Quarantine by Greg Egan

Quarantine
Greg Egan
1992, HarperCollins, New York
0061054232
280p.

One night, all the stars in sky go out.  On investigation, it is discovered that a 'bubble' has been placed around the solar system, encasing the Earth with its sun and planetary neighbours.  I can't go into too much more without giving away the plot!

This was amazing - as Egan always is.  Quantum mechanics and neural biology are the main themes.  I LOVED his ideas on eigenstates and the interconnectedness of other worlds. :)  I read this book slowly because it was so good and I wanted to make it last.

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

On Chesil Beach
Ian McEwan
2007, Johnathon Cape, London
9780224081184
166p.

Short novella about the wedding night of a couple in the 1950s - about their fears and the cultural restrictions of the time.

This book really resonated with me. McEwan has an incredible way of getting into the minds of his characters and voicing their thoughts and feelings. His writing is descriptive and beautiful. I devoured this book.

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Diaspora by Greg Egan

Diaspora
Greg Egan
1997, Orion, London
1857984382
283p.

A hard-science fiction novel set post-flesh-humanity where sentient beings are part of a computer complex. When two colliding neutron stars threaten to destroy Earth, they begin a journey of discovery.

And then some!

This was an amazing book. It covered topics as varied as virtual reality, xenobiology, astrophysics, mathematics, evolutionary theory, chemistry, and a lot more which went well over my head. The setting of the story is so different to our world - usually it's hard for an author to separate a created universe from our own, but this attempt has been highly successful.

The ending was the most beautiful ending I have read in a long time.

American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis

American Psycho
Brett Easton Ellis
1991, Vintage, New York
0330319922
399p.

Patrick Bateman is a rich Wall Street banker living in New York City in the late 1980s. He has a fairly typical life except for one thing: he likes to do depraved things to women (well, maybe).

This was not really an enjoyable read, however, it was a very interesting book. I loved the contrast between the boring banality of Patrick's everyday existence, and the sheer horror the torture and murder scenes. My favourite chapter was the one on Whitney Houston - it was just hilarious.

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