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...
Quite unexpectedly fantastic science fiction.
Characters are credible (for the genre) and an interesting excursion into the future. Loved it.
This is an unusually structured book for the simple reason that it is made up of 9 short stories, published over a period of about 3 years. But those stories are intended to tell an ongoing story.
And a fascinating story it is. Following generations of one particular family as they first approach and then survive through the Singularity. Something which turns out to be not nearly as gloriously wonderful for humans as is often projected.
I have to admit I preferred the earlier pre-Singularity stories. For the simple reason that they were much easier to relate to. Not only were their motives more obviously human but so were their surroundings.
That's not to dismiss the later stories which are playing with some fascinating concepts, but given their short story origins, there's not a lot of time to build the world and flesh out the characters and have something happen. …
This is an unusually structured book for the simple reason that it is made up of 9 short stories, published over a period of about 3 years. But those stories are intended to tell an ongoing story.
And a fascinating story it is. Following generations of one particular family as they first approach and then survive through the Singularity. Something which turns out to be not nearly as gloriously wonderful for humans as is often projected.
I have to admit I preferred the earlier pre-Singularity stories. For the simple reason that they were much easier to relate to. Not only were their motives more obviously human but so were their surroundings.
That's not to dismiss the later stories which are playing with some fascinating concepts, but given their short story origins, there's not a lot of time to build the world and flesh out the characters and have something happen.
While there are a handful of repeating characters who build up to be fully fleshed, most of the supporting cast don't fair so well. There just isn't enough space to give them depth.
A fascinating read certainly, but the lack of a stronger through plot and more fleshed out characterization does hurt 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.
