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Greg Bear
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Queen of Angels Kindle Edition

by Greg Bear (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.8 out of 5 stars 375 ratings
Hugo Award Finalist: A near-future novel of artificial intelligence, human nature, and mass murder that “succeeds on virtually every level” (The New York Times Book Review).
 
In Los Angeles in 2047, advances in the science of psychology have made crime a rare occurrence. So it’s utterly shocking when eight bodies are detected in an apartment, and not long afterward the perpetrator is revealed as well: noted poet Emmanuel Goldsmith. The LAPD’s Mary Choy—who has had both her appearance and her police work enhanced by nanotechnology—is tasked with arresting the killer, while psychotherapy pioneer Martin Burke prepares to explore his mind. Meanwhile, Goldsmith’s good friend and fellow writer reels at the news—while, far from all of them, a space probe makes a startling discovery.
 
This “excellent” novel about technology, identity, and the nature of consciousness is a thought-provoking stunner by the Nebula Award–winning author of the Eon series and the Forerunner Saga (Chicago Tribune).


 
 
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  1. Book 1 of 4
    Queen of Angels
  2. Print length
    532 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
  5. Accessibility
    Learn more
  6. Publication date
    April 1, 2014
  7. File size
    6.2 MB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The motivation of the mass-murderer--in this case a noted poet--becomes the subject of investigation by an ambitious policewoman, a renegade psychologist, and the murderer's closest friend. Twenty-first century Los Angeles provides the surrealistic setting for a remarkable exploration of human guilt and fears in the latest novel by the author of Blood Music and Eternity (LJ 10/15/88). Bear's blending of high-tech gloss with penetrating insights into human nature results in a complex and challenging speculative vision of the "country of the mind." Highly recommended.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

* #40 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written.

* Blood Music won the Nebula and Hugo Awards in its original shorter form.

* ‘One of the few SF writers capable of following where Olaf Stapledon led, beyond the limits of human ambition and geological time’ Locus

* ‘Arthur C. Clarke has his most formidable rival yet’ The Times

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00J52FMG6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 1, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6.2 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 532 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1497608887
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 4 ‏ : ‎ Queen of Angels
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 out of 5 stars 375 ratings

About the author

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Greg Bear

Greg Bear

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Greg Bear is the author of more than thirty books, spanning thrillers, science fiction, and fantasy, including Blood Music, Eon, The Forge of God, Darwin's Radio, City at the End of Time, and Hull Zero Three. His books have won numerous international prizes, have been translated into more than twenty-two languages, and have sold millions of copies worldwide. Over the last twenty-eight years, he has also served as a consultant for NASA, the U.S. Army, the State Department, the International Food Protection Association, and Homeland Security on matters ranging from privatizing space to food safety, the frontiers of microbiology and genetics, and biological security.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
375 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's plot fascinating and appreciate its speculative content, with one review highlighting its exploration of future society. The writing style and character development receive mixed reactions, with some praising the writing while others find it unreadable, and some finding the characters deeply developed while others say they're not relatable. The book's readability is also mixed, with several customers describing it as slow and confusing.

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Story qualitySlangWriting styleCharacter developmentReadabilityPacing
24 customers mention "Story quality"19 positive5 negative

Customers enjoy the novel's fascinating plot and find it worthwhile, with one customer noting how the stories are loosely connected.

"...However, each can stand as a worthwhile novel on its own and be read without great loss in any order. I can happily recommend each...." Read more

"This book was entertaining and a bit thought provoking...." Read more

"...is explained by the character Soulvain, and it is a dramatic and significant revelation although its importance to the story tends to escape me...." Read more

"...There are "Big Ideas" here that are really worth the read, and I am in amazement of the complexity and maturity of the thought: it's like Bear had..." Read more

7 customers mention "Slang"7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's use of slang, with one customer noting it's full of future-slang, while another mentions it's a great speculation on the future of society.

"...worth the read, and I am in amazement of the complexity and maturity of the thought: it's like Bear had been saving up decades of thought on the..." Read more

"...Bear throws us into this headlong and the dialogue is quirky and full of future-slang, but not difficult to follow." Read more

"...The book does raise potentially interesting questions but reading it felt too much like work, making it hard to reflect on those questions." Read more

"...the darkest dimensions of human nature, but also artificial intelligence, and the geo-political aspects of the mid 21st Century...." Read more

14 customers mention "Writing style"7 positive7 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book, with some finding it good while others describe it as incredibly bad and unreadable.

