5 out of 5 stars Where was this Incredible Novel ? Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2021 Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Sam Hughes - you have created something amazing. This novel is one-of-a-kind. What an incredible breadth of technology and imagination wrapped around one helluva tale. I just finished and wanted to thank you for the wonderful hours I spent reading RA. A story about magic based on Quantum Physics, a set of unidentical twins and a world figuring just what magic can do. Don't let that lull you into thinking that's all there is to this tale. It's just the tip of the iceberg - like describing Dante's Inferno as a poem about Hell; a huge, misleading understatement. Action, drama, with very interesting and strange characters. There is more imagination packed in the pages of this book than most of the books I have read. With a tally of about 5k books, that's my highest recommendation. Bravo, Sam Hughes! Bravo! 7 people found this helpful
4 out of 5 stars Quite an Unexpected Sequence of Events Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2025 Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Don’t be put off by the magic. I was at first, marking the novel as Science Fantasy, but it’s squarely Science Fiction. It’s very well done. I was put off by the ending as I felt it could’ve been so much more, and for that I deducted a star. But the novel itself is great, containing ideas and concepts I’ve encountered nowhere else. Plenty of twists and turns, characters you’ll love and hate, and moments you’ll dwell upon. One of Qntm’s most concept heavy works One person found this helpful
5 out of 5 stars Packs a Punch Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2019 Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. In an alternate 20th century, humankind witnesses a discovery of magic. It becomes a branch of science, full of rules and equations. The uptake is so quick that in few decades “industrial mage” is a viable profession. We follow a story of Laura, a talented magic user who dreams of flying to space. She joins an aerospace company to work on including magic in propulsion systems. The tale starts a bit unassuming, but it quickly evolves into an intrigue where the fate of the whole world hangs in balance. In my opinion the narrative is flawlessly executed. I absolutely love how the author hints at larger events piecemeal, letting the reader to build its own understanding of matters at hand - only to shatter them with a finely-timed revelation. The setting, with magic akin to software programming, is used consistently and brings unique color to the whole story. I have picked this book by accident, but once I started I have finished it in two evenings. Please accept my sincere recommendation ;) 24 people found this helpful
5 out of 5 stars One of my favorite novels Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2018 Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. This book is terrific. Buy it if you like hard SF. I would say buy it if you like rational fiction, but if you're familiar with that genre, you've probably already read it. Personally, I've already read it multiple times--both the original ending and the rewritten one that I'm guessing appears here--and I'm still buying it because it's just that darn good. RA is hard to describe, though. It's a lot like one of those forced perspective gifs, where there is a huge paradigm shift and suddenly you realize the scene you thought you were seeing is actually something totally different. Except it's the basic nature of all of reality that shifts instead of a guy apparently getting into a new Lamborghini that turns out to be a matchbox car. I can't really say too much without risking ruining it. I love books with that kind of wild perspective shift, though, and this is one of the best I've read. It's not a perfect novel, but the ideas packed in are just so huge and so well used that it's hard to stop thinking about. It deserves its own fanfiction. It's one of those books that you finish a little angry because it's so damn brilliant you're kind of mad that it wasn't you that wrote it. Top notch worldbuilding. Frankly, I wish Sam would give up programming and write full-time. 17 people found this helpful
4 out of 5 stars This book will result in the spaghettification of your senses Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2021 Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Even though clarity of plot seemed to be an afterthought in "Ra," its structure, extraordinary vivid language and the unique world(s) in which its well-developed characters live made this a seriously epic read. Even after the second time through, I felt as if I was just seeing a faint outline of QNTM's profound thinking. It's been awhile since I've had to pause so frequently to look up words in the dictionary. "Ra" is a must-read for hard-science science fiction fans. While magic plays a central role, I would never confuse "Ra"with a fantasy novel.. It's more than worth the time for its unique premise and kaleidoscope vision of our collective past, present and future. 8 people found this helpful
3 out of 5 stars Good premise, awkward execution Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2021 Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. The premise, of magic being discovered in 1970 in a similar way to other scientific discoveries and becoming a scientific discipline itself, was intriguing and the first few chapters that set this scenario up were quite good. However once the main plot kicked in I became less and less interested, there's virtually no characterisation to speak of, both protagonists and antagonists are sketched in the lightest of strokes so I struggled to care about any of them. The parts discussing magic and magical interactions are so weighted down with pseudo scientific jargon that it felt like needlessly hard work to get through these parts. Overall I feel there's a good story in here, potentially, but it needed to be told from a more human perspective with some interesting characters rather than focusing so much on making the science-magic sound plausible and trim some of the needless minutae out. 20 people found this helpful
5 out of 5 stars Mind-blowing hard sci-fi. A triumph. Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2024 Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Stumbled across qntm recently and found myself using every spare moment to binge-read all of his work. Ra simply astonished me - the characters are terrific and the world building keeps going, chapter after chapter. Best science fiction book of the decade. 3 people found this helpful
5 out of 5 stars Loved it Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2026 Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. One person found this helpful