Short-listed for the World Fantasy Award and a finalist for the Catalyst Award, bona fide rocket scientist Simon Morden has won a considerable fan base for his mind-bending brand of SF. The first in a planned trilogy, Equations of Life stars Samuil Petrovitch, a survivor of the nuclear fallout in a futuristic St. Petersburg. He's lived as long as he has by following a few simple rules. But when he breaks one of those rules by rescuing the daughter of perhaps the most dangerous man in London, he finds himself beset by Russian mobsters, the Yakuza, and something called the New Machine Jihad.
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"I tried a sample of this on my Kindle on Sunday....fast forward to 3am and I finished this and immediately bought the second. I am not a "hard" scifi person but I LOVED this book. Dystopian future, brilliant yet flawed hero, gun toting nuns, AI...it has it all. My only complaint is that while the world building was decent I wanted to know more about how they got to this place and the author doled it out slowly and in little bits. Better than a huge infodump but I wish a little more detail about the state of the world had been included in this first book. It turns out that the author created the bones of the world in a series of short stories available on his website...when I finish the third in the trilogy I may go back and read those."
— Katrina (5 out of 5 stars)
“Speeds along with energetic panache.”
— Times (London)“Morden has a natural talent for a plot that keeps the reader guessing.”
— Guardian (London)“A fast-paced thriller…an absorbing read.”
— Telegraph (London)“Morden keeps up a breathless breakneck pace that doesn’t sacrifice character depth or intelligence…The Samuel Petrovich Trilogy promises to be a fast-paced thrill ride for the cynical urban space cowboy in all of us.”
— io9“An engrossing, if occasionally goofy, adventure…Samuli’s mix of action and research makes him a fresh and engaging character, and the escalating scale of danger and violence moves the plot along briskly.”
— Publishers Weekly“Small, immoral, likably unlikable, Petrovich steps fully formed onto the neon-slick streets of London as if on the run from a classic anime.”
— Jon Courtenay Grimwood, author of the Arabesk trilogy" Good fun post-apocalyptic sci-fi, which won me over in the end, but I found the author's style very pulpy, like he was going for sci-fi Chandler but didn't quite make it. "
— Arthur, 2/19/2014" The main character is a little too smart, and everyone seems to swoon for him for some reason, but the story builds nicely, the characters are interesting, and the enemy is quite terrifying. "
— Kirk, 2/5/2014" I love this book even though i didn't understand what the russian words and japanese words meant but i can care less. I would recommend my friends to read it. I have the two other books from the triology and i can't wait to attack them lol. I don't like to give spoilers I suggest you read the book :) "
— Djenane, 12/31/2013" Weird but kept my interest. I am looking forward to next book. "
— Roxanne, 12/22/2013" I wanted to like this more than I did. I just found the protagonist hard to believe. "
— Simkine, 11/27/2013" All three books in this series are very good. "
— Michael, 10/25/2013" This book was great! Fresh, interesting, still a bit cyberpunk but not just rehashed crap. I liked it enough that I just bought the sequel (and the third and final book is out in a month)! "
— Al, 10/24/2013" Very good. I like a nice dystopia now and then. He even put in a couple of Star Wars and Aliens jokes. "
— Rob, 10/12/2013" A really fun read with plenty of good ideas and a very likeable main character. Almost a sci-fi thriller, but too interesting to be lumped into that category. I highly recommend it. "
— Chris, 8/24/2013" REally loved the book. HArkens back to good cyberpunk, but not dated. "
— Jefferey, 2/26/2013" A really fast-paced action-packed adventure set in a post-armageddon London. If you are familiar with London and/or Tokyo you will probably enjoy it even more than I did (as I have not been to either city) - regardless it is a great read with some great leading characters "
— Todd, 7/25/2012" I imagined this, as I read it, as a sort of Manga novel.<br/><br/>The protagonists are very readable, even if the main character was a bit like the guy in the tv series 24 - un-killable.<br/> "
— Nerderello, 9/20/2011" I really enjoyed this. It's a quick, light read; good for taking a break from more serious stuff. Or just reading about some good characters, that too. "
— Ash, 9/16/2011" A really fast-paced action-packed adventure set in a post-armageddon London. If you are familiar with London and/or Tokyo you will probably enjoy it even more than I did (as I have not been to either city) - regardless it is a great read with some great leading characters "
— Todd, 9/15/2011" A Comedic science fiction thriller :) "
— Danny, 9/5/2011" Nuns with guns, how can you go wrong? "
— Fred, 7/5/2011" Great book, but suffers from a convoluted storyline, untranslated Russian cursing, and difficult scientific discussion. In spite of these flaws, the action sequences and overall storyline made this a great book to read during my recent vacation. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. "
— Mphecker, 7/5/2011" I wanted to like this more than I did. I just found the protagonist hard to believe. "
— Simkine, 6/6/2011Dr. Simon Morden, BSc,
PhD, is a bona fide
rocket scientist with degrees in geology and planetary geophysics. He’s now employed as a part-time teaching assistant at a
Gateshead primary school, which he combines with his duties as a house-husband.
His not-so-secret identity as journeyman writer started when he sold the short
story “Bell, Book, and Candle” to an anthology, and a chaotic mix of science
fiction, fantasy, and horror followed. Heart
came out to critical acclaim, and Another
War was shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award. The Lost Art was subsequently a finalist for the Catalyst Award for
Best Teen Fiction. Morden has also been the
editor of the British Science Fiction Association’s writers’ magazine, Focus, a judge for the Arthur C. Clarke Awards,
and a regular speaker at the Greenbelt Arts Festival on matters of faith and
fiction. In 2009, he was on the winning team for the Rolls Royce Science Prize.
Toby Leonard has worked extensively as a television, film, and voice actor. His acting credits include several appearances on the television series Underbelly and The Pacific, as well as the voice of Richard in the video Mortal Kombat: Rebirth.