Lost in Transmission: A Queendom of Sol Novel (The Queendom of Sol)

by Wil McCarthy

Book Overview

In a novel that challenges our expectations at every turn, acclaimed author Wil McCarthy sweeps us into the future as only he can imagine it. Here is a thrilling odyssey of discovery and adventure... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553584472
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Spectra
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.8" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

More Technology, More Interesting People

There's more of McCarthy's physics in this novel. He's found a way to show how even the best laid plans ... But it's an exciting, tense ride, with lots of suprising turns and science. Read it! "-"

The Epic Continues!

Some reviewers have commented that this book stands well on it's own. I wouldn't know, because I've avidly read The Collapsium and The Wellstone, which are just about my favorite books of all time. Amazingly, Lost In Transmission maintains that same level of kick-in-the-brain wonder.Fleeing from an oppressive Utopia, the children of the first immortals seek a world where THEY can be leaders and visionaries. But building a new society is a lot harder than it looks, and many tears will be shed before they finally get it right, and as immortals they, too, must live through the future their own actions have created. A funny, sad, thoughtful book for anyone who has ever loved science fiction.

Hard sci-fi meets awesome psychology

I picked up this book on a whim, based on the strange summary of immortals cast out of their home, and unaware that there were two previous books tied to this story. I would recommend that you pick up 'The Collapsium' and 'The Wellstone' before delving into 'Lost in Transmission', but know that the book stands formidably on its own.I tend to avoid so-called 'hard scifi' books because I prefer a good story to a clever bit of scientific extrapolation. I find hard scifi books to dwelve too much into scientific exposition, as they seem to be too much in love with their own concepts to care about their characters.This is partly true of Lost in Transmission, but it's far from annoying. The science displayed in this novel is, to be frank, absolutely stunning and well worth the expositions, especially as its workings have major consequences on the rest of the story. Not only does McCarthy tackle a frighteningly original and awe-inspiring concept, but he takes the time to think on its consequences on human life.And that's what stands so perfectly at the core of this novel... It's the way the technology forms the basis of a fascinating study on human psychology, of a humanity that has no more material need and knows immortality. The protagonists are given this gift, then it slowly falls away from them as the story progresses.The structure of the novel might seem disjointed, but it is perfectly appropriate for the nature of the story, that of the life of an immortal. The main character changes his mind a few times, gets close then drifts away from friends and lovers... In that regard, the story's pace is perfect for an immortal life, if quite unconventional.Another thing I found awesome with this novel is the fact that there is no Bad Guy and Good Guy in this story. This means less drama at times, but as a whole, the story is much more satisfying for it.All in all, I found much more than I expected from Lost in Transmission, and I heartily recommend it to fans of good scifi, hard or otherwise.

Building Civilization at Barnard's Star

Lost in Transmission is the third novel in The Queendom of Sol series, following The Wellstone. In the previous volume, the Queen's Navy and the Royal Constabulary arrested Prince Bascal and his pirate crew and returned them to Earth for trial before the Queen. They were sentenced to exile on the worlds of Barnard's Star, some 5.9 light-years away, for a period of one thousand years.In this novel, the QSS Newhope departs the Solar System, carrying Bascal, the newly elected king of the Barnard system, and his subjects to their new home. Only twenty of the émigrés are active while the others are stored in the memory cores of the fax system. With a travel time of a century, even the working crew will spend much of the voyage in storage. King Bascal, however, elects to stay active during the entire trip, spending the time in learning new things, planning his kingdom and, hopefully, gaining wisdom. Captain Xmary and First Mate Conrad alternate active periods to supervise ship activities. Other crew members are active occasionally to refine ship systems and repair en route damage.After reaching the Barnard system and decelerating into a useful orbit, the crew start feeding a suitable space rock into the matter buffer of an oversized fax system to produce the components for a shipyard. Then they put together a space habitat in orbit around planet two. Finally, they start terraforming the planet.In this story, the colonists encounter and overcome many difficulties, but their most intractable problem is the production of fax systems. Conrad continues to be a close advisor to Bascal, but they become increasingly distance as the king becomes more ruthless in his approach. Conrad and Xmary become lovers, but are often apart for decades at a time.This story portrays the descent of Bascal into hubris. When the colony gets into deep trouble, the king refuses to consider any plan that would require help from the Queendom of Sol. He uses the excuse of their exile, but he is really obsessed with proving his own worth.In the framing story, Radmer and Bruno enter the Lune atmosphere and land on the Aden Plateau above the town of Timoch. The sphere rolls into an old watch tower on the edge of the plateau, saving them from a disastrous roll down the long slope. Unfortunately, their descent has been seen by the enemy and they are pursued as they flee toward Timoch.Highly recommended for McCarthy fans and for anyone else who enjoys hard science fiction with cutting edge technology and interesting speculations on the social and personal consequences thereof.-Arthur W. Jordin

Exciting sf

In the twenty-sixth century earth time, mankind has achieved immortality through the fax and duplicating clones that can be used at a moment's notice. In such a society the children have no hope of making a mark because what can they do that their older and wiser parents can't? Some young rebels turn to piracy, revolution and other acts of violence that upsets the status quo. These rebels are caught and their punishment is to take the OSS Newhope to a world light years away and colonize it for a thousand years.The former rebels make it to planet P2 and at first it looks like they will have the freedom to pursue their dreams. However, the planet is short on tracer metals needed to keep people healthy and young. As the technology wears out, there is nothing to replace it and for the first time these immortals know what final death is. One brave former revolutionary conceives of a plan to rescue some of the population but it is history that will judge whether he is a hero or a pirate.In LOST IN TRANSMISSION readers will find that immortality leads to stagnation and a need for the status quo, a situation that drives the second generation of immortals into rebellion so they can break free of the social constraints. The irony is that when they "grow up" in tens of centuries they are much like their parents except for a few "old" revolutionaries who are not content with their situation and intend to change it (sounds like the love children of the sixties). Will McCarthy has written a fascinating book about a future the audience hopes will never come true.Harriet Klausner