MathFiction: La formula di Ramanujan (Marco Abate (writer) / P. Ongaro (artist))

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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La formula di Ramanujan (2001)

Marco Abate (writer) / P. Ongaro (artist)
(click on names to see more mathematical fiction by the same author)
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Contributed by Marco Abate

A trip from Berkeley to India via Oxford to recover the lost Ramanujan's notebooks, pursued independently by two (again, realistic) mathematicians, both driven by revenge, though of different kind. Along the way we listen to a biographic sketch of Ramanujan's life, to a very fast account of the use of prime numbers in cryptography, and to a philosophic discussion of how mathematics creates the real world.

All that in a comic book! Published in Italian as Martin Mystere 230, Sergio Bonelli Editore, Milano, 2001, 94 pp

(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 La formula di Ramanujan

According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:

The Love Formula by Giulia Clerici / Giulia Pasqualini
Evariste and Heloise by Marco Abate
Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis / Christos Papadimitriou
Il Lemma di Levemberg by Marco Abate (writer) / S. Natali (artist)
Geometria dell'apocalisse by Marco Abate (writer) / R. Bogagni (artist)
The Adventures of Topology Man by Alex Kasman
Math Girls by Hiroshi Yuki
Who Killed Professor X? by Thodoris Andriopoulos / Thanasis Gkiokas
Ultima lezione a Gottinga [Last lecture at Göttingen] by Davide Osenda
Strange Attractors by Charles Soule (author) / Greg Scott (Illustrator)

Ratings for La formula di Ramanujan:

Ratings

Have 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:
5/5 (1 votes)

Literary Quality:
5/5 (1 votes)

Categories:

Genre
Motif	Real Mathematicians,
Topic	Algebra/Arithmetic/Number Theory, Logic/Set Theory,
Medium	Graphic Novel/Comic Book/Manga,

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Where are the new works of mathematical fiction?: As you can see from this chronological listing, this database includes many works of mathematical fiction for each year from 1990 to 2025. Strangely, only two are listed for 2026, so far. Either less mathematical fiction is being published than in previous years or I'm just having more trouble finding it. If you know of any works of fiction that should be added to this list, especially recently published ones, please let me know. (Keep in mind that I do not include self-published works or children's fiction that just covers elementary mathematical concepts.) Thanks!

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)