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Stephen Oram

Quantum Confessions Paperback – July 18, 2014

by Stephen Oram (Author)

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"A veritable head trip; yet rooted in a believable and sometimes visceral near-future.”

Grey is a high performer with attitude. Aled is torn between his morals and his desires. They live in a world where those who believe in absolute truth are on a collision course with those who don’t. Society is becoming dangerously polarised and despite a thread of history that binds Aled and Grey together they take opposite sides in the conflict; Grey is recruited by The Project and Aled is given custody of The Proof of Existence.

Against the backdrop of a failing society and experiments to find the link between quantum physics and a supreme being, the real question that unfolds is...

"Who chooses your reality?”

Print length

276 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Silverwood Books
Publication date

July 18, 2014
Dimensions

5.25 x 0.62 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

1781322635
ISBN-13

978-1781322635
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a book that makes one stop in their tracks and think. I love the metaphysical, other-worldly element throughout the book which makes us all ponder the question: Who are we? And what is the truth? After reading this book, I couldn't help but wonder where we, as the human race, are heading and what is the meaning of it all? Is life worth it? The credit for making us think goes to Stephen for his ability to weave a story that, at times, feels like reality. Simple, clear writing by Stephen Oram makes this an easy read." Gisela Dixon for Readers' Favorite 5*

About the Author

Stephen Oram writes science fiction and is lead curator for near-future fiction at Virtual Futures. He's been a hippie-punk, religious-squatter and an anarchist-bureaucrat; he thrives on contradictions. He is published in several anthologies and has two published novels, 'Quantum Confessions' and 'Fluence'. His collection of sci-fi shorts, 'Eating Robots and Other Stories', was described by the 'Morning Star' as one of the top radical works of fiction in 2017.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Silverwood Books (July 18, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 276 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1781322635
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1781322635
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.62 x 8 inches

Customer Reviews:
6 ratings

About the author

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Stephen Oram

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Stephen Oram writes near-future science fiction - his collections Eating Robots and Biohacked & Begging have been praised by publications as diverse as The Morning Star and The Financial Times. He works with artists, scientists and technologists to explore possible future outcomes of their research through short stories and is a writer for sci-fi prototypers SciFutures. He is also published in several anthologies and has two published novels - Quantum Confessions and Fluence. He is a founding curator for near-future fiction at Virtual Futures and a member of the Clockhouse London Writers.

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Debbie Young

Vivid and thought-provoking cautionary tale for 21st century society

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2015

The near-future setting of this compelling dystopian story makes it all the more believable, as the reader can trace the roots of its dysfunctional society ("political correctness gone mad" is one way of looking at it, in which liberalism ironically oppresses anyone's right to believe in absolute truths). As a cautionary tale, it belongs in the same category as Orwell's "1984", and I suspect it will prove as timeless.

Oram writes well and fluently, and while dealing with huge issues is also sensitive to the individuals that make up society. I liked the alternating narratives between the two protagonists, Aled and Grey, starting out on opposing sides. (I'll say no more for fear of plot-spoilers.)

I also liked the global range of the story - although it's very much an urban, London-based book, it references the rest of the world, with a substantial chunk in the contrasting setting of a remote and peaceful Chinese monastery, and some parts in rural Wales, although all roads ultimately lead to the chaos of the city that kind of represents the world in little, or at least human society.

I also love Oram's innate playfulness - although this is a serious and thought-provoking book dealing with fundamental human issues, you can tell that he also has great fun riffing on how technological developments might go forward. (This aspect of his work also comes across in the very short stories on his author website.) I'll be watching his future work with interest, and am particularly looking forward to his next novel, "Fluence", which will apparently focus on the impact of social media in another near-future dystopian setting.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.

Helpful

simoncez

Look into Tomorrow today - GREAT READ

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2015

Like all great thinkers Stephen takes a pinch of actual with with a pound of possible, he will have you believing tomorrow today. Great Book, Great New Author

One person found this helpful

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Caroline

Exciting, intelligent, and poignant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2018

Verified Purchase

Imagine that just 10 years from now, a new era of politics is upon us in which a coalition dedicated to total liberalisation comes to power. Education and healthcare are put back into the hands of the people, prohibition of all drugs is abolished and campaigns are run to persuade the populace that there is no absolute truth: meaning is subjective and individuality is freedom. This has the effect of dividing people like never before. As we know them today, religion and science are most often seen as opposing and incompatible views. Yet in a world where belief in an objective reality of any sort is outlawed, these two ‘camps’ become united.

Quantum Confessions is a clever exploration of this idea, demonstrating the theoretical problems that could come of a society of individuals with little or no shared purpose. The reader is led to question: Is our innate desire to form connections with others vital to our survival? Is the joy arising from shared experiences what makes us human? How would we cope without a structure to make us feel secure, and how long would it take us to adapt if it were to be removed from right under our feet?

This is a reality lived out by characters Aled and Grey, who have alternating chapters to show different perspectives. Both have come of age during the changing political climate described above, and both are testimony to background and childhood experience affecting what we think and believe as adults. Both have difficult choices to make, battles to fight in and outside of themselves, and ultimate tests of faith to face
.
Along with social philosophy, Oram bravely takes on the concept of the observer effect which is particularly relevant in modern physics. Put simply, this is the idea that the mere act of observing a phenomenon changes its effects. In the quantum world, observation changes something from a possible to an actual occurrence. Heisenberg stressed that the observer only has the function of registering decisions and not influencing them, and that it could just as easily be a piece of apparatus as a human being. But there are groups of people who have taken this scientific development to mean the observer is a subjective force in nature, consciously or unconsciously choosing the reality that is played out. These differences in belief behind what is essentially the same scientific research are illustrated very nicely in the core plot of the book.

