''The Queendom of Sol'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

book series by American author

Wil McCarthy Wil McCarthy (born September 16, 1966) is an American science fiction novelist, president and co-founder of RavenBrick (a solar technology company), and the science columnist for Syfy. He currently resides in Colorado. ''Rich Man's Sky'' won ...

. It includes ''The Collapsium'' (2000), ''The Wellstone'' (2003), ''Lost in Transmission'' (2004), and ''To Crush the Moon'' (2005). The first two novels of the series were also printed together as ''The Monarchs of Sol'' by

Science Fiction Book Club Bookspan LLC is a New York–based online bookseller, founded in 2000. Bookspan began as a joint endeavor by Bertelsmann and Time Warner. Bertelsmann took over control in 2007, and a year later, sold its interest to Najafi Companies, an Arizon ...

(). The Queendom referred to is the present-day

Kingdom of Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. according ...

. In the Queendom of Sol, humanity has returned to

monarchism Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

as a stabilizing force in the face of accelerating technological change.

The Collapsium

''The Collapsium'' is a 2000

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

novel and the first in the series. The first section of the novel is based on McCarthy's short story "Once Upon a Matter Crushed", which was a Sturgeon Award finalist. A reviewer stated McCarthy used postmodern literary technique in consciously creating a protagonist who is a "throwback" to the scientist-heroes of Golden Age SF.

The Wellstone

''The Wellstone'' is a 2003 novel, publishes as the second in the series. In ''The Wellstone'', McCarthy explores the lives of

immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

humans known as ''immorbids'' in the future.

Nanotechnology Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...

has created the ''wellstone'',

programmable matter Programmable matter is matter which has the ability to change its physical properties (shape, density, moduli, conductivity, optical properties, etc.) in a programmable fashion, based upon user input or autonomous sensing. Programmable matter is ...

that can emulate nearly any other form of matter, and nanotech

fax machine Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other out ...

s that can not only fabricate objects on demand, but store and retrieve human bodies (with minds intact), cure disease or reverse aging, or be used as

teleporters Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction and fantasy literature. Teleportation is often paired with tim ...

. Ultradense

exotic matter There are several proposed types of exotic matter: * Hypothetical particles and states of matter that have not yet been encountered, but whose properties would be within the realm of mainstream physics if found to exist. * Several particles who ...

known as ''collapsium'' makes gravity manipulation and

faster-than-light communication Faster-than-light communication, also called superluminal communication, is a hypothetical process in which information is conveyed at faster-than-light speeds. The current scientific consensus is that faster-than-light communication is not possibl ...

possible. Humanity has formed a solar system–wide society based on

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

. Many of the technologies in this novel are also described in McCarthy's 2003 nonfiction book, '' Hacking Matter''.

To Crush the Moon

''To Crush the Moon'', published in 2005, is the last in the four-part series.

Awards

Covers

File:The Collapsium - bookcover.jpg, The Collapsium File:The Wellstone - bookcover.JPG, The Wellstone File:To Crush the Moon - bookcover.jpg, To Crush the Moon

References

External links

* Science fiction book series {{Sf-book-stub