Quantum Space (Quantum Series Book 1)

I had a great time reading this book. It was strong science fiction with good pacing, interesting characters, and an engaging plot. The writing was smooth and the author did a good job of making weighty science easier to understand.The premise is that three astronauts are returning back from the International Space Station, and their return Soyuz capsule just disappears. There's no sign of an explosion, no wreckage, no indication of a landing. It just disappeared literally into thin air. Daniel Rice is a science investigator working directly underneath the science advisor to the President. Two of the passengers on the Soyuz were American, one was Russian, and all were aboard a Russian vehicle. While investigations are being undertaken by both Russia and the U.S. for the possibility of terrorism or catastrophic failure, Daniel must investigate a third possibility. While far-fetched and highly improbable, some experiments being conducted at Fermi Labs in the Chicago area bear a remarkable resemblance to the scant evidence they have. Daniel must find out if the lab had anything to do with the capsule's disappearance, where the capsule is, and what happened to the astronauts.It's at this point we're thrust into the world of quantum mechanics. We're presented with a basic, but workable, knowledge of the basic building blocks of the universe, string theory, and multiple dimensions. The science is grounded and real. That is, it's grounded and real before the "fiction" of "science fiction" takes control, and it's that grounding and realism that help propel the story along. Daniel and Maria (the woman from NASA assigned to work with him) find that the more they uncover, there more there is to uncover, and a clock is running out. After all, if those astronauts are still alive, that capsule has a very limited supply of oxygen.This is the first book in a mulit-book series. The way the series is going to be divided up is interesting (I won't tell how because I don't want to spoil anything), but this book is nicely written in a way that leaves it with a definite ending. There are no cliffhangers and you can read the book and walk away with a sense of closure, yet still be excited to know that the next step of the journey will shortly begin.The writing style is engaging, the characters are very well-developed, and the plot is interesting and paced well. There are a couple of small typos in the story, but only a few, and the writer's style is entertaining enough to easily dismiss them. All in all, I'm extremely happy I discovered this and I look forward to the next ones in the series.

Loved the story--was fully absorbed--not by the characters, who were a bit one-dimensional--but by the star of the book, the quantum realm. I was intrigued and fascinated--I kept thinking, "So they've really done all this stuff? Incredible!" right up until the last few pages of the book when it hit me: it's all a numbers game, a theory stacked atop a theory! It's not hard science at all--but the book is written as if it was hard science. In one sense, though, it's a compliment to the author, that he can write so convincingly about theory and make it seem like science fact--it is science-fiction, of course--a little fact, a lot of theory, and even more imaginative speculation. In the other sense, it is misleading--which kind of takes away from the fun--at least for me.But that's the very trouble with science today: it seems to abhor a theory, or a vacuum of fact. Every theory ever postulated has become a "fact" even if it is still merely a theory. Old-time scientists had no trouble saying, "We don't know, we are still awaiting evidence for whatever may be true." Scientists today, sadly, have closed their minds around theory and made it fact in almost every endeavor--when it isn't. Whether it's evolution, climate change, or string theory, some of today's crop of scientists have badly confused the theories with the demonstrable, provable-via-repeatable-experimentation facts. It seems like saying, "We don't know, we are still looking," isn't fashionable any more--and I think it's a shame. Closed minds rarely are open to opposing facts when they come, sadly--or facts which lead in new directions, either.I think the author nailed the Chinese system accurately. But I think he is rather idealistic about American/Western research and development systems that are generally based around raising money--which has its own particular set of problems. Each methodology is flawed and often leads to deception and exaggeration. Investors are sought to fund ideas that are exaggerated, sometimes even falsified, for the sake of convincing laymen to part with their money; colleges forcing professors to "publish" to gain the Holy Grail: tenure, etc.And, let's all hope the government has as little to do with scientific breakthroughs as is conceivable! I recall with humor one older Senator from South Carolina stating on national television his working knowledge of computers thusly: (paraphrased) "Well, there are tubes, pipes, and wires over there that are connected to more wires and pipes where the signal is displayed over here on a tube in my office." I almost fell out of my chair laughing! These are the people we want sitting in judgement of our tech? I think not. I'm sorry, but most of Congress strike me as buffoons who will prevaricate and equivocate about anything if they suspect it will get them personal funds or votes. IE, politicians. What else is new?One thing: I recall some dissent over the CERN finding of the Higgs boson. IIRC, agreement about that was far from unanimous on what it was and what it meant.On the possibility of a Creator...;) This was the supreme irony of the book, for me. Daniel states something on the order of, "When I find a creator's signature I will be the first to expound upon it." I couldn't help wondering if he found it if he would be able to recognize it as such. Einstein seemed to think he had seen it. But Daniel seems harder to convince. The irony? While he disdains the idea of a Creator, the idea of a super-intelligent, very advanced, cyborg-flesh entity sitting in a pocket of 4th dimensional space 4,000 light years from Earth, and just waiting on humans to contact it so that it could magnanimously and generously lead humanity into the promised land--well, that sounds like the creation story, alright--only with a few names of the principal actors and galactic locations changed! Irony at its best!I gave the book four stars because I much enjoyed reading it, multitudinous theories included! I took off a star because the author waited until the end of the book to explain, grudgingly, it seemed to me, how much of the book was indeed theory. I note in particular the paragraph on string theory that started here: "Certainly, this is where the fiction starts, right? Wrong. String theory is tied to quantum physics...because these extra dimensions exist only down at the string level." But that same paragraph on string theory ends, thusly: "...so there's no evidence today [to support string theory.]" That's a good example of this constant blurring of the lines between theory and fact that is so much a part of modern scientific thinking today--and to that end I'd call that sort of thing fiction, atm--a theory that is interesting but which remains unprovable empirically. I'd call it "science-fiction," to be more accurate.

