The Golden Age

I read the golden age trilogy during a fairly dark time in my life. I was hunkered down in this awful pedo clinic my fourth year of dental school. Residents were wrapping screaming kids up to drill on their teeth, and I was the lucky one who got to hold their heads still. I was going on my sixth week there. I didn't have a car, so I was taking this shuttle thing for about an hour ride, and each way I was reading the Golden Age trilogy. The books have all the standard things that make for a good sci fi read. Cool aliens, cool technology, action and adventure. There's something about these books though that make them stand out. Theres a deep mythology here. I don't mean "mythology" like in some cheezy Robert Jordan book, I mean mythology like it speaks to some deep Jungian type architecture in the human (or at least in my) subconscious. There is something incredibly noble and humane in these books. They are as important and as good, and certainly more enjoyable, imho, as any of the great "classics" like Brother Karamozoff, etc. Highly recommended to readers and lovers of sci fi.

The Golden Age and the subsequent two books in the series explore the question of what it means to live your life, as opposed to simply continuing to exist. The world of the Golden Oecumene has created amazing wonders of technology and conquered death and crime. But what can give meaning to life in a utopia? What can inspire people to great deeds that differentiate a golden age from the dark ages? The Golden Oecumene may have perfect tranquility, but it also is stagnant and unimaginative. People have become increasingly withdrawn into their own little worlds, a term with a literal meaning in this society, as each person is free to reshape his perceptions to see the world exactly as he wants to see it instead of what it really is. The novel's plot pits the world's entrenched oligarchy and their desire to keep things as they are, preserving their privileges, wealth and status, against one man who wants to do great things with his life. Phaeton's plan to send out colonies to other stars threatens to destroy the social order and the future security of the ruling class, whose monopolies in nearly every part of the economy would be destroyed by competition, and who will have no way to impose their will on the millions of those colonies. Furthermore, once the sun finishes its evolutionary course in a few hundred billion years, these immortals would have nowhere to escape if the nearby star systems are already colonized, and would have to die or to fall to the lowest strata of those societies. Needless to say, Phaeton is not a popular man with these people, and they try to put him in his place. Ultimately, they fail (not in this book; in The Golden Transcendence : Or, The Last of the Masquerade (The Golden Age)), demonstrating the futility of trying suppress humanity's progress. Admittedly, the book can be heavy reading for non-technical people. Even today, technology pervades our world, and just as a savage would gaze incomprehendingly upon our computers, iPhones, and airplanes, so do we have difficulty with the ideas that must be understood to live in the Golden Oecumene, many millenia into the future. However, the technology really is central to the plot, as it is the underlying cause of that society's stagnation and corruption. A reader who takes his time to understand it would not only enrich his understanding of the plot, but of his understanding of where our continuing efforts to integrate with computers will take us. Today we already are facing many of the issues discussed in the book, like electronic privacy, intellectual property, and life in virtual environments, to name a few. The book's philosophical base can also be a turn off to some readers, who might recognize the same symptoms of stagnation that plague the Golden Oecumene's citizens in themselves. Just like Phaeton, we are permitted by our civilization to choose a tranquil life of no consequence, where one day is just like the one before it, and a man can live his entire life and die

This is a great work of science fiction that lives up to the critics' praise. The best of sci fi is all here. An intricately created far future world. Characters, plot, and actions that are consistent with this world. Questions of philosophy and morality. And a mystery/conspiracy that keeps you guessing about what's really going on. What is most satisfying about the book is how all of the details hang together so well--both about the world that Wright has created in general, as well as the details of the plot that unfold. Many details earlier in the novel turn out to matter later in the book (or in the two sequels). And Wright is great at tying up loose ends (again by the end of the two sequels) that many other authors wouldn't have bothered with. It did take me several chapters to become drawn into the story. It takes time for the tension to build, as Phaethon (the main character) begins to suspect that his life is not as it seems. And Wright also devotes many of the early pages to a description of his universe. But soon I was hooked. The first book takes you on a journey with Phaethon to discover why his memory seems to have been tampered with. As more and more is revealed, the scope of the story continues to grow. But then alternate explanations are offered that make you wonder what the truth really is. One reviewer below suggested the book was boring. Maybe if all you're looking for is action/adventure. But certainly not if you enjoy unraveling a brilliantly conceived mystery/conspiracy. And the fact that main character (Phaethon) is not perfect makes the tale that much more enjoyable. He's a flawed hero. He can at times be haughty or conceited. But he also wrestles with morality. Because of this complexity, I found Phaethon to be a very satisfying hero. Any doubts you might have about whether you like him slowly go away, and by mid-way through the second book you admire him. I highly recommend this book and the two sequels, The Phoenix Exultant and The Golden Transcendence.

Life, 10,000 years from now. Read this and you enter into a world of immortal beings where consciousness takes many forms as minds find many diverse vessels in which to inhabit. Nanotechnology, computer science, and other technologies have transformed civilization into a true golden age where Sophotechs (conscious computers who think many times faster than humans) control nearly everything. The group called the Hortators exhibit much control also, so is this really a golden age as it appears to be at first glance? The primary character here is a man called Phaethon, who has lost a good part of his memory as a result of a process of selective amnesia, a result of previous actions he cannot remember. He becomes obsessed with discovering the missing memories, with much intrigue along the way, and this is at the heart of a great mystery, brimming with passion and intellect, and ambition. John Wright uses much reality based imagination here, this is far-future science fiction at it's best, without reverting to fantasy. I especially enjoyed the questions of personal identity and how that relates to whether or not a person is the original or a copy in cases of transferring minds from one medium to another, very thought provoking, speculation that will surely move from science fiction to reality someday, well done here. To use an old cliche', it does'nt get any better than this, with superb plot and character development. THE GOLDEN AGE is book one of a two book series, the concluding novel is THE PHOENIX EXULTANT, yet to be published.

For all the talk of 'space opera' and other genre/author comparisons, _The Golden Age_ is one of the most original novels to come out in years. John Wright lays out and tosses away more inventive, imaginative ideas in a few pages than many SF authors manage in a whole book. And not only has he developed a long-term extrapolation of human/technical evolution, he has done so in a story built on various intersections of myth and philosophy. Wright's writing is intellectually challenging without being condescending or obtuse (deliberately or otherwise). He never forgets the need to be a good storyteller, yet probes close to the bone on such core issues as the determination of truth, the nature of reality and the tension between individual freedom and social good. Utterly outstanding. I hope Wright gets the accolates he deserves. ..bruce..