Secret Passages
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
On the isle of Crete, a renowned physicist experiments with the nature of reality in this enthralling novel from the author of Broken Symmetries.
Secret Passages follows the life of mathematics prodigy Manolis Minakis from the quiet hills of Crete to the lofty chambers of Cambridge University. Upon his retirement, Minakis returns to his Greek island home a renowned physicist and successful industrialist—and ready to embark on his true life’s work. Using a cache of Minoan treasures, Minakis lures photographer Anne-Marie Brand and her husband, theoretician Peter Slater, to aid in his attempts to recover the past and understand the true nature of reality. Set against the colorful Mediterranian backdrop, the legendary home of a once-great civilization, this enigmatic novel resonates deeply with both the brain and heart.
Admired by legendary science fiction author Roger Zelazny for “his knowledge and artistry,” Paul Preuss returns to the characters and setting of his acclaimed novel Broken Symmetries in an indirect sequel that is “highly recommended for both fiction and sf collections” (Library Journal).
“Mr. Le Carre, meet Dr. Feynman! . . . [T]his one really makes the earth move.” —Ursula K. Le Guin
“[An] intensely believable SF novel . . . should appeal to those curious about how real science gets done.” —Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Perhaps it is a miracle--that the world is real," says Manolis Minakis, the physicist-protagonist of this intensely believable SF novel, an indirect sequel to Preuss's Broken Symmetries. Reality is far from taken for granted by most of the theoretical physicists who work with quantum mechanics and Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, but Minakis has had more than enough uncertainty in his life. His mother died after giving birth. He never knew his father. He was raised as an outcast, in dire poverty. As a teenager, his life changed radically when he was adopted by British archeologist John Pendlebury, who sent Minakis to Cambridge, where he studied applied mathematics. Since WWII, Minakis has been doing physics, but, because he won't accept Heisenberg, he's still an outsider. Now he is ready to prove the inaccuracy of the Uncertainty Principle, and he has chosen brilliant young physicist Peter Slater to help him. In order to convince Slater to come to his base in Crete, Minakis must first win over Slater's new wife. She, however, is caught up in a bitter custody battle over the children from her first marriage, a battle that may force her to disclose a dark and painful secret. What Preuss has created here is primarily an alternate historical novel and a good one at that. The SF content is almost secondary, though it provides a powerful symbolic gloss to Minakis's fascinating life. The book is smoothly written, features a number of well-drawn characters and should appeal to those curious about how real science gets done.
Customer Reviews
Secret Passages
Very good storyline through 3/4 of the book, interesting main character, nice development of main character’s life story, from growing up in mud huts, to archaeological digs at Knossos, to college at Cambridge, to fighting in resistance on Crete in WW2, to becoming a famous physicist. Just as the story starts to peak, someone let the air out of the balloon, and the finish was very weak. Could have been a great book, with a good finish.