This is my first BS read. While enjoyable, I wasn't drawn in to the narrative enough to immerse myself in it. Maybe I'm too accustomed to SF with BDO's, xenomorphs, taboo breaking, and mind bending twists. I read The Difference Engine (written with W.Gibson) a while back and enjoyed the alternate history and steampunk aspect of it. It was better than this one. I'll try another BS book that's more highly rated next time. Man-made ecological disasters, reality stardom run amok, super-rich businessmen empowered to make world-changing decisions . . . No, it's not the newest on the NYT non-fiction list, it's a scifi novel that is all about now. Holding up a near-future glass, Sterling's novel reflects back to the reader a vision of our current times. With wry wit and complex characters, the author draws a completely believable picture of what the world could become in a few short decades. What makes this picture different from a lot of scifi is that it is not so much about whiz-bang technological advances (although there is some of that) as it is about the social and governmental evolution of the world. This future world is described in fairly complete detail, with the ideas coming so furiously fast that one sentence could become an entire book. For instance, concepts such as nuking the Himalayas to solve a fresh water crisis, or preserving the culture of the world through theme parks, or using surveillance to solve world hunger, are dashed off as mere sidelines to the main action. Thinly veiled commentary on everything from NeoCons to Greenpeace to Communism and Consumerism is couched in accessible and often funny language. Any author who can write a character who can say "Well, just take it from me, the theme-park business can be a very steady, long-term earner, as long as it's got a solid heritage connection and a unique value proposition" with a straight face is an author from whom I want to read more.
What do You think about The Caryatids (2009)?
environmental sci-fi set in the near-future. good read.
—Jotie_bro
There's a blatant typo on the first page . . .
—dufjr
