Feersum Endjinn
Cover of first edition (hardcover)
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| Author | Iain M. Banks |
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| Country | Scotland |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Orbit Books |
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Publication date
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1994 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 279 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 30779268 |
| Preceded by | Complicity (novel) |
| Followed by | Whit |
Feersum Endjinn is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1994. It won a British Science Fiction Association Award in 1994.
It was Banks' second science fiction novel not based upon or set within the Culture universe, the first being Against a Dark Background.
The book is set on a far future Earth where the uploading of mindstates into a world-spanning computer network (known as "the data corpus", "cryptosphere" or simply "crypt") is commonplace, allowing the dead to be easily reincarnated, a set number of times, first physically and then virtually within the crypt. The crypt has become increasingly chaotic, causing much concern within society. Much of the story takes place within a giant, decaying structure built to resemble a medieval castle, in which each "room" spans several kilometers horizontally and vertically, and the king's palace occupies one room's chandelier. The structure used to be a space elevator, left behind by the ancestors of those who remained on earth, with the circuitry of the crypt built into its structure. The world is in crisis as the solar system is slowly drifting into an interstellar molecular cloud ("the Encroachment"), which will eventually dim and then destroy the Sun, ending life on Earth.
The narrative switches between four main characters. Count Sessine is a high-ranking member of the court who is assassinated, ending his last life. Reborn inside the crypt he comes under repeated attack and is almost permanently killed. On his last virtual life, he makes contact with a copy of himself who assists him. He spends many subjective years wandering the wider reaches of the crypt before being contacted by its representative who requests his aid in relation to the encroachment.
Gadfium, the Chief Scientist of the ruling class, is engaged in a conspiracy with like-minded nobles who believe that the elite are not acting in the best interests of the population, and who question the real motive of the ongoing war with the rival clan of Engineers. She becomes aware of a message that has apparently been sent from the fast tower, the highest, inaccessible part of the castle which stresses the danger of the Encroachment and tells of an attempt by the crypt to activate a long forgotten sub system which may prevent disaster. The message also warns that this will be opposed by those in power as it will threaten their interests. She and her fellow conspirators are considering how to respond when the security forces attempt to arrest them, although Gadfium manages to escape into the depths of the castle.
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