Synopses & Reviews
Beginning with The Golden Age, continuing with The Phoenix Exultant and now concluding in The Golden Transcendence, The Golden Age is Grand Space Opera, an SF adventure saga in the tradition of A. E. van Vogt and Roger Zelazny, with perhaps a bit of Cordwainer Smith enriching the style. It is an astounding story of super-science, a thrilling wonder story that recaptures the excitements of SF's golden age writers in the suspenseful and passionate tale of a lone rebel unhappy in utopia.
The end of the Millennium is imminent, when all minds, human, posthuman, cybernetic, sophotechnic, will be temporarily merged into one solar-system-spanning supermind called the Transcendence. This is not only the fulfillment of a thousand years of dreams, it is a day of doom, when the universal mind will pass judgment on all the races of humanity and transhumanity.
The mighty ship Phoenix Exultant is at last in the hands of her master; Phaethon the Exile is at her helm. But the terrible truth has been revealed: he is being hunted by the agents from a long-lost dead star, the eerie and deadly Lords of the Silent Oecumene, whose super-technology plumbs depths even the all-knowing Earthmind cannot fathom.
Humanity will be helpless during the Golden Transcendence. Phaethon's enemies plan to use the opportunity to destroy the population of the Inner System, man and machine alike. To do this, they must take control of Phaethon's beloved starship and turn her unparalleled power to warlike uses. Phaethon's memories are incomplete - but he knows a spy for the Silent Ones is already aboard. And when the all-encompassing Mind of the Golden Transcendence wakes - who will it condemn? Which future will it chose? Are Phaethon's dreams of star-flight about to revolutionize the Golden Age into an age even more glorious than gold, or will they kindle the first open war fought across the immensity of interstellar space?
Review
"A movie based on Wright's modernized space opera could easily appeal to fans of The Matrix.... Such a film would, however, lack the grand polysyllabism that sets the tone of this volume and its predecessors ... language both deeply literary and deeply essential."
--Publishers Weekly "Set forth with such effortless intelligence and confident verisimilitude that the author might be a denizen of the remote future, reporting back to us in the distant past."
--Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A movie based on Wright's modernized space opera could easily appeal to fans of The Matrix.... Such a film would, however, lack the grand polysyllabism that sets the tone of this volume and its predecessors ... language both deeply literary and deeply essential."
--Publishers Weekly "Set forth with such effortless intelligence and confident verisimilitude that the author might be a denizen of the remote future, reporting back to us in the distant past."
--Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Praise for The Phoenix Exultant: "A delightful whatchamacallit: Whiz-Bang Space Opera, Laser Samurai Adventure, Socratic Spaghetti Western, Virtual Spa Masquerade, Paranoid Identity Soap oh hell, just read it. It's fun."--Patrick O'Leary
Synopsis
"The Golden Age is aptly titled--it evokes the best of the golden age of science fiction. Transcendence, big ideas, slam-bang action--it's all here, in the first significant debut of the new millennium."
-Robert J. Sawyer
"Bursting with kaleidoscopic imagery, Wright's first novel chronicles the quest of a far-future everyman in his journey of self-discovery. Reminiscent of the panoramic novels of Arthur C. Clarke, Iain Banks, and Jack Vance."
-Library Journal
Praise for The Phoenix Exultant
"A delightful whatchamacallit: Whiz-Bang Space Opera, Laser Samurai Adventure, Socratic Spaghetti Western, Virtual Spa Masquerade, Paranoid Identity Soap oh hell, just read it. It's fun."
--Patrick O'Leary
"John Wright is a stunning new talent. His vivid worlds are filled with wonder and dread, tension and hope. If the future looks like this, our descendants are in for a wild time."
--David Brin
Praise for The Golden
Synopsis
Begun with
The Golden Age, continued with
The Phoenix Exultant, and now concluding in
The Golden Transcendence, The Golden Age trilogy is Grand Space Opera, an SF adventure saga in the tradition of A. E. Van Gogt, Roger Zelazny and Cordwainer Smith. It is an astounding story of super-science, a thrilling wonder story that recaptures the elan of SF's golden age writers in the suspenseful and passionate tale of Phaeton, a lone rebel unhappy in utopia.
The end of the Millennium is imminent, when all minds, human, posthuman, cybernetic, sophotechnic, will be temporarily merged into one solar-system-spanning supermind called the Transcendence. This is not only the fulfillment of a thousand years of dreams, it is a day of doom, when the universal mind will pass judgment on the all the races of humanity and transhumanity.
The mighty ship Phoenix Exultant is at last in the hands of her master, Phaethon the Exile is at her helm and his dream of starflight in alive once more. He is being hunted by alien agents, the eerie and deadly Lords of the Silent Oecumene, who would steal the Phoenix Exultant and turn it into a weapon.
The all-encompassing Mind of the Golden Transcendence is waking. Will it endorse Phaeton's dream or face the first interstellar war?
About the Author
John C. Wright, a journalist and a lawyer turned SF and fantasy writer, lives with his wife and son in Centreville, Virginia.