Secret Passages

by Paul Preuss

Book Overview

"Mr. Le Carre, meet Dr. Feynman ... T]his one really makes the earth move." -Ursula K. Le Guin Returning to the characters and setting of his widely admired novel, BROKEN SYMMETRIES, SECRET PASSAGES... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312863462
• ISBN13: 9780312863463
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 381 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Quest for Identity in the Cretan Wilds

Troubled Anne-Marie Brand has a secret that she has held inside of herself for her entire adolescent and adult life. Now this secret may be the leverage she needs to get her son out of the legal grasp of her vindictive ex-husband. She needs only to acquire a bit of archaeological treasure to set her trap and quantum physicist Manolis Minakis seems to hold the key to the very treasure trove she seeks. There is one unknown that challenges her scheme: it seems that Manolis himself has masterminded the entire game from the very start. He has lured Anne-Marie's new husband to a symposium on quantum physics, manupulated the man whom Anne-Marie desperately needs to aid her in her quest for her son and enticed Anne-Marie herself to his homeland on Crete where he enfolds his own strange personal history. The outcome is a pleasing story of two people of different generations with the identical need to salvage the good from their past in order to face the future in a positive manner. I enjoyed this story immensely---I did not buy it because it was supposedly a Sci-Fi tale; it has little science fiction. Rather I found the characterizations and descriptions of Greek village life vivid and fulfilling, especially when set against the foil of such archaeological greats like Sir Arthur Evans and John Pendlebury. A most satisfying story!

A very interesting book

Preuss does an excelent job developing characters, and bringing us in to the lives and history of the people of isolated island of Crete. When I started the book, I was expecting more physics. I was not prepared for the 100 page biography of Minakis, and did not enjoy the interlude as much as I would have if I was expecting it.The writing style was fantastic. I loved the characters. This book about the lives of scientists. It is a welcome relief to all the quirky sci-fi books filling the bookstore shelves. A previous reviwer made a good point labelling "Secret Passages" as fiction about science instead of science fiction.The characters and writing style are fantastic. Preuss does an excellent job weaving together anthropology, the history of Crete, philosphy and physics. On the downside, many of the transitions in the book were weak and the plot a little disjoint. This was truly a refreshing book, but I gave the book a 4 instead of a 5.I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a very deep and thoughtful work on the lives of scientists. I admit, I wish I had a map of Crete at hand while reading it. I expect it would be better on the second read.

A totally different hard SF novel!

Preuss manages to skillfully mix a hard SF novel (with elaborate yet non-intimidating descriptions of quantum mechanics research) with a historical novel. Add totally realistic characters, and you have an offbeat winner. Not quirky, this one comes from the heart, and will keep you captivated. And the physics rocks!

Beautiful novella within a fairly good novel; worth reading

This book contains a beautifully delineated novella about a brilliant shepard boy growing up in Pre-WWII Crete. Preuss found a setting that fascinated him, as evidenced by the story's emotional resonance. Bracketing this is a good novel involving a trio of contemporary characters (including the shepard as an elderly physicist) who seem less saturated with life. Secret Passages is a meditation on desire and memory with particle physics thrown in to keep the plot moving along. I enjoyed Preuss's unconventional resolutions and his ambivilant, mercurial charaters. A novel well worth reading.

Great Fiction with Science, rather than "Science Fiction"

This was the first book by Preuss that I have read, and I will be looking for his others. The story is a remarkable work of fiction with enough speculative physics thrown in only where needed to advance the tale. A pleasure to read, engrossing, intelligent and thoughtfully written. Highly Recommended