Meaney, John 1957–

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Meaney, John 1957–

PERSONAL: Born 1957, in London, England; married. Education: Attended Birmingham University; graduated from Open University; Oxford University, postgraduate studies. Hobbies and other interests: Martial arts.

ADDRESSES: Home—Kent, England. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Bantam Books, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Rd., London SW1V 2SA, England.

CAREER: Writer. Part-time instructor in the computer field teaching computer systems.

WRITINGS:

To Hold Infinity (fiction), Bantam/Transworld (London, England), 1998.

NULAPEIRON SEQUENCE

Paradox, Bantam/Transworld (London, England), 2000, Pyr (New York, NY), 2005.

Resolution, Bantam/Transworld (London, England), 2000.

Context, Bantam/Transworld (London, England), 2002.

Also author of novelette Short Tang. Stories anthologized in The Best of Interzone, Voyager, 1997; Year's Best SF #20, edited by Gardner Dozois; and Year's Best Short Novels 2004, edited by Jonathan Strahan. Contributor of fiction to periodicals, including Interzone.

Paradox has been translated into Russian.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Dreamland (short stories), to be published by Scorpius, and another novel set in the same word as To Hold Infinity.

SIDELIGHTS: John Meaney has gained renown as part of a new wave of important British science-fiction writers. In his 1998 novel To Hold Infinity, Meaney, who also works in the computer systems field, tells the story of a world where people's brains are augmented with computer technology. The book's success led to Meaney's "Nulapeiron Sequence," a trilogy that takes place in a far-future world where there is a strict dividing line between the rich and the poor, all of who live on different subterranean levels—with the poor at the deeper levels. The world is ruled by the Logic Lords and Oracles who live mentally both in the past and the future and who can predict, or "truecast," the future. This ability is channelled by the Logic Lords to keep the poor in their place by declaring that everything is preordained and that there is no revolution in the future.

In Paradox, the first book in the "Nulapeiron Sequence," Meaney introduces readers to Tom Corcorigan, a poor boy who comes into possession of an info-crystal once the property of a member of the Pilots, a legendary race able to traverse the fractal universe known as "mu-space." When an Oracle abducts Tom's mother and Tom's father dies, Tom studies the crystal carefully and discovers that it contains not only a way for him to move up in society but also the key to his revenge.

A Publishers Weekly, contributor commented that in Paradox, "Intriguing ruminations on the nature of time mesh well with Meaney's fine plotting and his excellent world building." Jackie Cassada, writing in the Library Journal, called the book "a treat for those who enjoy logic puzzles, scientific paradoxes, and coming-of-age tales." A Kirkus Reviews contributor dubbed the first installment in the trilogy "a thoughtful, intricate" book and also noted that it is "fast-moving, distinctive, and sometimes spectacular." Rick Kleffel, writing on the Agony Column online, noted that "Meaney's unique vision and prose skills never let it sink into anything remotely resembling cheesy space opera" and called the author's writing "gripping and immersive." Kleffel went on to call Paradox "a compelling take on the far future of class warfare, in a setting so full-bodied and inventive that readers will look forward to re-reading it upon the release of the sequel."

In Context Tom turns from selfish revenge and begins searching for the woman he loves. He also deals with a force called the Blight, which causes humans to lose their individuality and become an insignificant part of a larger whole. In Resolution, the final book in the "Nulapeiron Sequence," Tom has become a revolutionary war hero: Through further study of the crystal he obtained in the first book, he learns more about the mysterious mu-space travelers known as the Pilots and also faces a new threat called the Anomaly, which is absorbing humans and aliens into itself.