but think of the book Godel_Escher_Bach as the intellectual father of this story. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Good but be careful with the techno terms
Review: This book's a great read for sci-fi and cyberpunk lovers, but other genre readers might get lost in all the technological terms. They get extensive use in this book as the author explains his dust theory and the physics of the Autoverse. As you follow the characters through mind-bending questions about reality and what defines life, you are bombarded with carefully crafted images of a reality that is run by computers, where people from this world can join the other to live forever (if they're sure that's what they want), and where you can alter your personality just by wishing it. You get dragged along as the action jumps from the Autoverse to Earth and back again as you try to keep up with where you are and who you're with. As you follow Paul, Kate, Peer, and Maria through both worlds, you will be able to put yourself into the settings but if you aren't very knowledgeable about technology, then you might get bogged down and lost.
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