The Golden Transcendence

The Golden Transcendence by John C. Wright

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


On the eve of the Transcendence, Phaethon takes the Phoenix Exultant into the very heart of the sun to confront his enemy, the Nothing Sophotech, agent of the Silent Oecumene. Can he stop the Nothing before the Nothing launches a sneak attack during the Golden Transcendence? And does he want to?



Wow. I was hoping Wright could wrap up The Golden Age saga in a satisfactory fashion and he did. I can't say much about the plot without giving too much away. I will say that Atkins proved to be even more capable than originally intended and I was delighted when he mentioned his childhood on Mars and Uncle Kassad. Phaethon's reunion with Helion was well done and his relationship with Daphne was my favorite part of the book. Actually, that's not completely true. This volume had more humor than the previous two. I particularly liked when Diomedes was asking Helion questions about human reproduction on pages 192-193. "I wonder if Phaethon would mind if I helped him."



Now that the Golden Age saga has come to a close, I'd say it's like a retelling of Roger Zelanzy's First Chronicle of Amber, in a Vancian space opera setting, with a healthy dose of humor reminiscent of Michael Moorcock's Dancers at the End of Time. It's quite a read if you can survive being thrown into the deep end of the pool while wearing cement shoes in regard to all the concepts introduced early on. It's a sf epic that should not be missed.



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