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The Quantum Magician

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Member Reviews

A super fun heist con in a distant future when additional planets in our and other galaxies have been colonized. Amazing changes to the human genome and there are now several offshoots, one being the quantum magician from the title. For most of the book he gathers his diverse team together and tells them the plot. But is there a spy? A mole among them?

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What a fantastic read! Full of drama and intrigue and so many twists and turns. Peppered with quantum physics and a little bit of romance, I think this book would please a very wide audience.
The characters are well written and draw you in and the plot itself is unpredictable and keeps you guessing as you’re reading.
Definitely recommended to anyone who likes SciFi.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC and I’m happy to provide an honest review.

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Oh what a fantastic book!

I hadn't heard of this author before, and was hesitant as sci-fi books that are described as space operas tend to be a bit of a yay or nay for me. However, I was massively impressed by this! From the title to the plot, to the writing I found it to be a very engaging read. The characters didn't jump out at me but I enjoyed my time with it. It was quite long and the pace about 50% in did slow down, but overall I would definitely recommend!!

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Set in a bleak interplanetary future, this is an exciting sci-fi heist. Belisarius, a homo quantus, escapes the confines of his world to use his gifts as a master criminal. With a mind of a computer, he is hired to do the impossible. To achieve his task, he assembles a team of equally gifted rebels. Star Wars meeting Ocean's 11, this is a clever thriller that introduces you to the creepy post-human world where travel between galaxies is possible and the limitless worlds are populated with the weirdest of creatures, and nothing - literally nothing, is impossible. From creepy little people to sarcastic AI this is a complex book - perhaps a bit too complex -, but yet fun to read.

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This book is Ocean's Eleven sci-fi version. Were it as riveting, I would have given it 5 stars. As it is, it was a good book to read when I had trouble falling asleep. Read 2 paragraphs, out cold. Thus, it took me 5 months to finish the book whereas it normally takes me 10 days. The only reason I didn't DNFed it is because I hate DNFing books.
I normally read sci-fi, mysteries, and thrillers.
While this book was rich in scientific terms, it just seemed like the author threw them in to show off that he knew the terms. And there were certainly a lot of them that didn't move the story along. There was also a lot of repetitive descriptions of certain characters and places that I found tedious.
It finally got somewhat more exciting in the last 4% of the book. So if you can slog through 96% of it while the main character was setting up the con (gathering the people he needed, and getting them to set up the con), then you are in for a mildly exciting ending. Otherwise, I would pass on this book.

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The premise and story world of this book are very promising and interesting, but the writing style didn't hook me enough to keep me interested. I would pick this book up and put it down again without a good idea of what it was all about, and at a certain point I didn't care anymore.
Why would a, as the book says, "Homo quantus, engineered with impossible insight" be interested solely in being a con man when he could be anything else? So the characters and their motivations also went over my head.

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Brilliant sci-fi heist novel that constantly keeps you guessing what will happen next, who is bluffing, and how the con will either spin out of control or against all odds deliver the ultimate pay-off. Exhilarating ride.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2387474869

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A classic heist story wrapped up in hard sci-fi stylings, this book expected me to pay attention, and pretty much blew my mind as a result. Being so firmly rooted in hard science I could see some readers being put off, but for me it didn't dominate or take away from a satisfying story with grand (and patient) world building, richly detailed characters and a hugely enjoyable sense of natural complexity. It's not an easy read as such, but the pace, the setting, the great (and often deeply dark) characters and the satisfying heist elements all combined to make it a challenging but very enjoyable read.

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This started off really well but the more characters that got involved the harder this was to read.
The story seemed to jump from one story line to the next and left you guessing in parts.
This was just not for me.

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A premise that, on its face, should be a rip-roaring good time, a kind of Scott Lynch-ish, layered heist but hard sci-fi, but it's so booooorrrriiiiinggggg. OMG, how many times do you need to tell me Belisarius is like, the smartest? And, like, his brain never stops? I GET IT, DUDE. An editor needed to give Mr. Kunken a sharp lesson in "show, don't tell" and also cut about half of this interminable novel. A hard, hard pass.

