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Fiction General

Factoring Humanity

by (author) Robert J. Sawyer

Publisher
Tor/Forge
Initial publish date
May 1999
Category
General
  • 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

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Out of print

This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.

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

Robert J. Sawyer's profile page

Awards

  • Hugo Award - Nominee

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