The Singularity. It is the era of the posthuman. Artificial intelligences have surpassed the limits of human intellect. Biotechnological beings have rendered people all but extinct. Molecular nanotechnology runs rampant, replicating and reprogramming at will. Contact with extraterrestrial life grows more imminent with each new day. Struggling to survive and thrive in this accelerated world are three generations of the Macx clan: Manfred, an entrepreneur dealing in intelligence amplification technology whose mind is divided between his physical environment and the Internet; his daughter, Amber, on the run from her domineering mother, seeking her fortune in the outer system as an indentured astronaut; and Sirhan, Amber's son, who finds his destiny linked to the fate of all of humanity.
For something is systematically dismantling the nine planets of the solar system. Something beyond human comprehension. Something that has no use for biological life in any form...
The book is heavy with technobabble that's quite dated by now, as others have already mentioned. I didn't even manage to read through the first story before having to give up. Sad, as it looked like this book got some interesting ideas.
Might give it a new go in the future if I find the patience to handle the crazy.
Das erste Buch von Charles Stross, das ich gelesen hab - und bin begeistert. Alles Andere als leichte Kost, hab ziemlich lange dafür gebraucht, aber ist es wert.
Die meisten Ideen kennt man eigentlich schon aus anderer SciFi, aber Stross schafft es die noch um ein Stückchen weiter zu denken - oft mit überraschenden Ergebnissen. Dazu Unmengen an Referenzen und Anspielungen, trotzdem nur selten solch längliche Erklärungen wie man sie von Neal Stephenson kennt.
Und bisher erstaunlich gut gealtert - das Buch stammt von 2005 - und hat als ein zentrales Thema KI - was jetzt -18 Jahre später - gerade ein Hype ist.
Und die Katze :)
Kurz: Ich will mehr davon.
Amazing book and given it was published 2005 it is more on point than ever. The futuristic aspects from the beginning feel like only some years away from now while containing some nostalgia like terms as 'slashdoted'. And it contains cats.
Nice showcase of some future technologies and how these could affect our life. But not a lot more than that.
And the writing sucks.
I'm kind of conflicted about this book. Some really clever ideas and certainly on the cyberpunk tip, and the prose was great, but ultimately, I feel like the story got lost and I sort of had to force my way to the end. I will definitely try more of Stross's work.
At its best, this book is a wonderfully imaginative "what if?" that takes the ideas of posthumanists/accelerationists/singularitarians seriously enough to think through how unappealing their future might actually be. But much of the time I found myself struggling through too much density of jargon, pseudo-physics and sci-fi cliches to enjoy it.
At its best, this book is a wonderfully imaginative "what if?" that takes the ideas of posthumanists/accelerationists/singularitarians seriously enough to think through how unappealing their future might actually be. But much of the time I found myself struggling through too much density of jargon, pseudo-physics and sci-fi cliches to enjoy it.
Stross starts strong, with a believable vision of the future. Sadly, the story he starts yo spin is more or less completely thrown out the window at the end, and we're left without any closure or resolution.
Very hard to read due to a lot of technobabble. Interesting take on an information-oriented future, far beyond.
Even better than Glasshouse in its portrayal of a technological singularity. I have no idea how many of the concepts were invented by Stross himself, but if you are at all interested in the pace of technological advances and a vision of where it could one day lead: this is your book.
But be prepared: it's nerdy, the vocabulary can become quite technical and the weirdness factor is rather high. This book needs a lot of concentration, definitely not an easy read but very worthwhile.
Quite unexpectedly fantastic science fiction.
Characters are credible (for the genre) and an interesting excursion into the future. Loved it.
Fantastic sci-fi, "singularity" yes but complex and nuanced and long-thinking implications. Fully enjoyed the story and the world building.
short review in ukrainian:
http://www.tivasyk.info/2009/09/blog-post_07.html
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віртуальна реальність — іграшка для підлітків, або основа для чергового сюжету а ля матриця. але... уявімо, що одного дня ми навчимося зберігати свою пам'ять на електронних носіях, а згодом — навіть «вивантажувати» всю особистість і відтворювати її віртуальну модель в комп'ютерах, а планета, чи навіть уся сонячна система, перетвориться на конгломерат мікрокомп'ютерів, здатних підтримувати існування цілої віртуальної цивілізації…
…і що далі? чи залишиться в цьому світі місце для людини з м'яса та крові?
accelerando (charles stross) — збірка оповідань, поєднаних у новелу сюжетною лінією та командою персонажів. читати інколи нудно, але в цілому це досить добротна «проблемна» фантастика.
книжка вільна, доступна в різних форматах, включаючи текст, pdf, html тощо.