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Hay historias que en un puñado de páginas consiguen captar el interés del lector de inmediato. Fue mi caso con la novela debut de Derek Künsken, The Quantum Magician (y sí, como dice el subtítulo, el primer libro de la serie The Quantum Evolution, pero bueno). Estamos ante una novela de ciencia ficción que contiene casi todos los elementos que a mí me fascinan de este género: especulación, física cuántica, personajes carismáticos, naves-viajes-espacio-planetas, sentido de humor, sentido crítico y capacidad analítica de problemáticas actuales trasladadas a una sociedad del futuro. Además, The Quantum Magician dispone de una barbaridad de buenas ideas muy bien desarrolladas. No por nada es una de las novelas de ciencia ficción que más disfruté leyendo el año pasado y de la que guardo mejor recuerdo.

Belisarius, nuestro protagonista, es un Homo Quantus, un hombre genéticamente modificado para manipular información y datos a nivel cuántico. Él estaba pensado para que desempeñara el papel de gran científico, como los otros Homo Quantus que le preceden, sin embargo Belisarius es un tipo que no se lleva demasiado bien con las reglas, las órdenes y con estarse quietecito. Especialmente le disgusta que su carrera, su vida y su futuro vengan dictados por unos genes que le impusieron. Así que la novela plantea algunas preguntas iniciales, ¿a qué puedes dedicar tu vida cuando eres capaz de computar datos de forma más eficiente que un ordenador? Belisarius tiene la respuesta, y lo tiene muy claro: convertirse en el mayor estafador de universo. Aunque quizá el último golpe que se dispone a dar no vaya a resultar tan sencillo como de costumbre. La novela se sitúa en un futuro lejano donde los humanos tienen la tecnología para modificar los genes para sobrevivir a entornos hostiles, para mejorar sus habilidades o para esclavizar a otras especies.

La cantidad de ideas que Künsken introduce en una sola novela es abrumadora, y no solo es la propia cantidad, sino el buen desarrollo que hace de cada una de ellas. Quizá no todas ellas acaban siendo desarrolladas por completo, o hasta un callejón sin salida, pero sí quedan tratadas lo suficiente como para que resulte satisfactorio. Además, el autor publicará más libros en esta serie, así que imagino que se guardará unos cuantos ganchos para los siguientes libros. Es un libro provocativo, que busca ese disfrute y entretenimiento inteligente. Es decir, que a través de situaciones bien pensadas y elaboradas te saca la sonrisa cómplice. Además, pese al aparente súperpoder del protagonista, ser un Homo Quantus no le convierte en alguien invencible, es precisamente en el caos donde sus cálculos fracasan y su poder no tiene efecto. Además el libro está escrito con capítulos breves que terminan todos en ganchos, dándote ese empujoncito para "va, me leo otro capítulo antes de ir a dormir". Y terminas viciado.

El mundo que construye Künsken es vivo, y da esa sensación de realidad que tantas veces echo en falta en otros libros ambientados en el futuro. Se atreve a especular sobre ciertos senderos que toma la humanidad en el futuro y sobre distintos temas evolutivos. Por ejemplo, también aparecen los Numen y su dominación de los Puppets a quienes han modificado genéticamente para que los cosnideren sus dioses. Los Numen han causado así una estructura social bastante peculiar y con situaciones chocantes. En el curso de la novela descubrimos que los Numen están casi extintos, por lo que los Puppets tienen un síndrome de abstinencia bestial que les impulsa a actuar de formas un tanto... peculiares. Künsken aprovecha estas situaciones para reflexionar sobre el significado y la importancia de la religión en una sociedad, además de las consecuencias nocivas que esta tiene. El autor es especialmente duro con la religión y muestra una imagen nada amable de la misma, algo que he disfrutado muchísimo.

