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_b_a_l_'s review against another edition
4.0
I read these as a series and am reviewing them as such (although I would like to say that this is a series I enjoyed less and less as I went along, ergo the dropping in stars as we progress).
There are some really great concepts here. Especially in the first book the way that drugs, nanotech and augmentations combine to create near-post-humans and post-humans is beautifully explored. The repercussions of this on society and the way in which people let fear of the unknown dictate their actions equally so. The touches of buddhism and meditation and how it relates to these altered states is interesting and enlightening. And there's some great action.
As it progresses though nothing new is really introduced. The buddhist references become repetitive and annoying, the action becomes frenetic and difficult to follow and the narrative generally fragments.
I'd recommend just reading the first book tbh.
There are some really great concepts here. Especially in the first book the way that drugs, nanotech and augmentations combine to create near-post-humans and post-humans is beautifully explored. The repercussions of this on society and the way in which people let fear of the unknown dictate their actions equally so. The touches of buddhism and meditation and how it relates to these altered states is interesting and enlightening. And there's some great action.
As it progresses though nothing new is really introduced. The buddhist references become repetitive and annoying, the action becomes frenetic and difficult to follow and the narrative generally fragments.
I'd recommend just reading the first book tbh.
eacolgan's review against another edition
3.0
Whenever I hear a pop cover of a song I really love on the radio, I have one criteria for whether or not I find it acceptable. I feel pretty strongly that a cover's no good if all it does is make you want to listen to the original. I thought of that when I was finished reading Nexus, and realized I had been left with a strong urge to go dig up my copy of Neuromancer and dive back into the Sprawl.
It's a pretty clear descendent from the cyberpunk classic. Kade is only a step away from Case both in phonetics and personality. Sam is trying desperately to be Molly Millions. There are shades of Dixie Flatline and Maelcum in the ex-Marine Wats, and Su-Yong Shu's powerful string-pulling is highly reminiscent of Armitage. But the reason these characters fall short of their predecessor isn't necessarily a lack of originality-- character tropes are large fish in the pool from which we all go down to drink-- but rather a lack of heart. In Neuromancer, Case is coming back from a long and painful separation from the Matrix he loves, and Molly is trying to get a job done while still grieving for the lost Johnny (Mnemonic) and prevent them both from getting screwed over.
In Nexus, Kade has no such loss behind him. He starts off the book cocky and riding high on his own power, and while he's brought low by the ERD, he doesn't really have time for it to sink in-- he never accepts their control over him the way Case has been forced to accept the change in his life. Sam is his bodyguard but also his handler, his antagonizer. She's protecting Kade because she's been told to, and treats him with a businesslike standoffishness that hides, not any sort of attraction to him, but to the technology he's created. Her journey to accepting and then welcoming the Nexus 5 into her life is much more interesting than any examination of how she feels about him. Which is great, because honestly, I don't see that there's any way to have strong feelings about Kade. He wasn't boring, but he seemed to be a function for furthering the plot-- frankly, as did his fridged co-conspirators Rangan and Ilya. All three of them exist in a perpetual state of reacting to the things that are done to them, rather than acting on their own. And the progression of the plot was hardly unexpected, so that even at the end when Kade did take an independent action, I wasn't surprised by it; it was the only sensible and remotely interesting thing for him to do based on the story he'd walked through up to that point.
Nexus wasn't a bad book-- far from it. It was a fast read and an interesting one, though the best parts about it were the tech bits and the discussions of what the Nexus tech could do-- I wasn't surprised to read that the author had previously written a nonfiction book about the potential posthuman/superhuman advancements that could come out of some modern scientific developments. Naam has a scientist's background, so the science is the best part of the novel. I'll still be reading the sequels... but I'm probably also going to pick Neuromancer back up again this weekend, so I can remind myself of what it's like to watch a master at work.
It's a pretty clear descendent from the cyberpunk classic. Kade is only a step away from Case both in phonetics and personality. Sam is trying desperately to be Molly Millions. There are shades of Dixie Flatline and Maelcum in the ex-Marine Wats, and Su-Yong Shu's powerful string-pulling is highly reminiscent of Armitage. But the reason these characters fall short of their predecessor isn't necessarily a lack of originality-- character tropes are large fish in the pool from which we all go down to drink-- but rather a lack of heart. In Neuromancer, Case is coming back from a long and painful separation from the Matrix he loves, and Molly is trying to get a job done while still grieving for the lost Johnny (Mnemonic) and prevent them both from getting screwed over.
In Nexus, Kade has no such loss behind him. He starts off the book cocky and riding high on his own power, and while he's brought low by the ERD, he doesn't really have time for it to sink in-- he never accepts their control over him the way Case has been forced to accept the change in his life. Sam is his bodyguard but also his handler, his antagonizer. She's protecting Kade because she's been told to, and treats him with a businesslike standoffishness that hides, not any sort of attraction to him, but to the technology he's created. Her journey to accepting and then welcoming the Nexus 5 into her life is much more interesting than any examination of how she feels about him. Which is great, because honestly, I don't see that there's any way to have strong feelings about Kade. He wasn't boring, but he seemed to be a function for furthering the plot-- frankly, as did his fridged co-conspirators Rangan and Ilya. All three of them exist in a perpetual state of reacting to the things that are done to them, rather than acting on their own. And the progression of the plot was hardly unexpected, so that even at the end when Kade did take an independent action, I wasn't surprised by it; it was the only sensible and remotely interesting thing for him to do based on the story he'd walked through up to that point.
Nexus wasn't a bad book-- far from it. It was a fast read and an interesting one, though the best parts about it were the tech bits and the discussions of what the Nexus tech could do-- I wasn't surprised to read that the author had previously written a nonfiction book about the potential posthuman/superhuman advancements that could come out of some modern scientific developments. Naam has a scientist's background, so the science is the best part of the novel. I'll still be reading the sequels... but I'm probably also going to pick Neuromancer back up again this weekend, so I can remind myself of what it's like to watch a master at work.
obnorthrup's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting vehicle for the author's views on the future of computing (and humanity). Reads like it wants to be a blockbuster movie.
breenmachine's review against another edition
5.0
Highly addictive read - fast paced, fun, completely perfect for coding nerds. I even loved the fight scenes (rare for me) because they were completely explosive and resulted in sheer chaos. Kade and Sam are great characters to pair up, conflicting views but both so sure their views are right. I loved Sam's story with the little girl Mai. My favorite characters are Shu and Feng. I love how they described Shu's mind when Kade touched it - and I also loved how Feng is not just a bodyguard, that he is an advisor to Shu as well. Now on to book two!
Also I should note, ignore the first few scenes. In my opinion they made the book feel a little trashy, but that isn't how it unfolds.
Also I should note, ignore the first few scenes. In my opinion they made the book feel a little trashy, but that isn't how it unfolds.
mara_sophie's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
darthbecca's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I read this on a recommendation from a friend, and I went into it skeptical. I found myself living in this entire series, and I still legitimately think about it DAILY, even months later. It’s so, so good.
sueodd's review against another edition
3.0
This book had some interesting concepts, but I really struggled to finish it. What started off as a little biopunk and a little espionage, turned into the written version of modern action films: over-the-top action sequences with little attention paid to character development. POV's jump around like crazy. We even had a fight scene on a helicopter, complete with not one, but two characters grabbing onto a rope as the helicopter takes off. One character completely flips sides over a chance meeting. Another is so OP it's almost comical. Ugh.
jaylion's review against another edition
5.0
Finished this book in just a few (otherwise busy) days. Best I have read in a while. I may start the sequel here in a few minutes...