|
Brasyl | 
 enlarge | Author: Ian Mcdonald
Publisher: Pyr
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy Used: $7.98
You Save: $17.02 (68%)
New (24) Used (16) from $7.98
Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 144873
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 357
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 1591025435
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9781591025436
ASIN: 1591025435
Publication Date: May 3, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Pages and DJ are clean and undamaged and binding is tight. It's been read once, so it's not quite like new, but it's close. You could say it's *like* like new.
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Book Description
Think Bladerunner in the tropics... Be seduced, amazed, and shocked by one of the world's greatest and strangest nations. Past, present, and future Brazil, with all its color, passion, and shifting realities, come together in a novel that is part SF, part history, part mystery, and entirely enthralling. Three separate stories follow three main characters: Edson is a self-made talent impressario one step up from the slums in a near future Sao Paulo of astonishing riches and poverty. A chance encounter draws Edson into the dangerous world of illegal quantum computing, but where can you run in a total surveillance society where every move, face, and centavo is constantly tracked? Marcelina is an ambitious Rio TV producer looking for that big reality TV hit to make her name. When her hot idea leads her on the track of a disgraced World Cup soccer goalkeeper, she becomes enmeshed in an ancient conspiracy that threatens not just her life, but her very soul. Father Luis is a Jesuit missionary sent into the maelstrom of 18th-century Brazil to locate and punish a rogue priest who has strayed beyond the articles of his faith and set up a vast empire in the hinterland. In the company of a French geographer and spy, what he finds in the backwaters of the Amazon tries both his faith and the nature of reality itself to the breaking point. Three characters, three stories, three Brazils, all linked together across time, space, and reality in a hugely ambitious story that will challenge the way you think about everything.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 love it or hate it July 22, 2007
a reader
53 out of 57 found this review helpful
I understand why people like this book so much: the intriguing concepts, the complex storyline, the interesting characters. However, I suspect I'm not the only one who is so turned off by the writing style that the overall experience is ruined. At best the writing is pretentious; at worst it is laughably bad. My stomach turned when I read this sentence on pg. 18:
"At first capoeira had been another wave on the zeitgeist upon which Marcelina Hoffman surfed, driven by the perpetual, vampiric hunger for fresh cool."
If you don't find this groan-worthy, then perhaps this book is for you. The overwritten prose isn't my main complaint, though. Once you remove the meandering descriptions and the abundance of Portuguese, there's very little actual substance in many of the scenes, making the events seem disjointed, arbitrary, and often downright boring.
I suspect if you read it quickly, you'll like it better. Let horribly mixed metaphors slide right by. If events seem disjointed, keep moving on--you didn't miss anything; rereading sections will only confirm this and frustrate you.
 Unbelievable read! May 7, 2007
Patrick St-Denis (Laval, Quebec Canada)
25 out of 28 found this review helpful
Brasyl was one of this year's most anticipated reads for me.
With River of Gods, Ian McDonald raised the bar rather high, and I was wondering if the author could come up with something as good. It never occurred to me that McDonald could write a better novel. And yet, somehow, he did!
Brasyl is a mesmerizing ensemble of three different tales. On takes place in Rio de Janeiro in 2006, as an ambitious reality tv producer finds herself in the middle of a conflict that could unravel reality itself. The second story takes place in Sao Paulo in 2032, as a man is thrust into the dangerous universe of quantum computing and he'll never be the same again. The third storyline occurs in Brazil in 1732, as a Jesuit Father is sent to bring back a rogue priest to face the justice of the religious order.
I was astonished to see the tale unfold, to see how McDonald yet again captures the essence of a country and its people and weaves it in a myriad of ways throughout the novel. The author paints a vivid picture of South America's largest country, depicting the past, the present, and the possible future of Brazil in a manner that makes everything come alive as you read on. Every plotline is tied to the others. Indeed, everything is linked together across time and the fabric of reality, thanks to quantum physics and the multiverse that surrounds our existence.
The worldbuilding is "top notch." Ian McDonald deserves kudos for his brilliant depiction of Brazil during three different epochs. As always, the author's eye for exquisite details adds another dimension to a book that's already head and shoulder above the competition.
Of the three main characters (one for each era), Father Luis Quinn steals the show. Funny how a Jesuit priest from the 18th century should become the star of a thought-provoking scifi masterpiece! The supporting cast consists of a few interesting characters, chief among those Dr. Robert Falcon.
You'll be amazed to see how the various plotlines come together to form a dazzling whole. This book blew my mind even more than River of Gods. Seriously, I didn't want it to end!
Brasyl deserves the highest possible recommendation. It will surely be one of the best -- if not the best -- science fiction novels of 2007.
Without the shadow of a doubt, Brasyl is one of the books to read this year!
*speechless* June 15, 2007
Ivo J. Steijn (Greater Los Angeles, CA United States)
21 out of 25 found this review helpful
You know, I always liked Ian McDonald's books. "Desolation Road" got my attention in a big way and while there have been some weaker books since then, "River of gods" (for which he wuz ROBBED of a Hugo Award) was such a great book that I'm now a Believer.
So when "Brasyl" came out..well, what's not to like? Brazil! McDonald! 134 gradations of skin color! Thongs! Quantum computers! Mad Jesuits!
To be honest, about 3/4 into the book I got the sickening feeling that the story was all very humdrum, reality-hopping Order, yawnsies. But then the whole thing sort of twisted 90 degrees and I was spellbound to the end again.
You can read plenty of potted notes about the actual events in the book elsewhere. One thing I have to comment on is the lavish use of Brazilian/Portuguese slang/words/expressions. At first it's a little disconcerting (he's full of WHAT? She went to the WHAT?) but after awhile you just get into the...rhythm (insert obligatory Brazilian samba reference here) of the thing and it's all good to the end.