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I loved the world built here. It took a bit of work and time to get into it and piece things together, but not so much time, all things considered, and I found the conundrums of the additional human species really fascinating. The Homo Eridanus, engineered to survive in several hundred atmospheres of pressure in hostile oceans, but unable to ever get to the surface unless they want to be crushed to death. The Puppets, twisted slave-race created by the Numen, who thought themselves superior to the others, and made themselves into gods… without really thinking about what this would make their “worshippers” do (a.k.a the Puppets are as fascinating as a train wreck). And the Homo quantus, made to delve into the mysteries of time and space, seeking a state of fugue which is the only one where they can fully observe the universe, but to the cost of their individuality and their health. (Speaking of which, the fugue demands the lack of an observing conscience in order to avoid collapsing the wavefunction; if the Copenhagen interpretation irks you to no ends, you may not like that part.)

And, behind this, a geopolitical system strewn through space thanks to wormholes, with patron and client nations, and a delicate balance between all of those. Many possibilities, only a few of which are explored here.

The story also has the proper elements of a good con/heist: an ambitious goal that most people would call crazy and impossible; a team of misfits and odd people gathered from various places to each play they parts (including, among others, an ex-soldier who loves her explosives, an exiled Puppet, a dying man, a geneticist, and an AI who believes itself the reincarnation of Saint Matthew); and, of course, things that don’t go exactly according to plan, because where would be the fun otherwise?

The characters, in general, are also compelling and well-developed. Belisarius and Cassandra draw an interesting dynamics: she loves the fugue but has trouble staying in it, he was engineered too well and can’t get out of the fugue before it kills his physical brain due to overheating. Gates-15 is a Puppet exiled because he cannot react to Numen pheromones, and so cannot experience the divinity of his captive gods, and who wants nothing more than to go back to his homeworld… with a twist, that is. William has to weigh what he stands to lose against all he could give his daughter instead if the con works. Marie was less developed, but her antics combined with those of Stills, the swearing Eridanian whose people’s credo is to give the finger to the universe who screwed them, were pretty fun to read (yeah, I loved Stills).

There was a downside here for me, though, in that while I loved the hard science incorporated in the foundations of this world, the way it was sometimes explained slowed down the whole caper/heist part. Also, I wouldn’t recommend this book to a reader who’s not keen on hard science fiction in general.

Conclusion: A solid 4 stars, I enjoyed the characters and the world, and I’m interested in any sequel that comes out.

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A fascinating premise, with all the colossal stakes and epic scale of a sci-fi novel featuring wormholes and endless quantum possibilities. Once the dense worldbuilding settles in a bit, the individual actions felt a bit cursory - find a crew, set a plan, pull it off to prevent a war - but the pace did make for a quick read, the characters all vibrant.

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Belisarius is a Homo Quantus, a man genetically modified to manipulate data on the quantum level. He was supposed to become a great scientist like all the others of his kind, however, he doesn’t like to follow the rules. He especially doesn’t want his whole career and life to be dictated by his genes, thank you very much.

What can you do with your life when you can compute data more efficiently than a computer? For Belisarius, the answer is simple: become the best con man of the universe. However, even for him, his last job might be too hard if not impossible.

He has to find a way to move a huge fleet of warships across an heavily guarded black hole while remaining unseen. His client, a small vassal-state of the Congregate, is dreaming of independence and is ready to start an interstellar war for it.

To succeed, Belisarius will have to pull off the biggest heist of the galaxy and he cannot do it alone. He needs a crew and a talented one at that. Who could be better than the craziest representant of other subspecies, an AI who thinks he is the reincarnation of a Saint and another Homo Quantus? At worse, they’ll kill each other off, at best, they’ll be richer than they’ll ever be!



Set in a future where humans have modified their genes in order to survive in hostile environments, to improve their skills or to turn other species into their slaves, The Quantum Magician is one crazy ride. Derek Künsken has enough ideas to write dozens of books but he uses them all in one. It’s a crazy imaginative story which managed to pick my interest from page one. It’s thought-provoking, very clever and extremely enjoyable. When I finished a chapter, my immediate thought was “Okay, just another one” and it doesn’t happen that often for me.