I found it refreshing to read an intelligent contemporary novel that builds on popular theories of our time. There are some interesting thoughts about forthcoming advances in technology and culture in here, and although the story is set in the future they are all easily conceivable which makes the subject matter all the more poignant. There are some nice changes of setting throughout the story too: the contrast of a Buddhist monastery in China and the urban-dystopian streets of London is very effective.

In summary I consider this to be an exciting debut novel, dealing with several complex ideas with admirable ease. Although I didn’t come away feeling I had read anything spectacular in terms of artistic prose or structure, the impressions it left behind were meaningful and lasting. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Debbie Young

Intelligent and thought-provoking cautionary tale for 21st century society

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2015

Verified Purchase

The near-future setting of this compelling dystopian story makes it all the more believable, as the reader can trace the roots of its dysfunctional society ("political correctness gone mad" is one way of looking at it, in which liberalism ironically oppresses anyone's right to believe in absolute truths). As a cautionary tale, it belongs in the same category as Orwell's "1984", and I suspect it will prove as timeless.

Oram writes well and fluently, and while dealing with huge issues is also sensitive to the individuals that make up society. I liked the alternating narratives between the two protagonists, Aled and Grey, starting out on opposing sides. (I'll say no more for fear of plot-spoilers.)

I also liked the global range of the story - although it's very much an urban, London-based book, it references the rest of the world, with a substantial chunk in the contrasting setting of a remote and peaceful Chinese monastery, and some parts in rural Wales, although all roads ultimately lead to the chaos of the city that kind of represents the world in little, or at least human society.

I also love Oram's innate playfulness - although this is a serious and thought-provoking book dealing with fundamental human issues, you can tell that he also has great fun riffing on how technological developments might go forward. (This aspect of his work also comes across in the very short stories on his author website.) I'll be watching his future work with interest, and am particularly looking forward to his next novel, "Fluence", which will apparently focus on the impact of social media in another near-future dystopian setting.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.

2 people found this helpful

Pam Raven

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2014

Verified Purchase

Thought provoking.

2 people found this helpful

Dresden

Intriguing and readable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2014

Verified Purchase

Novels depicting a dystopian future allow authors to play with ideas free from the constraints of the here and now: Orwell developed political ideas around totalitarianism which you can see coming to the fore in Homage to Catalonia; Margaret Atwell explored the potential consequences of extreme patriarchy in A Handmaid’s Tale; Marge Piercy played with attitudes to gender roles in Woman on the Edge of Time.
In his impressive debut, new author Stephen Oram explores the challenges placed on a society that has lost sight of certainty, in which a powerful ruling group (the ‘Liberalists’) have outlawed any kind of absolute truth, undermining the simple faith everyone places in belief of one kind or another, be it religious faith or scientific proof.
Oram avoids the simplistic faith/science dichotomy by rather cleverly putting atheists and scientists in the same camp as believers (the ‘Absolutists’) – people who have hitherto relied on axioms, received wisdom or demonstrable proofs to underpin their faith in existence. The awful result is the disintegration of society; as the Liberalist agenda takes hold, more and more groups, one of the biggest being the Disintegrates (‘Ds’), who are little more than catatonic, become unable to cope.
Quantum Confessions poses the intriguing conundrum of a link between quantum physics and faith in a supreme being, which is the heart of the adventure story which unfolds around Aled, a young man of faith, increasingly beleaguered in an officially godless world, and Grey, a young woman recruited into an at first reasonable-sounding and later decidedly sinister organisation called simply The Project. Its ostensible aim is to find ways of putting society back on a constructive path by blending quantum physics (with its understanding that all states of being can co-exist simultaneously) with a kind of time-travelling trance state, for which it needs to recruit Aled.
The novel uses two first-person protagonists, Aled and Grey, who each tell the story from their own viewpoint along a conventional time track (during the 2020s and 30s). This makes for compelling reading and moves the story along at a decent pace.
From my point of view, the most interesting aspect of the plot is the implied criticism of an attitude which insists that there are no absolute truths, that everything is as valuable or worthy as everything else and that every choice is equally valid. I’m happy to say I detest the moral relativism this kind of thinking leads to, the kind of thinking that insists that, for example, that we in the west have no right to ‘impose’ our view of human rights on others (as if the Enlightenment didn’t espouse universal values), or that we cannot criticise the treatment of women in other countries because it’s ‘their culture’. This a book rich in other themes as well, though – culture, politics and sexuality all add to the mix.
I think Oram might have underestimated the power of cognitive dissonance at times; the unravelling of the Catholic Church after the Pope is discovered to have doubts seems a little swift and a bit unlikely. Human beings are notorious for ignoring that which threatens their closely-held beliefs. But no matter, this is set in a nightmare future we can only hope will never come about, and we can allow him to be a little cavalier with reality in developing his intriguing story.
Stephen Oram might not have been catapulted up there with the Orwells and the Atwoods just yet, but Quantum Confessions is a cracking good start.

4 people found this helpful

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Quantum Confessions Paperback – July 18, 2014

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About the author

Stephen Oram

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