Bloom

No writer stretches the boundaries of science fiction like Wil McCarthy does. His Del Rey debut, Bloom, was a New York Times Notable Book. Now McCarthy has crafted his most wildly ambitious and stunningly original novel yet.

The Queendom of Sol enjoys a peace and prosperity even gods might envy. In fact, two awesome technologies have given human beings all the powers -- and caprices -- of gods: well-stone, a form of programmable matter, and collapsium, a deadly crystal composed of miniature black holes. With these extraordinary tools, two scientific rivals race to achieve their own wondrous goals.

But when a ruthless saboteur precipitates an apocalyptic crisis, the two scientists must put aside personal animosity to prevent the destruction of the solar system...and every living thing within it.

By turns hilarious and deeply moving -- a tale of love and the conquest of knowledge, set against a backdrop of stellar catastrophe -- "The Collapsium" is a bold work of the imagination by a daring master.