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mediaevalmuse's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book for a graduate seminar on ecocriticism in later American fiction, and it was probably the only post-19th century lit class I enjoyed in my college career because we read a bunch of science fiction. This book is mainly centered (unsurprisingly) on weather, so if you're a fan of sci fi that deals with environmental collapse, you'll have a good time reading Heavy Weather. My main issues with the novel, however, deal mainly with narrative.
Things I Liked
1. Cyberpunk Genre: I have to give credit where credit is due. Bruce Sterling’s work has been invaluable in defining the genre of “cyberpunk” in the 1990s, and this book is an incredible illustration of a story working within the genre’s defining markers. I especially enjoyed his description of the technologies and how they worked, and many of them seem to be original creations or significantly different from other types of machines used within cyberpunk fiction.
2. Characterization Janey and Alex are quite the characters. Despite the emphasis on chasing tornadoes, a lot of attention is given to the desires of these two, which are separate from the main events of the plot. Alex has a lot of medical problems, which causes him to seek out relief in any way possible - even if those means are illegal. Janey, his sister, cares dearly for him and also has a strong sense of loyalty to her family and to her lover, Jerry (the leader of the Troupe chasing storms).
3. Genre: I like the way Sterling weaves cyberpunk elements within a world that contains elements of apocalyptic fiction. Doing so doesn’t restrict his novel to a particular genre, even though it leans heavily on cyberpunk elements. Combining the two makes for a refreshing change of pace if you are accustomed to reading books set either in one genre or the other.
Things I Didn't Like
1. Pace: The middle of the novel tends to lag. There’s a lot of descriptions about life within the Troupe that seem important, but are not necessary to the plot. In my opinion, if an author is going to write a lot of description, it's best placed alongside an event or major plot point, not as a sort of info-dump.
2. Objective: Maybe I missed it, but I couldn’t quite see the “point” of the novel. Yes, the story is about chasing tornadoes… but why is that so important? I felt like that meaning, if it existed, was too buried in the text and should have been brought out to make for a stronger, cohesive plot.
3. Themes: Sterling could have brought out some of the more subtler elements in his novel to make a more interesting storyline. At times, the reader sees references to corruption, societal collapse, diseases and biology, etc. but none of these things are explored to a grand extent. As a result, the novel feels like it tries to incorporate too many things in one story, and thus, it's spread too thin.
Recommendations: If you're a sci fi fan (especially sci fi about environmental collapse) and enjoy books about technology, hacking, and scientific pursuit, you may enjoy this novel. Readers who like stories about storm chasers or genetics might also find this book enjoyable.
Things I Liked
1. Cyberpunk Genre: I have to give credit where credit is due. Bruce Sterling’s work has been invaluable in defining the genre of “cyberpunk” in the 1990s, and this book is an incredible illustration of a story working within the genre’s defining markers. I especially enjoyed his description of the technologies and how they worked, and many of them seem to be original creations or significantly different from other types of machines used within cyberpunk fiction.
2. Characterization Janey and Alex are quite the characters. Despite the emphasis on chasing tornadoes, a lot of attention is given to the desires of these two, which are separate from the main events of the plot. Alex has a lot of medical problems, which causes him to seek out relief in any way possible - even if those means are illegal. Janey, his sister, cares dearly for him and also has a strong sense of loyalty to her family and to her lover, Jerry (the leader of the Troupe chasing storms).
3. Genre: I like the way Sterling weaves cyberpunk elements within a world that contains elements of apocalyptic fiction. Doing so doesn’t restrict his novel to a particular genre, even though it leans heavily on cyberpunk elements. Combining the two makes for a refreshing change of pace if you are accustomed to reading books set either in one genre or the other.
Things I Didn't Like
1. Pace: The middle of the novel tends to lag. There’s a lot of descriptions about life within the Troupe that seem important, but are not necessary to the plot. In my opinion, if an author is going to write a lot of description, it's best placed alongside an event or major plot point, not as a sort of info-dump.
2. Objective: Maybe I missed it, but I couldn’t quite see the “point” of the novel. Yes, the story is about chasing tornadoes… but why is that so important? I felt like that meaning, if it existed, was too buried in the text and should have been brought out to make for a stronger, cohesive plot.
3. Themes: Sterling could have brought out some of the more subtler elements in his novel to make a more interesting storyline. At times, the reader sees references to corruption, societal collapse, diseases and biology, etc. but none of these things are explored to a grand extent. As a result, the novel feels like it tries to incorporate too many things in one story, and thus, it's spread too thin.
