Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension : Book

Search ISBN:0765303671 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension Reference Book. Classifications : Adventure Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Subjects Books General Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Subjects Books General AAS Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Subjects Books . Click the following link to view the cover of Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension.

1) Paperback Book Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by Tor Books. 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.¤

2) Paperback Book Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by Tor Books. Having just come across reviews of Rudy Rucker´s work accidentally last week I decided to check out his website (which is very good) and Spaceland, about which I have very mixed feelings. To start with the good comments: Mr. Rucker´s imagination in clearly above-average, sort of a combination style-wise of Star Trek and George Carlin´s "hippy dippy" era material. (That´s a good thing). But I almost wrote a review of this novel before finishing it because, well, the characters are just so damn unlikeable, even nasty. Many elements of the story are obnoxious and not very believable as well; I wasn´t offended by the sexual content (though it seemed a little out of place) but the wild, pointless mood-swings of the characters and the meanness they treated each other with gave a bad vibe to the actual story. I finished Spaceland a few minutes ago and am glad I read it overall, but not in the overwhelming way I felt when discovering Octavia Butler´s amazing books, for example. (HIGHLY recommended, if you´re wondering). Spaceland is full of (dated) high-tech, dot-com excitement but the story itself may leave you, well, flat. PS: It was a real toss-up for me between giving this 2 or 3 stars but I went with two, not because the book is terrible, but to clearly draw attention to some of the aspects of it that many of the above, more-common 3-star reviews have mentioned lightly (like the unlikeable characters). These elements just bothered me more, I guess, and sometimes got in the way of enjoying Mr. Rucker´s wild, playful thinking. One more thing: I will read more of Rudy Rucker (I have "Postsingular" next on my list) and you should know that this man is a WONDERFUL artist. Visit his site (rudyrucker.com) and check out the wonderful, colorful, intensely imaginative paintings he shows there. That alone is worth your time. Here´s hoping "Postsingular" retains the wild imagination of Spaceland but leaves mean, spiteful characters behind. Dave S. Springfield, Mo. (doctordavestone.com)¤

3) Paperback Book Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by Tor Books. 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.¤

4) Paperback Book Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by Tor Books. I´m a big fan of Rudy Rucker, and the sheer power of his imagination continually blows the reader´s mind. Unfortunately, this novel overdoes the imaginative science at the expense of a readable story. Granted, the backdrop of this novel is quite fascinating, as the misguided dot-commer protagonist Joe Cube finds himself in the fourth dimension. Rucker does an amazing job with prose, because he himself is exploring what 4D would look like to us spacelanders who are hopelessly stuck in 3D. It´s also true that Rucker has engagingly built upon the influential "Flatland" by Edwin Abbott, which concerns a 2D person in our third dimension. But while the science of this novel is mindbending, and the 4D characters and their climactic battle are freaky, you eventually get the impression that Rucker was so interested in exploring his concept that he didn´t get around to a useful plotline or likeable characters. The personalities of the characters and their interactions are either stereotypical or implausible, and the love story subplot is poorly constructed and dangerously close to sappy treacle. Rucker also dabbles briefly in some pseudo-religious big thoughts that go nowhere, and the storyline wraps up very awkwardly with implausible resolutions for everyone involved. Of course, this book is still a fine display of Rucker´s remarkable imagination, but the story is what matters. And here that story is disappointingly two-dimensional. [~doomsdayer520~]¤

5) Paperback Book Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by Tor Books. ____________________________________________
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¤

Joe Cube is a Silicon Valley hotshot--well, a would-be hotshot anyway--hoping that the 3-D TV project he´s managing will lead to the big money IPO he´s always dreamed of. On New Year´s Eve, hoping to impress his wife, he sneaks home the prototype. It brings no new warmth to their cooling relationship, but it does attract someone else´s attention.

When Joe sees a set of lips talking to him (floating in midair) and feels the poke of a disembodied finger (inside him), it´s not because of the champagne he´s drunk. He has just met Momo, a woman from the All, a world of four spatial dimensions for whom our narrow world, which she calls Spaceland, is something like a rug, but one filled with motion and life. Momo has a business proposition for Joe, an offer she won´t let him refuse. The upside potential becomes much clearer to him once she helps him grow a new eye (on a stalk) that can see in the fourth-dimensional directions, and he agrees.

After that it´s a wild ride through a million-dollar night in Las Vegas, a budding addiction to tasty purple 4-D food, a failing marriage, eye-popping excursions into the All, and encounters with Momo´s foes, rubbery red critters who steal money, offer sage advice and sometimes messily explode. Joe is having the time of his life, until Momo´s scheme turns out to have angles he couldn´t have imagined. Suddenly the fate of all life here in Spaceland is at stake.

Rudy Rucker is a past master at turning mathematical concepts into rollicking science fiction adventure, from Spacetime Donuts and White Light to The Hacker and the Ants. In the tradition of Edwin A. Abbott´s classic novel, Flatland, Rucker gives us a tour of higher mathematics and visionary realities. Spaceland is Flatland on hyperdrive!

7) Paperback Book Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by Tor Books. The product manager for a Silicon Valley startup, Joe Cube thinks the best way to enter the new millennium is to stay safely home with his wife and watch the year 2000 come in on an experimental television/interactive device "borrowed" from work. His wife, however, is less than pleased. And after Jena passes out from too much New Year´s imbibing, Joe discovers the undertested device has opened a gateway to a new universe: he is contacted by a fourth-dimensional woman named Momo....

Usually, tribute novels are like movie remakes: a bad idea. However, this tribute to Edwin A. Abbott´s classic novel Flatland works wonderfully. This is because Spaceland is written by Rudy Rucker, a Silicon Valley professor of mathematics and computer science who is also a hard-SF writer with the most gonzo sensibility in science fiction.--Cynthia Ward¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 22-Nov-2008, 07653036719780765303677, 020-3X0-5X0-710-321-FMB-8

Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension

Author - Rudy Rucker ... [Goo?] [Posters]

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