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Modern Masters of Science Fiction
Greg Egan
Greg Egan (1961- ) publishes works that challenge readers with rigorous, deeply-informed scientific speculation. He unapologetically delves into mathematics, physics, and other disciplines in his prose, putting him in the vanguard of the hard science fiction renaissance of the 1990s.
A working physicist and engineer, Karen Burnham is uniquely positioned to provide an in-depth study of Egan's science-heavy oeuvre. Her survey of the author's career covers novels like Permutation City and Schild's Ladder and the Hugo Award-winning novella "Oceanic," analyzing how Egan used cutting-edge scientific theory to explore ethical questions and the nature of humanity. As Burnham shows, Egan's collected works constitute a bold artistic that narratives of science are equal to those of poetry and drama, and that science holds a place in the human condition as exalted as religion or art.
The volume includes a rare interview with the famously press-shy Egan covering his works, themes, intellectual interests, and thought processes.
A working physicist and engineer, Karen Burnham is uniquely positioned to provide an in-depth study of Egan's science-heavy oeuvre. Her survey of the author's career covers novels like Permutation City and Schild's Ladder and the Hugo Award-winning novella "Oceanic," analyzing how Egan used cutting-edge scientific theory to explore ethical questions and the nature of humanity. As Burnham shows, Egan's collected works constitute a bold artistic that narratives of science are equal to those of poetry and drama, and that science holds a place in the human condition as exalted as religion or art.
The volume includes a rare interview with the famously press-shy Egan covering his works, themes, intellectual interests, and thought processes.
- GenresNonfiction
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 31, 2015
A marvelous book about, Greg Egan, whom I consider one of 'hardest' of Hard-SF writers currently writing.
Egan is famously a very private person, with no verified images of him online and known to very few people personally in the SF area. So it was interesting to read a book about him and to discover more about Egan personally, rather than what he shows through his works of fiction and website.
The first chapter gives an overview of Egan's work, showing his progression from writing initially more horror related stories, through works about biology to his current works on world and universe building.
Other chapters then cover Egan's thoughts on ethics, what makes a person, attitude towards science and how society sees science. Each chapter uses summaries and passages from Egan's works to illustrate how Egan sees the world.
As an introduction to the works of Egan and as a way to know the author better, this is an excellent book. But be warned that you'll need some knowledge of the physical and biological sciences in order to get a proper appreciation of his writing. Egan is one writer who expects his readers to be excited not just by the characters in his books but also by the science he uses to explain the environment the characters interact in.
Egan is famously a very private person, with no verified images of him online and known to very few people personally in the SF area. So it was interesting to read a book about him and to discover more about Egan personally, rather than what he shows through his works of fiction and website.
The first chapter gives an overview of Egan's work, showing his progression from writing initially more horror related stories, through works about biology to his current works on world and universe building.
Other chapters then cover Egan's thoughts on ethics, what makes a person, attitude towards science and how society sees science. Each chapter uses summaries and passages from Egan's works to illustrate how Egan sees the world.
As an introduction to the works of Egan and as a way to know the author better, this is an excellent book. But be warned that you'll need some knowledge of the physical and biological sciences in order to get a proper appreciation of his writing. Egan is one writer who expects his readers to be excited not just by the characters in his books but also by the science he uses to explain the environment the characters interact in.
May 10, 2016
I knew so little about Egan as a person going into this book that I learned quite a few things. But that's of course not what most of the book is about.
Much of Egan's fiction is summarized and not just discussed in the abstract so while I guess that could work as a decent guide to people who have yet to explore Egan's work, readers concerned about spoilers should avoid it for now or possibly stick to the long interview at the end. The spoilers are of course not gratuitous but the book doesn't go out of its way to avoid them either. The flipside is that readers will be reminded of what they might have forgotten. No need to re-read what Egan published over the decades.
Burnham tried to do two main things: first, highlight the main topics that Egan explored in his work and relate his angle to what both fiction writers and scientists were doing at the time.
I think that part is somewhat lacking as relatively few fiction writers are cited. She goes into a long tangent about Chiang (which is understandable) while there are so many proeminent authors who have things in common with Egan but either don't get a mention (Reynolds for instance, possibly because of the book's North-American bias) or who are only mentionned in passing without making reference to the main ways their work connects with Egan's (Williams would be one such case). As a result, the book fails to shed light on Egan's legacy. In fairness, that might yet be overshadowed by the reception of future works (but Burnham is doubtful about that).
