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pugloaf's review against another edition
3.0
Reading this book I felt I wasn't suppose to come away liking any characters. From the opening prologue and initial chapters there was a strange neutrality to characters and situations: I didn't feel like I particularly liked any of them and that that was by design. Potential potent ethical questions are approached and dealt with with the pragmatism of someone having to make a decision and it left me surprised but also intrigued by this approach. After the prologue I had no characters I particularly liked/rooted for, during the book I slowly grew to like Darling and Mira, and then by the end I was back to not particularly liking anyone again. The book is at its best when the characters navigate a future world where the ethical or future hypotheticals we would simply ponder actually have to be acted on, and we are observers with no preferred side.
While this is interesting enough to pull me in and like the book the peculiar veil the book lives under gets disrupted towards the end for me, when we are meant to choose sides. We are meant to see the state that Mira is left in, her peculiarities that disturb Darling and the reveal of her forced amnesia, as the worse state to be in than the state Vaddum is left in- partially lobotomized with no ability to remember things against his will. The way the ending is portrayed as a good state to be in for Vaddum and Darling is strange to me because the treatment of Vaddum seems pretty bad. I could chalk this up to neutrality- I'm not suppose to like the decision and it again reinforces that their are no 'good' characters- but the tone its presented in makes it seem like I'm suppose to think it good. While the door is open at the end for unreliable narrator being called out with Memory and the looping story it still seems like the intention is for the end to represent a good end even though to me that is not the case.
While this is interesting enough to pull me in and like the book the peculiar veil the book lives under gets disrupted towards the end for me, when we are meant to choose sides. We are meant to see the state that Mira is left in, her peculiarities that disturb Darling and the reveal of her forced amnesia, as the worse state to be in than the state Vaddum is left in- partially lobotomized with no ability to remember things against his will. The way the ending is portrayed as a good state to be in for Vaddum and Darling is strange to me because the treatment of Vaddum seems pretty bad. I could chalk this up to neutrality- I'm not suppose to like the decision and it again reinforces that their are no 'good' characters- but the tone its presented in makes it seem like I'm suppose to think it good. While the door is open at the end for unreliable narrator being called out with Memory and the looping story it still seems like the intention is for the end to represent a good end even though to me that is not the case.
jennkei's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting concepts. A bit out there. Don't see this kind of sex scenes every day! XD
dudeitsmisty's review against another edition
5.0
Best Westerfeld book I have read so far!
I read the bulk of it while at the gym and listening to http://symphonyofscience.com/, which made for a really interesting sensory perception.
I read the bulk of it while at the gym and listening to http://symphonyofscience.com/, which made for a really interesting sensory perception.
poppyseedromance's review against another edition
1.0
I think I will stick to his YA fiction. This was like super awkward porn. I skipped over most of it because it was weird and...well..super awkward, but that didn't really leave a desirable plot.
lazer's review against another edition
3.0
I knew this was an adult book going into it, but was still caught by surprise to see such an explicit novel from an author I've always (clearly mistakenly) associated with YA.
After the first chapter I was kind of thinking it might just turn into a straight up erotica story tied together with some thin semblance of a plot, but this didn't turn out to be the case. The setting and characters were interesting, and the story of an (seemingly psychopathic?) assassin of mysterious origins (unknown even to her) and an AI art appraiser/collector with a very long, unique history hunting down a new piece of art by what is meant to be a dead AI artist actually ended up being really captivating. The sex scenes weren't super cheesy or overly gratuitous either (though so weird, but not in a bad way).
Most of all, without giving too much away, I was really interested by the approach to AI rights in this book. The story starts when Darling (the AI art collector) is relatively young, just a spaceship AI (then-unnamed) owned by a journalist. These AIs have a measurable "Turing Quotient", which becomes higher as they get closer and closer to sentience over the course of their existence. The spaceship AI gains experience, interactions, etc and its Turing Quotient creeps up - especially through the interactions with the ship owner's curious daughter, whom he is tasked with helping protect on their travels from a very young age. When it crosses the threshold into legal personhood as its Turing Quotient reaches 1.0, Darling is granted full human rights. The treatment of AIs is further developed over the years, with some really interesting concepts (eg humans adopting lower-TQ AIs and purposefully raising them like children until they reach personhood).
Combine all of this with the very ethically prohibited idea of copying a mind and this turns into a pretty interesting story!
Anyway - final thoughts: very porny, but not at all shallow, with an interesting plot and setting.
After the first chapter I was kind of thinking it might just turn into a straight up erotica story tied together with some thin semblance of a plot, but this didn't turn out to be the case. The setting and characters were interesting, and the story of an (seemingly psychopathic?) assassin of mysterious origins (unknown even to her) and an AI art appraiser/collector with a very long, unique history hunting down a new piece of art by what is meant to be a dead AI artist actually ended up being really captivating. The sex scenes weren't super cheesy or overly gratuitous either (though so weird, but not in a bad way).
Most of all, without giving too much away, I was really interested by the approach to AI rights in this book. The story starts when Darling (the AI art collector) is relatively young, just a spaceship AI (then-unnamed) owned by a journalist. These AIs have a measurable "Turing Quotient", which becomes higher as they get closer and closer to sentience over the course of their existence. The spaceship AI gains experience, interactions, etc and its Turing Quotient creeps up - especially through the interactions with the ship owner's curious daughter, whom he is tasked with helping protect on their travels from a very young age. When it crosses the threshold into legal personhood as its Turing Quotient reaches 1.0, Darling is granted full human rights. The treatment of AIs is further developed over the years, with some really interesting concepts (eg humans adopting lower-TQ AIs and purposefully raising them like children until they reach personhood).
Combine all of this with the very ethically prohibited idea of copying a mind and this turns into a pretty interesting story!
Anyway - final thoughts: very porny, but not at all shallow, with an interesting plot and setting.
survivalisinsufficient's review against another edition
1.0
Ehh, I think I just don't really like most books that follow evolving AI over long periods of time.
misscheshiire's review against another edition
3.0
Started out way too confusing for my liking, but as the story continued it explained things and the confusing parts made more sense. Not necessarily a bad read just requires some patience. Definitely an adult novel.
msjenne's review against another edition
3.0
Creepy AI sex in space. I am always amazed at the variety of books that Scott Westerfeld has written.
wealhtheow's review against another edition
4.0
It's an intriguing tale of intelligence, identity and memory, but the best part of this book is the really hot sex. I always love Westerfeld's fluid take on gender and sexuality (read Polymorph for some more good stuff), but he's especially good here. The relationship between the main characters is charged with competativeness, sensuality, and a certain tinge of moral disquiet. Add that to Darling's impressive array of attachments (think tentacles, not egg beaters) and an inventive streak that would impress hentai creators, and you've got yourself a very sexy mix indeed.