About the Book
Inside the firewall the city is alive. Buildings breathe, cars attack, angels patrol, and hyperintelligent pets run wild in the streets. With unbridled invention and breakneck adventure, Hannu Rajaniemi is on the cutting-edge of science fiction. His postapocalyptic, postcyberpunk, and posthuman tales are full of exhilarating energy and unpredictable optimism. How will human nature react when the only limit to desire is creativity? When the distinction between humans and gods is as small as nanomachines - or as large as the universe? Whether the next big step in technology is 3D printing, genetic alteration, or unlimited space travel, Rajaniemi writes about what happens after.
About the Author :
Hannu Rajaniemi, author of The Quantum Thief, The Fractal Prince, andThe Causal Angel was born in Finland and completed his doctorate in Mathematical Physics at the University of Edinburgh. His works have received Finland’s top science fiction honor, the Tahtivaeltaja Award, as well as the John W. Campbell Award for the best first science fiction novel in the United States. Rajaniemi lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and will be moving to San Francisco, California in 2015.
Review :
Praise for Hannu Rajaniemi: Collected Fiction An NPR 2015 Great Read
Locus 2015 Recommended Reading List: Best Collection
"This is a collection of dexterous, loving, beautifully optimistic work that left me breathless and delighted.... Hannu Rajaniemi's magnificent science fiction -- as is paradoxically appropriate -- is pure magic."
--Amal El-Mohtar, NPR.com
"...the best and most original debut anthology since Angela Carter's "Fireworks" 40 years ago."
--Tom Shippey, Wall Street Journal
"This delightful trip into imaginative worlds brings a fresh take to timeless ideas."
--Publishers Weekly
"Every story in the collection is a gem, one that delights in playing with expectations before simultaneously dodging and exceeding them. To read Collected Fiction is to be shown something new and wonderful at every turn."
--Green Man Review
"The stories are all magnificently written, and you should absolutely seek out a copy for yourself. You won't regret it."
--The Warbler
A May 2015 Buzzfeed pick
"You may already know Rajaniemi from his buzzy Jean le Flambeur series (The Quantum Thief, The Fractal Prince, The Causal Angel); if that's the case, rest assured that his Collected Fiction offer the same fantastical quality, but in a dozen different flavors. If you're new to his charms, this is an excellent place to start: Rajaniemi writes post-singular fairy tales about computer-dragon romances, technologically-uplifted cats and dogs, and haunted space stations. If you like your science fiction lavish and the science part a little outlandish, this is definitely the book for you."
--Barnes & Noble.com
"Rajaniemi combines incredible technological expertise with such a vast imagination that many of his stories leave me overwhelmed by the worlds he creates. This collection demonstrates his breadth as well, involving everything from his invention of neurofiction to his stories of algorithmic romance to his tales that invoke ancient Finnish gods. Whatever the genre or subject, Rajaniemi's stories are guaranteed to be interesting, unique, and utterly captivating. If a science fiction author's job is to "think of impossible things," then I can't imagine anyone who does it better."
--Bookaneer
"SF and Rajaniemi's fiction in particular impart a sense of glamour, otherness, and estrangement.... the best stories are up there with the best."
--Booklikes
"An excellent and versatile collection.... If you want originality, creativity, imagination and style from your stories, you can't go wrong by reading these stories."
--Risingshadows
"Nano-jacked super-beings, carnivorous emergent technologies, the doors of perception yanked wide and almost off their hinges put the barrel of Rajaniemi's fiction in your mouth and blow your mind."
--Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon and The Dark Defiles
"These are beautifully crafted, sometimes cutting, sometimes consoling, but always mesmerizing tales of what comes after what comes next."
--So I Read This Book Today
"[Rajaniemi's] fiction is a vortex where the science and strangeness of the future meet, exploding in ferris wheel fireworks of bold ideas, narrative complexity and damned good writing."
--My Biochemical Sky
"If you enjoy surfing the edge of mindspace and occasionally dipping into a wormhole of true otherness, I highly recommend this collection of stories, as well as his previous Jean Le Flambeur series. Take along your exocortex and reserve a few spare cloud cycles, to forestall brain overload."
--Undiscovered Country
"There is something sublime, poetic and playful about how Rajaniemi blends mythology and technology in near (and far) future scenarios."
--Paper Wanderer
"For fans of science fiction or science fantasy, or even readers looking for a well written excursion from their usual reading material, I'd highly recommend Hannu Rajaniemi's Collected Fiction--it's a fantastic experience."
--Open Book Society
"Rajaniemi's stories form not only one of the best and most consistent collections of sci-fi and fantasy writing I've had the pleasure of reading but one of the best collections of fiction of any kind published so far this century."
--The Book Table
"If you haven't read any Rajaniemi, it's time to start."
--Bookishly Witty
"...I strongly recommend this collection. Sit back, strap yourself in, and enjoy some first-class storytelling."
--There Are Inkspots on my Page
"This isn't a book for your grandfather. This isn't a book for a Star Wars fan. This isn't a book for someone just getting into reading sci-fi. But if you've read Greg Egan, Charles Stross, Richard Morgan, Daniel Suarez, Vernor Vinge, or if you've read "The Quantum Thief" trilogy, pick this up as soon as possible."
--The Daily
"Rajaniemi is a physicist with the heart of a poet (and vice-versa) who takes data packets, social networks, saunas, and the sea, and weaves them all together into completely unique experiences."
--Fantasy Literature
"In both fact and fiction, it's fair to say, Rajaniemi is without doubt on the cutting edge"
--Interzone
"... little gems of high-concept, high delivery prose."
--Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews
