Product Description
Though he is also a mathematician, computer scientist, and essayist, Rudy Rucker is best known for his ground-breaking science fiction. The companion volume to Seek!, Rucker's selected nonfiction, Gnarl! brings together three dozen of the writer's best science fiction short stories. His first major story collection in 17 years, the volume includes a number of previously unanthologized stories, including tales cowritten with Marc Laidlaw, Paul Di Filippo, and Bruce Sterling. Classics such as "The Fifty-Seventh Franz Kafka," a timely meditation on the paradoxes of cloning, are side by side with works of pseudomemoir like "The Indian Rope Trick Explained." The Rucker formula - cutting-edge physics, a wild but perversely logical imagination, and a decidedly punk attitude - illuminates this new collection.Amazon.com Review
The short-story collection Gnarl! is a companion volume to Rudy Rucker's nonfiction essay collection, Seek! (The titles come from Rucker's self-professed motto, "Seek ye the gnarl!") Gnarl! collects all of Rucker's short stories from the last quarter of the 20th century--some 36 selections in all--ranging from a 2-page solo effort to a 44-page collaboration with Bruce Sterling. Rucker has arranged the collection chronologically and also provided autobiographical notes about each piece, making this both the definitive volume and an excellent history of his short-story career. And it's certainly been an interesting career. Rucker is a physicist by day who says he has the politics of punks and hippies, was once obsessed by pot and alcohol, and "tends to write as if women were wonderful, fascinating aliens."

Publishers Weekly called Rucker "a mathematician bewitched by the absurdity of the universe," and it shows in almost every sentence he writes. In Rucker's world people have "face holes" instead of mouths or nostrils, wasps remind him of space monsters, and planet X shares more than a few similarities with Earth. And, not coincidentally, almost all of his protagonists are physicists. Also not coincidentally, physics often plays an important role, even making it into the titles of pieces such as "Pi in the Sky," "Schrödinger's Cat," "Inertia," and "Probability Pipeline." But even though Rucker tends to write "hard SF" in the sense that most of his stories rely heavily on science, this is not the usual nuts-and-bolts stuff of, say, Hal Clement. Rather, this is cutting-edge physics extrapolated almost beyond imagination to create fascinating worlds and wonderful stories. Some traditional SF readers may be intimidated by how far off the beaten science fiction path Rucker sometimes strays, but in the end it's almost always a walk worth taking. --Craig E. Engler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Couldn't put it down
After being very disapointed by Freeware I decided to give Rudy Rucker another chance. I've very glad I did beucase Gnarl! is a wonderful book that will really get you thinking.

Excellent Range & Depth
Initially I was afraid to pick up this collection because I'd read everything of Rudy's still in print, and was afraid there would be duplicates.I needn't have worried.

Everything here is either out-of-print (from "The 57th Franz Kafka") or published in magazines or previously unpublished -- there wasn't a single story I'd read before.There are a wide variety of styles and approaches here, some more successful than others.The best ones (like "The Andy Warhol Sandcastle") are very, VERY good while the worst ("Chaos Surfari") are just kind of silly.

Overall a collection of astonishing variety and imagination.Much better than the companion non-fiction anthology "Seek!"

Truly gnarly
"Gnarl!" is the companion volume to "Seek!" and probably one of the best story collections I've ever read. Featuring almost the entirety of Rucker's professional short-story output, "Gnarl!" includes hysterical and visionary pieces reminiscent of authors ranging from Kurt Vonnegut to Bruce Sterling (whose collaborative effort "Big Jelly" is featured here alongside gems co-written with Marc Laidlaw and Paul de Fillipo). As far as collections go, "Gnarl!" is becomingly introspective, and can be read as a transrealist autobiography. Rucker creates grim futures and funny scenarios that cover the spectrum of human emotion. Pac-Man addiction. Religious fervor. Microgravity sex. Beatniks and hydrogen bombs. Time warps and deranged aliens. "Gnarl!'s" got it all. You can't come away from the experience unmoved.