The other thing the book tries to do struck me as ill-inspired. It repeatedly tries to stir up a whiff of controversy by airing the opinions of some of Egan's detractors (or the detractors of fairly widespread ideas) in a we-report-you-decide manner. It even editorializes in favor of them occasionally and Egan is evidently offended by one such insinuation Burnham put forth in the interview.
I would have thought that someone who spends so much time discussing an author would get their work but apparently not. Or maybe Burnham or her editor(s) are just pandering to widespread prejudices among English majors who are perhaps supposed to constitute the main audience of such books.
In some cases, I could write off vague and conventionally-biased literary charges against Egan as merely lazy (in contrast with the well-referenced thematic analysis) but in other cases, Burnham is being irresponsible. She would never have given such a coyly favorable airing to the opinions of the homophobes who object to Egan's work but by her crass obscurantism is apparently OK.
Nevertheless, reminiscing Egan's stories was a pleasant experience. Burnham figures Egan's characters aren't idiotic enough. While idiots would be out of place in some of his stories, I have to concede that she has shown that idiotic opinions do not necessarily ruin a book.
Much of Egan's fiction is summarized and not just discussed in the abstract so while I guess that could work as a decent guide to people who have yet to explore Egan's work, readers concerned about spoilers should avoid it for now or possibly stick to the long interview at the end. The spoilers are of course not gratuitous but the book doesn't go out of its way to avoid them either. The flipside is that readers will be reminded of what they might have forgotten. No need to re-read what Egan published over the decades.
Burnham tried to do two main things: first, highlight the main topics that Egan explored in his work and relate his angle to what both fiction writers and scientists were doing at the time.
I think that part is somewhat lacking as relatively few fiction writers are cited. She goes into a long tangent about Chiang (which is understandable) while there are so many proeminent authors who have things in common with Egan but either don't get a mention (Reynolds for instance, possibly because of the book's North-American bias) or who are only mentionned in passing without making reference to the main ways their work connects with Egan's (Williams would be one such case). As a result, the book fails to shed light on Egan's legacy. In fairness, that might yet be overshadowed by the reception of future works (but Burnham is doubtful about that).
The other thing the book tries to do struck me as ill-inspired. It repeatedly tries to stir up a whiff of controversy by airing the opinions of some of Egan's detractors (or the detractors of fairly widespread ideas) in a we-report-you-decide manner. It even editorializes in favor of them occasionally and Egan is evidently offended by one such insinuation Burnham put forth in the interview.
I would have thought that someone who spends so much time discussing an author would get their work but apparently not. Or maybe Burnham or her editor(s) are just pandering to widespread prejudices among English majors who are perhaps supposed to constitute the main audience of such books.
In some cases, I could write off vague and conventionally-biased literary charges against Egan as merely lazy (in contrast with the well-referenced thematic analysis) but in other cases, Burnham is being irresponsible. She would never have given such a coyly favorable airing to the opinions of the homophobes who object to Egan's work but by her crass obscurantism is apparently OK.
Nevertheless, reminiscing Egan's stories was a pleasant experience. Burnham figures Egan's characters aren't idiotic enough. While idiots would be out of place in some of his stories, I have to concede that she has shown that idiotic opinions do not necessarily ruin a book.
June 27, 2014
This book really enhanced my understanding of Greg Egan's science fiction. Karen does an excellent job of analyzing the science in Egan's super hard science fiction, but she also looks at his underlying themes like the boundaries of personal identity, and the intrinsic value of scientific discovery. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Egan.
May 18, 2021
What a deep well of information this book is. Not just about hard-SF author Greg Egan, but about the genre itself, its thought-provoking ideas, and about the value (and values) SF represents to humanity. Man's mind is what sets himself apart from other life on the planet, and it is man's mind where Egan's fiction is focused.
The physical substrate of the mind is currently biological, but what of its future? What if a digital future is to include consciousness itself? The repercussions for mortality, for space travel, and for identity are endless, and Egan explores these with original ideas, and it is original ideas that are the lifeblood of SF. Having the brilliant NASA engineer Karen Burnham provide the meta commentary is almost like gilding the lily, but here the gilding is a golden light providing illumination.
Still, Burnham's comprehensive overview is not all saccharin sunshine. Egan's detractors have their day, alongside what has been called the "Egan Defense," a justification for his prioritization of ideas over characters. The decline in Egan's output is also covered, with his prolific years of the 1990s not keeping pace since the new century. One reason for Egan's lack of output was a surprise to me--his years spent with asylum-seeking refugees in Australia. I also was surprised, shocked, really, at this quote:
"Right now, I'm on a series of very tight deadlines, and I'm being paid about a third as much per book as I used to get in the ’90s, so my only real choice is between leaving this round of the fight to other people, or giving up writing completely and becoming a refugee activist with a day job in computing."