Any book that can combine reality TV shows, quantum computers, Fitzcarraldo and "The Mission" and transvestite street hustlers is okay by me.
Give this man a Hugo. Now. Or the kitten dies.
complex cerebral science fiction thriller May 5, 2007
Harriet Klausner
9 out of 38 found this review helpful
In 2006 Brazil, TV "Lady of Production Values" Marcelina Hoffman sets up scenes so her viewers can see genuine reality. She has recently learned that soccer goalie Barbosa, whose failure to block a shot at the 1950 World Cup gave the victory to Uruguay, still lives; her plan is to place this loser on trial for causing one of the bleakest moments in the country's heritage. Instead her reseach investigation leads to some weird unexplained happenings as her doppelganger seems to want her dead.
In 2032, Edson de Freitas runs a talent agency for losers, but earns a better living as a thief in a world where surveillance rules. Edson falls in love with Fia Kishida, an expert on security coding and computational physics in a multiversal continuum. His investigation into his beloved leads to some weird unexplained happenings as a doppelganger of Fia seems to have committed murder.
In 1732 Father Luis Quinn and French scientist Robert Falcon arrive in Brazil on a quest to find Father Diego Goncalves, who has allegedley created an empire in his image of Christianity deep in the flood-forest. Their investigation leads to weird unexplained happenings as a doppelganger of "Our Lady of the Flood Forest" seems to have committed genocide.
BRASYL is not an easy book to read yet worth the time for those in the audience who prefer a complex cerebral science fiction thriller that makes a strong case that quantum physics relativity of reality is a multiplier of a universal computer program. The story line uses Brazilian historical events and elements from the mystery genre to tell three tales of a multiverse in which time is relative to the individual, but within a group becomes collective. Multifaceted and incredibly intricate, as eras are rotated until they converge into "Our Lady of All Worlds", readers will appreciate this discerning look at an alternate way to interpret "I think there for I am".
Harriet Klausner
 Realistic characters in a bizarre and enjoyable journey! July 31, 2007
Multiverse Reviews
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Coming on the heels of McDonald's blockbuster hit "River of Gods", Brasyl is part cyberpunk, part historical narrative, part bladerunner, part parallel universe epic, and part introduction to a culture most Americans know nothing about. Throwing standard American/Western European scifi on it's head, McDonald sets his story in Sao Paulo, the capitol of Brazil. I don't know about you, but everything I know about Sao Paulo can be summed up with "they speak Portuguese, right?". I am a sad, sad American that I know next to zero about one of the worlds largest cities. Forget Tokyo and New York City, this future is in South America. While he overwhelms you with local slang and culture (don't worry, a lot of it is in the glossary in the back), we are introduced to three different Sao Paulos in three very different times.
Sao Paulo, 1730's, father Luis Quinn is on a Jesuit mission to bring a rogue priest back into faith by whatever means necessary, before this man can burn and kill his way through the jungle. Beyond treacherous waters, dangerous animals, unpredictable natives and poisonous everything, Quinn has no idea what to expect. And the reports of gigantic angels flying over the river followed by fiery death are especially disturbing.
Sao Paulo, right now. Marcelina Hoffman produces trash reality tv shows by day, and sleeps with a highly respected news reporter by night. Always chasing the new big thing to beat the competition, she has no idea when she is in over her head. While on a wild goose-chase for the story of her life, no amount of capoeira will save her from the a fast death by a q-blade, which cuts down to the quantum level.
Sao Paulo, thirty years from now. The population is higher, the stakes are higher, the technology is faster. Uncontrolled consumer garbage is a marketplace unto itself, where children mine for metals, and quantum computing crime is organized. Enter Edson, a sometimes talent agent, sometimes petty thief, always protector of his family. Getting involved with the beautiful Fia pulls him into her dangerous world of quantum computations, digital hacking, and parallel universes. While visiting the scene of her gruesome death, Edson looks up to see Fia staring at him from across the street.
What could these three story lines possibly have in common? McDonald braids them around each other, bring them together only at the knot at the end. Sure, I've read parallel universe plotlines before, but Brasyl takes it to a whole new level of weirdness. McDonald's characterization is great, the characters feel realistic, fleshed out, and for the most part, unlikeable. Marcelina and Edson seem to be drowning in their own distaste for themselves, looking for new people, new thrills, new drugs, new anything to help them run from who they are. Quinn is a quiet man with a violent past, who has found his personal salvation. The man with the strongest faith, he has the most to lose. We get whispering and rumors of a behind-the-scenes "order", who are trying to keep knowledge from the general public. What are they hiding? It's these shadowy details that become the most fascinating part of the book, but are rarely expanded upon. Quinn, Marcelina, and Edson, they do not exist in a vacuum. the Universe and all its secrets exists around them. How much knowledge can they handle? will the truth set them free? Or imprison them further? Enjoy their stories for what they are, don't rush to the end for the action. The enjoyment of the journey makes the unexpected and bizarre kicker even sweeter.
Although alluring, Brasyl is not an easy book to read. Peppered with what's become the standard cyberpunk shock value and constant barrage of Portuguese slang and reference to indiginous religons, you've got to get through a lot of interference to hear what McDonald is trying to say. There is a line between imersion, and drowning. I'm sure the next time I read a book that culture shocks me, I'll enjoy it more. the first time is always the hardest. Perhaps it is time to for me to pick up McDonalds earlier work - River of Gods, his view of a future India. Also a center of population whose details I am ignorant of.
3 and a half out of 5 spaceships
Reviewer: Andrea Johnson for Multiverse Reviews
|
|
|
|
| |