A unique and entertaining mix of cyberpunk/physics tales.
Three dozen of Rucker's best works range from previously unanthologized stories written in collaboration with others to Rucker's individual, unique mix of cyberpunk/physics tales. Designed as a companion volume to hisnonfiction Seek!, this will prove especially pleasing to fans of his hardscience fiction stories.

Not, by any means, Rucker's best.
Rucker rarely breaks out of the adolescent mode in this average collection of short stories - where he does, however, the results are intriguing though still fairly derivative.

If, as I did, you first encountered himthrough the excellent - and truly innovative - 'White Light', you'll bedisappointed by this collection.What is good here? I enjoyed 'TheFifty-Seventh Franz Kafka' and 'Bringing in the Sheaves' - stories wherethe Scientific American physics are turned down and Rucker dabbles with thegrotesque...

This collection will stay on my shelf - but I'll be back tomy Virgin Paperback copy of White Light and seeking readmission to theLibrary of Forms! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Wonderfully Rucker
Engaging, mind-bending, whimsical & funny!I discovered Rudy Rucker through his non-fiction, and was delighted to discover that his science fiction is excellent as well.Thoroughly entertaining.

Don't waste your money
Just not very good.Not really science fiction.Undisciplined and an acquired taste.Not very logically constructed.If you like David Brin or Larry Niven or Alastair Reynolds, you won't like Rudy Rucker as an author.

Mad Professor: The Uncollected Short Stories of Rudy Rucker
Another enjoyable and oftimes thought provoking book by Rudy Rucker - being a collection of short stories this is an easy read. For fans of the "Ware" novel series, "Cobb Wakes Up" is set in that worldview. ... Read more

Product Description
Felix Rayman spends the day teaching indifferent students, pondering his theories on infinity, and daydreaming. When his dreams finally separate him from his physical body, Felix plunges headfirst into a multidimensional universe beyond the limits of space and time — the place of White Light.Amazon.com Review
Malcontent mathematics instructor Feliz Raymond's afternoonnaps are the subject of Rudy Rucker's strange and delightful WhiteLight. Bored with his life and job at a state university in NewYork and making no headway in solving Georg Cantor's ContinuumProblem, Raymond finds himself every afternoon, lying flat on hisfloor, entering into a state of lucid dreaming that allows him toexplore an entirely new surreal and mathematically-chargedreality. What follows is an adventure through time and space, thelikes of which only a collaboration between Umberto Eco and LewisCarroll could attempt. With traveling companions ranging from Einsteinto the devil to a giant beetle named Franx, Raymond explores theinfinite reaches of his new playground, which is filled with amultitude of cultural and scientific references, some subtle and manyovert. Each turned corner of White Light is another gleefulsurprise, another celebration of cleverness and imagination. Rucker,who is just as comfortable presenting accessible introductions tomodern ideas in geometry (The Fourth Dimension: A Guided Tour ofthe Higher Universes) as he is spinning yarns of hacker fiction(The Hacker and the Ants), wrote this novel while, like theprotagonist, endeavoring to solve Cantor's Continuum Problem at astate university in New York. This novel belongs to the tradition ofscience fiction pioneered by H. G. Wells, where the science is thesource of intrigue that adventures grow from and propel theprotagonists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Searched for 10 years!!
I found this book in a bargain bin before a bus trip, I lost that copy and searched for 10 years while it was out of print. I was overjoyed when I found it, I will never forget the description of what "White" is.

Tune in and take a trip with Rudy
I had a.. Friend who took LSD once and he, err told me about it, and if I ever want to be reminded of his experience I just need to read White Light. That does it for me. It has the best descriptions of out of body states, dream / nightmare worlds of infinity. Trying to get somewhere, but never quite getting there. It's trip for sure.

