Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #363999 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Review
"Ian McDonald is one of the more politically engaged science-fiction writers working today. Brasyl is a unique thriller of ideas." -- Yo Zushi NEW STATESMAN "A dazzling, bold, fast-moving rush through three different worlds. I'm still thinking about it days after I finished reading it, a sure sign of a worthwhile book." DEATHRAY 'An extraordinary thematic narrative that I have no doubt will be featuring on many an award shortlist in the coming year. A genre novel right on the cutting edge of the quantum blades wielded as weapons within its pages, a book that loudly proclaims the arrival of the future' SF REVU 'A major novel from a major talent' SF REVIEWS 'McDonald conveys quite brilliantly the prodigious energy and fecundity of Brazil as it is and could be. ...Brasyl is a feast of fine prose, an able political novel, and an intriguing experiment in cross-temporal storytelling and implication. ...it is without doubt one of the major SF books of 2007' LOCUS 'A mesmerizing ensemble of three different tales. I was astonished... to see how McDonald yet again captures the essence of a country and its people and weaves it in a myriad of ways throughout the novel... Brasyl deserves the highest possible recommendation. It will surely be one of the best - if not the best - science fiction novels of 2007' FANTASY HOTLIST I predict Brasyl will grace multiple shortlists come 2008. It's easily the best SF novel I've read this year. McDonald is a superb writer ... much more often than not McDonald's prose is a wonder, from a hundred vivid and witty details, to sustained passages of perfectly judged atmosphere' STRANGE HORIZONS 'A triptych tale of humanity and all its passions and indignities. McDonald is not for the weak of heart. But oh, the ideas! Having learned and wondered and considered, I am better for having read this novel' SPECULATIVE REVIEWS "It's a great story, wonderfully written, packed with neo-lit images and nifty phrases. A triple stranded SF narrative that glows with stronger colours and throbs to a more compulsive samba beat than mere reality can offer." -- David Langford SFX "A bold, triple stranded novel - a sort of mutant chick lit horror, a historical adventure and a reeling cyberpunk thriller." THE BIG ISSUE "Scintillating. Put this on your must-read list." -- Dave Langford BBC FOCUS "A brilliant, kaleidoscopic novel that's both a portrait of a country and an exploration of the wider shores of theoretical physics. Brasyl is McDonald's best book yet." -- Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES "A big, sprawling, sexy, complex novel. The writing is energetic and economical, the story riveting, the denouement fascinating. Enjoy!" DREAMWATCH "A distinct and convincingly detailed world, full of the horrors of slavery, the Orwellian potential of the surveillance society currently developing, and the casual cruelty of our own celebrity driven culture. An impressive work." STARBURST Brasyl is an accomplished work, a complex, multi-layered narrative which questions the notions of determinism and free will in a universe of illimitable possibilities. McDonald not only paints a stunning portrait of Brazil, which in all its chaos mirrors the quantum uncertainties of the multiverse, but presents a set of characters who come over as real people: multi-faceted, flawed, but ultimately sympathetic." -- Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN Brasyl's worth a look: whenever McDonald's imagination slips free of its narrative constraints it leaves many of his contemporaries standing. A flawed technicolour storm of a book by one of Britain's most consistently interesting SF writers." -- Tim Martin THE INDEPENDENT "Part Blade Runner, part Fast and Furious, part Philip K Dick, part Neuromancer. One of my favourite reads of 2007 so far." SFFWORLD.COM "Brasyl is the best new novel I've read this year: a load of fun and an inventive politico-philosophical story, making it both "entertaining" and "important." Read it now so that when it starts popping up on several short lists later this year you'll know why." SFFWORLD.COM "Probably the most intriguing and stylish SF novel of the year. Gloriously lush." -- Roz Kaveney TIME OUT

Review
"Ian McDonald is one of the more politically engaged science-fiction writers working today. Brasyl is a unique thriller of ideas." (Yo Zushi NEW STATESMAN )

"A dazzling, bold, fast-moving rush through three different worlds. I'm still thinking about it days after I finished reading it, a sure sign of a worthwhile book." (DEATHRAY )

'An extraordinary thematic narrative that I have no doubt will be featuring on many an award shortlist in the coming year. A genre novel right on the cutting edge of the quantum blades wielded as weapons within its pages, a book that loudly proclaims the arrival of the future' (SF REVU )

'A major novel from a major talent' (SF REVIEWS )

'McDonald conveys quite brilliantly the prodigious energy and fecundity of Brazil as it is and could be. ...Brasyl is a feast of fine prose, an able political novel, and an intriguing experiment in cross-temporal storytelling and implication. ...it is without doubt one of the major SF books of 2007' (LOCUS )

'A mesmerizing ensemble of three different tales. I was astonished... to see how McDonald yet again captures the essence of a country and its people and weaves it in a myriad of ways throughout the novel... Brasyl deserves the highest possible recommendation. It will surely be one of the best - if not the best - science fiction novels of 2007' (FANTASY HOTLIST )

