The zenith angle

Peter Petermann reviewed The zenith angle by Bruce Sterling

Review of 'The zenith angle' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Now that escalated quickly.. About 40 minutes before I finished the book I formulated in my head "good writing, but it seems to lack a bigger story arc" I couldn't have been wrong more. In the last chapters the author manages to tie it all together, add a twist and make sense of it all. Well done.

So why am I only giving 4 out of 5 stars? Mostly because some of the minor details don't make sense, like that gag about using spam for the laser, or shooting someone with a hot glue gun. In some way it seems that Mr. Sterling added those small wrong details as some hidden "funnies", something that I found rather annoying in an otherwise great book.
One more thing: a hacker who works in cyber warfare for any government is not a white hat. Granted he was described as such before he did …

Now that escalated quickly.. About 40 minutes before I finished the book I formulated in my head "good writing, but it seems to lack a bigger story arc" I couldn't have been wrong more. In the last chapters the author manages to tie it all together, add a twist and make sense of it all. Well done.

So why am I only giving 4 out of 5 stars? Mostly because some of the minor details don't make sense, like that gag about using spam for the laser, or shooting someone with a hot glue gun. In some way it seems that Mr. Sterling added those small wrong details as some hidden "funnies", something that I found rather annoying in an otherwise great book.
One more thing: a hacker who works in cyber warfare for any government is not a white hat. Granted he was described as such before he did so on the book, and not after, but.. It kinda feels like it needs saying. Doing secret government work in warfare is mutually exclusive to following hacker ethics.

Moorlock reviewed The zenith angle by Bruce Sterling

Review of 'The zenith angle' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Feels like it wants to be some sort of "men's action adventure" book, but most of the action involves boring bureaucratic infighting, the hero is a computer geek who navigates acronym agencies with aplomb, and the romance is the hapless introspection of a married guy with borderline Aspergers Syndrome. Then, suddenly, in the last chapter, there's a ridiculous James Bond movie climax with huge laser space rays, dueling spies with eye-rolling dialogue, and ginormous assplosions.