Rating: 
Summary: I thought it was great!!!
Review: I found Quarantine to be an excellent read. I read it four times and enjoyed it every time I read it. After reading this book I spent over a year reading about quantum physics. If you like this book, check out John Gribbin.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but (becareful some spoiling here!!)
Review: I found the ideas behind the book very interesting however I think that there are a few flaws in the hypothesis. Being an engineer I usually like this topics, but This wasn't quite the case. I found it a bit slow, many useless descriptions of advanced technologies which turn to be a bit boring. Refering to "quantum theory" I think there is big leap (I would say quantum leap :-)in taking quantum theory from an atomic "size" to a stellars dimensions.
Anyway as I said interesting ideas.
Rating:
Summary: HITTING THE BOOKS - HARD!
Review: I picked this book at random, just felt I would give it a try. I enjoyed the novel, but did not like the lecture. Be warned... long winded explainations into theory and often dry science really bring this book down. The books characters are often forced by the author to repeat (and repeat again) the same details, often using the same exact dialouge from a pervious chapter to cover what has already been covered at least ten times... slow and dull, but does pick up towards the end. Worth hanging in there... or skimming. Give it a try... just be warned.
Rating: 
Summary: A quantum castastrophe indeed
Review: I was bored silly by this book, which speculates on ways the human mind may be able to manipulate quantum mechanics. While the beginning of the book was engrossing -- with a well-drawn main character, and the beginning of a good, futuristic mystery plot -- the story soon bogs down. The main character is captured, forced into the service of a faceless corporation that is doing quantum research, and begins to learn how to mentally manipulate subatomic particles. Over half the book is taken up with discussions of the relationship between "choice" and "being." These are, unfortunately, never very interesting. The main character keeps speculating, in an endless soliloquy, on what he is doing, why he's doing it, and what it really means. By the time the I reached the end of the book, I had no sympathy for any of the characters, no interest in the story's outcome, and no desire to read anything else by Egan.
Rating: 
Summary: Help
Review: I'm having a hard time with this.
I've read the explanations, but they don't lead to conclusions. They lead to quantum possibilities.
This book doesn't exist in any value system that includes absolutes, moral or otherwise.
It exists only when it is read.
Try to wrap your brain around that.
Mindbending, diamond-hard sci-fi, with no apologies.
And believe it or not, this is only a warm-up to Permutation City. Not in a plot sense, since the two stories are unrelated. But simply in difficulty. Somehow, the latter manages to outclass this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Not recommended
Review: If you like authors like Gregory Benford, Robert Sawyer, John Cramer I don't think you will like this. It is like a bad future computer hackers book with all the Brain Mods he talks about.I am not finished with it (I'm not sure I will at this point), but I would try to read a chapter before you decide to purchase it.
Rating:
Summary: "Stop collapsing those wave-functions!"
Review: Quarantine begins as a high tech future thriller, with a private detective being hired to find a missing woman in a late 21st century Australia where, among other things, one can download software into one's brain, something has sealed the solar system within an impenetrable Bubble, and New Hong Kong has been built on top of Arnhem land. But these glimpses of an exciting future are never really developed or explored in detail, as the book's focus quickly shifts to the metaphysics of quantum mechanics. This is a science fiction oldie, and one that is usually dealt with rather poorly. (Giving humans conscious control over fundamental physics is all too often used as a deus ex machina to solve the plot problems at the end of a novel. Orson Scott Card's Xenocide is a recent example of this.) Egan makes one big (massively implausible?) assumption - that wave function collapse is the responsibility of a particular part of the brain and that with the right neural modification people can learn to avoid doing it, producing a "smeared out" universe - but otherwise his scenario is internally consistent. Even more importantly, Quarantine actually tries to "follow through" on the consequences of its assumptions, and manages to bring something of their full metaphysical immensity home to the reader. If you are interested in this kind of exploration of quantum mechanics then Quarantine is worth a look; if not then you will probably find it rather frustrating
Rating:
Summary: Learn Quantum Theory the Greg Egan Way!
Review: Quarantine is a brilliant page turner. I love the science fiction private-eye sub-genre but what surprised me was Mr. Egan's intuitive grasp of quantum theory. I would recommend this book for the enjoyable story but also to anyone who is about to embark on learning quantum mechanics. People who study it always complain that QM is all mathematics with very little intuitive grasp. A few authors have quantum insight like Feynman but even he said that no one truly understands the quantum world (siding with Neils Bohr). Well, Egan manages to make the implicit manifest in the "normal" world for us. At the same time he gave me a mystery that kept me guessing. A great read! I am now primed to read all of his books especially his short stories. Check out Greg's home page for a real treat! Greg, you are brilliant!
Rating:
Summary: Exellent but not perfect.
Review: Quarantine is a very well written novel. I was almost scard away from Greg Egan in general due to reports of just how "hard" his hard science fiction realy is. But since I do like hard SF I tried it. The science plays a large role to be sure, but in almost every case Egan keeps it at a theoretical level. You will not find long windeded explanations of the math behind the theory. Egan keeps the discussion at a very abstract level and talks about the details mostly in realtion to their social and moral impact. The character development is strong but I would have like to have seen this book lengthened. The (very strange) ending feels rushed. It is defiently a book I am happy to have read and I will be reading more og Greg Egan in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Book of the Year
Review: Quarantine was an extremely good book, questioning our reality and how easily it can change. A mod(brain implant)-altered PI takes a case that leads him to a corporation with universal aspirations. Hoping to unlock the "Bubble" that formed around our solar system, they kidnap a seemingly brain-damaged patient from a hospital.
He begins a quest into the very nature of our existence and the effects of quantum mechanics. The ending satisfied me, for it brought the only plausible solution to a problem that wasn't ready to be faced.
Any work by Greg Egan is worth reading if you are prepared for the sudden jarring of your mind opening to intriguing possibilities.
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