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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I have to say, I'm sadly disappointed. I've come to rely on Suarez as a 'near' fiction writer. His previous books were largely based on manipulation of existing technology, or close future invocations. That was his strong selling point to me. The books were full of technical descriptions making the reality and feasibility of them compelling.
This book... Throws all that to the wind, and pics up a an anti-matter gun. Defying gravity? Why not!? Well... because it lumps you in with all the other 'amazing technology see this awesome flashing light' sci-fi. Mr. Suarez attempts too much, too fast, causing the whole thing to just feel... anti-climactic. Even the very end is... well it almost feels like a mistake.
This book... Throws all that to the wind, and pics up a an anti-matter gun. Defying gravity? Why not!? Well... because it lumps you in with all the other 'amazing technology see this awesome flashing light' sci-fi. Mr. Suarez attempts too much, too fast, causing the whole thing to just feel... anti-climactic. Even the very end is... well it almost feels like a mistake.
Influx is nowhere in the same league as the author's previous books. While the premise is interesting the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Possibly more precise editing might have saved the unnecessary verbosity peppered with incomprehensible scientific jargon that the book often descends into. Not the author's finest work...
Love all the books by Daniel Suarez! Influx is a story about how a government agency is trying to control technology advances for the greater good of society. The only problem is the corruptibility of the people in charge of what is an advance and whats not an advance. Also, what happens to the technology advance and the people responsible for the advancement? Influx is all about that scenario and it is a thrilling ride. Love the way Suarez incorporates the latest technology into his techno-thrillers. He is the closest writer to Michael Crichton but also has his own style and expression. Can't recommend this high enough if you like a fast fast, technology filled thriller.
Suspend disbelief, skim through a couple of graphic chapters near the beginning and picture it as a movie in your head and then this book is a fun fast ride.
This is the first time I have read this author but I must seek him out. I was getting tired of space operas, no matter how well written there was the feeling of familiarity to them. This is real science fiction: it takes our society and throws in a “what if.” A governmental agency's function is to protect society from too great a leap of a technological advance that the people may not be psychologically ready for. They make the inventors “die” or disappear in unquestionable ways and then collect them along with their inventions. These inventions have given this agency autonomous power while remaining unknown to the public. But power corrupts....
This is the journey of one scientist into the agency. More of a psychological thriller but very well thought out as well as thought-provoking. It is a human trademark to do something under the guise of acting for the “common good.” I really enjoyed this. It seemed to cover new plot territory along with having well-defined characters and a great climax. The characters really are well done, showing, step-by-step, their moral and psychological struggle to move forward. The author doesn't shy away from the rough stuff, either, or the effects of “collateral damage.”
This is the journey of one scientist into the agency. More of a psychological thriller but very well thought out as well as thought-provoking. It is a human trademark to do something under the guise of acting for the “common good.” I really enjoyed this. It seemed to cover new plot territory along with having well-defined characters and a great climax. The characters really are well done, showing, step-by-step, their moral and psychological struggle to move forward. The author doesn't shy away from the rough stuff, either, or the effects of “collateral damage.”
Cover blurb proclaims Suarez the heir to Michael Crichton, and I am inclined to agree. Once you get through the first few pages, full of dense quantum mechanics, the story begins to take off. It reminded me a little of the movie "The Adjustment Bureau"; there is a shadowy organization in charge of controlling technologies that would disrupt human society. That gives Suarez room to play with all sorts of plausible future sci-fi-type stuff. It's a good story, very Crichtonesque.
I have a couple complaints. I hate when authors refer to their characters by last name only. People generally don't do this in real life. (Women in fiction are often referred to by their first names, even if the men are not. Why?) If you really want to call your character Grady for the whole book, make his first name Grady. Also, I haven't figured out what the title means or refers to.
I have a couple complaints. I hate when authors refer to their characters by last name only. People generally don't do this in real life. (Women in fiction are often referred to by their first names, even if the men are not. Why?) If you really want to call your character Grady for the whole book, make his first name Grady. Also, I haven't figured out what the title means or refers to.
I liked it, it was entertaining but as is the case with a lot of these male writers, has he ever met a real lady? There were 2 female characters. One was soooooooo pretty. The other one was a butch lesbian who was unceremoniously killed off. No in between or nuance.
Absolutely fantastic book. First one I've read from this author and I hope he has more because that was a great read.
I picked this up from the SF shelf in the bookstore, but I think it's actually a thriller rather than SF. To me, SF is a genre of mystery and discovery -- as Terry Bisson said, once the reader knows everything, the story is over. In this book, though, the science-fictiony ideas are all out within the first few chapters, and the rest is just big action sequences as you wait to see whether the good guys will triumph over the bad guys. It's a fun, relatively mindless read for a long flight, but not really what I think of as SF.
The characters tend to be pretty one-dimensional. The villains are comically villainous and have no nuance, and the hero alternates between being a nondescript everyman and an unflappable paragon of good, neither of which is particularly compelling. The only major character who's a woman is a stereotype (a woman who's genetically engineered to be hot and who uses her hotness as a weapon -- gee, that's original). The dialogue sometimes is laughably stilted (e.g., while two characters are in the middle of a hand-to-hand brawl, one shouts to the other, "You freak! You might be faster and stronger, but no one is tougher than me!").
But probably my biggest problem with the book was its view of how science and innovation work.
The characters tend to be pretty one-dimensional. The villains are comically villainous and have no nuance, and the hero alternates between being a nondescript everyman and an unflappable paragon of good, neither of which is particularly compelling. The only major character who's a woman is a stereotype (a woman who's genetically engineered to be hot and who uses her hotness as a weapon -- gee, that's original). The dialogue sometimes is laughably stilted (e.g., while two characters are in the middle of a hand-to-hand brawl, one shouts to the other, "You freak! You might be faster and stronger, but no one is tougher than me!").
But probably my biggest problem with the book was its view of how science and innovation work.