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bubblesuns's review
2.0
Some fascinating ideas in here — using the brains of people on the dole for computing power is terrifying and a little too easy to believe despite how it may have aged. It’s a lot of work to get to those ideas, and you need to wade through some uncomfortably (and I believe unnecessarily) graphic sexual imagery, along with a story that suffers from pacing issues to the point I thought my copy was missing pages. There’s also a strange sense of paranoia steeped in here that never seems to make much sense. I enjoyed reading this and think it was worth the time to do so, despite my grievances.
arachne_reads's review
3.0
A bit dated; Ore's computers are run by plug-in human brains because computers "can't read read and process handwriting," and it's "less expensive than developing the software to actually process handwriting," among other things. Also laser-discs. Sigh. Yep, published in 1994.
No, the real things that stuck out were Ore's female characters. Their ambivalence about their own bodies. The truth of their voices. The sense of mistrust of humanity. The clarity of their portrayal was refreshing.
There were glaring typos in the text (really, Tor?), and the split narration between first and third person was jarring and unnecessary.
Not a waste of time, but not the best thing I've read.
No, the real things that stuck out were Ore's female characters. Their ambivalence about their own bodies. The truth of their voices. The sense of mistrust of humanity. The clarity of their portrayal was refreshing.
There were glaring typos in the text (really, Tor?), and the split narration between first and third person was jarring and unnecessary.
Not a waste of time, but not the best thing I've read.
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