I find all of Rudy Rucker's books easy to read, somehow they are on my wavelength. However for the casual reader this book might not be the best place to start if your new to this author. Try Spaceland or The Hacker and the Ants first.

countably good fun
I've been looking for a copy of this in the used book bins for a couple of years now. I finally got sick of looking at it in my "to read" database in my PDA. It was pretty entertaining, I have to admit. Much more so if the reader understands Cantor's work. Apparently it was a result of his musings on Cantor's work during a short teaching tenure in a podunk univeristy. Part of it is pretty close to what he must have experienced there (despair, a failing relationship with his wife, drugs and really, really stupid students -all familiar situations to the young academic). Most of it is concerned with a sort of Edward Abbot-esque, or more accurately a Lewis Carroll-ish, journey to the lands of aleph-null and etcetera. I admit to being annoyed by the appearance of, well, Jesus Christ and Satan. I suppose others might be as annoyed by the appearance of David Hilbert and Georg Cantor. It should be compared with Lewis Carroll's mathematical recreations and Edward Abbot's "Flatland," but, really, I think this is my favorite mathematical fiction book.

One of these days I need to get around to reading some more of his fiction. I've actually met the man in person (and unfortunately, I think I freaked him out with my vehemence in pointing out that 'nanotech' is extremely silly), and he seems like a clever fellow. The book is certainly virtually unique in style and substance.

Challenging and Surreal - Not for Everyone
I read somewhere, once, that Rudy Rucker was the original and actual father of cyberpunk, and that White Light was his seminal work.I'm not sure I really buy that, but I can say this - Rudy Rucker is certainly one of the most unique authors of his generation, and White Light is a unique work among unique works.Sort of Alice in Wonderland meets The Phantom Tollbooth, it is the story of a free-spirited mathematics professor who stumbles upon an extra-dimensional, parallel universe - where he embarks upon a journey to attain the ultimate truth; the White Light.

White Light is many things at once - so many things, in fact, that it hovers on the fulcrum between challenging and disturbing, between brilliantly complex and maddeningly random.At the end, I'm not certain whether I've read a work of coherent genius, so much as I am impressed by Rucker's ability to introduce so many surreal concepts, and maintain even the slightest impression of control over the story.

Definitely not a linear work, White Light is more like a vast dreamscape, or intense acid trip, where Rucker casts up a cacophony of bizarre characters, dead geniuses, and new age mysticism oddly blended with abstract mathematical theory.And while it is not a dense literary work, it is also not an easy read - it takes work to get through it.In the end, I found the effort worthwhile - but Rucker is definitely not for everyone.If you're up for a surreal intellectual challenge, though, I'd recommend it strongly.

Good early Rucker:sets, drugs, rock & roll
____________________________________________
Felix Raynor is a new assistant math professor at SUCAS Bernco, a cow
college in upstate New York --but wait, Rudy Rucker was an asst prof at
SUCAS (really) Geneseo in upstate NY, 1972-78...Raynor is struggling
to adapt to rural academe while (occasionally) working on Georg
Cantor's Continuum Problem -- as was Rucker in RL:he started
writing WL when he got bogged down with Cantor.Raynor's & Rucker's
lives diverge ( I presume) when Raynor discovers astral projection and
checks into Hilbert's Hotel on the flipside of Cimon, after getting a
personal command from Jesus Christ to climb Mt. On...

As Rucker notes in his afterword, "White Light" has "nice
visualizations of infinity, fine evocations of the time when it was
written, heartfelt attempts to break thru to ultimate truth, good surreal
imagery, and lots of laughs."It's been on my "to read" list for years, and
I'm pleased to see it back in print.