Living in a world where athlete is a more lucrative profession than author, particularly for one as insightful as Egan, can be exasperating. Supply and demand being what it is, I can only view this as an indictment of the unwashed masses, unpleasant as that feeling of righteousness is. People are dumb, and how glorious a world it would be if the world were right-side up.
That's actually a huge part of what appeals to me about Egan's stories. His worlds are filled with smart, rational people who value science, welcome new ideas and are curious about the world around them. His stories are pocket universes of their own where I can squirrel away to fantastical places where characters that I could never have imagined practice the values I strive to live by myself. It's that kind of satisfaction that is at the heart of Burnham's presentation. A worthy guide to any fan.
The physical substrate of the mind is currently biological, but what of its future? What if a digital future is to include consciousness itself? The repercussions for mortality, for space travel, and for identity are endless, and Egan explores these with original ideas, and it is original ideas that are the lifeblood of SF. Having the brilliant NASA engineer Karen Burnham provide the meta commentary is almost like gilding the lily, but here the gilding is a golden light providing illumination.
Still, Burnham's comprehensive overview is not all saccharin sunshine. Egan's detractors have their day, alongside what has been called the "Egan Defense," a justification for his prioritization of ideas over characters. The decline in Egan's output is also covered, with his prolific years of the 1990s not keeping pace since the new century. One reason for Egan's lack of output was a surprise to me--his years spent with asylum-seeking refugees in Australia. I also was surprised, shocked, really, at this quote:
"Right now, I'm on a series of very tight deadlines, and I'm being paid about a third as much per book as I used to get in the ’90s, so my only real choice is between leaving this round of the fight to other people, or giving up writing completely and becoming a refugee activist with a day job in computing."
Living in a world where athlete is a more lucrative profession than author, particularly for one as insightful as Egan, can be exasperating. Supply and demand being what it is, I can only view this as an indictment of the unwashed masses, unpleasant as that feeling of righteousness is. People are dumb, and how glorious a world it would be if the world were right-side up.
That's actually a huge part of what appeals to me about Egan's stories. His worlds are filled with smart, rational people who value science, welcome new ideas and are curious about the world around them. His stories are pocket universes of their own where I can squirrel away to fantastical places where characters that I could never have imagined practice the values I strive to live by myself. It's that kind of satisfaction that is at the heart of Burnham's presentation. A worthy guide to any fan.
December 3, 2015
Reading a book about a writer and his work should be a stimulating experience. It should be even more so when read in the context of also having to review it. Although Karen Burnham came not to review Egan but to discuss him, the reviewer does have to review Greg Egan and not its subject. But of course things aren’t quite that simple. The book is the window through which the subject is revealed, or the glass in which it is embedded. But you can’t only consider the glass, no matter how much, as here, the window has been washed and is sparkling, with all panes clear. Any smears or scratches recall human imperfectability – and especially of writers (together with those who discuss – reviewers included, no doubt).
This is the fourth, so far, in the Modern Masters of Science Fiction series. Previous volumes have covered Greg Benford, John Brunner, and William Gibson. But of these only Greg Egan is very much of this parish, having his first story “Mind Vampires” in Interzone (No. 18, a piece of paper I have in my hand) not far off thirty years ago (Winter 1986/87). Egan at first wrote horror, but soon slid over into a different orbit, publishing many more stories here including some of his most highly-regarded ones.
Karen Burnham hasn’t set herself the easiest of tasks. The book is the window through which the subject is revealed, or the glass in which it is embedded. But you can’t only consider the glass, no matter how much, as here, the window has been washed and is sparkling, with all panes clear. Any smears or scratches recall human imperfectability – and especially of writers (together with those who discuss – reviewers included, no doubt). From the beginning of his career, Greg Egan has maintained a notable reticence about himself. Egan must be unique (at least amongst living sf writers) in his steadfast guardianship over his identity and appearance. He has a reputation for being reclusive – which Burnham tackles, and Egan joyfully explodes. (That’s one issue – to some – down.) And while the cover of Greg Egan gives out his name as title, plus other necessary details, the generic cover design as used for other books in the series is subverted by the use of a silhouette – unidentifiable, anonymous – in place of the author photograph. Even before the book is opened, Egan is saying, in effect, My work’s the thing. And so it should be.
Like author, like book. Greg Egan is clearly structured. In her Introduction Burnham gives context and sets the overall scene, mapping out the territory into which she intends to lead us. We get some relevant tasters from the interview with the author at the end of the book, which waits there like the most wished-for treat wedged into the very end of a Christmas stocking. Egan summarises himself: ‘If I’m pleased with one general achievement, it’s to have contributed something to the very small subset of literature that engages in a meaningful way with the full context of human existence.’ Agreed – and off we go.
