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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I really wanted to like this. Edging on cyberpunk, it shows a society that is not too far removed from our own: technology as the sole access to everything, corporations running the world rather than governments, nano-technology that enhances health. All of it is particularly relevant in today's world, 10 years after it was published, in an era of increasing corporate interest and technological advancement.
Lauren Beuke's writes in a way that encapsulates the characters and their position in the world through both description and dialogue. The first person narration really works well within the story. With 4 different characters, she manages to battle all sides of the underground revolution in Moxyland.
While it has many good points, and is an interesting exploration into the world that could be round the corner, the plot didn't wholly match up with it all. With a slow start, the plot often felt disjointed, failing to gain traction until the last 50 pages of the book. Instead, the book appeared as several unconnected plot points to tie the characters together, that happened to follow each other into the culmination.
Nevertheless, Beukes presents the near-dystopian society very well, reminiscent of William Gibson's Neuromancer and the increasingly anti-corporation trend in science-fiction.
Lauren Beuke's writes in a way that encapsulates the characters and their position in the world through both description and dialogue. The first person narration really works well within the story. With 4 different characters, she manages to battle all sides of the underground revolution in Moxyland.
While it has many good points, and is an interesting exploration into the world that could be round the corner, the plot didn't wholly match up with it all. With a slow start, the plot often felt disjointed, failing to gain traction until the last 50 pages of the book. Instead, the book appeared as several unconnected plot points to tie the characters together, that happened to follow each other into the culmination.
Nevertheless, Beukes presents the near-dystopian society very well, reminiscent of William Gibson's Neuromancer and the increasingly anti-corporation trend in science-fiction.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Four narrators telling the story of a dystopian future set in South Africa. It took me a bit to get into this one due to lingo and disjointed story. I persevered as I imagined this was part of the story, the disjointedness of it. Big Brother corporations running the show and those who fight it. Who can win? Who will continue the fight. Listened to the very end and found that the story is based on items the author found in newspaper articles...so it's not so hard to imagine these things happening..as they already have.
Recommend.
Recommend.
The setting of Moxyland is a near future dystopia. It’s a world that’s very easy to believe because the technology and social trends are so similar to our own. It’s not difficult to imagine advertising or mobile phones being used in the ways described here which makes this at times an uncomfortable read. The story is set in South Africa which I am not familiar with at all so I’m sure there were some cultural references that went over my head but it makes for a much more interesting setting than most standard sci-fi distopias.
Moxyland introduces us to four young characters all rebelling in their own way against the corporate controlled world that they live in. You get the impression that these characters are simply bored and are just playing with the idea of revolution, their motivations are not always clear. None of them are particularly likeable but to the credit of Lauren Beukes’s writing by the end of the relatively short novel I had come to care for all of them.
The story is told through alternating perspectives with short chapters which gives a nice pace to the story and always keeps things moving forward. To start with it’s not easy to pin down what the book is about or where the story is going, it appears to be more interested in using the characters to explore the different aspects of the world. I found the middle section of the story to be a little too slow but as the plot moves on the various stories all draw towards each other and culminate in a very powerful ending. Moxyland raises a lot of questions about how we use technology and the length’s corporations will go to get what they want. Like all good science fiction it doesn’t offer any easy answers, simply asking the questions is more important. This book gave me plenty to think about and will stay with me for a while.
For more of my reviews please visit htttp://www.scruffyfiction.co.uk
Moxyland introduces us to four young characters all rebelling in their own way against the corporate controlled world that they live in. You get the impression that these characters are simply bored and are just playing with the idea of revolution, their motivations are not always clear. None of them are particularly likeable but to the credit of Lauren Beukes’s writing by the end of the relatively short novel I had come to care for all of them.
