Permafrost

Title:

Permafrost

Author:

Reynolds, Alastair, 1966- author.

ISBN:

9781250303561

Physical Description:

175 pages ; 21 cm

Summary:

"2080: at a remote site on the edge of the Arctic Circle, a group of scientists, engineers and physicians gather to gamble humanity's future on one last-ditch experiment. Their goal: to make a tiny alteration to the past, averting a global catastrophe while at the same time leaving recorded history intact. To make the experiment work, they just need one last recruit: an ageing schoolteacher whose late mother was the foremost expert on the mathematics of paradox. 2028: a young woman goes into surgery for routine brain surgery. In the days following her operation, she begins to hear another voice in her head ... an unwanted presence which seems to have a will, and a purpose, all of its own -- one that will disrupt her life entirely. The only choice left to her is a simple one. Does she resist ... or become a collaborator?"--

General Note:

"A Tom Doherty Associates book."

"A Tor.com book"--Title page verso.

Genre:

Fiction. (OCoLC)fst01423787

Science fiction. (OCoLC)fst01726489

Science fiction.

Subject:

Time travel -- Fiction.

Mind and body -- Fiction.

Mind and body

Time travel.

Fiction.

Science fiction.

Available:*

Library	Collection	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Cobourg Branch	Searching... Unknown	Adult Science Fiction	F Rey SF	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A 2019 Locus Award finalist
A USA Today Bestseller

Fix the past. Save the present. Stop the future. Master of science fiction Alastair Reynolds unfolds a time-traveling climate fiction adventure in Permafrost .

2080: at a remote site on the edge of the Arctic Circle, a group of scientists, engineers and physicians gather to gamble humanity's future on one last-ditch experiment. Their goal: to make a tiny alteration to the past, averting a global catastrophe while at the same time leaving recorded history intact. To make the experiment work, they just need one last recruit: an ageing schoolteacher whose late mother was the foremost expert on the mathematics of paradox.

2028: a young woman goes into surgery for routine brain surgery. In the days following her operation, she begins to hear another voice in her head... an unwanted presence which seems to have a will, and a purpose, all of its own - one that will disrupt her life entirely. The only choice left to her is a simple one.

Does she resist ... or become a collaborator?

Author Notes

Alastair Reynolds was born in Wales in 1966. He has a Ph.D. in astronomy. From 1991 until 2007, he lived in The Netherlands, where he was employed by The European Space Agency as an astrophysicist. He is now a full-time writer. Alastair's books include the Revelation Space novels and Permafrost.

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

Reynolds departs from his hard-sf milieu and explores time travel in this novella. In 2080, the World Health Organization tries one last, desperate attempt to avoid world catastrophe and a time-paradox disaster. They have discovered a way to send pilots back to hosts in the past in order to cache seeds that can withstand the ecological vagaries of the present. In 2028, a young woman undergoing brain surgery begins to experience a presence attempting to direct her body. As she struggles to decide whether to resist or help her pilot, other pilots experience the same kind of struggle with someone from beyond 2080. As always, compelling characterization drives a suspenseful adventure in Reynolds' masterful style.--Don Vicha Copyright 2010 Booklist

Library Journal Review

The newest novella from Reynolds (Revelation Space) has a simple premise: return to the past to save the future of humanity. The mission's objective involves the retrieval of genetically modified seeds, those strong enough to grow on Earth in 2080. The complication, as always, involves the effect of time travel on an ever-changing time line. Retired schoolteacher Valentina is the first to connect successfully with a future host named Tatiana through the use of a molecular-level consciousness paradox that Valentina's mother invented. This connection between past and present host are part of her mother's discovery of the relationship within a Luba pair, all of which is well explained as the adventure unfolds. Valentina's time travel produces unexpected complications that both hinder and help the mission, causing her to withhold some findings from the team. During subsequent consciousness transfers, she's forced to ask whether the motives of her fellow scientists and the AI brothers who assist the project are still aligned with the goal of preserving humanity. VERDICT This is Netflix's Travelers series meshed with Jeff Vandermeer's "Southern Reach" trilogy, and it's outstanding.-Tina Panik, Avon Free P.L., CT © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.