Tony Daniel's new book, Superluminal, a sequel to Metaplanetary (2001), is the kind of recomplicated postmodern space opera that requires literally 60 pages of appendices to totally explicate its characters, technology, plot and milieu. Fully assimilating this book requires a good deal of attention, concentration and creative interpolation on the part of the reader. But its rewards are commensurate with its demands. Daniel has created an awesomely weird yet logical future that bears little resemblance to any lazy off-the-shelf scenarios.
