---
product_id: 11043184
title: "Permutation City: A Novel"
price: "137 kr"
currency: DKK
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.dk/products/11043184-permutation-city-a-novel
store_origin: DK
region: Denmark
---

# Permutation City: A Novel

**Price:** 137 kr
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Permutation City: A Novel
- **How much does it cost?** 137 kr with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.dk](https://www.desertcart.dk/products/11043184-permutation-city-a-novel)

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## Description

Permutation City: A Novel [Egan, Greg] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Permutation City: A Novel

Review: Speculative sci-fi at its best - Very well written, speculative/philosophical sci-fi. I don't feel like writing a long review, but all of Greg Egan's works will make you think. Some people find Egan's books to be hard reads, and indeed the author has even suggested that people take notes when reading some of his works. This is probably the best book he's written IMHO. The premise of this is mind-blowing, and without offering spoilers, this is an entirely new twist on first-contact with a sentient species, (among many other concepts) and Egan writes so well about virtual reality, you end up hoping that if we ever achieve this level of VR, that his works will be used as a guidebook to implementation. It's also an exploration of what consciousness may mean. Some say Egan doesn't develop his characters very well. And I somewhat agree. But he uses his characters more to help illustrate the ideas in his books than to be the primary focus. It helps to have a technical background and basic understanding of computer science IMHO to fully appreciate this book. You also probably won't get a full appreciation for all of the ideas without rereading it a couple of times.
Review: A solid addition to any hard sci-fi fan's library - Just reading the back flap of this book doesn't even really begin to describe the depth of the concepts presented in this story. While the material subjects in Permutation City are firmly planted in sci-fi, it also puts concepts such as what it means to "be" human both objectively and subjectively at the forefront. Whether you are an ardent fan of computer science, biology, physics, or even philosophy, this book will elicit some kind of respect from you for its depth in those regards. This book does lean heavily into both hard science and fiction, but quite honestly it takes the concepts so far that that distinctions between the two are trivial. What this book ISN'T is a flashy science fiction romp with action and adrenaline for just for the sake of excitement. What we DO have is a deeply thought provoking series of events and perspectives that challenge how evolving technology can redefine or completely do away with our current concepts of humanity. My only real cons are that Greg goes to such lengths to explain and take you to each of his thought points and conclusions, that the actual "story" is relatively light. Now, if you enjoy staying in those thoughts and sort of letting them gestate, this won't be much of a problem. If however, these thoughts don't resonate with you, you might find yourself waiting for the next "thing" to happen. Sort of on the other end of that, I felt that the conclusion of the book was a bit hasty. When considering the effort that went into making sure that the reader has bought and understood the rules of the world, the end felt a tad rushed and unearned. It's not to say that it's bad by any means, it just felt as if SOMETHING that fit a more typical sci fi ending had to happen just for the sake of it, rather than the story logically leading there. The fact that this book was written in 1994 blew my mind, as many of the technologies mentioned seem like logical progressions of things that have only become common in the past 10 or so years, so the foresight alone is incredible. All in all this book is a must read for any hard science fiction fan. While not perfect, enough love and attention clearly went into it to add it to your collection

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #42,211 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #93 in Hard Science Fiction (Books) #137 in First Contact Science Fiction (Books) #1,303 in Science Fiction Adventures |
| Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,434 Reviews |

## Images

![Permutation City: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71NKAer2BML.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Speculative sci-fi at its best
*by A***R on July 26, 2014*

Very well written, speculative/philosophical sci-fi. I don't feel like writing a long review, but all of Greg Egan's works will make you think. Some people find Egan's books to be hard reads, and indeed the author has even suggested that people take notes when reading some of his works. This is probably the best book he's written IMHO. The premise of this is mind-blowing, and without offering spoilers, this is an entirely new twist on first-contact with a sentient species, (among many other concepts) and Egan writes so well about virtual reality, you end up hoping that if we ever achieve this level of VR, that his works will be used as a guidebook to implementation. It's also an exploration of what consciousness may mean. Some say Egan doesn't develop his characters very well. And I somewhat agree. But he uses his characters more to help illustrate the ideas in his books than to be the primary focus. It helps to have a technical background and basic understanding of computer science IMHO to fully appreciate this book. You also probably won't get a full appreciation for all of the ideas without rereading it a couple of times.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A solid addition to any hard sci-fi fan's library
*by J***Y on April 27, 2017*

Just reading the back flap of this book doesn't even really begin to describe the depth of the concepts presented in this story. While the material subjects in Permutation City are firmly planted in sci-fi, it also puts concepts such as what it means to "be" human both objectively and subjectively at the forefront. Whether you are an ardent fan of computer science, biology, physics, or even philosophy, this book will elicit some kind of respect from you for its depth in those regards. This book does lean heavily into both hard science and fiction, but quite honestly it takes the concepts so far that that distinctions between the two are trivial. What this book ISN'T is a flashy science fiction romp with action and adrenaline for just for the sake of excitement. What we DO have is a deeply thought provoking series of events and perspectives that challenge how evolving technology can redefine or completely do away with our current concepts of humanity. My only real cons are that Greg goes to such lengths to explain and take you to each of his thought points and conclusions, that the actual "story" is relatively light. Now, if you enjoy staying in those thoughts and sort of letting them gestate, this won't be much of a problem. If however, these thoughts don't resonate with you, you might find yourself waiting for the next "thing" to happen. Sort of on the other end of that, I felt that the conclusion of the book was a bit hasty. When considering the effort that went into making sure that the reader has bought and understood the rules of the world, the end felt a tad rushed and unearned. It's not to say that it's bad by any means, it just felt as if SOMETHING that fit a more typical sci fi ending had to happen just for the sake of it, rather than the story logically leading there. The fact that this book was written in 1994 blew my mind, as many of the technologies mentioned seem like logical progressions of things that have only become common in the past 10 or so years, so the foresight alone is incredible. All in all this book is a must read for any hard science fiction fan. While not perfect, enough love and attention clearly went into it to add it to your collection

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ True hard science fiction
*by S***K on November 3, 2025*

With human science and technology reaching such miraculous levels, it has become increasingly rare to find a true hard science fiction author. It seems like most authors have abandoned even the attempt at writing science fiction when it seems like all limits to possibilities will be removed. We find sciency fantasy close enough because who's to say that it's not possible? Anyway, this is an excellent hard science fiction book. It was enjoyable to experience again the joy of exploration that good science fiction always brought to me.

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*Product available on Desertcart Denmark*
*Store origin: DK*
*Last updated: 2026-03-11*