Factoring Humanity
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780812571295
- Publish Date
- May 1999
- List Price
- $8.99
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780765309037
- Publish Date
- Nov 2003
- List Price
- $24.99
-
CD-Audio
- ISBN
- 9781522608226
- Publish Date
- May 2016
- List Price
- $14.99
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Out of print
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Description
In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.
When Heather achieves a breakthrough, the message reveals a startling new technology that rips the barriers of space and time, holding the promise of a new stage of human evolution. In concert with Kyle's discoveries of the nature of consciousness, the key to limitless exploration---or the end of the human race---appears close at hand.
Sawyer has created a gripping thriller, a pulse-pounding tour of the farthest reaches of technology. Factoring Humanity is a 1999 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel.
About the author
Robert J. Sawyer,
a Member of the Order of Canada and a Globe and Mail and Maclean's bestseller, is the author of 23 previous novels, including FlashForward, the basis for the ABC TV series. His most recent novel, Quantum Night, was long-listed for CBC's Canada Reads
Praise for Robert J. Sawyer
"A new Robert J. Sawyer book is always cause for celebration."
— Analog Science Fiction and Fact
"Robert J. Sawyer is a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation."
— The New York Times
"Sawyer not only has an irresistibly engaging narrative voice but also a gift for confronting thorny philosophical conundrums. At every opportunity, he forces his readers to think while holding their attention with ingenious premises and superlative craftsmanship."
— Booklist
"Robert J. Sawyer is by any measure one of the world's leading (and most interesting) science-fiction writers. His fiction is a fascinating blend of intellectually compelling big ideas and humane, enduring characters."
— The Globe and Mail
"Sawyer, an articulate fountain of ideas, is the genre's northern star—in fact, one of the hottest SF writers anywhere. By any reckoning Sawyer is among the most successful Canadian authors ever."
— Maclean's: Canada's Weekly News Magazine
"A polished, exciting writer. Sawyer writes with the scientific panache and grandeur of Arthur C. Clarke and the human touch of Isaac Asimov."
— Quill & Quire
Awards
- Hugo Award - Nominee
Other titles by
Daydreaming in the Solar System
Surfing Saturn's Rings, Golfing on the Moon, and Other Adventures in Space Exploration
The Downloaded
The Oppenheimer Alternative
Far-Seer
The Quintaglio Ascension, Book 1
Fossil Hunter
The Quintaglio Ascension, Book 2
Quantum Night
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