Then follow five chapters, each with a self-explanatory title examining that particular theme throughout Egan’s writing and also relating it, when this can be done, to the context of his life. The chapters are: Writing Radical Hard SF; Ethical Standards; Identity and Consciousness; Scientific Analysis; Science and Society. Burnham also links individual stories through the various chosen themes – which are frequently porous and not amenable to being walled-in, isolated. Egan emerges as a highly demanding writer, someone who wants his readers to put in the work, to ‘grasp, learn, understand’ for themselves. (He has high standards, as does Burnham, who is far from uncritical. For example: Egan’s ‘upward trajectory has perhaps peaked’.)
There is also much on the “intersection between science and art”: as relevant to science fiction and “the full context of human existence” as it ever was when C.P. Snow raised the issue with his “Two Cultures” in the 1950s. (And, like Egan, Snow attempted – also using microcosms to get at macrocosms, but in a very different way – to engage with scientific enquiry and personal integrity in the full context of human existence throughout the eleven novels of his series Strangers and Brothers. Both men have their weaknesses as writers of fiction, but they must be held in awe and respect because it can never be said they didn’t engage.)
But no wonder that Egan’s the creator of some of the most absorbing and sustained thought-experiments in science fiction, and makes the old wonder-term ‘conceptual breakthrough’ shine out in the newly-minted currency it should always be. These vast thoughts are, in particular, most of his more recent novels, including Incandescence (2008) and the tremendous trilogy Orthogonal (2011-13). A picture paints, and Egan’s use of diagrams is noted, as well as his willingness – compulsion, perhaps – to supply his readers with background material and further solid work through his website. Don’t just take my word for it – work it out for yourselves, too. Engage, engage! His motto is ‘Stay curious to stay sane.’
Burnham notes that whether writing about the aliens who inhabit his thought-experiments, virtual humans, or the real variety, Egan’s concern with their identity, personal integrity, and ethical conduct – by and towards them – is paramount. High standards again: Burnham mentions the ‘chill’ feeling often found in Egan’s work, and then turns it all upside-down as she points out – casually, disarmingly, and truthfully – that the same work frequently involves the collision of this with irrational characters and ambiguous situations, all mixed-up and messy, like in our real universe. And so, revealed then, is Egan’s moral universe, as humanistic as they come, even when the characters are very possibly not ‘human’. He stretched the boundaries yet again: and engagement leads to respect.
Finishing with the interview and a useful Select Bibliography, Greg Egan is a fine introduction (or refresher course) to an often difficult, but always worthwhile, modern master. In her study Burnham provides a critical engagement that makes the reader want to go to the texts, to read, to think – and stay sane. It’s as simple as that, for once.
This is the fourth, so far, in the Modern Masters of Science Fiction series. Previous volumes have covered Greg Benford, John Brunner, and William Gibson. But of these only Greg Egan is very much of this parish, having his first story “Mind Vampires” in Interzone (No. 18, a piece of paper I have in my hand) not far off thirty years ago (Winter 1986/87). Egan at first wrote horror, but soon slid over into a different orbit, publishing many more stories here including some of his most highly-regarded ones.
Karen Burnham hasn’t set herself the easiest of tasks. The book is the window through which the subject is revealed, or the glass in which it is embedded. But you can’t only consider the glass, no matter how much, as here, the window has been washed and is sparkling, with all panes clear. Any smears or scratches recall human imperfectability – and especially of writers (together with those who discuss – reviewers included, no doubt). From the beginning of his career, Greg Egan has maintained a notable reticence about himself. Egan must be unique (at least amongst living sf writers) in his steadfast guardianship over his identity and appearance. He has a reputation for being reclusive – which Burnham tackles, and Egan joyfully explodes. (That’s one issue – to some – down.) And while the cover of Greg Egan gives out his name as title, plus other necessary details, the generic cover design as used for other books in the series is subverted by the use of a silhouette – unidentifiable, anonymous – in place of the author photograph. Even before the book is opened, Egan is saying, in effect, My work’s the thing. And so it should be.
Like author, like book. Greg Egan is clearly structured. In her Introduction Burnham gives context and sets the overall scene, mapping out the territory into which she intends to lead us. We get some relevant tasters from the interview with the author at the end of the book, which waits there like the most wished-for treat wedged into the very end of a Christmas stocking. Egan summarises himself: ‘If I’m pleased with one general achievement, it’s to have contributed something to the very small subset of literature that engages in a meaningful way with the full context of human existence.’ Agreed – and off we go.