The worldbuilding is amazing, this book is packed with fascinating ideas and I had a blast discovering how humanity evolved by discovering all the new subspecies. I was morbidly fascinated by the Numens who modified their DNA in order to enslave the Puppets and how horrible it turned out for them.

Belisarius is very interested by those modifications and how much it redefines the meaning of being human. Being a member of a subspecy himself, he cannot help but to question where his own actions are coming from. Is he motivated by his own free will or are his actions predetermined by his genes? This naturalistic approach of life is at the center of the book and some characters even discuss it at various points in the book. Don’t worry, it never turns into a boring lecture,on the contrary, it allows us to understand the motivation of both protagonists and antagonists.



The Quantum Magician is a fabulous debut, it would make the most fantastic movie. It has everything and more, it seriously needs to be read by way more people. Highly, highly recommended.

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Don't be fooled by the title - Derek Kunsken's The Quantum Magician (review copy from Solaris) isn't a rip off of Hannu Rajaniemi's bonkers space opera The Quantum Thief. It may feature a similarly charming con-man protagonist, but instead is a delightfully engaging heist story. This is Ocean's 11 in space.

Belisarius (Bel) Arjona is the titular Quantum Magician - genetically engineered to be able to enter various altered mental states in order to examine the fabric of the universe. One of those states involves complete suppression of identity, in order to avoid the phenomenon of the observer collapsing quantum states. But something has gone wrong in Bel's breeding - entering these states is likely to lead to his death, and he spends his life as a con-man because the challenge is the only thing that will distract him from the addictive pull of his training. Living in a complex, multi-cultural society dealing with the mix of messy emotions and complexity that make up most sentient beings is a much greater intellectual challenge than studying physics in a laboratory.

Bel is approached with the job of a lifetime - smuggle some military spaceships through a wormhole. The wormhole is the main route from one part of the galaxy to another, and access is tightly controlled. These military ships belong to a colony civilisation desperate to make a strike for independence. Moving the warships will put them in the right place to make a surprise military strike. Bel's fee for this work is two small ships equipped with a brand new drive technology that will be worth a fortune. But the real prize for him is the chance to observe wormhole physics from the inside - data he would never have been able to gather if he'd stayed on his home planet.

What lifts The Quantum Magician above the usual run of heist stories is the characterisation and world-building. Whether he is willing to acknowledge it or not, Bel is using this job as a chance to reconnect with old friends and colleagues - including his old lover Cassandra; Saint Matthew, the most advanced AI ever created; an explosives expert; Bel's former con-man mentor; and a genetically engineered sea creature who is an expert pilot able to operate a high pressure and high g. Bel has personal debts to pay to some of these people, and wants to work with people he trusts, but this for him is mostly about the chance to connect with people he knows as part of a team in order to address his fundamental loneliness. Much of the early part of the book is Bel pulling his team together and planning the elaborate heist. The actual heist itself delivers on tension and unexpected developments, bringing an exciting climax to the story.

Goodreads rating: 4*

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This is a heist-story, in a hard science fiction universe, a load of science/techno-babble somewhat based in actual science, aliens that are more then just green humanoids, and space opera feels to it.

I really enjoyed this book. The fast pace, as is becoming of a heist, makes for a quick read, and the characters and their backstories are fascinating. I actually liked the little insights in the lives and characters of the book, more then the actual heist part, which had just a bit too many technical convoluted explanations. You meet all the people in this book at a midpoint in their life. They’ve done things before Balisarius pulls them in, and will do things after (if they make it…). I loved the kind of humans that were developed: the homo sapiens (humans, just like you and me, but then… in the future!), homo quantus (their brains are basically quantum computers), homo pupa (designed for religious awe towards their “gods”. This gets… creepy quickly. Content warnings for torture and medical procedures apply) and the homo eridanus (they’re deep sea dwellers, and can’t live without intense water-pressure, which has created it’s own kind of religion with lots of cursing included).

