It has been suggested that this article be merged into The Queendom of Sol. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2024. |
Author | Wil McCarthy |
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Language | English |
Series | The Queendom of Sol |
Genre | Science fiction |
Publisher | Del Rey |
Publication date | August 1, 2000 |
Publication place | United States |
Pages | 336 |
ISBN | 0-345-40856-X |
Followed by | The Wellstone |
The Collapsium is a 2000 hard science fiction novel by American author Wil McCarthy, the first in the Queendom of Sol series.[1][2][3] The first section of the novel is based on McCarthy's short story "Once Upon a Matter Crushed", which was a Sturgeon Award finalist.[4] A reviewer stated McCarthy used postmodern literary technique in consciously creating a protagonist who is a "throwback" to the scientist-heroes of Golden Age SF.[5]
It was nominated for 2002's Nebula Award for Best Novel.[6]
Its hero, Bruno de Towaji, is smart and sexy—a brooding supergenius who combines the most estimable qualities of Albert Einstein, Sherlock Holmes and Marlon Brando. Of course, he is a postmodern construct—a conscious throwback to the scientist-heroes of early 20th-century science fiction, who defeated evil and won the girl with weapons they whipped up in the laboratory on a moment's notice.