"...Although the book is well written, the grammar mostly correct, and the editing appears to be without errors, it is tedious...." Read more

"...treatments that make for rough reading: the absence of commas, unusual phrasing... but eventually you train yourself to defocus on these sections..." Read more

"...impressive is Bear's ability to change his writing and grammatical styles completely, depending upon which character currently has the focus of..." Read more

"...the language used by the characters includes a lot of neologisms and odd syntax that presumably is intended to reflect changes in culture and..." Read more

8 customers mention "Character development"5 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the characters in the book, with some finding them deeply developed while others say they are not relatable.

"...Varied, and vary interesting characters make this tale move along very nicely. In a world with no crime, what's a detective to do..." Read more

"...I did not find the characters terribly relatable and some of their interactions struck me as being rather difficult to believe...." Read more

"...Queen of Angels' Mary Choy is a fascinating character: beautiful, wise and a clever cop...." Read more

"...science, great speculation on the future of society, deeply developed characters, and a fascinating plot...." Read more

8 customers mention "Readability"3 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability, with several finding it slow and confusing, while one customer notes it can be read in any order without great loss.

"...to put the reader into the picture, but they also distracted making the book hard to read. I will admit to enjoying the book once finished...." Read more

"...each can stand as a worthwhile novel on its own and be read without great loss in any order. I can happily recommend each...." Read more

"...The book does raise potentially interesting questions but reading it felt too much like work, making it hard to reflect on those questions." Read more

"slow and steady..." Read more

5 customers mention "Pacing"0 positive5 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book difficult to follow, with one customer describing it as very complex and another noting it's tough to get into.

"...mostly correct, and the editing appears to be without errors, it is tedious...." Read more

"...-of-context future slang, un-introduced acronyms, and other unexplained techno-jargon...." Read more

"...It's really three short stories thrown together. The story about the police officer was the most interesting followed by the therapist's...." Read more

"This was a tough book to get into but ultimately rewarding...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Karen Cappannari
    5.0 out of 5 stars Justice and technology under review
    Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I just completed the series of which this was part 1. If you wish to read the other three so the stories time-line progresses in order, read next -> Slant, Heads, Moving Mars. However, each can stand as a worthwhile novel on its own and be read without great loss in any order. I can happily recommend each. Written in the 90's, these still provoke.
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  • Bryan R. Olson
    4.0 out of 5 stars An examination of identity
    Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This book was entertaining and a bit thought provoking. Four stories interweave through the book: a policewoman investigates a heinous crime, the perpetrator is subjected to intense psychological scrutiny, a friend of the perpetrator wrestles with the aftermath of the crime, and AI seeks out intelligent life and strives to become sentient.

    Oh, and there’s a spot of Haitian religion in there, too.

    These tangential stories have the question of identity as the common unifying theme. This is…psychological sci-fi, and well done at that.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • William S. Morris
    3.0 out of 5 stars Fapping surreal tonepoem
    Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    The first couple of chapters are slow confusing reads as the author tries to introduce a change in language to the year 2047. It's Christmas time, and a horrific murder has occurred in a society where such things don't occur because there is therapy available to normalize individuals. The crime is to be investigated by a physically altered female police officer. The almost undeniably guilty person is on the loose and believed to have escaped to a future combined island composed of the Dominican republic and Haiti ruled by a knighted Englishman. We are given the dates in binary to emphasize the fact that the binary millennium is approaching. I wonder how long Mr Bear took to compose this story because it is full of imagery. It contains many stories some of which I fail to see how they advance the story. We are made to consider punishment versus rehabilitation. Society rehabilitates, but there are vigilantes that punish utilizing a method of making the miscreant repeatedly experience the crime together with pain. A few seconds being an eternity in the experience. This state of society is laid out in a series of stories following various individuals as they interact with society and have their own problems to resolve. Between chapters are comments in italics that explain or set up situations or give viewpoints. The writing becomes more interesting as you pass 50%, and the writer begins to explain his thesis. Much seems to hinge upon an understanding of the religion of Vodoun since there is considerable imagery that appears related to that religion. I could not relate it all, but there is imagery of suckling brothers one white and one black. This mixed race concept seems significant as it is brought up many times. Not to give a spoiler, but the story seems to rely upon this Vodoun concept which I confess I did not fully follow. The title of the book is explained by the character Soulvain, and it is a dramatic and significant revelation although its importance to the story tends to escape me. Although the book is well written, the grammar mostly correct, and the editing appears to be without errors, it is tedious. Maybe all those peregrinations are necessary to put the reader into the picture, but they also distracted making the book hard to read. I will admit to enjoying the book once finished. I don't think I fully understood it, and I will probably ruminate about it for some time. Nevertheless, it tended to be more work than I expected.
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  • Jay Rogers
    5.0 out of 5 stars Stick with it - it's worth it
    Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2006
    Verified Purchase
    After the first 30 pages I suspected something was wrong so I flipped to the blurbs on the covers and flyleaf: "ambitious" "challenging" "complex" -- uh oh!