Is it worth your$13?Ummm. Are you a serious collector/Rucker fan?
It's certainly worth picking up at the library.If you happen to be new to
Rucker (SF's own mad mathemagician) I'd start with "Master of Space
& Time" (1985 pb, OOP but easily found), still my favorite Rucker novel,
in which the tale of three wishes granted is explored via quantum
mechanics, with wonderfully bizarre results.The apotheosis of Harry
Gerber...I've read MST at least three times, & laughed aloud each time.
This is the book "White Light" is trying to be.

review copyright 1998 by Peter D. Tillman
http://www.sfsite.com/05a/wite32.htm
... Read more

Product Description
This book solves the dilemma of wanting to learn Windows-based software engineering without knowing Windows programming.The basics in Windows programming are explained alongside ideas of object-oriented software engineering.The basics of software engineering are thoroughly discussed first.Once completed, MFC Windows is then introduced through a video game.For programmers interested in learning Windows-based software engineering and Windows programming.@ISBN = 0-201-76791-0@MAINCAT = Computer Science@SUBCAT = Software Engineering@DATALINE1 = 2003, 352 pages, 7 3/8 x 9 1/8@DATALINE2 = Paperback, $86.40n ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Outdated, not relevant and Padded up
This book is written by a person who has no idea in which direction the game industry has been heading in the last 8 to 10 years.It is a ridiculous attempt at writing a book on a subject the author is singularly inept.

The traditional practices of Software Engineering are usefull in game development but you should take a look at some articles at www.gamasutra.com written by REAL game developers to understand the amazing amount of misinformation in this book.

In my opinion it is impossible today (with current technology in mind) to write a book about game development without considering the usage of DirectX which is the most fequently used development platform.The author has based his work on MFC (when was the last time you saw that in a game???) and a miniscule amount of work on OpenGL, which is impossible to understand.

I believe the author should do a lot more reading about game development before he writes about it and actually learn what on earth is going on today in the world!!

Software Engineering and Computer Games
This is the guy who taught LaMothe at California State University, San Jose.
The book is about 608 pages thick (small size). For beginners, this is the perfect introduction.The author published the source code utilized in the book as Open Source.
So anyone can download it from his website for free.
Getting back to the book:
Negatives: Code is sprinkled with small bits of MFC and OpenGL.(instead of the industry standard Direct X).
Positives: Rudy Rucker does a better job of teaching game programming inside of the c/c++ framework.
Read a good c++ book first,then read (SE&CG).
After that you can read LaMothe: Game Programming for dummies.
This book covers object oriented programming,2d,3d techniques,UML,physics.
This is cgp101: computer game programming(intro to game programming).
All of the programs run inside of a MFC created window(frameset). But if you read the book,cover to cover, you will have the skills-set to "break out of this window".
I couldn't get the picture out of my mind during the whole time I was reviewing this book of thinking back to a past Star Wars episode when Luke was fighting Darth Vader with the "lightening swords". And Luke is trying his best to kick Darth arse. And Darth looks at Luke and says: "Give up Luke, you are but a learner, but I am the Masta".
If you really want to "get it", buy the book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Stories
If you like your fiction to contain more math than science then you should scoop this up immediately. Not every story delivers, but its worth the read for the big winners. Larry Niven's contribution in particular delivers a satisfying geek payday along with a few other gems. Enjoy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Thinking in four spatial dimensions
I think this is, quite possibly, one of the best books I've read on the fourth dimension.For those saying "but the fourth dimension is time", all I have to say is, no, not in this case.We're discussing four spatial dimensions, which we can only really represent with mathematics in our three dimensional world.Naturally this is written by a mathematician and he did quite an exquisite job at explaining the nature of this utterly foreign dimension.

Now readers won't walk away being able to picture four dimensional beings or structures, but one will be able to grasp a fairly general understanding of what it would be like for a four dimensional being or object to exist and interact with our dimension.Naturally Rucker does this by explaining the relations between the dimensions by changing our perspective and having us think two dimensionally.For this he relies heavily on a book written by Edwin Abbott called "Flatland".I highly recommend you read "Flatland" before you attempt to tackle Rucker's book, as he constantly quotes "Flatland", almost to his books detriment.He also quotes other texts like "Spaceland" (which Rucker also wrote) or "Flatterland" here and there, but the one he relies upon most is "Flatland"."Flatland" is a natural and easy introduction to learning how to think from the perspective of a different dimension and helps the reader to fully grasp Rucker's analogy as he projects the relationship from the second and third dimensions to a relationship between the third and the fourth dimension.Naturally he points out that some of these points are mere conjecture as we cannot observe fourth dimensional objects in our reality... yet."The 4th Dimension" is also illustrated with all kinds of silly cartoons to give the book a much lighter feel to its fairly heavy topic.The illustrations will certainly help anyone who really needs to see a drawing of some of the concepts Rucker talks about.