Then follow five chapters, each with a self-explanatory title examining that particular theme throughout Egan’s writing and also relating it, when this can be done, to the context of his life. The chapters are: Writing Radical Hard SF; Ethical Standards; Identity and Consciousness; Scientific Analysis; Science and Society. Burnham also links individual stories through the various chosen themes – which are frequently porous and not amenable to being walled-in, isolated. Egan emerges as a highly demanding writer, someone who wants his readers to put in the work, to ‘grasp, learn, understand’ for themselves. (He has high standards, as does Burnham, who is far from uncritical. For example: Egan’s ‘upward trajectory has perhaps peaked’.)
There is also much on the “intersection between science and art”: as relevant to science fiction and “the full context of human existence” as it ever was when C.P. Snow raised the issue with his “Two Cultures” in the 1950s. (And, like Egan, Snow attempted – also using microcosms to get at macrocosms, but in a very different way – to engage with scientific enquiry and personal integrity in the full context of human existence throughout the eleven novels of his series Strangers and Brothers. Both men have their weaknesses as writers of fiction, but they must be held in awe and respect because it can never be said they didn’t engage.)
But no wonder that Egan’s the creator of some of the most absorbing and sustained thought-experiments in science fiction, and makes the old wonder-term ‘conceptual breakthrough’ shine out in the newly-minted currency it should always be. These vast thoughts are, in particular, most of his more recent novels, including Incandescence (2008) and the tremendous trilogy Orthogonal (2011-13). A picture paints, and Egan’s use of diagrams is noted, as well as his willingness – compulsion, perhaps – to supply his readers with background material and further solid work through his website. Don’t just take my word for it – work it out for yourselves, too. Engage, engage! His motto is ‘Stay curious to stay sane.’
Burnham notes that whether writing about the aliens who inhabit his thought-experiments, virtual humans, or the real variety, Egan’s concern with their identity, personal integrity, and ethical conduct – by and towards them – is paramount. High standards again: Burnham mentions the ‘chill’ feeling often found in Egan’s work, and then turns it all upside-down as she points out – casually, disarmingly, and truthfully – that the same work frequently involves the collision of this with irrational characters and ambiguous situations, all mixed-up and messy, like in our real universe. And so, revealed then, is Egan’s moral universe, as humanistic as they come, even when the characters are very possibly not ‘human’. He stretched the boundaries yet again: and engagement leads to respect.
Finishing with the interview and a useful Select Bibliography, Greg Egan is a fine introduction (or refresher course) to an often difficult, but always worthwhile, modern master. In her study Burnham provides a critical engagement that makes the reader want to go to the texts, to read, to think – and stay sane. It’s as simple as that, for once.
August 2, 2021
As another reviewer commented, Burnham spends too much time discussing possible criticism of Egan's work and not enough time appreciating Egan's strengths in his own terms. Some of his individual books are criticized for not addressing a specific issue, when in fact he address the issue in another book. So, one should appreciate the sum of his work first...
I found this book the same week as: Simone Caroti's "The Culture Series of Iain M. Banks: A Critical Introduction" (which I enjoyed a bit more). Egan also presents a utopia, and one could take this idea seriously. There is a strong ethical argument to be made for uploading people: for example, the fleshers at the start of Diaspora....
I found this book the same week as: Simone Caroti's "The Culture Series of Iain M. Banks: A Critical Introduction" (which I enjoyed a bit more). Egan also presents a utopia, and one could take this idea seriously. There is a strong ethical argument to be made for uploading people: for example, the fleshers at the start of Diaspora....
April 21, 2014
The book has an extensive review going throughout the unique body of work by the seclusive Greg Egan. It presents common outlines between the stories and serves as a guidebook for common themes and ideas. Greg Egan being one of today's hard SF writers, putting science as the center of many of his stories, which either twist or focus on the different possibilities awaiting us out there. With a masterful hand his ideas shape the world and his character.
As an avid fan of Greg Egan, I found this book to be very enriching.
As an avid fan of Greg Egan, I found this book to be very enriching.
January 16, 2020
UI's "Modern Masters of Science Fiction" series is a real treat, looking at authors' entire bodies of work—they're set up to provide an overview of the entire bibiliography, but also add context and highlight important themes and concerns. Primarily breadth, but with enough depth to give a feel for where you might want to read or think more about the author. Anyway, this one was very good; I was in a bit of an Egan mood this year, and he's prolific enough that it was useful and interesting to have Burnham's take on his career thus far as a whole.
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