Subject: Review, AN UNUSUAL ANGLE by Greg Egan

From: "Evelyn C Leeper" <[email-masked]>
Date: 19 Oct 1999 10:53:00 -0400

AN UNUSUAL ANGLE, Greg Egan
       Norstrilia Press, ISBN 0-909106-12-6, 1983, 200pp, A$14.95
                   A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
                    Copyright 1999 Evelyn C. Leeper

No, this is not a new Greg Egan novel; it is an old Greg Egan novel.
Actually, it is a *very* old Greg Egan novel--his first novel.  Someone
discovered a case of them in a basement somewhere and they showed up at
Aussiecon Three, where I immediately grabbed one.  See last paragraph for
availability information.

The plot of this book is not like Egan's later work, but the wealth of
ideas--and many of the same ideas--that characterizes his later work is.
There is a section on how quantum mechanics restored the concept of free
will.  The protagonist sends out "viewpoints"--essentially non-material
copies of himself--to perform various tasks.  The protagonist is literally
making films in his head, which conjures up a vision of universes within
an individual mind, which in turn conjures up the image of layers of
universes.  Yes, I mean literally--the protagonist claims to have an
actual little film lab in there!

The protagonist--first-person narrator, in this case--is a student at what
appears to be (in United States terms) a private preparatory school.
Though it many ways it seems to be run by the same sort of people as the
upper management in "Dilbert," the narrator actually finds some method in
their madness.  That is, their insane methods are actually logical to
achieve their goals--it's just that their goals are insane also.

I find it interesting that both Greg Egan and Neal Stephenson both have
their first novel out of print, somewhat disowned by themselves, and set
in an academic environment.  I suppose this may be a function of "write
what you know."  The value of this suggestion can be judged by comparing
the quality of these authors' later works--arguably about things they have
no firsthand experience or knowledge of--to their first novels.  How much
did Shakespeare really know about early Scottish politics?

This book is out of print and unlikely to come back into print, from what
I've heard, but Slow Glass Books, GPO Box 2708X, Melbourne, Victoria 3001
AUSTRALIA may still have a few copies.  They take credit cards, so a
letter with your credit card information and a statement authorizing them
to charge it for the price plus shipping and handling would probably be
easiest for those not in Melbourne.

%T	An Unusual Angle
%A	Greg Egan
%C	Carlton, Victoria, Australia
%D	1983
%I	Norstrilia Press
%O	trade paperback, A$14.95
%G	ISBN 0-909106-12-6
%P	200pp

Evelyn C. Leeper    |  My other email address is [email-masked]
+1 732 332 6218     |  http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
"There are two types of people in this world: those who think giant steam
powered robotic spiders are stupid, and those who don't."  --Bryan F. Theiss