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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Distress is 'set in 2055 when the centre of Sydney is virtually deserted, as most work and entertainment is conducted at home via broadband optical fibre networks. Egan's main character, science journalist Andrew Worth, is sent to 'Stateless', a bioengineered Pacific coral island to interview a South African Nobel Prize winner who is intending to reveal a major breakthrough in human comprehension techniques. Various competing interests, however, descend on the island and Worth becomes an unwitting agent of change. Biotechnology implants, quantum physics, voluntary autism and mutant cholera are just some of the ingredients mixed into the mystery of who wishes to kill the Nobel Laureate, and for what purpose' (Colin Steele, SF Commentary No 77, p.54).
Exhibitions
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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also published in sound recording format.
Works about this Work
-
Geopolitics in Greg Egan's Science Fiction
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 74 no. 1 2014; (p. 186-198) -
Scanners
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , August no. 80 2010; (p. 40)
— Review of Distress 1995 single work novel ; Crosstown Traffic 1993 anthology short story ; The Memory Cathedral : A Secret History of Leonardo da Vinci 1995 single work novel ; Dark House : Stories Compiled by Gary Crew 1995 anthology short story -
'Forget the True Shape of the Planet' : Greg Egan's Distress and the Ruins of Utopia
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Halfway House : The Poetics of Australian Spaces 2010; (p. 333-344) -
Scanners
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , November no. 77 2001; (p. 49-77)
— Review of Reading by Starlight: Postmodern Science Fiction 1995 single work criticism ; Metaworlds : Best Australian Science Fiction 1994 anthology short story ; Mortal Fire : Best Australian Science Fiction 1993 anthology short story ; The Destiny Makers 1993 single work novel ; Twilight Beach 1993 selected work short story ; Evolution Annie 1991 selected work short story ; The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy 1998 reference bibliography biography ; Beyond the Hanging Wall 1996 single work novel ; Distress 1995 single work novel ; Axiomatic 1995 selected work short story ; Permutation City 1994 single work novel ; Mirrorsun Rising 1995 single work novel ; Alien Shores : An Anthology of Australian Science Fiction 1994 anthology short story ; The Opoponax Invasion 1993 single work novel ; Envoy 1994 single work novel ; She's Fantastical : The First Anthology of Australian Women’s Speculative Fiction, Magical Realism And Fantasy 1995 anthology short story poetry extract ; The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy : Volume 1 1997 anthology short story ; Time Marches Off : 2000 Years from Now 1942 single work novel ; Dark House : Stories Compiled by Gary Crew 1995 anthology short story ; The Oxford Book of Australian Ghost Stories 1994 anthology short story -
Pinlighters
2001
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , November no. 77 2001; (p. 29) Egan states that most reviewers of his SF novel, Distress, have failed to realise that it was meant to work at a metaphorical level. Because of this, he claims that this work has been treated as a kind of failed techno-thriller.
-
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Science Fiction : A Review of Speculative Literature , vol. 13 no. 2 (Issue 38) 1996; (p. 22-25)
— Review of Distress 1995 single work novel -
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Science Fiction : A Review of Speculative Literature , vol. 13 no. 2 (Issue 38) 1996; (p. 25-28)
— Review of Distress 1995 single work novel -
Scanners
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , August no. 80 2010; (p. 40)
— Review of Distress 1995 single work novel ; Crosstown Traffic 1993 anthology short story ; The Memory Cathedral : A Secret History of Leonardo da Vinci 1995 single work novel ; Dark House : Stories Compiled by Gary Crew 1995 anthology short story -
Books Read Recently
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Scratch Pad 18 , July 1996; (p. 4-6)
— Review of Distress 1995 single work novel ; The Memory Cathedral : A Secret History of Leonardo da Vinci 1995 single work novel ; Permutation City 1994 single work novel ; Eccentrics : The Scientific Investigation 1988 single work essay ; Old School Tie 1994 single work novel ; Lilian's Story 1985 single work novel ; Dark Places 1994 single work novel -
Scanners
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , November no. 77 2001; (p. 49-77)
— Review of Reading by Starlight: Postmodern Science Fiction 1995 single work criticism ; Metaworlds : Best Australian Science Fiction 1994 anthology short story ; Mortal Fire : Best Australian Science Fiction 1993 anthology short story ; The Destiny Makers 1993 single work novel ; Twilight Beach 1993 selected work short story ; Evolution Annie 1991 selected work short story ; The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy 1998 reference bibliography biography ; Beyond the Hanging Wall 1996 single work novel ; Distress 1995 single work novel ; Axiomatic 1995 selected work short story ; Permutation City 1994 single work novel ; Mirrorsun Rising 1995 single work novel ; Alien Shores : An Anthology of Australian Science Fiction 1994 anthology short story ; The Opoponax Invasion 1993 single work novel ; Envoy 1994 single work novel ; She's Fantastical : The First Anthology of Australian Women’s Speculative Fiction, Magical Realism And Fantasy 1995 anthology short story poetry extract ; The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy : Volume 1 1997 anthology short story ; Time Marches Off : 2000 Years from Now 1942 single work novel ; Dark House : Stories Compiled by Gary Crew 1995 anthology short story ; The Oxford Book of Australian Ghost Stories 1994 anthology short story -
'Forget the True Shape of the Planet' : Greg Egan's Distress and the Ruins of Utopia
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Halfway House : The Poetics of Australian Spaces 2010; (p. 333-344) -
Pinlighters
2001
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , November no. 77 2001; (p. 29) Egan states that most reviewers of his SF novel, Distress, have failed to realise that it was meant to work at a metaphorical level. Because of this, he claims that this work has been treated as a kind of failed techno-thriller. -
Geopolitics in Greg Egan's Science Fiction
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 74 no. 1 2014; (p. 186-198)
Awards
- 1999 winner Kurd Lasswitz Preis — Best Foreign Novel
- 1996 longlisted James Tiptree, Jr Award
- 1995 winner Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction — Science Fiction Division — Best Novel
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