A short life of the author
Hannu Rajaniemi (b. 1978) was born on 9 March 1978 in Ylivieska, Finland. He studied mathematics at the University of Oulu and has a PhD in mathematical physics from the University of Edinburgh. He co-founded a mathematics-based think tank. He writes in English, his third language (after Finnish and Swedish).
Life and Career
The Quantum Thief (2010) — about Jean le Flambeur, a legendary thief broken out of a virtual prison to pull off an impossible heist in the Oubliette, a walking Martian city where time is currency and privacy is guarded by technology — was one of the most impressive debut novels in contemporary SF. The worldbuilding is staggeringly dense: every paragraph introduces concepts drawn from quantum computing, game theory, and information physics.
The Fractal Prince (2012) and The Causal Angel (2014) completed the trilogy, expanding the scope to encompass competing posthuman civilisations across the solar system.
Summerland (2018) — an alternate-history spy thriller set in a 1930s Britain where the afterlife has been scientifically confirmed and Soviet and British intelligence agencies fight for control of the dead — was a departure.
Key Works
- The Quantum Thief (2010)
- The Fractal Prince (2012)
- Summerland (2018)
Collecting Rajaniemi
The Quantum Thief (2010, Gollancz UK) brings $20–$60 for UK firsts.