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The Phoenix Exultant The Golden Age Volume 2 John C Wright 9780765343543 Books

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The Phoenix Exultant The Golden Age Volume 2 John C Wright 9780765343543 Books

The Phoenix Exultant is an incredible tale of the human spirit triumphing over insurmountable obstacles. The protagonist, Phaethon Prime Rhadamanth, has been forced to give up all his immortality and social power. Exiled from the Golden Oecumene in exchange for remembering his true dream he reclaims a starship capable of near light travel and terraforming.
The Golden Age is very complex writing, although it uses a classic device of the hero not remembering his true mission and thus his relationships to the other characters is changed as his memories return. This is similar to Roger Zelazny’s Nine Princes in Amber series.
I have read this series many times and I discover new facets of the story with each re-read. Thank you Mr. Wright for such a great sci-fi epic which extrapolates the Greek myth of Phaethon, son of Apollo. Recently an spear shaped asteroid entered our solar system and was named Phaethon in honor of this series no doubt.


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The Phoenix Exultant The Golden Age Volume 2 John C Wright 9780765343543 Books Reviews

I loved this tale. My only wish is that the great disclosure about Shopworthy had been worked into the tale such that the reader might have puzzled it out -- t'would more have seemed an elegant fait accompli rather than the heavy handed author molding the tale had more clues about the Arctic been included in the story prior. But overall, the philosophy is excellent, the characters compelling, and the tale worthy.
John C. Wright has done it again with a fantastic follow-up to "The Golden Age", which set the stage for a sweeping space opera pitting an adventerous soul against a complacent and stagnating society.
"The Phoenix Exultant" begins with our hero, Phaethon, in exile. He finds relative safety in a Seussian town peopled by the dregs and outcasts of the Golden Oecumene. Phaethon is trying to reclaim his ship, from which the book takes its title, but to do so he must first overcome the vice and lethargy of those around him, skirt the terms of his exile, and battle agents of his unknown enemy.
One of Mr. Wright's strengths is his ability to craft an amazing array of fascinating characters, and he certainly delivers again in this book. We learn quite a bit more about Phaethon's wife, Daphne. Or rather, it is a close copy of Daphne, which sets the stage for interesting complications in the love story. Some reviewers found the Daphne subplot too corny, but I felt it charming. Other interesting characters include, but are not limited to, Old-Woman-Of-The-Sea, the Bellipotent Composition, and the soldier Atkins, who sees a little action. There are many more characters, and Mr. Wright helpfully includes a lengthy list of "dramatis personae" at the beginning of the tale to help readers keep track.
The book also continues the philosophic and moral themes begun in the first volume. Phaethon, a man of ability, intelligence and ambition opposed in the first book by society's elite for threatening the peaceful order of civilization, is challenged in this story by the lowest rung of humanity, people who prefer to lose themselves to drugs or computer stimulation rather than to engage in productive and satisfying work. Phaethon also grapples with fundamental questions when he realizes whom he is fighting and comes to understand that they stand for everything anathema to his understanding of a rational and sane universe. Those looking for something meaty in their space opera will find plenty to gnaw on here.
As in the first book, there is plenty of imaginative technology kicking about Mr. Wright's future. He avoids the temptation to flaunt fundamental physics like the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the Special Theory of Relativity, but delights in speculating about the far-out possibilities offered by quantum weirdness and computing on a planetary scale. Practically each page has something weird and wonderful that would be worthy of a short story in its own right.
Finally, the writing is simply great. These novels have more in common with classic literature and plays than with the gritty, journalistic/pulp style that marks much science fiction today. It has been a long time since I've had the pleasure of simply savoring dialogue and turns of phrase in a science fiction book.
If there's anything negative to say about "The Phoenix Exultant" it is that it is wedged between two stronger tales (the sequel is "The Golden Trascendence", which I read before writing this review). The first book concluded by saying Phaethon's tale would be wrapped up in "The Phoenix Exultant", so it appears Mr. Wright may have had too much material for one sequel. This proved to be a good thing since the trilogy definitely stands as is, but the second volume perhaps suffered slightly by being made into a bridge between the firmer shores of the first and third books.
Nonetheless, I wholeheartedly recommend this book for those who liked the first one.
The second in what is clearly the best sci-fi trilogy extant today, and every bit a worthy successor to The Golden Age.

These books can be somewhat difficult to follow even for ardent futurists, but one the second and third readings the genius of this work becomes more apparent.

Someday something better than this series will be written, thus is the fate of all science fiction, and in those unknowable future times we will recall fondly the halcyon days of this our current age's great epic.
John C. Wright's Phoenix trilogy is the most imaginative and complex story I've ever read and I've been reading SciFi since the late 1950's. There is a new idea on practically every page. When I first heard this I did not believe it so I bought the paperback version (low risk) and found it to be abundantly true. So much so that I bought the hardbacks for future re-reading and re-re-reading. In my top 10 all-time favorite SciFi series for creativity, novelty, interest, and prediction of the future, even 10,000 years or more from now. The science is mind-boggling and the philosophy as delivered in the characters' conversations and internal musings is positive, hopeful, and uplifting. Couldn't recommend this series more highly; you WILL be impressed. It helps if you're a science-geek to know what the author is talking about much of the time.
I've read some reviews that say this book was too slow, and seemed unnecessary. I suppose that's true, if you hate reading books. This book is fantastic. It isn't as fast-paced as the third, but what it lacks in non-stop action it makes up for in characterization and deepening of the mystery.

I won't blab on too long. If you liked the first book, buy this one. It's a no-brainer. If you're just perusing the reviews to see if these books are worthwhile, then I would be willing to vouch for this series. It's great at pushing and pulling you back on forth, making you question your assumptions about the characters and the plot. Phaethon is easily one of my favorite sci-fi characters. He's determined, optimistic, free-thinking. He's an archetype of some of the best parts of humanity. It's nice to read a positive character in sci-fi instead of the cynical, drug-addled, or gritty characters that have been overdone in the genre.

This series, and this book, are (as far as I know) are incredibly original. I've never read anything like this. Get it. If you like sci-fi, get it. If you like mysteries, and even mythic kind of stories, get this. If you like reading books, that's also a good reason to get this.
The Phoenix Exultant is an incredible tale of the human spirit triumphing over insurmountable obstacles. The protagonist, Phaethon Prime Rhadamanth, has been forced to give up all his immortality and social power. Exiled from the Golden Oecumene in exchange for remembering his true dream he reclaims a starship capable of near light travel and terraforming.
The Golden Age is very complex writing, although it uses a classic device of the hero not remembering his true mission and thus his relationships to the other characters is changed as his memories return. This is similar to Roger Zelazny’s Nine Princes in Amber series.
I have read this series many times and I discover new facets of the story with each re-read. Thank you Mr. Wright for such a great sci-fi epic which extrapolates the Greek myth of Phaethon, son of Apollo. Recently an spear shaped asteroid entered our solar system and was named Phaethon in honor of this series no doubt.