Gaudeamus

by John Barnes

Overview

In a tale that transgresses conventional lines between fiction and reality, renowned science fiction writer John Barnes finds himself in one of the wildest, most rollicking SF adventures in years.

Barnes's college friend Travis Bismark always brings back plenty of great stories from his job as an industrial spy. This time, over a few beer- and coffee-fueled chat sessions, Travis unravels a tale about his current case too tall for even an SF author to believe: a Gaudeamus machine that bends physics in order to make possible both teleportation and time travel, and how it gets stolen twice; a prostitute who deals telepathy-inducing drugs; five scientists who ride around in a flying saucer in clown suits by day and play awful punk rock by night; hippie kidnappers; and dozens of inventors who master the concept of the Gaudeamus machine and are immediately contacted by aliens offering them their heart's desire in exchange for the right to have their way with Earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765311986
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/01/2014
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

John Barnes is the award-winning author of Orbital Romance, A Million Open Doors, Mother of Storms, Earth Made of Glass, The Merchants of Souls, Candle, and many other novels. With Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, he wrote the novels Encounter with Tiber and The Return. He lives in Colorado.

Editorial Reviews

"This fascinating book is quite unlike anything else on the market today."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Barnes (The Sky So Big and Black) has created a gonzo piece of metafiction that cleverly blurs the line between reality and fantasy. Private detective Travis Bismark turns up on the doorstep of his old friend, the science fiction writer John Barnes, spouting a bizarre story about prostitutes with degrees in physics, pills that facilitate telepathy and great sex, and a mysterious technology called Gaudeamus that people are willing to kill for. Oddly enough, Barnes himself is already addicted to a complex, hypertextual Web cartoon, also called Gaudeamus, that seems to contain a number of references to Bismark's adventures. The detective disappears soon thereafter when Barnes's pickup is attacked by a cybernetically enhanced elk, but shows up repeatedly over the next year with increasingly wild tales of industrial espionage, alien entrepreneurs and Native Americans who dress in clown suits and travel in flying saucers. What's most fascinating about the novel is the way in which Barnes entangles real autobiographical material, including appearances by his wife, fantasy writer Kara Dalkey, with an increasingly outlandish and highly improbable plot. Also interesting is that Barnes makes little attempt to portray himself sympathetically and is very open about his dislike for hardcore SF fans. This fascinating book is quite unlike anything else on the market today, but it's hard to know how the author's regular readers will react. Agent, Ashley Grayson. (Nov. 4) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

When his college friend Travis Bismark, shows up at the home of sf writer John Barnes to relate a tale of corporate espionage involving the theft of a Gaudeamus (a machine possessing powers that defy the known limits of time and space), Barnes is understandably dubious-until Bismark's presence starts a series of events that proves him wrong. The latest novel by the author of Orbital Resonance turns to the tall tale to create an sf adventure filled with telepathy-producing drugs, time travel, and alien encounters. The author's presence in his own book expands the borders of narrative fiction to create a sense of plausibility and familiarity in the midst of a surreal cosmic comedy. Recommended for most sf collections. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Like Finity (1999), a tall story that keeps getting taller . . . and taller . . . and taller. As writer/college professor John Barnes (yes, that John Barnes), of Gunnison, Colorado, downloads an interactive Web cartoon, Gaudeamus ("let us rejoice"), old college pal and private investigator Travis Bismarck shows up. Travis's current case involves trying to determine how Negon stole top-secret information from rival researchers Xegon-the latter's studying an exciting quantum effect, called . . . "gaudeamus." His inquiries lead to grad student/hooker Lena Logan and her lucrative sideline in sex-enhancing "goddies," a.k.a. "gaudeamus" pills. The pills also confer telepathy. And in Lena's apartment Travis discovers a weird device, called . . . you guessed it. Later, Travis learns that every intelligent race eventually discovers Gaudeamus technology; it converts energy from one form to any other, without reference to space or time: the possibilities, indeed, are endless. However, the machine also signals the universe at large that Earth is ripe for exploitation. Before Travis learns this, though, he has an encounter with a UFO containing scientists in clown costumes-scientists who are also members of the world's worst grunge rock band. Then there are Brown Pierre, a genius who's intent on saving the world; All Thumbs, the galactic marshal; the inexplicable activities of the Hardware Store Killer; and a deadline of February 4, 2011, by which time planet Earth must be fully up to speed on Gaudeamus technology-or else. Even at this length, a narrative that should be-and often is-pure fun repeatedly gets bogged down in philosophical debates. Not Barnes's best, though entertaining enough. Agent:Ashley Grayson Literary Agency

Kirkus Reviews