The story is told through alternating perspectives with short chapters which gives a nice pace to the story and always keeps things moving forward. To start with it’s not easy to pin down what the book is about or where the story is going, it appears to be more interested in using the characters to explore the different aspects of the world. I found the middle section of the story to be a little too slow but as the plot moves on the various stories all draw towards each other and culminate in a very powerful ending. Moxyland raises a lot of questions about how we use technology and the length’s corporations will go to get what they want. Like all good science fiction it doesn’t offer any easy answers, simply asking the questions is more important. This book gave me plenty to think about and will stay with me for a while.
For more of my reviews please visit htttp://www.scruffyfiction.co.uk
Listened to the audio and I don't think the narrator did enough to differentiate between characters so a lot of folks ended up sounding the same but otherwise it was a pretty good story. Maybe not the most compelling at times but the characters were interesting and it was a neat take on a cyberpunk/near future world. Would be fun to see Beukes return to this world in the future, especially more than a decade later when a lot of the themes she talked about are even more relevant.
Okay, so I won't lie, I only made it about 75% of the way through this one. And it's not the book's fault... it just turns out I really, really, really hate cyberpunk. Well, at least we know.
Szóval én nem tudom, hogy a Moyland igazából csak sci-fi, vagy cyberpunk, vagy technopunk, mindenesetre nem az a fajta regény, amit olvasni szoktam, ezért is hiszem, hogy kellett nekem a belerázódás a regény világába. Mert bár nem vagyok teljesen analfabéta a technikai és játékos világban használatos kifejezéseket illetően, akkora töménységben, ahogy Beukes indított kicsit megrázott, ezért kellett levegőt vennem és nem feladni, hanem visszatérni hozzá, s bizony a kitartásom meghozta a gyümölcsét. Mert elég sok elgondolkodtatni valót adott, s lehet felül kell vizsgálnom, amit mindig egy legyintéssel szoktam elintézni: a párom techno-paráit és kételyeit a social networkokkel, mindenről gondoskodó oldalakkal és telefonos alkalmazásokkal kapcsolatban. Úgyhogy most megyek és visszateszem a SIM-kártyámat a Galaxymból a Nokia 5110-be.
Részletesebben:
http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/2013/03/25/lauren_beukes_moxyland/
Részletesebben:
http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/2013/03/25/lauren_beukes_moxyland/
Well fuck, that was kind of a depressing ending. But in a "I love this ending and it really makes sense" kind of way. Depressingly good. Or something. If that makes sense.
This is what I keep wishing for when I read Doctorow books. Especially Little Brother. But I'm always disappointed with him. There's something in his writing that just grates on my nerves. An overly cool trendy feel or something. I can never quite pin it down. Beukes manages to do a similar thing but pull it off way better. She uses slang and her characters are fighting the system and all, but she manages to stay on the right side of the fine line between cool and obnoxious. Which isn't to say that her characters aren't obnoxious. They are. But somehow still interesting despite that. The "big idea" stuff going on in this novel was definitely the main attraction though, and definitely worth the read.
This is what I keep wishing for when I read Doctorow books. Especially Little Brother. But I'm always disappointed with him. There's something in his writing that just grates on my nerves. An overly cool trendy feel or something. I can never quite pin it down. Beukes manages to do a similar thing but pull it off way better. She uses slang and her characters are fighting the system and all, but she manages to stay on the right side of the fine line between cool and obnoxious. Which isn't to say that her characters aren't obnoxious. They are. But somehow still interesting despite that. The "big idea" stuff going on in this novel was definitely the main attraction though, and definitely worth the read.
medium-paced
For me, this book has it all. Engaging story line, interesting characters, and a range of extrapolations from our current world that kept me reading, wanting to see what would come next.
The use of current trends to build her future world is astonishing, dealing with everything from nanotechnology, corporate states, branding and funding, all the way to art show premieres, terrorist actions and even a very plausible police state response.
In the end, this book is terrifying, and does not pull any punches - great read.
The use of current trends to build her future world is astonishing, dealing with everything from nanotechnology, corporate states, branding and funding, all the way to art show premieres, terrorist actions and even a very plausible police state response.
In the end, this book is terrifying, and does not pull any punches - great read.