Have to give only 1 star for two critical failures on Marshall's part.1) It is quite a misrepresentation of the "rich" to say that they don't care about the poor. Oh, certainly, many don't. Maybe even most don't, but the actions of folks like Bill Gates and Tim Cooke would argue against the absolute that Manna paints. 2) While I grant that Marshall's utopia is far better than anything we have now, as G.K. Chesterton put it, "Meaninglessness comes not from being weary of pain, but from being weary of pleasure.” This axiom has been proven time and again by countless miserable kings, CEO's, pop-stars, and drug junkies throughout history. People do not do a good job of staying in balance long-term without outside assistance. While focusing on the welfare of others helps, there will always be people questing for an overarching meaning to their lives. Perhaps technology can find a way to permanently induce a sense of well-being/happiness/joy/ecstacy artifically so that people don't care to ponder the meaning of life, but it remains to be seen if such a "happy" person will still be productive, even by their own subjective standards. Overall, an interesting and thought-provoking read. Not really a story, just a detailed description of a capitalist society compared to a communist society in a post-scarcity world. I thought it was obvious that capitalism won't work in the future, but maybe this is news to some people. The interesting thing is that you could remove all the robots and technology and see this story describes the world we live in today. I hope that was the author's point, to show that we've already passed the point where we have sufficient resources for everyone and capitalism is keeping those resources in the hands of the rich.
What do You think about Manna (2000)?
I liked the idea of the book, but the way it's written leaves a lot to be desired.
—Marsha
Short but interesting. Recommended to anyone who's interested in Singularity.
—chris
More of an opinion essay that uses a few narrative techniques than fiction.
—alisa
The best utopian novel I've ever laid my hands on so far. Wow.
—sbennief
A mirror image of Ayn Rand - reversed ideas, same naivite.
—EppieKim
