geekyTor Books, trade paperback
364 pages, science fiction/magical realism/gonzo mathematics
Currently in print
***
So I picked up this book on a whim. I like math -- I think it's spiffy, especially when it decides to transcend the limits of my understanding and go dancing down the primrose path of higher thought -- and I find that the really quirky approaches to alternate worlds are often a pretty solid hit with me. Plus, it was free, and that's often enough to make me start reading something (although not always enough to make me finish it).
I was almost instantly charmed. Take two graduate students working on their doctoral thesis in higher mathematics; add one sexy, manipulative rhetoric major looking for some gold to dig; toss in a crazy advisor, a political conspiracy, and, right, maybe monsters (although the monsters are largely theoretical for the first half of the book). And math! Math, math, math. The details of the alternate reality are consistent and smooth enough that after the first few shocks to the system -- 'Berkeley' is named 'Humelocke,' rabbit is a common ingredient in fast food, and fashion is kinda scary -- you just stop noticing them.
But really, when you're talking surfrock mathpunk theoretical fiction, it's the language that's going to matter, and Rucker gets triple points for his language. He keeps it light and fun, even playful, and he neither beats you to death with his mathematics nor simplifies them to the point that you wind up wondering why the hell you're supposed to care. His people are a little simplistic-seeming at times, but that's at least partially because this is a book about theory, and about inertia -- everything that starts to move has to keep moving. That's just the breaks.
It's been a while since I've had this damn much fun with a book that was as much about concept as it was about plot. It's sort of like a cross between Tim Powers, Peter David, and a math textbook, and it's not like any of these things at all, because it's absolutely and completely itself. If I have any complaints about the text, it's that it raises all these fabulous questions, and then doesn't include a bibliography to suggest books on math theory that might start answering them.
Mathematicians in Love is a fun, meaty, satisfying read. If you like math, alternate realities, wacky plots, or magical realism, I definitely recommend it. There are way worse ways to spend a couple of afternoons than hanging with the crew from Washer Drop and trying to use math to change the world.
