259:. Technology makes nearly everyone immortal and tremendously wealthy, except those exiled from society or living outside by choice. The protagonist, Phaethon, is a member of a group, called the Manorials, for whom telepresence has completely replaced the phone and video-phone, as the Manorials travel and communicate as virtual projections on the physical world. The Manorial elites rarely go anywhere in person and live almost always connected to the Mentality, their version of the Internet. The Sophotechs, a superior line of computer intelligences, do most of the work, research, and simulations required by the society. There is only one remaining court, the Curia, and they rarely hear cases since everything can be solved externally by superior Sophotech intelligence and simulation. The entire military is made up of one man, Atkins, who most of the society has forgotten. The most powerful groups are the Hortators and the Peers, although about 90 percent of the society's wealth is controlled by the Sophotechs. The Hortators serve to convince people to act in a way beneficial to society. The Peers are the most wealthy and powerful humans ever to have lived, and they include Phaethon's "father" Helion, who created the Solar Array, a means of mixing the Sun's mass in order to extend the main-sequence hydrogen-burning lifetime of our star.
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enemy's superior subterfuge and technology. Phaethon must face his memories, the reasons for their loss, and his original dream of space exploration, risk, and enterprise in the face of a powerful, mysterious enemy and his
Utopian society that treasures its present safety and stability above all else.
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Phaethon becomes convinced that there is an enemy presence originating from an ancient failed colonization-attempt on another star, and becomes constantly dogged by clandestine enemies. The peaceful
Utopian society does not believe in Phaethon's hostile experiences and discoveries, because of the
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In the final book of the series, Phaethon must confront the
Nothing Sophotech, understand its history in the distortions of an anarchistic society with older roots than his own, and discover how to either liberate it or destroy it—before it destroys or absorbs him and all that he loves.
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had this recommendation in their review saying "this extraordinary feat of invention and plotting would be all the more impressive had the book not ended with the central mystery unresolved, leaving readers dazzled and annoyed in equal measure." Jackie
Cassada in her review for
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67:(full name Phaethon Prime Rhadamanth Humodified (augment) Uncomposed, Indepconsciousness, Base Neuroformed, Silver-Gray Manorial Schola, Era 7043). The novel concerns Phaethon's discovery that parts of his past have been edited out of his mind—apparently by himself.
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631:) chariot and rode it too close to the Sun, not unlike the tale of Icarus, who committed a similar error. There are also references to works of the science fiction canon: the title and characters conform to the mold established by
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praised the novel saying it was "bursting with kaleidoscopic imagery, Wright's first novel chronicles the quest of a far-future everyman in his journey of self-discovery. Reminiscent of the panoramic novels of
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Phaethon is in exile where he must learn to cope without access to the
Mentality, as he believes that there is a virus infecting it that is targeting him. He eventually travels to the island of
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where many exiles are living out their remaining lives. Phaethon finds that not everyone in the solar system agrees with his exile and comes up with a plan to return to his ship the
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in their review said "Wright's ornate and conceptually dense prose will not be to everyone's taste but, for those willing to be challenged, this is a rare and mind-blowing treat."
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in the 1940s and 50s that constituted the "Golden Age" of science fiction. The book's subtitle also describes itself as a "Romance of the far future," a reply to Olaf
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A copy of his wife, Daphne tracks him down and between her and the only soldier left in the solar system, we discover the truth about how
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