So, if you like a read that will keep you on your toes because of pace, characterization and scienc-y stuff: grab The Quantum Magician! It got published October 2nd 2018, and so you should be able to find it at any (digital) bookstore near you ^^

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Tries too hard

As much as I liked this book, I kept putting it aside to read other, less taxing ones. There is so much stuff going on that Quantum Magician becomes exhausting in the middle. Things clear up at the end but I wish Mr. Kunsken's beta readers had convinced him to cut the text a bit. The cons within cons within cons blend together and the narrative does not guide us strongly along the plot line so I could not figure out why each of the elements was needed. Arjonas team is too big, although the reasons for that are part of Arjona's character. Specifically, I don't think Arjona needed to add two team members and spend so much money and technology so a merman can create a diversion.

I have a couple of doubts about some of the scientific explanations too. Here are three:

In the book, the biome surrounding nerve endings has important effects on the functioning of the nerve. Conventional science does not include a biome around a nerve ending. Nerve endings are way tinier than the organisms of a biome. Nerve endings are sterile and buried inside tissue. If a biome were in there with the nerve ending, the tissue should rot. That being said, there is one very new and not yet replicated report of bacteria-like forms found in cadaver brains inside supposedly sterile environments but not touching nerves directly. They were seen around myelin sheaths. The authors are quick to say that they don't understand what they are seeing and that their samples might be contaminated. You can look this up on AAAS Science Newsletter for November. No one besides these researchers has suggested that actual bacteria can be or should be roaming around inside the body. I think this is too tenuous an observation to put forward in popular fiction as fact.

Then there is the question of pressurizing water. Two physics issues here: 1) At one point the team is 23 kilometers under the surface of a planet looking at an ocean in which the genetically modified mermen are swimming around in (as I read it) about 800 atmospheres of pressure. If we are using Terran atmospheres (and nowhere does it say we aren’t) then 23 kilometers down would be 23000 meters / 10 = 2300 atm, not 800. If there is an explanation for the discrepancy in the text, I didn't see it. 2) The team needs to pressurize a tank of seawater to about 800 atm to move the merman from one place to another. They do it by putting more molecules of water into the tank. Well, that's not how water is pressurized. You can't compress water like a mattress. Water in the ocean is pressed down by the weight of water and air above it, so if you had a very tall column of water, the liquid on the bottom is pressurized and is a bit denser than the liquid at the top. How exactly is the team pressurizing the water in a relatively small space something like a bathysphere?

Mr. Kunsken has created an extraordinary world with an exciting mix of cultures that he hopes to build into a series. But he has put so much into this book I worry that he has fallen into the fiction equivalent of the first-album trap. If musicians put all their best songs into their first album, no good ones are left for the second and momentum is lost while writing new ones of high quality. (Billy Joel is often mentioned in this context.)

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Rating:🥄🥄🥄🥄

Short Review: Apologies for the quick review. School year has started so don't have a lot of time to write things down. This was a good read, enjoyed it. Hoping to be able to purchase it soon. Thanks! Downloaded from Netgalley

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I was amazed that this book is from a first time novelist. The world building is excellent!

The division of humanity is well done. I was actually creeped out by the Puppets and the Numen. I found the Mongrels to be vulgar and annoying. I was fascinated by the Homo Quantus. Imagine being able to turn yourself into a quantum computer at will! There is also an AI who thinks he's a saint as well as a "normal" human woman who is a bit psychotic and enjoys blowing things up.

Belisarius Arjona is a Homo Quantus who has left his people and set out on his own. He brings together this diverse group in order to pull off a crime that no one thinks is possible. What follows is a great read that left me wondering if everything was planned to go as it did.

I recommend this to all sci fi fans. It's a bit of a heavy read but worth it!

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Space heist, post-humanism and hard Science Fiction, a great recipe for a fun book with an intriguing plot and diverse characters. I have to admit that the beginning was hard to go through (the "hard" part of "hard SF"), and each characters' set of skills were a little bit too convenient, but overall it was very enjoyable. I'm looking forward to a possible sequel!

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