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richardleis's review against another edition
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?
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
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.
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
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
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.
hank's review against another edition
4.0
Great, fun, action packed novel! The action was all very high tech and very believable. The Nexus connections were also quite believable and I never thought anyone could write a part of a story containing code compiling, that I do every day, and make it sound exciting. The part where he was trying to code a backdoor and the issues that pop up were extremely realistic, clearly (and according to his bis) Raam was/is a coder.
Cade's character had a few flaws/inconsistencies but for the most part was good, all the other characters fit well and contributed to the story.
One of my favorite parts was Cade's Bruce Lee program. Every time he turned that on, he was a badass....briefly and then got his ass kicked anyway. Exactly how I picture that working :)
I will definitely pick up the next in the series.
Cade's character had a few flaws/inconsistencies but for the most part was good, all the other characters fit well and contributed to the story.
One of my favorite parts was Cade's Bruce Lee program. Every time he turned that on, he was a badass....briefly and then got his ass kicked anyway. Exactly how I picture that working :)
I will definitely pick up the next in the series.
sfstagewalker's review against another edition
4.0
This review really is about all three books in the series. I found that this is a very well considered, epic story that takes a far future concept and brings it to a time that is close enough to our own to make geopolitical attitudes and alignments logical. I find that the series was a bit of a challenge to get through on a first reading however, due to its ever growing cast and unrelenting tension. While there are brief moments of respite, I generally found the book to be exhausting, with so much high tension that I would hesitate to pick it up if I was already feeling stressed out. I think that the book will suffer less from this on re-reading, and that I will be better able to enjoy the intellectual and geopolitical game of chess that Naam has laid out for the reader.
reuben_surrender's review against another edition
5.0
A short review - It has been a very long time since I read a good new cyberpunk thriller. I'm glad that there are some authors out there still writing in this genre. The problem with writing a novel in this genre is that we live in a world where we are totally jaded and lost all sense of wonder. We lost our ability to dream what the future might holds. Part of the reason is that the technological dreams of yester-year never quite materialize - the jet-packs, the flying cars, the moon-bases. As a result, our visions are bleak and based on some dystopian future which typically is a mere reflection of what our society is now.
I'm glad to read a novel that breaks out of the mold. The ideas presented in the novel are interesting. The idea of human augmentation (post-human, trans-human) is not new. But the repercussions of implementation at the cusp of this new technology is what is discussed in this novel. How does one cross from being totally natural human, to an augmented post-human? What does it mean to society? How does it impact human psychology and acceptance? These are the underpinnings of this novel.
I'm glad to read a novel that breaks out of the mold. The ideas presented in the novel are interesting. The idea of human augmentation (post-human, trans-human) is not new. But the repercussions of implementation at the cusp of this new technology is what is discussed in this novel. How does one cross from being totally natural human, to an augmented post-human? What does it mean to society? How does it impact human psychology and acceptance? These are the underpinnings of this novel.
mgiuntoni's review against another edition
4.0
Fresco e stimolante. Perfetta lettura estiva di genere!