I was originally introduced to some of these concepts via Michio Kaku's book "Hyperspace".While he did a pretty good job explaining four spatial dimensions, I think this book really delves into it a lot deeper.The reader walks away with a much fuller understanding of the concepts concerning this different dimension.Not only will you learn about this, Rucker also goes through a very interesting history concerning humanity's fascination with things beyond our own dimension.He delves into metaphysics and explanations for ghosts as well as recounting the mathematical history (which is the real mainstay of this book).The spiritual aspects of this book are more anecdotal to help give the reader some historical or philosophical perspective in lieu of the mathematics.

If you're really curious about the possibility of other spatial dimensions then this book is a great read.The physics and universe research may be a little outdated by this point since the book originally came out in the 1980's, but it's application in helping a person think of how the fourth dimensional being would react is still applicable.While I'm pretty sure it's agreed that there are more than three spatial dimensions in existence, this book still treats that aspect as if there's still a major debate going on about it.After finding absolute proof of Black Holes in the universe, I think the multi-dimensional universe (or multiverse) concept is pretty realistic, since if the Black Hole singularity transcends our space and time... it has to go somewhere!Anyway, don't forget to read "Flatland" before you pick this up and I think people will find this a fun and informative read.

paperback version
If you're looking for the paperback version, look for ISBN 0395393884.It doesn't show up as the paperback version of this hardback, probably because the author's name for the paperback is listed as Rudolph Rucker instead of Rudy Rucker.

Hope this helps.

Good overview
This book presents its material in a well-organized manner.

The author is a brilliant theoretical physicist and explains the concepts wonderfully.

I recommend this book for any and all who wish to understand the essence of time, reality, and the universe in general.

From a very personal level, the book affirms many of my own views pertaining to the cosmos and consciousness. There is indeed a Primary Mover (aka "God"), and he exists and operates in infinite (!) dimensions.

Nice intro to 4-D
I bought this book about ten years ago, and recently rediscovered it. It is full of nice (though very simplistic) illustrations and lots of references to other books and writers that touch the subject. Not very profound, but enough to tickle the mind and awaken interest for futher investigation into this realm. Rucker has obviously read a lot on this matter and he has made me want the same.

Would you please repeat that.
I found this book a difficult read. "Flatland" by A. Square (an illustrator) is a definite pre-requisite, and helpful, but even with that under my belt I had problems following Mr. Rucker. ... Read more

Product Description
How badly could you screw up when granted access to infinite worlds conforming to your heart's most intimate desires? No matter how much of a disaster you or I might make of such a miraculous gift, rest assured that Paul Girard, hapless middle-aged bookstore clerk, can hilariously surpass your worst fumblings and missteps. Visited one morning by a dimension-hopping artificial intelligence named Hans, Paul is given the ability to jump instantly to any world he can envision. But without truly knowing himself, Paul soon discovers that framing a wish that gets the expected results is not as easy as it first appears. From the depths of the Big Bang to a world where hippies rule; from a land of Amazons to one where life is a video-game; from a society where cooperation means everything to one where individual chaos rules. Across these bizarre dimensions and many others, Paul races in the search for happiness, love, wealth, status and the answer to the Ontological Pickle. Acquiring comrades and enemies along the way, our feckless alternaut reaches a cul-de-sac from which the only exit is death. And then his adventures really begin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Is contemplating the nature of the universe fun?
If Paul Di Filippo is doing it, then YES it is.

All I can say is Wow! This book does a very good job of speculating the exact nature of the universe. In any other authors hands this book would have turned into a scientific/sci-fi disaster. But Paul pulls it off and with such ease that you might not noticeyou are actually learning while reading. It is chocked-full of great existing theories and puts them into words that even I can understand.

