Cusp FROM THE PUBLISHER
"In 2031, the world changes forever. A solar flare of incalculable power actually shifts the position of the Sun, while at the same time two immense walls, kilometers high and wide erupt out of the Earth and circle it in two directions like a pair of rings - one follows the Equator, while the other runs pole to pole. The climatic and geographical chaos topples governments, pushes civilization to the brink of destruction, and brings about a new world order." "Decades later, a fractured human race struggles to regain control of the planet and the Rings that straddle it. There is even talk of deliberately trying to reignite the solar flare. But as one faction vies with another for power, all of the really important decisions are being made elsewhere." An enigmatic entity has its own plan for human evolution, using the supercomputer known as CUSP - the first computer designed to run on the software of the human mind.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Nebula-finalist Metzger (Picoverse) delivers a concept-crammed entry in the SF subgenre of hard space opera. In 2031, the Sun and the Earth sprout high-energy jet exhausts, relics of alien technology triggered by humanity's technology. Trying to maintain order, the Powers (That Be) seek to understand and control the planet-girdling rings created by the exhausts. Biocybernetic humans called Tools, like Simon Ryan, work with unenhanced Pures, like Gen. Thomas Sutherland, to go past "the Point," the shift from human to posthuman superbeings. Sutherland's plans are threatened by the intervention of a host of entities, including some pig-farming Tools, a sentient Internet "ghost," a Muslim U.S. ambassador to Mars, reconstituted intelligent velociraptors and their hyper-evolved lemur rivals, and Simon's cyber assistant, Bill Gates. But Sutherland plans very deeply, 65 million years' worth of deep, and is willing to sacrifice his daughter, Sarah, to achieve success. Metzger tosses theories around like tennis balls and does the same with planets and solar systems, leading to a literal star-smashing climax. Readers who appreciate the outer edges of science, and regular trips past it, may not mind the sudden shifts of viewpoint and the tendency of supersmart characters not to pick up on the obvious. Agent, Richard Curtis. (Jan. 4) Forecast: Advance praise from Greg Bear and striking jacket art, which does a credible job of depicting the jets of energy above Earth, will cue the target audience. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
An immensely powerful solar flare shifts the position of the Sun in 2031; simultaneously, a pair of towering walls crisscross the earth, forming two gigantic Rings that quarter the earth. Twenty years later, the survivors of the initial catastrophe try to wrest control of their earth from unknown forces somehow linked to the great supercomputer known as CUSP, which uses the human mind as its "software." The author of Picoverse blends hard science with rapid-fire adventure to create a fast-moving sf drama with many levels. This high-energy tale of a changed earth and the people who struggle to survive in their new world belongs in most sf collections. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Widescreen Technicolor extravaganza involving physics, aliens, cyborgs, artificial intelligence, superhumans, and what-all, from the author of Picoverse (not seen). In 2031, the Sun develops a plasma jet and begins to accelerate toward Alpha Centauri. At the same time, two rings sprout from the Earth, one at the equator, the other from pole to pole, each fifty kilometers wide by four high. As the globe convulses, millions die. Fortunately, the Sun soon stops accelerating. Twenty years later, in Alabama, Christina Olmos and her father, Xavier, use their exceptional interfacing abilities to trawl the Void (cyberspace) for information. Sarah Sutherland, daughter of General Thomas Sutherland (he claims to know the future), prepares to destroy half her brain-so she can merge with supercomputer CUSP and go Post-Point, becoming a superhuman of almost unimaginable capabilities. Simon Ryan, a part cyborg Tool with cyberspace advisor Bill Gates (the same) in his head, tries to figure out who and what he is. On Mars, Ambassador Adebisi Akandi prepares to meet Drom, a much-enhanced dinosaur living inside the moon Phobos, actually a huge spaceship. Drom talks much about his race's ancient rivals, the Clingers (highly evolved lemurlike creatures) and their spaceship, the Jovian moon Amalthea. Akandi also learns that the alien Alphans have placed 237 habitable worlds in orbit about Alpha Centauri. Police officer Padmini Sundaram finds herself in the middle of a scheme orchestrated by the Swirl, a mysterious and powerful artificial intelligence. The jet starts to fire again. This isn't the half of it. Overcomplicated by several orders of magnitude, with anonymous characters mystifyingly associated with aferocious and largely unfathomable plot. Still, minds will boggle at the extravagance of Metzger's imagination. Agent: Richard Curtis/Richard Curtis Associates
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