Signal to Noise

by Eric S. Nylund

Book Overview

Jack Potter puts computer cryptography to work for the highest bidder: sometimes for private corporations, sometimes for the government. Sometimes the work is legal; if not, Jack simply raises his price. But one day, Jack discovers something cloaked in the hiss of background radiation streaming past the Earth from deep space: a message from an alien civilization. One that's eager to do business with humanity -- and its representative. Before he knows...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380792923
• ISBN13: 9780380792924
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

A Geek Gone Bad

Signal to Noise is fast paced, clean, and above all: fun. The characters are solid. The story line makes sense while still being un-predictable, and Nylund's vison of the future is possible. I enjoyed this work emmensely and will read it again and again throughout the future

On the edge of Stupendous

The frightenting and magical world of the future (think "Accelerando") is brilliantly portrayed in this sleeper of a winner. This could be one of the best two or three books of the year for its surrealistic sense of disquiet and angst. Our hero is one for the books - a souped up bubble worker who actually cares about folks. The book wittily combines world politics, futuristic science and the stress of navigating the eddies of personal relationships. No one is quite whom they appear to be. There are several circles within circles, tales within tales, much like the Matroushka dolls that reside inside each other. There are three oustanding elements in this book. First of all, the ingenious plot - an alien signal hidden within seemingly random noise and the journey to identify and make First Contact. Secondly, the use of what the author calls "metaphor" - the virtual method in which the almost superhuman computer interfaces with those who are implanted. Lastly, the author (unlike many sci-fi writers) highlights that most important aspect of any book - our humanity and relationships. The double-crossing, the discover that all is not as it appears, indeed the near extinction of mankind, hits the reader with continual knocks up side the head as all our previous suppositions are turned upside down. We can be grateful that there is a sequeal. My gradeL A+

Good book.

Well, what can I say? A great book, blending intricate details of a technical, near-post-apocolyptic society with grand-scale espionage and intrigue while tying all that in with how just 3 working-class characters fit into it. It'll keep you guessing the whole time about who's on who's side and what the main character will do next. I highly recommend this book and its sequel, "A Signal Shattered." Eric Nylund's works on Halo is what got me interested in his other works.

Hard Sci Fi that you can't put down

I'm always on the lookout for good "hard" science fiction, so it was with great pleasure that I read this book. Nylund's confident grasp of a wide range of advanced theoretical physics is mixed with a humorous writing style and meticulous attention to story line and character. The "T"s are crossed and the "I"s dotted (no loose ends or deux ex machina solutions) -- and the story goes at such a clip you'll have a hard time putting it down. I'm looking forward to more from this author!

Phenomenal blend of cyberpunk, alien conspiracy, and myth.

If you liked Snowcrash, the Amber Series, or even The Matrix, pick this one up. I first stumbled over Eric Nylund with his A Game Of Universe, which got me to read his other two novels (Pawn's Dream & Dry Water). Well, sorta...I got distracted before I could finish both of them. But when he's on, the man's ON. And this one is 10 times better than A Game of Universe. It blends future "reality" and VR with alien conspiracies and cyberspace, mythology and cut-throat business politics. It keeps turning up the heat and twisting the plot, and makes you glad the sequel is already being advertised. This is like the first time I encountered Snowcrash...I have trouble putting the book down. Easily Nylund's best to date.