I'm torn between a good review, and a "i'm never touching this book again!" review...When there's a series, I finish it, even if I didn't much like the first. I'll re-read them every year or other year.For this book, I won't be reading it again, nor will I buy the 2nd (much less the 3rd) in the series.Directive 51 terrified me. The (technical attack) concepts in it are just too close to reality; the political machinations; hell those damn near happen now.It was a book that wouldn't leave my head for several weeks. I suppose that should answer the question on whether or not I should give it a good review... I have mixed feelings on this one, as shown by the middling rating (though I'm probably a fairly low grader anyway). This reminds me of nothing as much as Stirling's Change series: a world where technology ceases to function. In Stirling's books the reason for this is some unspecified mystical or alien event - essentially it's irrelevant, just an excuse to describe a world reverting to a medieval state. Barnes takes a different tack, and much of this first book is a description of the science and social factors that lie behind the movement that ends up bringing down modern civilization.To cover the negative first: overall I found it somewhat uninvolving, probably due at least in part to my almost complete lack of belief in the feasibility of the central element, the existence of a worldwide (or nationwide, slightly unclear) mass movement that remains completely undetected by government until it kicks off its plans to destroy civilization. There was also a baffling lack of angst or shock among the protagonists: as the world and society falls apart around them in a matter of days, with millions of deaths and the collapse of the government most of them work for, everybody coolly continues working without even anything but the most basic nod towards helping their families and so forth. On the plus side, and overall of course I did enjoy the read, the premise is interesting, and there is a fair amount of tension in parts. There's some good political twists in the second half, where by good I mean realistic and relatively unexpected. There's signs that the story will progress in a somewhat more optimistic way than I expected going in (a plus for me as I'm not a fan of dystopia). And thankfully there's none of the obsession with gore and wardrobe that eventually made Stirling's work unreadable to me.I haven't read the sequel yet, but have it on order. It'll be interesting to see where Barnes takes the story: description of the gradual rise of a new order, or something more dramatic?
What do You think about Directive 51 (2010)?
I likec the beginning and the end a lot. Not sure if I want to read more in the series or not.
—Theshady
too much science in my fiction, just kidding. Just couldn't get into it.
—Chase
Techy EOTWAWKI with a political twist. Good read.
—katya_soleil
