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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Probably closer to 3.5 stars than 4, but we'll round up. Doctorow's stories are often entertaining, and he gets the technology details down extremely well, but he's not entirely a natural storyteller. "Sysadmins" is enough of an inside job to work well, and both "I, Robot" and "I, Rowboat" hit a bunch of neat points on self, consciousness, and robotics, kind of like Stanislaw Lem-lite without his full array of narrative gifts. The Siege is a bit more story than Doctorow can really manage, and Anda's Game is either too prescient or too mundane for its own good -- it reads more like general fiction than sci-fi, too possible for its own good.Basically, the kind of story collection you are glad to have read, though maybe a bit underwhelming from a blogger who wears a red cape and writes from a hot-air balloon...
This is actually a book of "short" stories by the same author. I picked it up because a) the title was geeky, and b) the title of one story is "When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth." Each story also has an intro by the author which gives a nice perspective into the thoughts behind the stories. I'll write a little about each story as I read it:
"Printcrime"
This was a very short story that had an interesting
concept. 3D "printing" that creates actual objects (a
laptop for instance). Unfortunately it didn't reach me
the way I think it was meant to.
My rating: 2/5 stars
"When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth"
Another interesting "end of the world as we know it but
without actually killing off humankind" concept, and one
hat seems closer to reality. The pace seemed a little
low, but over it was a decent story.
My rating: 3/5
"Anda's Game"
This one is more of a story for gamers (such as WOW &
other MMORPGs). The story flowed well, though you could
kind of see where it was heading. The fact that the main
character is female helps the story, I don't think it
would have worked if it had been a male. I don't want to
say much else about it though :)
My rating: 4/5
"I, Robot"
The author explains in the intro to "Anda's Game" that he
has started using titles of famous SF stories and novels.
This was, as you may expect from the title, a story based
off Asimov's Robot world. It takes that world and adds
a new twist to it. In the intro he writes "how could you
have a society where only one company was allowed to make
only one kind of robot?"
My rating 4/5
"I, Row-Boat"
Another interesting spin on Asimov's Robots. Hard to
describe.
My rating: 3/5
"After the Siege"
An interesting technology related war story that follows
a girl as she grows up, from hauling water to digging
trenches to corpse patrol. She also helps end the war.
My rating: 5/5
"Printcrime"
This was a very short story that had an interesting
concept. 3D "printing" that creates actual objects (a
laptop for instance). Unfortunately it didn't reach me
the way I think it was meant to.
My rating: 2/5 stars
"When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth"
Another interesting "end of the world as we know it but
without actually killing off humankind" concept, and one
hat seems closer to reality. The pace seemed a little
low, but over it was a decent story.
My rating: 3/5
"Anda's Game"
This one is more of a story for gamers (such as WOW &
other MMORPGs). The story flowed well, though you could
kind of see where it was heading. The fact that the main
character is female helps the story, I don't think it
would have worked if it had been a male. I don't want to
say much else about it though :)
My rating: 4/5
"I, Robot"
The author explains in the intro to "Anda's Game" that he
has started using titles of famous SF stories and novels.
This was, as you may expect from the title, a story based
off Asimov's Robot world. It takes that world and adds
a new twist to it. In the intro he writes "how could you
have a society where only one company was allowed to make
only one kind of robot?"
My rating 4/5
"I, Row-Boat"
Another interesting spin on Asimov's Robots. Hard to
describe.
My rating: 3/5
"After the Siege"
An interesting technology related war story that follows
a girl as she grows up, from hauling water to digging
trenches to corpse patrol. She also helps end the war.
My rating: 5/5
I will probably revisit this anthology eventually. I just wasn't in the right mood for it and lost track of where I was.
As with most collections, I enjoyed some more than others, so rating is really hard.
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I'm not a fan of short stories but I enjoyed this collection. Great writer with good imaginative stories. If you like short stories you'll love these. If you like great science fiction you'll enjoy them.
This was my first contact with Doctorow's fiction, and while not being all-out thrilled about it, I did like it and this will certainly not be the last of his books I've read.
"Overclocked" is a collection of five short stories, all of them being not only entertaining but also transporting a clear message that is in most cases relevant to our present societies. For some people this tone might be a little too educational, but personally that's just how I want science fiction to be.
The topics dealt with in this collection is pleasantly varied, from economic exploitation of developing nations in "Anda's Game" to the usage of intellectual property as a means of suppression in the closing "After The Siege". The good thing is that all of these stories are also an entertaining read if you don't focus on the morale supposed to be conveyed.
"Overclocked" is a collection of five short stories, all of them being not only entertaining but also transporting a clear message that is in most cases relevant to our present societies. For some people this tone might be a little too educational, but personally that's just how I want science fiction to be.
The topics dealt with in this collection is pleasantly varied, from economic exploitation of developing nations in "Anda's Game" to the usage of intellectual property as a means of suppression in the closing "After The Siege". The good thing is that all of these stories are also an entertaining read if you don't focus on the morale supposed to be conveyed.
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed these short stories. The audiobook readings were very good.
Printcrime was very short, After The Siege was quite long, and the rest were approximately the same length. Lots of cute plays on words and callbacks to previous works in the titles and story lines.
The stories in order of appearance:
Printcrime
When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth
Anda's Game
I, Robot
I, Row-Boat
After the Siege
Printcrime was very short, After The Siege was quite long, and the rest were approximately the same length. Lots of cute plays on words and callbacks to previous works in the titles and story lines.
The stories in order of appearance:
Printcrime
When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth
Anda's Game
I, Robot
I, Row-Boat
After the Siege