Donnerjack is a science fiction novel begun by American author Roger Zelazny and completed after his death by his companion Jane Lindskold. It was published in 1997.[1]
The original title of the book was "Donnerjack, of Virtú". Initially, Zelazny intended for it to be the first of an ambitious trilogy, with the two sequels tentatively named "The Gods of Virtú" and "Virtú, Virtú". Zelazny completed a few hundred pages of the first novel and left detailed notes for its remainder, which Lindskold completed, attempting to write in his style.[2] Its description of the virtual world of Virtu has been considered as prefiguring the modern internet.[3]
Plotedit
Donnerjack is set in a world that has developed a shared, fully immersive virtual reality. This virtual reality, referred to as Virtu, has come to dominate all aspects of society. People work, play, and can lead entire lives in Virtu.
The eponymous John Donnerjack is one of the creators of Virtu, and a peerless engineer, capable of building just about anything in his virtual reality. The story follows John's final adventure, where he saves his lover from Death itself, and continues on through the perspective of his son, Jack. Many aspects of Donnerjack directly parallel famous myths and legends, particularly those conforming to Joseph Campbell's theory of the monomyth.
It is heavily implied throughout the novel that, though humanity experiences it as a virtual reality simulation, Virtu may actually be an unintentional bridge to the magical realms described in mythology.
It is not connected with Jack of Shadows written by Zelazny years before.
Critical responseedit
Kirkus found it overcomplicated and in need of editing, but full of ideas.[4]
SF Site gave it a positive review.[2] In contrast, SF Reviews rated it 0/5: "awful".[5]
Referencesedit
^Drew, Bernard A. (2010). Literary Afterlife: The Posthumous Continuations of 325 Authors' Fictional Characters. McFarland. pp. 292–293. ISBN9780786457212.
donnerjack, science, fiction, novel, begun, american, author, roger, zelazny, completed, after, death, companion, jane, lindskold, published, 1997, cover, illustration, from, first, editionauthorroger, zelazny, jane, lindskoldcover, artistamy, halperincountryu. Donnerjack is a science fiction novel begun by American author Roger Zelazny and completed after his death by his companion Jane Lindskold It was published in 1997 1 DonnerjackCover illustration from the first editionAuthorRoger Zelazny and Jane LindskoldCover artistAmy HalperinCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreScience fiction novelPublisherAvonPublication dateAugust 1997Media typePrint Hardback Pages503ISBN0 380 97326 XOCLC35849167Dewey Decimal813 54 21LC ClassPS3576 E43 D66 1997The original title of the book was Donnerjack of Virtu Initially Zelazny intended for it to be the first of an ambitious trilogy with the two sequels tentatively named The Gods of Virtu and Virtu Virtu Zelazny completed a few hundred pages of the first novel and left detailed notes for its remainder which Lindskold completed attempting to write in his style 2 Its description of the virtual world of Virtu has been considered as prefiguring the modern internet 3 Plot editDonnerjack is set in a world that has developed a shared fully immersive virtual reality This virtual reality referred to as Virtu has come to dominate all aspects of society People work play and can lead entire lives in Virtu The eponymous John Donnerjack is one of the creators of Virtu and a peerless engineer capable of building just about anything in his virtual reality The story follows John s final adventure where he saves his lover from Death itself and continues on through the perspective of his son Jack Many aspects of Donnerjack directly parallel famous myths and legends particularly those conforming to Joseph Campbell s theory of the monomyth It is heavily implied throughout the novel that though humanity experiences it as a virtual reality simulation Virtu may actually be an unintentional bridge to the magical realms described in mythology It is not connected with Jack of Shadows written by Zelazny years before Critical response editKirkus found it overcomplicated and in need of editing but full of ideas 4 SF Site gave it a positive review 2 In contrast SF Reviews rated it 0 5 awful 5 References edit Drew Bernard A 2010 Literary Afterlife The Posthumous Continuations of 325 Authors Fictional Characters McFarland pp 292 293 ISBN 9780786457212 a b Walsh Neil Donnerjack SF Site Lewis Bob 31 Jul 2000 Is the internet really as great an invention as the wheel and the printing press InfoWorld 65 DONNERJACK Kirkus Reviews Retrieved 18 October 2012 Donnerjack SF Reviews Retrieved 18 October 2012 nbsp This article about a 1990s science fiction novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Donnerjack amp oldid 1100021239, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
