An Unusual Angle

0-909106-11-8OCLC12214214823 19LC ClassPR9619.3.E35 U5 1983

An Unusual Angle (1983) was the debut novel by Australian science fiction writer Greg Egan by Norstrilia Press.^[1]

Synopsis

The novel follows a high school boy who makes movies inside his head using a bio-mechanical camera, one that he has grown. He is also able to send out other "viewpoints", controlled with his "psi" powers, of which he has more power than anyone else he's ever met. Most of the book concerns the boy trying to get his films out of his head, but no brain surgeon will believe him.

Critical reception

Writing in The MT Void Evelyn C. Leeper commented: "The plot of this book is not like Egan's later work, but the wealth of ideas–and many of the same ideas–that characterize his later work is. There is a section on how quantum mechanics restored the concept of free will. The protagonist sends out "viewpoints"–essentially non-material copies of himself–to perform varioustasks. The protagonist is (literally) making films in his head, which conjures up a vision of universes within an individual mind, which in turn conjures up the image of layers of universes. (And yes, I mean literally–the protagonist claims to have an actual little film lab in there!)"^[2]

References