The Fractal Prince

By: Hannu Rajaniemi

Narrated by: Scott Brick

A physicist receives a mysterious paper. The ideas in it are far, far ahead of current thinking and quite, quite terrifying. In a city of “fast ones,” shadow players, and jinni, two sisters contemplate a revolution. And on the edges of reality a thief, helped by a sardonic ship, is trying to break into a Schrödinger box for his patron. In the box is his freedom. Or not.

Jean de Flambeur is back. And he’s running out of time. In Hannu Rajaniemi’s sparkling follow-up to the critically acclaimed international sensation The Quantum Thief, he returns to his awe-inspiring vision of the universe…and we discover what the future held for Earth.

©2012 Hannu Rajaniemi (P)2013 Recorded Books

Complex and rewarding

I found myself having to read parts of the book multiple times to keep things straight in my head. However, the story is rewarding and worth it.

Wonderfully complex STORY telling

⚠️ Warning, this is NOT a children's book. It contains sexually oriented graphic content intended for mature audiences only.

Very rich array of futuristic characters with a non-conventional post-apocalyptic landscapes.

It was hard to follow at first but luckily I held on. As the author provides more and more context, the story gets juicier and juicier.

The intertwining of Arabic, French, and Chinese cultural nuances was soo creative.
Ignoring the shirk, it was very satisfying exploring quantum theory, astrophysics, and even Islamic themes like the 99 names of Allah

Probably would be better reading from a book to actually see the words. I'm probably going to have to buy it 😀



#Negative points
* Overly Complex storyline was very hard to follow at first.
* Shirk / Magic / Islamic heresy
* Unnecessary lesbian sex scenes added no value to the story.
* Gratuitous sex throughout the early part of the book

Style makes up for minimal plot

I enjoyed the book, but the complexity is in the telling, not in the plot. The technologies in the story are so advanced, anything can happen; in that it's akin to fantasy. I didn't realize in the first book that the civilization (if the diverse actors can be grouped that way) is confined to the solar system; I guess brains the size of a planet still can't out think Albert E.

What's in the Schrodinger box?

Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Fractal Prince is the sequel to The Quantum Thief. Jean, the thief, is trying to open the Schrodinger box he stole in the prior installment. At the same time, his traveling companion appears to be in league with the dominant power player in the solar system. There is a parallel tale of two sisters who represent wildcode, while their father is trying to negotiate with that same dominant player. Finally, a mysterious young boy has been told not to talk with strangers.

Rajaniemi continues his hard sci-fi work with a dense plot that may not make sense until the next installment. The narration is quite good with solid character distinction. Pacing is brisk.

Brilliantly Complex

Brilliant prose. Very complex universe, so it's not an easy listen if you are working out anything while you listen. It didn't feel as coherent as book 1, but it was still beautifully written. The fantastic voice acting was terrific, very expressive, beautiful accents and variety of voices.