Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Dichronauts
Skip to main content
.us
Hello Select your address
All
EN
Hello, sign in
Account & Lists
Returns & Orders
Cart
All
Disability Customer Support Clinic Best Sellers Customer Service Amazon Basics New Releases Prime Today's Deals Music Books Registry Fashion Amazon Home Pharmacy Gift Cards One Medical Toys & Games Sell Coupons Luxury Stores Automotive Find a Gift Beauty & Personal Care Computers Home Improvement Video Games Health & Household Products Pet Supplies Smart Home Audible
Shop Father's Day gifts

  • Dichronauts
  • ›
  • Customer reviews

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
269 global ratings
5 star
35%
4 star
34%
3 star
23%
2 star
5%
1 star
3%
Dichronauts

Dichronauts

byGreg Egan
Write a review
How customer reviews and ratings work

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we donโ€™t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon
See All Buying Options

Top positive review

All positive reviews›
pgcd
5.0 out of 5 starsWorld-building at its finest
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on May 28, 2017
First off, the usual disclaimer: I believe Greg Egan to be the absolute apex in the "science" chain of hard science fiction - his ideas are always one (or a dozen) steps ahead of anything I've read by any other author, and his world-building is stunning.
"Dichronauts" is no exception: choosing to set a novel in a universe with very different rules from our own is a long and respected tradition but the care and depth of analysis you'll find here is not as common. Of course, since it's not a treatise but a novel, Egan had to take some (several) shortcuts - the protagonists are explicitly tasked to explore and explain their world, which leads to more pages of exposition than I'd probably like, and there are occasions when their inner monologue (or conversation) have a slightly off-putting "As you know, Bob" tone. On the other hand, without information like this the reader would have to spend half the time consulting Egan's webpage to understand what's going on, so I feel the tradeoff is more than justified. As a side note: I strongly recommend doing that anyway, because the images and animations in the site's section dedicated to "Dichronauts" are rather useful for those of us who cannot easily visualize the consequences of having two time-like dimensions.

From a "literary" standpoint, the style is pretty much what readers of Egan are used to - clear, succinct prose with very few unneeded sentences - so I would say that appreciating his previous work is a rather solid indicator of whether you'll like this one. The converse is also true, unfortunately: if you don't like his pragmatic approach to character development, or his tendency to veer off into scientific discourse when you least expect it, you probably won't like this.

One final note: in more than one page it's easy to read between the lines and find socio-political commentary on the issues and subjects that Egan has explored in the past: (im)migration, reaction to and acceptance of different cultures, self and personality and so on. Given the colossal differences between "Dichronauts"' universe and ours, though, it's rather hard to understand when that's a deliberate choice by the author and when it's just me projecting.
In other words, while it's tempting to read "Dichronauts" as a super-charged Flatland, I feel like that would be doing a disservice to both: reading it as a stunningly in-depth documentary set in a majestically ambitious thought experiment is probably the right choice.
Read more
37 people found this helpful

Top critical review

All critical reviews›
CFortC
3.0 out of 5 starsFairly difficult alternate physics
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on October 8, 2017
I am a long-time fan of Greg Egan's work and watch eagerly for his new releases. This one is another novel set in an alternate universe complete with alternate physics that the reader can enjoy puzzling out along with the plot. Or, the reader can usually turn to the back of the book for some explanation of the alternate physics.

Somehow, in the case of "Dichronauts" it just became too much for me. It might be my own fault - perhaps lacking the energy and/or perceived time to puzzle through the novel. But I still love the older Greg Egan body of work, some of which (e.g. Diaspora, Incandescence, many short stories, etc.) I've read multiple times over the years and expect to read again. But for this one, I've bumped into my limit at least for the time being.
Read more
10 people found this helpful

Sign in to filter reviews
269 total ratings, 33 with reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

pgcd
5.0 out of 5 stars World-building at its finest
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on May 28, 2017
Verified Purchase
First off, the usual disclaimer: I believe Greg Egan to be the absolute apex in the "science" chain of hard science fiction - his ideas are always one (or a dozen) steps ahead of anything I've read by any other author, and his world-building is stunning.
"Dichronauts" is no exception: choosing to set a novel in a universe with very different rules from our own is a long and respected tradition but the care and depth of analysis you'll find here is not as common. Of course, since it's not a treatise but a novel, Egan had to take some (several) shortcuts - the protagonists are explicitly tasked to explore and explain their world, which leads to more pages of exposition than I'd probably like, and there are occasions when their inner monologue (or conversation) have a slightly off-putting "As you know, Bob" tone. On the other hand, without information like this the reader would have to spend half the time consulting Egan's webpage to understand what's going on, so I feel the tradeoff is more than justified. As a side note: I strongly recommend doing that anyway, because the images and animations in the site's section dedicated to "Dichronauts" are rather useful for those of us who cannot easily visualize the consequences of having two time-like dimensions.

