Wintermute reviewed Join by Steve Toutonghi
Review of 'Join' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Fascinating premise, messy execution.
328 pages
English language
Published Aug. 8, 2016
"What if you could live multiple lives simultaneously, have constant, perfect companionship, and never die? That's the promise of Join, a revolutionary technology that allows small groups of minds to unite, forming a single consciousness that experiences the world through multiple bodies. But as two best friends discover, the light of that miracle may be blinding the world to its horrors. Chance and Leap are jolted out of their professional routines by a terrifying stranger--a remorseless killer who freely manipulates the networks that regulate life in the post-Join world. Their quest for answers--and survival--brings them from the networks and spire communities they've known to the scarred heart of an environmentally ravaged North American continent and an underground community of the "ferals" left behind by the rush of technology. In the storytelling tradition of classic speculative fiction from writers like David Mitchell and Michael Chabon, Join offers a pulse-pounding story that …
"What if you could live multiple lives simultaneously, have constant, perfect companionship, and never die? That's the promise of Join, a revolutionary technology that allows small groups of minds to unite, forming a single consciousness that experiences the world through multiple bodies. But as two best friends discover, the light of that miracle may be blinding the world to its horrors. Chance and Leap are jolted out of their professional routines by a terrifying stranger--a remorseless killer who freely manipulates the networks that regulate life in the post-Join world. Their quest for answers--and survival--brings them from the networks and spire communities they've known to the scarred heart of an environmentally ravaged North American continent and an underground community of the "ferals" left behind by the rush of technology. In the storytelling tradition of classic speculative fiction from writers like David Mitchell and Michael Chabon, Join offers a pulse-pounding story that poses the largest possible questions: How long can human life be sustained on our planet in the face of environmental catastrophe? What does it mean to be human, and what happens when humanity takes the next step in its evolution? If the individual mind becomes obsolete, what have we lost and gained, and what is still worth fighting for?"--
Fascinating premise, messy execution.
Fascinating premise, messy execution.
Content warning Spoilers for halfway through and ending!
Written when I was about halfway through the book: So there's this thing the author is doing where he's trying to imply that the Joins are a marginalized class because of the ignorance and bigotry of Solos, and it's so clearly a non-marginalized person's understanding of marginalization it's getting a bit uncomfortable to read. Becoming a Join has a high financial cost that's discussed multiple times throughout the book, as well as having intense psychological and physical evaluation requirements and being entirely at the mercy of someone choosing to Join with you. And you're also putting yourself in the hands of the large corporation/government's very specific laws pertaining to Joins and Joining procedures and tracking. Many Solos are also demonstrably living in reduced circumstances, in slums and poverty (the main characters literally go to the slums to check out Solo-only bars, because that's the one place you'll find them), with far fewer and more dangerous job opportunities (Solos are unable to pilot cargo aircraft for example, or Pod technology, they're left using antiquated personal vehicles and driving surface cargo despite mega storms that make this incredibly dangerous. All other technologies seem to have developed alongside Join, leaving Solos using outdated tech for everything from transportation to housing and communication). Yet being a Solo is repeatedly treated as some choice that demonstrates a bigotry towards and misunderstanding of Joins, and conversations where Solos discuss their upset about these circumstances (e.g., the alto sax player who bemoans the fact the Solos are basically locked out of creative careers like music) are treated like micro aggressions against the Join main characters. Despite the similarities to Sens8, this isn't a genetic condition that people develop at birth, it's literally a technology attainable only by the extremely privileged.
Written when I finished it: Join redeemed itself slightly from my earlier assessment, but not in a very satisfying way. The main character(s) have a change of heart without almost no sign and very little motivation, and end up sacrificing a great deal to sabotage the ambitions of the company/government and the Joins, in order to redirect their attention to saving the Earth. Though it also ends with the company/government making joining so cheap and accessible that the goal is basically to eradicate Solos, so I dunno.
Overall, it was an interesting premise? And I kept imagining all the characters with 80s/90s clothing and hairstyles based on the descriptions? But it felt more like a thought experiment than a coherent narrative.
Interesting universe, good characters, fun and relevant plot.