Being a retired physicist which worked for several years in theoretical and satistical physics, I approached the book with low expectations. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Particle physics facts (standard model), yet untested possibilities (string theory and its extra dimentions) and fiction (skweezed space and its conservation law) are seamlessly blended into a great first-encounter story. I must agree with the author (and with Fermi) in that the light speed limit and the vastness of 3d space make contact between intelligent species very improbable. So, first contact scenarios must proceed along yet unkown features of space such as alternate dimensions or wormholes. its clever science and clever speculation we find here, blended together in a way which is hard to perceive for the non-specialist. And it all seves a thrilling plot with interesting characters. Well done Douglas, i' ll jump into the next book in the series, hoping for the best. Keep it up!

Loved all of it. Even went out to the Web and browsed the Fermi site. There is ag LOT going on there!.Anywho, me hat is off you Mr. Phillips! Delightful book and I am going to start reading the next book right away - tomorrow morning - it is past 2 am and I gotta get up in about 6 hours. Worth staying up for. Thank you Sir for this book!Yawn!! Night!

Loved taking and extrapolating what was a scientific curiosity and developing it into a world changing advancement, very insightful imagination exercise. Look forward to the next.

Compelling story with likeable well draw characters based on real and believable science - for the most part - which paints a very plausible picture of near-future events. Fascinating and very entertaining as well as challenging to our understanding of reality.

Quantum concepts explained in a neat way. CheckNew Quantum ideas shared. CheckAmazing story line. CheckThis is the most I would say, without turning the review into a spoiler :)

Ein Zitat vom Autor:"for me, scifi ist best when it starts from a solid base in reality and extends from there to fiction."Das ist Ihm (fast) gelungen, russische Sojus Kapsel verschwindet und taucht wieder auf, ohne Insassen, in den USA.Nebenbei eine Einführung in Teilchenphysik, nach aktuellen Erkenntnissen, um den Laien wie mir alles Weitere versuchsweise zu erklären. Und ein wenig scifi, um weiter zu kommen.Und natürlich die Suche nach den Verursachern des Verschwindens, auf unserem Planet. Auch in China, mit einem Seitenhieb auf deren Praktiken der üblichen Geheimnistuerei.Und dann extraterrestrisch fündig, nach interessanten Experimenten im Vierdimensionalem Raum. Blitzschnell innerhalb weniger Tage, sozusagen von Null auf Hundert!Es kam die Erkenntnis auf, dass Lichtgeschwindigkeit zu langsam ist, besser ist es, den Raum zu schrumpfen, und natürlich damit die Entfernung.Nicht nur unsere Scientists sind rasend schnell von Begriff, aber die Aliens toppen Alles. Wie gesagt, schon nach wenigen Tagen öffnet sich eine Kommunikation über 4000 Lichtjahre hinweg und pics und Vids im jpeg & mpeg Format werden empfangen! Jaja, DIE sind wirklich schnell!Wenn schon in unserer Zeit, dann sehe ich irdisches Unwahrscheinliches! Was offensichtlich nur mich stört, nach lesen von vielen Rezensionen.Die Russen überlassen die in USA gelandete Kapsel, also nach dem Verschwinden und Wiederauftauchen, einfach so den US Wissenschaftlern zum befummeln. Sehr unrealistisch!Eine Handvoll Wissenschaftler haben freie Hand in eventuell hochgefährlichen, weltbewegenden Experimenten. Mit einem stets zur Verfügung stehenden Teilchenbeschleuniger und einem Landemodul, was einsam auf einem Flugfeld steht. Wohlwollende staatliche Organisationen schauen zu ....... oh nein, unglaubwürdig!Und auch der Rest der Welt schaut zu .......Im Nachwort wird es nochmals wissenschaftlich, TeilchenPhysik aufgewärmt und kapitelweise erklärt.Als offensichtlich unvermeidlich wird Werbung gemacht für die beiden folgenden stories. Es geht also zu den aliens.....

I took a chance on this after it came up in Amazon’s suggestions. Very glad I did. This is very well written, fast paced and based on a foundation of real science. In his notes that follow the final chapter, the author explains where the science ends and the fiction begins. But there’s more of the former than the latter, and the speculation he invokes is very plausible. This is the kind of hard sci-fi I like. It has believable, likeable characters, and of course, villains. I couldn’t put it down, and I’m definitely going to read the sequels. The only question I had concerns the conversation around the SETI program and the impracticality of radio as a means of first contact. Yes, it does take into account that for a radio transmission to reach a solar system 4,000 light years away it will take 4,000 years, and another 4,000 to reply. But the other factor is that here on Earth, we’ve only had radio for less than two centuries, and so our own transmissions will have traveled less than 200 light years. An alien race 4,000 light years away would have to have begun transmitting over 4,000 years ago for SETI to “hear” them now. So in addition to the speed of light, radio contact also depends on the age of the society at the other end and when they developed radio. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I have already recommended it to friends who I know will like it too.

Après un démarrage un peu lent, l'histoire s'est peu à peu épaissie et a beaucoup gagné en intérêt. Belle intrigue, qui garde le lecteur en haleine. j'ai apprécié la partie pure physique quantique, qui est suffisamment "simple" pour être comprise par un quidam et la frontière entre la réalité et la fiction rend la lecture encore plus motivante, avec l'envie de savoir, à la fin du roman, ce qui est vrai et ce qui ne l'est pas.J'ai hâte de lire la suite.