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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I enjoyed reading it... Fair deal of speculative science in the book. Acceptable amount of actions and adventure. No space craft of any kind!
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book starts off fun and engaging but after he breaks out of jail it really slows down for me. The idea of gravity mirrors and super science gone wild is fun. This did not live up to my idea.
Recent Reads: Influx. Daniel Suarez's technothriller skirts SF's edges. A secretive agency is suppressing advanced technologies; a gravitational physicist must escape and fight for his freedom. Can he use its high-tech tools against it? An intriguing, fast read.
TW: torture.
TW: torture.
This was a fun read - lots of interesting new technologies in play, wrapped around a classic good vs evil thriller.
I didn't have high hopes for this book going in. (I have no reason for why, I just didn't.) But in the end I really enjoyed it.
Set in an alternate earth (I hope) where a branch of the government has been created to hoard technology - preventing humanity from getting too big too fast. Putting a stop to Fusion, 5th dimensional communication, and gravity control, they've gotten out of hand. Anyone who doesn't willingly turn over their minds is locked away.
This is the story of a man who invents, and resists, and the people who help.
Set in an alternate earth (I hope) where a branch of the government has been created to hoard technology - preventing humanity from getting too big too fast. Putting a stop to Fusion, 5th dimensional communication, and gravity control, they've gotten out of hand. Anyone who doesn't willingly turn over their minds is locked away.
This is the story of a man who invents, and resists, and the people who help.
Started out great, love the ideas and some of the technology extrapolations. The setup and initial chapters were good. But the characters never became more than cardboard cutouts, the dialog was stilted and unrealistic, and the pacing was atrocious. Halfway I was interested to see where the story would go but not interested enough to read every word; I started skimming. Maybe a better editor would clean up the pacing and scope; it seemed that 3-4 pages would be required to explain every last detail of preparations for a meeting, then a single paragraph would encompass an explosion, a murder, a cabal, and other stuff. The only reason I finished was to confirm my expectations for the story ending.
Great blend of techno-thriller and conspiracy theory. Fast read. Thoroughly enjoyed.
A rogue government agency has been kidnapping genius scientists and inventors, taking their technological breakthroughs as proprietary secrets, and consolidating their own power using that advanced technology. They answer to no one, have few if any moral qualms, and are so advanced that no one outside the organization has a chance of defeating them by force. What could go wrong?
Plenty, obviously, and plenty does indeed go wrong in Influx. Suarez is a fine writer and I enjoyed the ride as he sets up obstacles for the hero to knock down. The main character is interesting with plenty of depth, even if a lot of that comes from some pretty bad experiences. There's a good mix of action and intrigue, and lots of interesting ideas in the technological advances posited.
However, I think he may have done too good a job in making the bad guys powerful. It's hard to believe that a ruthless, amoral organization that is capable of decades of kidnapping, surveillance, and co-opting of advanced technology could survive in secret for decades and yet have the weaknesses that are exploited to defeat it. But that's the kind of suspension of disbelief required to enjoy a story like this, and for the most part I managed it.
There are some moral questions posed in Influx that make the reader think. Is the idea of controlling technological advances to prevent social disorder legitimate? Not how the bad guys did it, obviously, but maybe it still needs to happen, just under better control. Or if not, how do we keep from harming large numbers of people when truly major technological advances come along?
I think any science fiction reader is likely to enjoy Influx - I certainly did.
Plenty, obviously, and plenty does indeed go wrong in Influx. Suarez is a fine writer and I enjoyed the ride as he sets up obstacles for the hero to knock down. The main character is interesting with plenty of depth, even if a lot of that comes from some pretty bad experiences. There's a good mix of action and intrigue, and lots of interesting ideas in the technological advances posited.
However, I think he may have done too good a job in making the bad guys powerful. It's hard to believe that a ruthless, amoral organization that is capable of decades of kidnapping, surveillance, and co-opting of advanced technology could survive in secret for decades and yet have the weaknesses that are exploited to defeat it. But that's the kind of suspension of disbelief required to enjoy a story like this, and for the most part I managed it.
There are some moral questions posed in Influx that make the reader think. Is the idea of controlling technological advances to prevent social disorder legitimate? Not how the bad guys did it, obviously, but maybe it still needs to happen, just under better control. Or if not, how do we keep from harming large numbers of people when truly major technological advances come along?
I think any science fiction reader is likely to enjoy Influx - I certainly did.
As usual with Suarez's books, you will not be left wanting for massively-executed displays of exceedingly advanced technologies. But I have to say this is the weakest of his books: the dialog between characters is often unnatural and contrived, and - most crucially - the "suspension of disbelief" one should put in place is just too much, especially in certain key scenes.
However, despite these flaws, it is a gripping and very enjoyable book.
However, despite these flaws, it is a gripping and very enjoyable book.