    There are some wierd syntactical treatments that make for rough reading: the absence of commas, unusual phrasing... but eventually you train yourself to defocus on these sections and just let the words shower down on you... maybe that was Bear's intent.

    I loved Slant, and was excited to discover this prequel based in the same universe and featuring Mary Choy, but this novel makes Slant seem pretty mainstream. There are "Big Ideas" here that are really worth the read, and I am in amazement of the complexity and maturity of the thought: it's like Bear had been saving up decades of thought on the nature of consciousness, the subconscious, guilt, and punishment, and was finally letting fly.

    I eventually decided that this was a great novel. Keep going. It's worth it.
    25 people found this helpful
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  • Mark J. Werner
    4.0 out of 5 stars One of Bear's better efforts.
    Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I'm re-reading this currently... First read it years back. I've always been a big Greg Bear fan.... The "big idea" man.
    This is one of his best efforts IMO.
    So much going on here.... A mass murder with no apparent motive, a very "contemporary" character in the police investigator Mary Choy...
    The rise of "therapy"....The first real, functional method of removing mental abberations...
    A side-plot dealing with an artificial intelligence, another dealing a psychological researcher exploring the "country of the mind".....
    Quite a stew.
    Bear throws us into this headlong and the dialogue is quirky and full of future-slang, but not difficult to follow.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Maine Skeptic
    2.0 out of 5 stars Absent punctuations (hundreds of them) spoiled an otherwise good book (Kindle)
    Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    (Kindle version review): Don't buy the Kindle version of this book until someone edits it for punctuation. Greg Bear should be outraged at the incompetence of whoever posted this digital version of the book. Literally hundreds of punctuations and layout breaks are missing.

    The following "sentence" is one example of what I'm talking about:

    "Martin Burke had watched in stone amazement eyes wide as saucers sucking in the pain no glory no satisfaction no revenge no lessons taught seeing so much more clearly now how far he had tipped and what pain a well-adjusted brilliant young man with prospects could cause. Bear, Greg (2014-04-01). Queen of Angels (Kindle Locations 1078-1079). Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy. Kindle Edition.

    Now imagine paragraphs like the one above, except they're also littered with out-of-context future slang, un-introduced acronyms, and other unexplained techno-jargon. The terms would make sense in context if there were punctuation, but as presented, it's a formless slurry.
    60 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Peter Eerden
    1.0 out of 5 stars 26% in and I don’t have a clue
    Reviewed in Australia on January 1, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Greg Bear is one of my favourite authors so it pains me to say I have given up on this title. Maybe this is his moment to un-shine. No idea what this is all about and now don’t care. Sorry Greg. What was wrong with the formula you tossed aside to give me this dross. Not cool.
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  • Mr. Mark A. Laborda
    5.0 out of 5 stars Really interesting and exploration of the mind and self awareness
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This is a really interesting exploration of how the mind might be made up (no doubt the concepts were first proposed by the likes of Freud or Jung) and I was very taken by the idea of competing sub-personalities. I also really enjoyed the discussion about self awareness and it’s cons as well as pros and this seems to have real relevance now (May 23) as we approach the revolution of AI. My only criticism was the first third of the book could really have been done away with and it really only took off once the journey into the country of the mind started.
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  • Steve Betts
    3.0 out of 5 stars Hard to get into
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    There's some good stuff in here but I found some of the story threads very hard going and had to skip them.Thank goodness I read this series out of order because if I'd read this first I would never had bothered with Moving Mars and Slant
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  • Keith Trangmar
    3.0 out of 5 stars but if you like his recent stuff
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Vaguely reminiscent of some of Phillip K Dick's work (for me at least), in the style of narrative, but lacking the panache. The reviews sounded promising but when I got about 1 chapter into this I realised I'd actually read it before, and it hadn't been all that memorable. (It happens when you've been reading SF for 30+ years!) I picked this up after finishing his recent War Dogs in the hope of something similar, but if you like his recent stuff, give this one a miss, as you'll be disappointed, even if it is a bargain...
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  • Alex Whitehouse
    5.0 out of 5 stars Not your average novel, but I fell in love with it
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Many people find the subject matter not to their liking. I can’t say much without revealing the plot, but suffice to say, if you like sci-fi and find the mind & consciousness something of interest; you’ll probably find the novel of interest. Like most of his novels this one tugs at the heartstrings in a major way, at least if the novel ‘works for you’.

    Give it a go, it’s worth the shot, because if it does work for you it’ll likely become a fast favourite.
    Report

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