person or book cover
Source: www.sfbook.com
y separately published work icon Distress single work   novel   science fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 1995... 1995 Distress
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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

8907362
8857868

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Millennium ,
      1995 .
      person or book cover
      Source: www.sfbook.com
      Extent: 343p.
      ISBN: 185798286X (Csd), 1857982851 (Ppr)
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Phoenix ,
      1996 .
      person or book cover
      Source: www.amazon.com
      Extent: 352p.
      ISBN: 1857994841
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      HarperPrism ,
      1997 .
      person or book cover
      Source: www.e-reading-lib.org
      Extent: 343p.
      ISBN: 0061052647
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Gollancz ,
      2008 .
      person or book cover
      Source: www.instant-fanzine.livejournal.com
      Extent: 424p.
      ISBN: 9780575081734, 0575081732
Alternative title: L'enigme de L'univers
Language: French

Other Formats

  • Also published in sound recording format.

Works about this Work

Geopolitics in Greg Egan's Science Fiction Darren Jorgensen , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 74 no. 1 2014; (p. 186-198)
Scanners Bruce Gillespie , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , August no. 80 2010; (p. 40)

— Review of Distress Greg Egan , 1995 single work novel ; Crosstown Traffic 1993 anthology short story ; The Memory Cathedral : A Secret History of Leonardo da Vinci Jack Dann , 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 Brian Greenspan , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Halfway House : The Poetics of Australian Spaces 2010; (p. 333-344)
Scanners Colin Steele , 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 Damien Broderick , 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 George Turner , 1993 single work novel ; Twilight Beach Terry Dowling , 1993 selected work short story ; Evolution Annie Rosaleen Love , 1991 selected work short story ; The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy 1998 reference bibliography biography ; Beyond the Hanging Wall Sara Douglass , 1996 single work novel ; Distress Greg Egan , 1995 single work novel ; Axiomatic Greg Egan , 1995 selected work short story ; Permutation City Greg Egan , 1994 single work novel ; Mirrorsun Rising Sean McMullen , 1995 single work novel ; Alien Shores : An Anthology of Australian Science Fiction 1994 anthology short story ; The Opoponax Invasion John Brosnan , 1993 single work novel ; Envoy Shannah Jay , 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 Paul De Wreder , 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 Greg Egan , 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 Richard Harland , 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 Greg Egan , 1995 single work novel
Untitled Russell Blackford , 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 Greg Egan , 1995 single work novel
Scanners Bruce Gillespie , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , August no. 80 2010; (p. 40)

— Review of Distress Greg Egan , 1995 single work novel ; Crosstown Traffic 1993 anthology short story ; The Memory Cathedral : A Secret History of Leonardo da Vinci Jack Dann , 1995 single work novel ; Dark House : Stories Compiled by Gary Crew 1995 anthology short story
Books Read Recently Bruce Gillespie , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Scratch Pad 18 , July 1996; (p. 4-6)

— Review of Distress Greg Egan , 1995 single work novel ; The Memory Cathedral : A Secret History of Leonardo da Vinci Jack Dann , 1995 single work novel ; Permutation City Greg Egan , 1994 single work novel ; Eccentrics : The Scientific Investigation David Joseph Weeks , 1988 single work essay ; Old School Tie Paul Thomas , 1994 single work novel ; Lilian's Story Kate Grenville , 1985 single work novel ; Dark Places Kate Grenville , 1994 single work novel
Scanners Colin Steele , 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 Damien Broderick , 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 George Turner , 1993 single work novel ; Twilight Beach Terry Dowling , 1993 selected work short story ; Evolution Annie Rosaleen Love , 1991 selected work short story ; The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy 1998 reference bibliography biography ; Beyond the Hanging Wall Sara Douglass , 1996 single work novel ; Distress Greg Egan , 1995 single work novel ; Axiomatic Greg Egan , 1995 selected work short story ; Permutation City Greg Egan , 1994 single work novel ; Mirrorsun Rising Sean McMullen , 1995 single work novel ; Alien Shores : An Anthology of Australian Science Fiction 1994 anthology short story ; The Opoponax Invasion John Brosnan , 1993 single work novel ; Envoy Shannah Jay , 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 Paul De Wreder , 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 Brian Greenspan , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Halfway House : The Poetics of Australian Spaces 2010; (p. 333-344)
Pinlighters Greg Egan , 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 Darren Jorgensen , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 74 no. 1 2014; (p. 186-198)
Last amended 15 Dec 2016 13:55:01
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