From a "literary" standpoint, the style is pretty much what readers of Egan are used to - clear, succinct prose with very few unneeded sentences - so I would say that appreciating his previous work is a rather solid indicator of whether you'll like this one. The converse is also true, unfortunately: if you don't like his pragmatic approach to character development, or his tendency to veer off into scientific discourse when you least expect it, you probably won't like this.

One final note: in more than one page it's easy to read between the lines and find socio-political commentary on the issues and subjects that Egan has explored in the past: (im)migration, reaction to and acceptance of different cultures, self and personality and so on. Given the colossal differences between "Dichronauts"' universe and ours, though, it's rather hard to understand when that's a deliberate choice by the author and when it's just me projecting.
In other words, while it's tempting to read "Dichronauts" as a super-charged Flatland, I feel like that would be doing a disservice to both: reading it as a stunningly in-depth documentary set in a majestically ambitious thought experiment is probably the right choice.
37 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Daniel M. Bensen
5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Book
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on August 3, 2017
Verified Purchase
I haven't been this surprised and entertained by world building for a long time, and I was beginning to think I had outgrown science fiction. I hadn't. I just didn't know how far it could go.
The geometry of the world of Dichronauts is impossible to intuit, but Egan describes it with such patience and clarity that it is also impossible to misunderstand. Flatland lies somewhere at the base of this book, but Egan far surpasses anything Abbott managed, both in playing with dimensions and the most brutal and poignant depiction of oppression I have ever seen in fiction.
This is why I love Egan's work โ€“ he is absolutely unflinching. He never cuts corners with his world, his characters' motivations, or the agonizing dilemmas in which they find themselves. They are people trying to do right in circumstances in which doing right is physically impossible. They get no magic wands to wave, no convenient shortcut to everyone's best interests..
Like all of Egan's work, Dichronauts is brilliant and sweet, heartbreaking and obscure. Having read it, I feel like I have some tools to tackle the real world as well.
11 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


EdLincoln
4.0 out of 5 stars Hard Sci Fi, Nearly Incomprehensible, Just Sort of Stopped.
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on September 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
Greg Egan is one of the few people who still writes hard sci fi. This book is set in a world where certain fundamental features of physics are different. Unless you have serious knowledge of physics, visual-spacial skills, and a gift for math, much of the book is incomprehensible. The best part of the book was the exploration of life for a species with a sentient symbiote. Many major life decisions (like who to marry and what to do for a living) become different when you have a captive passenger. In the end the book just sort of stopped. The author painted himself into an impossible situation and lost interest in resolving it.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


CFortC
3.0 out of 5 stars Fairly difficult alternate physics
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on October 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
I am a long-time fan of Greg Egan's work and watch eagerly for his new releases. This one is another novel set in an alternate universe complete with alternate physics that the reader can enjoy puzzling out along with the plot. Or, the reader can usually turn to the back of the book for some explanation of the alternate physics.

Somehow, in the case of "Dichronauts" it just became too much for me. It might be my own fault - perhaps lacking the energy and/or perceived time to puzzle through the novel. But I still love the older Greg Egan body of work, some of which (e.g. Diaspora, Incandescence, many short stories, etc.) I've read multiple times over the years and expect to read again. But for this one, I've bumped into my limit at least for the time being.
10 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Nadia&Casey
4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing world and decent story
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on August 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
I am a lover of hard science fiction and Greg Egan is the epitome of that genre. His world building is the strongest and most inventive I have ever seen, taking place in alternate universes with fully worked out laws of physics. The physics are typically one of the main focuses of his books with story and characters not quite as developed. He is no Mark Twain but rich prose and character development is not the main reason to read his books, I read his books to see the incredible ideas that no other author has yet explored.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting world, weak story
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on June 22, 2018
Verified Purchase
I like how Egan can build a completely alien world by changing one fundamental law of physics. The bulk of the book is about showing you how many things work differently in this world compared to ours, with the story being almost an excuse to achieve this goal.

