Nobody has mentioned this in the reviews I've read so I will: When many of the novel's characters are drugged into being loyal to a corporation they used to hate, they escape the need to stay loyal to the corporation by inventing ... The Protestant Reformation!

That is, they convince themselves that the "real" corporation (or church) is an individual ideal, and not the mere organization they've been drugged into being loyal to. This is precisely the "trick" the original Protestants, like Luther, used to escape the emotional domination of the Catholic church.

There's no doubt Egan intended this, and it makes QUARANTINE one of his best novels. It's not all science fiction, and the philosophy is as up to date as a course in modern religion.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Some people have criticized Quarantine for its lack of characterization. Frankly, if you're looking for that kind of book, you're in the wrong place. Don't get me wrong: I love a good character-oriented book--but Quarantine is much more about drowning the reader in a profound sense of wonder.

Be forewarned, this is not light reading material: Egan demands full intellectual participation from his reader, and a reader without a basic understanding of quantum mechanics and the many-worlds theory might not enjoy Quarantine as thoroughly as someone with that background. But if you're willing to put in the effort, this is a richly rewarding book to read.

(One more warning: I strongly suggest that you not read the description on the back of this book. Not only does it spoil the plot, but it is also very misleading and it ruins a great deal of the story's suspense.)

Quarantine begins as a high tech future thriller, with a private detective being hired to find a missing woman in a late 21st century Australia where, among other things, one can download software into one's brain, something has sealed the solar system within an impenetrable Bubble, and New Hong Kong has been built on top of Arnhem land. But these glimpses of an exciting future are never really developed or explored in detail, as the book's focus quickly shifts to the metaphysics of quantum mechanics. This is a science fiction oldie, and one that is usually dealt with rather poorly. (Giving humans conscious control over fundamental physics is all too often used as a deus ex machina to solve the plot problems at the end of a novel. Orson Scott Card's Xenocide is a recent example of this.) Egan makes one big (massively implausible?) assumption - that wave function collapse is the responsibility of a particular part of the brain and that with the right neural modification people can learn to avoid doing it, producing a "smeared out" universe - but otherwise his scenario is internally consistent. Even more importantly, Quarantine actually tries to "follow through" on the consequences of its assumptions, and manages to bring something of their full metaphysical immensity home to the reader. If you are interested in this kind of exploration of quantum mechanics then Quarantine is worth a look; if not then you will probably find it rather frustrating