It is the story of Paul Girard and how he is granted the ability to travel between every conceivable dimension. What does he do? Well, for starters he seriously F's up. I may like the character because he reminds me so much of myself.

I would recommend this to anyone who has ever wondered "why are we here?" It does help if you have a little bit of scientific knowledge, but the book is so good that you could get by without it.

Why have I not heard of this guy sooner?

Why bother?
I finished this novel a couple days ago and I need to start by saying that this wasn't a *bad* book at all. But it wasn't a great book either.

I reached the end and felt...nothing. I wasn't glad I read it nor was I upset to not be in the universe the author wrote either.

It has an interesting premise, but I'm not really sure that the author knew what he wanted from the story...there didn't seem to be much passion in the writing and no real reason to *like* the protagonist. There also wasn't a really good reason for him to be an anti-hero.

The last two chapters or so were wonderful...but the game isn't really worth the candle.

All Across the Multiverse
First off, this isn't a typical Amazon title, rather it is the product of PS Publishing, which puts out limited, signed editions by various science fiction and fantasy authors.Specifically, "Fuzzy Dice" by Paul Di Filippo was limited to 200 slip-cased hardcovers and another 500 regular hardcover copies, and at the time of this writing, some copies were still available from the publisher.Moreover, there are copies available on the internet, and should the opportunity to acquire a copy present itself, I would strongly recommend doing so.

A relatively recent theory in physics suggest that there is not just the one universe in which we reside, but an infinite number of universes that represent an infinite number of possible variations.For example, there is a universe where aliens invaded Earth in 1492 and another where there is no Moon.Of course this represents just the tip of the iceberg, as there are an infinite number of universes that are beyond the abilities of human conception.Conversely, the very fact that one could conceive of a universe means that exists somewhere (or perhaps more accurately, sometime).So a world where a megalomaniacal Mickey Mouse rules Earth from his base on Mars is no more or less likely than one in which the Boston Red Sox never traded Babe Ruth.

So when Paul Girard was granted the ability to travel among the universes by a post-human time traveler, he was understandably pleased.Here was an escape from the everyday drudgery of his plainly wasted life.The doorway to the full spectrum of human desire and ambition was placed literally at his fingertip in the form of a yo-yo.Made of "strange matter" drawn from pre-Big Bang space, it will, with a flick of Paul's wrist and a thought of where he wants to go, take him zooming across the multiverse.Unfortunately, as Paul quickly realizes, in a continuum of an infinite number of universes, one should be exceedingly particular about where one wants to go.While you might intend to jump to a world run by the Playboy bunnies, you could very easily end up in a world run by bloodthirsty Amazons.

As one might expect, Paul does just that (although under a variety of different circumstances) and pretty much makes a mess out of what should have been the greatest gift ever given to a mortal man.Nonetheless, along the way he inadvertently, and often unwillingly, learns a little something about himself.However, he is routinely thwarted in his efforts to resolve the "Ontological Pickle" as he puts it; simply stated it is, "What started everything?"What came before the Big Bang, or in this instance, what came before all of the Big Bangs?No matter how complex space-time actually is, and no matter how thoroughly it is understood, there has to be an Alpha Point, as it were, a space-time with nothing before it.But if such a place exists, what caused it to spring from nothing into something?It is these questions that gnaw at Paul, and even as he learns more and improves his physical and mental state, he comes no closer to the answer.

However, after a catastrophically bad jump, Paul and his companions (a son, (the result of a digital data swap) and Moonbeam, his erstwhile wife (a one time militant virgin hippy transformed into a bookworm nymphomaniac)) face certain death.That's when things get really interesting.

All that sounds like pretty heavy subject matter, but in Di Filippo's able hands, it is both hilarious and fascinating.Paul's miscalculations are so obvious in retrospect, one can't help but laugh, however, at the same time, the various worlds are by no means clichés.No matter how bizarre the setting, Di Filippo manages to lend a realism that drives the story forward.

