MATHEMATICAL FICTION:

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Pythagoras the Mathemagician (2010)
Karim El Koussa
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This novel concerns the ancient Greek mathematician to whom we generally attribute the theorem relating the lengths of the sides of a right triangle. However, it focuses much more on his religious, mystical, and philosophical teachings than on his math.

It is often difficult with historical fiction to tell what his fact and what is a creation of the author's imagination. I would like to warn readers of this book that very little is actually known about Pythagoras. Fortunately, unlike some other works of historical fiction, the author has included footnotes with some additional information about his sources. But, I still urge readers to be remember that this book is a work of fiction and not itself a historical source or a peer reviewed work of scholarship.

If I am understanding the publication history correctly, then this book was first self-published in 2005. However, the current rules I am using for this website require me to only consider it to have been published in 2010 when it was picked up by Sunbury Press. Thanks to Vijay Fafat for bringing it to my attention.

More information about this work can be found at www.amazon.com.
(Note: This is just one work of mathematical fiction from the list. To see the entire list or to see more works of mathematical fiction, return to the Homepage.)

Works Similar to Pythagoras the Mathemagician
According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:
  1. Pythagoras' Revenge: A Mathematical Mystery by Arturo Sangalli
  2. The Fibonacci Confessions by Graham Wade
  3. Pythagorean Crimes by Tefcros Michaelides
  4. Agora by Alejandro AmenĂ¡bar (writer and director) / Mateo Gil (writer)
  5. The Sand-Reckoner by Gillian Bradshaw
  6. Dead Ancients Trilogy by Peter Hobbs
  7. Kepler: A Novel by John Banville
  8. Hypatia or The Divine Algebra by Mac Wellman
  9. Summer Solstice by Charles Leonard Harness
  10. The Death of Archimedes by Karel Capek
Ratings for Pythagoras the Mathemagician:
RatingsHave you seen/read this work of mathematical fiction? Then click here to enter your own votes on its mathematical content and literary quality or send me comments to post on this Webpage.
Mathematical Content:
2/5 (1 votes)
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Literary Quality:
2/5 (1 votes)
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Categories:
GenreHistorical Fiction,
MotifReal Mathematicians, Religion,
TopicGeometry/Topology/Trigonometry,
MediumNovels,

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Exciting News: The 1,600th entry was recently added to this database of mathematical fiction! Also, for those of you interested in non-fictional math books let me (shamelessly) plug the recent release of the second edition of my soliton theory textbook.

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)