The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
The reading group met at the North Village Library on July 3 to discuss Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Quantum Thief. Billed as the first in a trilogy, it was published in 2010 and The Fractal Prince is scheduled for next September. The author is a Finn with a PhD in mathematical physics. This first novel received many laudatory reviews. The comments of the ten members at the meeting, however, were extremely varied.
The tale begins with Jean le Flambeur, a famous “post human” thief and mind manipulator, although there are several viewpoint characters in this extremely complex story. Jean is in a sort of virtual prison where he is condemned to a daily gun duel with himself which he always loses. The goal is to work out a way