Science Fiction Writer
ROBERT J. SAWYER
Hugo and Nebula Winner

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"I loved it. May you also." — Analog

"A novel of immense scope. Exciting and profound." — Bakka Books

"Science fiction is littered with stories of first contact and enigmatic messages from other star systems, but Nebula Award winner Sawyer has come up with a fresh and original slant that combines the traditions of the Golden Age with a contemporary cutting edge. Rooted firmly in science fact, this isn't an X-Files exercise in alien abduction, rather a reasoned examination of mankind's instinctive reaction to the unknown. Ignore, however, the book jacket claim that Sawyer is `Canada's answer to Michael Crichton.' On literary terms, he's much better than that." — Birmingham Evening Mail (Birmingham, England)

"Sawyer gets high marks for working out extraordinary concepts in ordinary human terms. Heather's machine is a thing of great beauty, and her trip through our collective racial consciousness is an amazing cruise." — Booklist

"Robert Sawyer handles the `first contact' scenario with more panache and plausibility than was done in the book and movie Contact. Sawyer knits up a lot of philosophical loose ends in this book — entertaining science fiction as well as food for thought." — Brattleboro Reformer (Brattleboro, Vermont)

"Sawyer has written another masterful novel. For the hard science fiction fan, this book is a dream come true. Sawyer gets everything right — the science, the ideas, the implications, everything — and he hit his targets with remarkable precision. He has an uncanny knack for capturing and sustaining the reader's attention, and the events of the book flow smoothly and credibly. Recommended." — Challenging Destiny

"The characters help make the story work, but the idea Sawyer explores is so literally mind-blowing that it will please any true science fiction fan." — The Hartford Courant

"Some hard SF confines itself to examining the science of the story — delving into the theory and the minutia of what's happening — while the better stuff focuses on how science affects both the people most closely involved, and humanity as a whole. Sawyer usually writes the latter sort, and that's what makes this one of his best novels. The tension between Kyle's acute distress and Heather's solid scientific investigation is compelling, and you're likely to stay up late just to finish the book. Highly recommended." — The Davis Enterprise

"Sawyer writes books with truly original ideas. He is adept at presenting novel scientific possibilities that resonate with the lives of his characters." — The Denver Post

"An intelligent and absorbing double-stranded narrative that accelerates to hyperspeed in the last few pages." — Kirkus

"Sawyer's latest novel explores the enigmatic and perplexing landscape of the human mind and the interplay of true, false, implanted, and collective memories that comprise the phenomenon of consciousness. Recommended." — Library Journal

"A superb science-fiction story with considerable cross-over appeal." — Maclean's: Canada's Weekly Newsmagazine

"If you only have time to read one of this year's science fiction novels, let it be Factoring Humanity. It gets my vote for the best SF novel of 1998." — McGee's First Varieties

"As in every novel by this author, the underlying technology is first rate and the characters well defined. Long time fans of Sawyer will love Factoring Humanity, and new readers of his work will understand why he wins Hugo and Nebula Awards." — Midwest Book Review

"Sawyer's finest novel to date. Scientifically plausible, fictionally intriguing and ethically important." — New Scientist

"This is a terrific read, even for people who don't like science fiction." — The Ottawa Citizen

"Sawyer does very interesting things in Factoring Humanity — he has many ideas to dramatize and does it well." — Quill & Quire

"Robert J. Sawyer is fast becoming one of the most important names in science fiction. Factoring Humanity is one of the best `first-contact' novels to come along in years. While variations on this plot may have been used before, Sawyer's ability as a storyteller makes Factoring Humanity the best of the lot." — Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colorado)

"The science here, both in theory and realization, is more than competent, as is Sawyer's drawing of the internal lives of his characters." — San Diego Union-Tribune

"A scientifically brilliant science fiction novel that weaves a plot with several twists into a scientist's discovery of travel through a realm beyond previous human imagination. Factoring Humanity is a book that, while maintaining a spellbinding plot, stays true to the science fiction tradition, giving fans of the genre and others who normally don't read sci-fi an interesting, informative novel." — Science Books & Films

"A serious-minded SF novel featuring people caught in a genuine personal crisis. One of the year's best." — Science Fiction Chronicle

"Robert J. Sawyer writes my favourite kind of science fiction. Interesting characters, fast-paced plotting, science threaded elegantly into the prose — he does it all with grace and style. He does it again in Factoring Humanity: it will grab you by the scruff of the neck at the very start and it won't let go until you are finished. I was constantly amazed by the depth of Sawyer's characters — their humanity, their failings and their instincts. If you read this novel, be prepared to be glued to your chair for the duration. You are in for a treat." — SFSITE.COM

"Sawyer manages to gather his various plots into one seamless, hugely entertaining thriller. Factoring Humanity presents some fascinating mathematical speculations and a true sense of wonder about the universe, yet it never loses sight of its human story." — Starlog

"Sawyer knows what all sitcom writers and too few novelists know, which is that the interplay of plot and subplot provides half the spark of a good read. If an author is to present imaginative and speculative scenarios based on real science, he must convince the reader he knows what he's talking about, and this Sawyer certainly accomplishes. The novel demonstrates beyond a doubt that the human appetite for transcendence, for a way around our obvious physical and mental limitations, is as great among scientific rationalists as it is among traditionally religious people. Factoring Humanity, with its scientifically sophisticated outlook, its earnest tone and its ingenious plot mechanisms, amply confirms that fact." — Philip Marchand (Canada's top book critic) in The Toronto Star

"In Factoring Humanity Robert J. Sawyer deftly blends such disparate elements as quantum mechanics, artificial intelligence and false memory syndrome into an inventive and tightly focused novel about the next step in human evolution. One of the year's best." — Henry Mietkiewicz (SF reviewer) in The Toronto Star

"Sometimes the heroes of science fiction are perfectly ordinary, as ordinary as characters in an Anne Tyler novel. This is a quiet but thoughtful novel that plays with some of the newest ideas in the science fiction lexicon, and some of the oldest in the psychological one." — VOYA

"The novel serves to remind us that, even as science reveals new details about the breathtaking size and composition of the universe, these remain unsurpassed by the complexity of the human mind. The science fiction reader who is drawn to the inner universe of human beings as much as the outer one of space will find this book a satisfying experience." — The Washington Times

"What a wonderful book! This is exactly the kind of writing that attracted me to SF in the first place. It's great to encounter a novel that captures the classical SF feeling in such a contemporary way. Excellent work." — Robert Charles Wilson

"Sawyer's characters have to figure things out for themselves and face human consequences. This intimacy keeps the drama personal and meaningful. Sawyer's combination of real people and real issues and the placement of the story in the very near future makes Factoring Humanity an accessible and interesting read, even for people who wouldn't normally try science fiction." — The Winnipeg Free Press

More Good Reading

More about Factoring Humanity
Robert J. Sawyer's awards and honors
What's a Rob Sawyer novel like?
Review index

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