I predict Brasyl will grace multiple shortlists come 2008. It's easily the best SF novel I've read this year. McDonald is a superb writer . . . much more often than not McDonald's prose is a wonder, from a hundred vivid and witty details, to sustained passages of perfectly judged atmosphere' (STRANGE HORIZONS )

'A triptych tale of humanity and all its passions and indignities. McDonald is not for the weak of heart. But oh, the ideas! Having learned and wondered and considered, I am better for having read this novel' (SPECULATIVE REVIEWS )

"It's a great story, wonderfully written, packed with neo-lit images and nifty phrases. A triple stranded SF narrative that glows with stronger colours and throbs to a more compulsive samba beat than mere reality can offer." (David Langford SFX )

"A bold, triple stranded novel - a sort of mutant chick lit horror, a historical adventure and a reeling cyberpunk thriller." (THE BIG ISSUE )

"Scintillating. Put this on your must-read list." (Dave Langford BBC FOCUS )

"A brilliant, kaleidoscopic novel that's both a portrait of a country and an exploration of the wider shores of theoretical physics. Brasyl is McDonald's best book yet." (Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES )

"A big, sprawling, sexy, complex novel. The writing is energetic and economical, the story riveting, the denouement fascinating. Enjoy!" (DREAMWATCH )

"A distinct and convincingly detailed world, full of the horrors of slavery, the Orwellian potential of the surveillance society currently developing, and the casual cruelty of our own celebrity driven culture. An impressive work." (STARBURST )

Brasyl is an accomplished work, a complex, multi-layered narrative which questions the notions of determinism and free will in a universe of illimitable possibilities. McDonald not only paints a stunning portrait of Brazil, which in all its chaos mirrors the quantum uncertainties of the multiverse, but presents a set of characters who come over as real people: multi-faceted, flawed, but ultimately sympathetic." (Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN )

Brasyl's worth a look: whenever McDonald's imagination slips free of its narrative constraints it leaves many of his contemporaries standing. A flawed technicolour storm of a book by one of Britain's most consistently interesting SF writers." (Tim Martin THE INDEPENDENT )

"Part Blade Runner, part Fast and Furious, part Philip K Dick, part Neuromancer. One of my favourite reads of 2007 so far." (SFFWORLD.COM )

"Brasyl is the best new novel I've read this year: a load of fun and an inventive politico-philosophical story, making it both "entertaining" and "important." Read it now so that when it starts popping up on several short lists later this year you'll know why." (SFFWORLD.COM )

"Probably the most intriguing and stylish SF novel of the year. Gloriously lush." (Roz Kaveney TIME OUT )

LOCUS
'McDonald conveys quite brilliantly the prodigious energy and fecundity of Brazil as it is and could be. ...Brasyl is a feast of fine prose, an able political novel, and an intriguing experiment in cross-temporal storytelling and implication. ...it is without doubt one of the major SF books of 2007'

Customer Reviews

True brilliance
Brasyl is a work of true brilliance! If William Gibson will still penning mainstream science fiction works than this is what he would have evolved into.

Never has South America seemed so real as in this fictional cyberpunkish take on what it might end up as.

I love it. If you have any taste, you should too!

Vibrant and original
MacDonald once again chooses a distinctive cultural backdrop for this tale of quantum computing, parallel universes and mysterious organisations attempting to control reality. We are presented with three 'eras' of Brazil, anicent, contemporary and near-future, and within these three narrative strands is packed a phenomenal amount of historical, scientific and cultural knowledge. MacDonald has clearly done his research, and if at times the science is shoe-horned in via clunky 'infodumps', the never-ending stream of vivid characters, visceral action and cliffhanger plot-twists keeps the reader very much engaged. At times bewildering, and perhaps a little rushed towards the end, this is nevertheless a feast of alternative sci-fi that betrays a deep-love for its setting and its people.

A hell of a struggle but one worth the time.
A highly original novel that, to be frank, was a hell of a struggle to make it though. Looking back its clear the time and love that was placed within its pages but when you're sat there reading through the book, at times I was really losing the will to live. Why was it difficult well two things really jump out at you, firstly the common usage of Portuguese (and whilst I do realize that Brazil does speak Portuguese I did get a bit confused) especially when the author used a hell of a lot of made up words. The glossary included would have been better as a pull out to have on hand for the whole book , or perhaps done as a bookmark to keep it easy to figure things out.

Throw into the mix three stories, seemingly unrelated until the last part of the book when everything begins to get wound up. Assassins, alternate universes and ancient hidden orders abound throughout this tale and as such if your looking for a cyberpunk adverture with its own take on some old themes blended with modern technology then this is a tale worthy of investing your time and money. I also suspect that this will earn Ian an award or two, even if the reader doesn't fully understand what is happening part of the time. This may be explained in a sequel if Ian takes that option.