Spaceland

I read this book and loved every minute of it. Rudy Rucker combines intelligence, humor, and perfect storytelling into one of the best modern sci-fi comedies I've read. Not to mention, this book takes an abstract theoretical concept like 4-D life, and makes it seem completely real. I wish there were more books like this. I'd recommend it to anyone...it's one of my favorites. And if you're looking for another good book to read after Spaceland, check out National Darkroast Day.

Since Edward Abbott penned his original Flatland at the tail end of the 19th century, many modern mathematicians have found themselves unable to resist the urge to put pen to paper in various forms of imitation most notably includiing Ian Stewarts Flatterland, Dewdney's Plainiverse and this entry by Rudy Rucker. And contrary to some other reviewers who thought that Rucker's Fourth Dimensional treatment paled in comparison to his underlying story, I must confess that I thought the reverse. In this story, Rucker chose as his protagonist a dot commer named Joe Cube whose comely wife Jena was at various points in the book leaving him, cheating on him and ultimately, well, that would give away the ending. However the point is that Rucker wrote such a complete and convincing portrait of his Jena that you couldn't help yourself but eagerly turning the pages past all the Four D stuff to find out whether Joe would be able to save his marriage and in the end I found myself much more concerned about that than...well...even the fate of the 3D universe which we supposedly inhabit. The reason I say we supposedly inhabit the 3D universe is because we actually are fourth dimensional creatures. And while viewed from a full fourth dimensional perspective it's true that we would probably more resemble a centipede with a baby at the one end and a (if we're lucky) vibrant geriatric at the other end and while it's also true that we see only slices of this fourth dimensional perspective, I nonetheless still consider it a misnomer to refer to us a "merely" existing in 3D. Now that being said, Rucker found some exciting and stimulating ways in which to move his story along and to graphically depict the look and feel of 3D. For those alone, he deserves a five star rating (particularly when he retours all the dimensions in a fashion reminiscent of the original Abbott himself). But for those who like story with their plot, read and it and see if you too get caught up for Cube and join me in rooting for him to save something even more precious than mathematical reality...his marriage.

____________________________________________ This is a clever takeoff on Flatland, starring Joe Cube, done up in the inimitable Rucker style. Joe, an employee of a Silican Valley startup, gets a visit from Momo, a pushy broad from 4D Klupdom, with a business proposition that he absolutely, positively can't refuse. Momo gives Joe an enhancement, a third eye that can see in the fourth dimension -- and a whole stack of hyperspace cellphone antennas. Can you guess that Momo doesn't have Spaceland's best interests at heart? Not quite top-drawer Rucker, but clever and fun. Recommended. Book's HP: http://www.cs.sjsu.edu/faculty/rucker/spaceland.htm CAUTION: heavy SPOILERS Happy reading-- Peter D. Tillman

After reading Seek! Selected Nonfiction, a collection of non-fiction essays, I wrote to Rucker to say how much I enjoyed it, as well as his other non-fiction books (on infinity and the fourth dimension). I also mentioned that not being a science fiction fan, I had not read his works in that area. He wrote a nice note in reply, suggesting that I read "Spaceland," which I have just finished. I wasn't particularly interested in the plot (which does a fine job of taking Silicon Valley to task), but thought that his description of the fourth spatial dimension (as opposed to time) was excellent. Using both diagrams and narrative, and drawing on Abbott's "Flatland," he does an fine job of providing the reader with a sense of what it would be like to look at our world from the fourth dimension. Along the way, he provides similar views of one and two-dimensional worlds. All in all, a fascinating and entertaining book.

Joe Cube's marriage is in trouble and he's frustrated with his life. On the turn of the Y-2-K, none of his fantasies of disaster are coming true. What does happen, however, is even weirder. A fourth dimension woman slides into his life, gives him a fourth dimension skin and a third eye at right angles to the three dimensions of "spaceland" and sets him up with a can't lose business opportunity--cellphones that can communicate without interference by transfering their messages through fourth dimension space. Even with his marriage down the tubes, Joe thinks he is on something. Better, with his third eye, he can see the upcoming cards in Las Vegas blackjack. The opportunities are without limit. Joe soon learns that the fourth dimensional actors are far from united. The three dimensional Spaceland of normal space separates two fourth dimension universes that would war on one another if the Spaceland barrier were to vanish. Meanwhile, back on earth, Joe is having trouble finding another woman, and gangsters are after him. Author Rudy Rucker has created a light and fun novel with a bit of a message, a bit of math, and some intriguing drawings of Flatland space and linear space. Joe, with his worries about his marriage and women, his dreams of making millions in an IPO, and his increasing addiction to a fourth dimension drug makes a sympathetic anti-hero who is finally given a chance to save the universe--and trundled off to jail for doing so. SPACELAND is a thought-provoking and amusing tale with a bit of a slanted--maybe even fourth dimension--moral to it.