Reviews

Nexus by Ramez Naam

joelpadgett's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.25

kenzier94's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Characters just feel a bit flat? When something bad happens I don't have much of an emotional reaction because I feel I don't know then well. Maybe it's just too fast paced and I'm used to deep and complex character development of epic fantasies like wheel of time.

h3dakota's review against another edition

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4.0

Wow, the very idea behind this book is amazing & mind-blowing. I love, LOVE the idea! It starts off a little slow, but trust me on this - stick with it! Wow, so good, has characters that I could relate to & enjoy. Not perfect, they are flawed even though they are "post-humans" - no Gary Stu or Mary Sue in the bunch. I've already started the next one in the series. Can't wait to see where it's going!

y4le's review against another edition

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4.0

Fantastic ideas abound. This feels like a modern update of Snow Crash with the VR swapped for a neural interface. The Nexus series manages to be thought provoking and have great action/thriller elements at the same time. I highly recommend checking it out

thecmancan's review against another edition

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3.0

A quick read about nanotechnology, the internet and their related ethics.

The action set pieces are spectacular. The writing relies on tried and true troupes and stereotypes but results in a briskly paced plot with characters that I cared for.

Just reading about some of the possibilities with neuro-nano-technology is a treat in itself. I'd say this is only for fans of science fiction and not a broader audience.

3.5 / 5 stars - enjoyable read.

My rating scales:

1/5 - Did not finish
2/5 - Waste of time
3/5 - Enjoyable Read
4/5 - Will read again
5/5 - Life changing book

star_ansible's review against another edition

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2.0

good vision of future - bad writing

richardleis's review against another edition

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4.0

I'm beginning to notice similar patterns in the science fiction novels written by transhumanist authors: technology is improving at an exponential rate, scientists and entrepreneurs are generally heroes, government is evil, and mind uploading will soon lead to a post-human. Nexus follows these patterns, but Ramez Naam offers what seems to be a more sophisticated understanding of computing systems than other authors. A chapter about the struggle between information dissemination and technology trying to censor this information is, for example, full of technical detail but told in a quick, vivid and exciting way. Technical details don't feel like exposition dumps, which is a good thing.

Nexus gets better and better, and its last third is especially action-packed and full of consequence. It took me about half the book to get into the swing of things, not because it is difficult to read but because I didn't have a good idea until the second half what this book was about and who the protagonists and antagonists were. Another pattern in science fiction novels by transhumanists: the heroes are often depicted as criminals at first, and it only becomes clear later that they are criminal simply because the evil government labels them so.

The book ends on the brink of great change, and I've read that the two sequels are even better than Nexus. I'm definitely eager to read them soon, but I'm beginning to wonder if all transhumanist authors see the future the same way, and if reality will really play out like it does in Nexus, Zoltan Istvan's The Transhumanist Wager or PJ Manney's (R)evolution?

ameserole's review against another edition

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4.0

LOVED THE AUDIO!

Nexus was one of those books that I was going to read in November but got distracted and didn't find the time to dive into this month. Luckily, I finally did and my ears loved this audio. It was so fast paced and the whole idea about the "nexus" was so intriguing that I wanted to know more about it and how it worked.

In it, you will meet a bunch of likable characters. My favorite? Kade and Sam. I'm sure everyone has different likable characters but those were my two. Sam, boy, did she have an awful past. I felt so bad for her when some of her secrets came out. It definitely made me fall in love with her character even more.

Then there's Kade, who was kind of a bad ass. He was dealing with Nexus more, because he was trying to improve this drug. Honestly, this nexus drug seemed intense because it links minds. I have no idea how I would be able to handle that but it was an interesting concept to read about.

After all of that, the ending of this book has kind of made me hooked for the next book. I just want to know what's going to happen next with all of these characters.

tomrrandall's review against another edition

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4.0

Modern sci-fi at its best. The tech is plausible and raises several issues we will all be dealing with soon. Can't wait to finish the series.

kaichai's review against another edition

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3.0

Within the first chapter there was a “humorous” scene of sexual assault, and the main female lead was given a sad rape-filled background to give her reason for being a law enforcement m. Otherwise it’s a good story but told to you rather than experienced.