Spaceland : A Novel of the Fourth Dimension : Book

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1) Hardcover Book Spaceland : A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by . 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)¤

2) Hardcover Book Spaceland : A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by . 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.¤

3) Hardcover Book Spaceland : A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by . 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~]¤

4) Hardcover Book Spaceland : A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by . ____________________________________________
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¤

5) Hardcover Book Spaceland : A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by . A sequel, of sorts, to Edwin Abbott´s classic novel, ´Flatland´. Joe Cube is a high tech executive waiting for his company to be IPOed. One night, while playing with his company´s product (a TV screen that turns standard television broadcasting into a 3D image), Joe is contacted by Momo, a creature from the fourth dimension. Momo ´augments´ Joe, giving him the ability to see into the fourth dimension, and also the ability to see into our dimension using a four dimension perspective. This gives Joe the unique ability of seeing inside people and objects, naturally, Joe tries to use this to make money... Momo only asks (demands, to be more exact) that Joe start a company that will create a specific product that she will supply. The plot gets complicated when another race of four-dimensional creatures, the Wackles, seem intent on stopping Joe. What is going on? Try the book and see.

This sounds like a very cool premise and it really is. The author truly captured the feeling of a 4D universe, a 3D universe from a 4D perspective, as well as a one dimensional and a two dimensional universe. The book is worth reading if only for this.. or perhaps, only for this: The book suffers from the worst characterization I´ve ever read in a book. The characters are completely unbelievable, obnoxious, annoying, self-contradicting. They are ridiculous. It feels like a cartoon of a cartoon. Maybe that was the purpose? I´ve never read any other book by the author, so I can´t really say if it´s his style. It´s a pity, because the book could´ve been so much better. At the end I couldn´t stand any of the characters (including the protagonist). Another weakness is the plot itself: Until the middle of the book it´s really quite a good story, but then the quality goes downhill from there.. Shame. I´m giving the book 4/5 stars, but if I could, 3.5/5 would be more appropriate.¤

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) Hardcover Book Spaceland : A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by . 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¤

Spaceland : A Novel of the Fourth Dimension

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