Moreover, the author's consideration of the "Ontological Pickle" is exceptionally deft.Through quantum physics, he is able to create a theory of creation and God, of "everything" really, that makes sense and applies a subtle logic to religion.Though obviously only a hypothesis, Di Filippo's distillation of science, philosophy and religion is both profound and sound.

"Fuzzy Dice" is a novel that defies categorization, as it uses humorous science fiction to explore our deepest mysteries.Moreover, Di Filippo weaves in a great deal of science, but in a manner so subtle it would make Michael Crichton drool.This is truly one of the most original novels I have ever encountered, and I am certain it will be one I revisit many times.

Enjoy!

Jake Mohlman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Purest 1970's essence-of-Rucker
_____________________________________________
This is a very uneven collection, but has
his definitive 70's story, "Jumpin' Jack Flash":V-sex, lesnerizing & the
Pure Land:

"Flow now while I'm touching you, darling, " she breathed.I let my
head go slack, and it began sinking down thru the collar of my shirt.
Helen was fumbling frantically at our clothes...It didn't seem like she
was ever going to get them off, so I reduced viscosity and flowed out of
my left pant leg and onto the floor.She'd gotten her shirt and bra off,
and she lay down to rub her stiff-nippled breasts across me...'

-- the hottest sex-with-aliens scene I know of, & pure essence-of-Rucker
in 20 pages.Not to be missed.

Happy reading--
Pete Tillman

Looking for the stories?Get Gnarl!
This is a great collection of short stories by Rudy v.b. Rucker and his math-embedded writing style.If you are not a collector looking for '57th' and are just interested in the stories,see Gnarl!, a recent (Apr 2000)collection of Rucker's short stories which include many from '57th.'

Exceptional !!!
This is my favorite collection of stories of ANY genre.The book desperately needs to be reprinted.

Fantastic Collection of Rucker short stories!
This fabulous book of short stories is a must have for all those who aretrue Rucker fans. 57th Franz Kafka contains dozens of short stories most ofwhich were originally published in various Sci-Fi magazines at some pointin the 70's or 80's. For fans of "Master of Space and Time", thisbook contains numerous stories about the same two main characters.I foundthis book of the similar integrity as "White Light".For thosewho did not like the 'ware series that much, this (as well as White Light)may be more your speed. Some of the short stories involve complicatedmathematical concepts (big suprise!) or familar fables such as arevisitation of Flatland! If you can locate this book, I would HIGHLYrecommend getting it. ... Read more

Product Description
Tinker with the processes governing life and evolution. The Bugland A-Life program for Windows contains animated icons and Sound Blaster-compatible sound. As a silicon geneticist, the user can design creatures and see them give birth, fight, breed and perish through the 3-D glasses provided. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Okay, but...
I recently read this book and worked with the programs. Although it's a bit dated, I don't think the core basics have changed much. I like the author's visionary style, and the concept behind the book and accompanying software program; i.e. to give intermediate computer users an intro to artifical life via cellular automata.However, I was confused in the second chapter by some hazy explanations in computation examples, and a few apparent typo's in the Turing machine programming code examples - not too cool.This unnecessary situation caused me to waste time by having to read the chapter twice, and more slowly.Other than that, a stimulating book. ... Read more

Product Description
Two complete novels--Software, in which robots offer elderly hippie Cobb Anderson immortality, and Wetware, in which the meatbop, a new life form emerges--enter the world of cyberpunk. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Titles But......
These Two books in the ware series are great as a collection, but there is another collection that includes all three books. Its called:"Moldies and Meatbops Three Ware Novels". It costs about 8$. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

an interesting memoir by a great transreal author
if you like any of rucker's books and want to know more about him this is an excellent choice. i havn't read the poem section tho. sometimes forgot it was nonfiction (just love that rudy). on the zig-zag scale, it scores anunprecedented slo-burning kut-kornered 9! ... Read more