Recommendations: If you're a sci fi fan (especially sci fi about environmental collapse) and enjoy books about technology, hacking, and scientific pursuit, you may enjoy this novel. Readers who like stories about storm chasers or genetics might also find this book enjoyable.
milansabic's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
auverin's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
tsundokutsunami's review against another edition
Didn't finish the book. I thought I would like it because of the weather theme but it was hard to follow between the virtual and actual weather scenes, and I didn't really develop any interest in the characters.
aljansundance's review against another edition
1.0
I should have stopped reading this book the first time that I thought about it. This book goes nowhere. It feels like it's a sequel to another book that no one knows about, or like jumping in halfway through a movie. Not to mention that the "big event", the F6, is given a total of about 5 pages. Don't waste your time.
kirabitch's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
tedpikul's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jimbose's review against another edition
3.0
Ero molto curioso di conoscere Sterling, colui che con Gibson, ha definito il cyberpunk. Dovrò proseguire la mia ricerca visto che in questo romanzo si parla di tutt'altro argomento: l'apocalisse ecologica.
Nonostante la delusione per non aver trovato tecnologia avanzata, cibernetica ed innesti artificiali ho cercato di sgombrare la mente da ogni ombra per avventurarmi nel futuro prossimo di un mondo preda di cataclismi atmosferici e mutazioni genetiche.
Beh, mi pare di aver trovato un buon scrittore di fantascienza che però, con questo romanzo, non è al suo meglio. Mi è piaciuta molto la parte centrale del romanzo, ricca di premesse e di promesse. Deludente è invece stata la parte conclusiva, parte in cui, Sterling, invece di approfittare del crescendo di aspettative che aveva creato, smorza molto i toni, banalizza i rapporti tra i personaggi e ti fa pensare, finendo di leggere l'ultima pagina, "tutto qui?".
Indice Jimbose: 63%
Nonostante la delusione per non aver trovato tecnologia avanzata, cibernetica ed innesti artificiali ho cercato di sgombrare la mente da ogni ombra per avventurarmi nel futuro prossimo di un mondo preda di cataclismi atmosferici e mutazioni genetiche.
Beh, mi pare di aver trovato un buon scrittore di fantascienza che però, con questo romanzo, non è al suo meglio. Mi è piaciuta molto la parte centrale del romanzo, ricca di premesse e di promesse. Deludente è invece stata la parte conclusiva, parte in cui, Sterling, invece di approfittare del crescendo di aspettative che aveva creato, smorza molto i toni, banalizza i rapporti tra i personaggi e ti fa pensare, finendo di leggere l'ultima pagina, "tutto qui?".
Indice Jimbose: 63%
jdhacker's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This one had several false starts before I managed to grit my way through it, hence the long gap between start and finish dates.
To be fair, I did have this mixed up with an entirely different cyberpunk book, Mother of Storms, when I picked it up so that wasn't helping much. I also, generally speaking, really enjoy Bruce Sterling, and the genre in general, so this was a bit of a let down.
Heavy Weather features a number of Bruce Sterling's prescient cultural and technological predictions, but its nested in this Twister (the movie)-esque subsetting of cyberpunk that feels very jarring. In this case, it also predicts the EF scale and the rash of terrible, heretofore unseen, giant tornadoes we had in Oklahoma. I know folks are big on it predicting climate change, but I feel that to one degree or another that's part and parcel of the genre. If not climate change in particular, then just humans wrecking the environment more broadly.
The plot felt fragmented as well as dragged out and slow to start, the characterizations felt kind of weak, and the imaginary lingo was heavy, thick, and obscure even for a cyberpunk novel. Skip this one in favor of the aforementioned Mother of Storms (for another weather disaster related cyberpunk novel that was more engaging), or just some of Sterling's other work.
To be fair, I did have this mixed up with an entirely different cyberpunk book, Mother of Storms, when I picked it up so that wasn't helping much. I also, generally speaking, really enjoy Bruce Sterling, and the genre in general, so this was a bit of a let down.
Heavy Weather features a number of Bruce Sterling's prescient cultural and technological predictions, but its nested in this Twister (the movie)-esque subsetting of cyberpunk that feels very jarring. In this case, it also predicts the EF scale and the rash of terrible, heretofore unseen, giant tornadoes we had in Oklahoma. I know folks are big on it predicting climate change, but I feel that to one degree or another that's part and parcel of the genre. If not climate change in particular, then just humans wrecking the environment more broadly.
The plot felt fragmented as well as dragged out and slow to start, the characterizations felt kind of weak, and the imaginary lingo was heavy, thick, and obscure even for a cyberpunk novel. Skip this one in favor of the aforementioned Mother of Storms (for another weather disaster related cyberpunk novel that was more engaging), or just some of Sterling's other work.