This is also the weakness of the book. Once Egan is done showing all the interesting parts of the world he built, the story just stops without resolving the main conflict. Maybe he's trying to set up a trilogy like he did with Orthogonal, but until a sequel comes, I can only judge the book on its own, as an unsatisfactory story.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Andrew Balk
3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as Clockwork rocket.
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on September 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
I didn't think Dichronauts was as well constructed as the Orthogonal trilogy (Clockwork rocket). I found myself wishing there were more diagrams in the text, because some of the parts were difficult to visualize. Still, it was pretty good, but probably not suited for a reader who hasn't read any of his books. It seems a bit formulaic to add yet another negative one to the Minkowski metric after Orthogonal.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Iceclimbr
4.0 out of 5 stars Mind bending stuff
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on July 28, 2017
Verified Purchase
Standard Greg Egan...meaning it's awesome. I had a harder time understanding the physics of this world than some of his other creations but nothing a second time through the book and another glance at the material on his website won't cure.
8 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


TwoMetreBill
5.0 out of 5 stars Very hard SciFi, makes your work at following the book
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on March 4, 2019
Verified Purchase
If you are willing to get into the alternate science that are the basis of his books, different for each book, then they are enjoyable. These are NOT casual reads, they won't make sense if treated that way. He is a mathematician and computer programmer and writes the hardest of the hard SciFi genre ever written. Asimov and Clarke would have enjoyed his books.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Gliscameria
3.0 out of 5 stars Meh...
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on October 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
If you are looking for a fix on some hard sci find this is not your book. It's like a 300 page math problem with some social commentary. I miss the AI stories.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


  • โ†Previous page
  • Next pageโ†’

Need customer service? Click here
‹ See all details for Dichronauts

Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations
›
View or edit your browsing history
After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Back to top
Get to Know Us
  • Careers
  • Amazon Newsletter
  • About Amazon
  • Accessibility
  • Sustainability
  • Press Center
  • Investor Relations
  • Amazon Devices
  • Amazon Science
Make Money with Us
  • Sell products on Amazon
  • Sell apps on Amazon
  • Supply to Amazon
  • Protect & Build Your Brand
  • Become an Affiliate
  • Become a Delivery Driver
  • Start a Package Delivery Business
  • Advertise Your Products
  • Self-Publish with Us
  • Host an Amazon Hub
  • โ€บSee More Ways to Make Money
Amazon Payment Products
  • Amazon Visa
  • Amazon Store Card
  • Amazon Secured Card
  • Amazon Business Card
  • Shop with Points
  • Credit Card Marketplace
  • Reload Your Balance
  • Amazon Currency Converter
Let Us Help You
  • Amazon and COVID-19
  • Your Account
  • Your Orders
  • Shipping Rates & Policies
  • Amazon Prime
  • Returns & Replacements
  • Manage Your Content and Devices
  • Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
  • Help
English
United States
Amazon Music
Stream millions
of songs
Amazon Advertising
Find, attract, and
engage customers
6pm
Score deals
on fashion brands
AbeBooks
Books, art
& collectibles
ACX
Audiobook Publishing
Made Easy
Sell on Amazon
Start a Selling Account
 
Amazon Business
Everything For
Your Business
Amazon Fresh
Groceries & More
Right To Your Door
AmazonGlobal
Ship Orders
Internationally
Home Services
Experienced Pros
Happiness Guarantee
Amazon Ignite
Sell your original
Digital Educational
Resources
Amazon Web Services
Scalable Cloud
Computing Services
 
Audible
Listen to Books & Original
Audio Performances
Book Depository
Books With Free
Delivery Worldwide
Box Office Mojo
Find Movie
Box Office Data
ComiXology
Thousands of
Digital Comics
DPReview
Digital
Photography
Fabric
Sewing, Quilting
& Knitting
 
Goodreads
Book reviews
& recommendations
IMDb
Movies, TV
& Celebrities
IMDbPro
Get Info Entertainment
Professionals Need
Kindle Direct Publishing
Indie Digital & Print Publishing
Made Easy
Amazon Photos
Unlimited Photo Storage
Free With Prime
Prime Video Direct
Video Distribution
Made Easy
 
Shopbop
Designer
Fashion Brands
Amazon Warehouse
Great Deals on
Quality Used Products
Whole Foods Market
Americaโ€™s Healthiest
Grocery Store
Woot!
Deals and
Shenanigans
Zappos
Shoes &
Clothing
Ring
Smart Home
Security Systems
 
eero WiFi
Stream 4K Video
in Every Room
Blink
Smart Security
for Every Home
Neighbors App
Real-Time Crime
& Safety Alerts
Amazon Subscription Boxes
Top subscription boxes โ€“ right to your door
PillPack
Pharmacy Simplified
Amazon Renewed
Like-new products
you can trust
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Notice
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
ยฉ 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates