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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I've read a couple of books by the author. [b:Daemon|6665847|Daemon (Daemon #1)|Daniel Suarez|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348912643s/6665847.jpg|4763873] wasn't bad. This book is crap. Did Not Finish (DNF).
Prose is OK. Descriptive prose is better than dialog. In the beginning the techno-babble was egregious. Although, the narrative is OK. I did find the Hibernity torture scenes to be very creepy.
Characters were limited. Grady is a peculiar tech-wizard nerd. I had problems with the description of his synesthesia. It was unconvincing. The other characters were thin, more like cartoon caricatures and not arch-types. For example, the female FBI agent was Olivia Dunham or maybe Dana Scully.
The Plot is a riff on the Enforced Technology Level trope. The Federal Bureau of Technology Control a rogue government agency abetted by AIs suppressing tech? It was an unlikely conspiracy. If the FBC had reached such a vastly superior level of technology, why eschew World Domination?
It required an enormous suspension of disbelief to imagine an organization (actually three (3)) with: near-Star Trek technology, vast riches; numerous locations; employing thousands of people; and regularly violating international and national laws existing along side and unexposed in to the Real World. The FBC is just like SPECTRE! Space Aliens would have been a better more credible substitute for the FBC.
This story was just incredibly banal. Considering the previous stories I've read by the author, I couldn't understand why he wrote it. It may be he was two books into a three book contract, and had to write something (anything), to avoid getting his advance clawed back?
Time to read is too precious to waste on bad books-- DNF.
Pass this one up. That or read [b:Thunderball|177194|Thunderball (James Bond, #9)|Ian Fleming|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1431840214s/177194.jpg|2933393] for better entertainment.
Prose is OK. Descriptive prose is better than dialog. In the beginning the techno-babble was egregious. Although, the narrative is OK. I did find the Hibernity torture scenes to be very creepy.
Characters were limited. Grady is a peculiar tech-wizard nerd. I had problems with the description of his synesthesia. It was unconvincing. The other characters were thin, more like cartoon caricatures and not arch-types. For example, the female FBI agent was Olivia Dunham or maybe Dana Scully.
The Plot is a riff on the Enforced Technology Level trope. The Federal Bureau of Technology Control a rogue government agency abetted by AIs suppressing tech? It was an unlikely conspiracy. If the FBC had reached such a vastly superior level of technology, why eschew World Domination?
It required an enormous suspension of disbelief to imagine an organization (actually three (3)) with: near-Star Trek technology, vast riches; numerous locations; employing thousands of people; and regularly violating international and national laws existing along side and unexposed in to the Real World. The FBC is just like SPECTRE! Space Aliens would have been a better more credible substitute for the FBC.
This story was just incredibly banal. Considering the previous stories I've read by the author, I couldn't understand why he wrote it. It may be he was two books into a three book contract, and had to write something (anything), to avoid getting his advance clawed back?
Time to read is too precious to waste on bad books-- DNF.
Pass this one up. That or read [b:Thunderball|177194|Thunderball (James Bond, #9)|Ian Fleming|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1431840214s/177194.jpg|2933393] for better entertainment.
Another great book from Suarez, showing he is the real deal when it comes to writing thrilling fiction with a technology and science foundation.
He has created another very interesting world, though admittedly my favorite is still the augmented reality world of Daemon and FreedomTM.
Bottom line: if you liked early to mid Crichton, you'll like Suarez.
He has created another very interesting world, though admittedly my favorite is still the augmented reality world of Daemon and FreedomTM.
Bottom line: if you liked early to mid Crichton, you'll like Suarez.
Another good earth based, near time Sci Fi thriller. Creative ideas on how technology could affect society and how people might seek to control it.
What a super suspenseful high energy read! This book, 'Influx', will be difficult to put down, so I recommend beginning this book only if you have a few days of uninterrupted hours. Otherwise, there certainly will be pining and misery if you have to wait long to get back to it. Although there are some hard science-fiction elements, this novel is more of a thriller with cool tech-toys fun.
One of the characters, Jon Grady, is a genius. He has invented an anti-gravity device. He has worked for this outside of normal channels such as within a university or a corporation. He has been a maverick his entire life and most legitimate scientists never gave him a second glance. Not a man to allow social or professional disapproval to bother him, he has persevered and picked up interest from willing financial backers and grants here and there, enough to move forward with his radical theories. And now, success! He knows he will be awarded the Nobel Prize for developing quantum mechanisms which reflect gravity, like a mirror reflects light.
On the night he and his team demonstrate floating billiard balls to their backers successfully and begin to celebrate, they are disturbed when armed men break into their lab! These men are dressed in yellow jumpsuits with gas masks and a camera, filming the lab. One of the peculiar men steps out and says, "His judgement be upon you, Jon Grady!" So begins a kidnapping and unbelievable horror. Grady's life is upside down for the next several years.
Evil stalks the world, but not whom Grady or the government or police believe it to be. The religious terrorists who kidnapped Grady are a front for a secret organization with incredible technology - the Bureau of Technological Control. Their original purpose of suppressing advanced technologies for the good of Mankind has been recently hijacked by a martinet leader, Graham Hedrick. Hedrick was promoted to director and he is now in control of what was originally an organization created by the United States government. The reins of technology, he feels, belong to one man alone - himself. Only he understands how dangerous these technologies would be if allowed to promulgate throughout the nations of the world. Kidnapping the scientists and taking charge of their inventions until conditions are right for their release is the mission he completely supports - until he begins to realize the job of managing and expanding the wonderful sciences behind plasma weapons, fusion energy, robots, antimatter guns, clone soldiers, diamond-made protective gear, electromagnetic gadgets, sentient AI computers and genetically enhanced humans who never age should be trusted to him, and only him - for everyone's protection, of course. The organization's other employees should be on an only need-to-know basis for now. That's the smart thing to do.
If the scientists and governments don't agree, well, that's too bad. Hedrick has been rogue for awhile and nobody noticed. However, he is ready to be noticed NOW.
Grady, suffering a cruel imprisonment, has lost everything. He wants his life back. With a little help from fellow Resistors, he intends to set things right and have his revenge. After all, he invented a gravity reflection device. He's not going to be held down.
One of the characters, Jon Grady, is a genius. He has invented an anti-gravity device. He has worked for this outside of normal channels such as within a university or a corporation. He has been a maverick his entire life and most legitimate scientists never gave him a second glance. Not a man to allow social or professional disapproval to bother him, he has persevered and picked up interest from willing financial backers and grants here and there, enough to move forward with his radical theories. And now, success! He knows he will be awarded the Nobel Prize for developing quantum mechanisms which reflect gravity, like a mirror reflects light.
On the night he and his team demonstrate floating billiard balls to their backers successfully and begin to celebrate, they are disturbed when armed men break into their lab! These men are dressed in yellow jumpsuits with gas masks and a camera, filming the lab. One of the peculiar men steps out and says, "His judgement be upon you, Jon Grady!" So begins a kidnapping and unbelievable horror. Grady's life is upside down for the next several years.
Evil stalks the world, but not whom Grady or the government or police believe it to be. The religious terrorists who kidnapped Grady are a front for a secret organization with incredible technology - the Bureau of Technological Control. Their original purpose of suppressing advanced technologies for the good of Mankind has been recently hijacked by a martinet leader, Graham Hedrick. Hedrick was promoted to director and he is now in control of what was originally an organization created by the United States government. The reins of technology, he feels, belong to one man alone - himself. Only he understands how dangerous these technologies would be if allowed to promulgate throughout the nations of the world. Kidnapping the scientists and taking charge of their inventions until conditions are right for their release is the mission he completely supports - until he begins to realize the job of managing and expanding the wonderful sciences behind plasma weapons, fusion energy, robots, antimatter guns, clone soldiers, diamond-made protective gear, electromagnetic gadgets, sentient AI computers and genetically enhanced humans who never age should be trusted to him, and only him - for everyone's protection, of course. The organization's other employees should be on an only need-to-know basis for now. That's the smart thing to do.
If the scientists and governments don't agree, well, that's too bad. Hedrick has been rogue for awhile and nobody noticed. However, he is ready to be noticed NOW.
Grady, suffering a cruel imprisonment, has lost everything. He wants his life back. With a little help from fellow Resistors, he intends to set things right and have his revenge. After all, he invented a gravity reflection device. He's not going to be held down.
Recommended for fans of:
* Advanced science fiction technology
* Breakneck technothriller pacing
* Shady government directives and rogue agencies
Influx is an enjoyable rush of a technothriller, with the emphasis on the technology. After a first chapter of dense technobabble (don’t worry, that eases up a little after the intro), the story picks up quickly.
For the first half of the story, I really enjoyed Influx. The Bureau of Technology Control pairs dubious moral superiority with a stunning abuse of power that makes it easy to hate them. With bureaucratic efficiency, they justify increasingly evil actions. It’s terrifying to read, and made me ponder the clandestine operations of real world governments. Mind engaged: check.
Next, the main character is shipped off to a high tech prison and tortured, both mentally and physically. It’s impossible not to feel for Grady, and to suffer along with him. After the depths of despair, every moment of relief is welcome, and those who provide it seem like angels. Emotions engaged: check.
Then, the second half of Influx. Events accelerate into an adrenaline rush of high-tech combat and ever higher stakes. At first, it’s exciting after the torturous stillness of the prison. But as the battles escalate with no break from the action, it all becomes a bit numbing.
Characters are rushed from one battle to the next with no emotional consequences. More space is given to the description of how each tech gadget works than to how it affects the characters. Almost immediately, the emotional connection is lost. As the technology becomes more and more outlandish, it doesn’t take long to lose intellectual engagement as well.
Final verdict:
If you enjoy technology heavy science fiction and relentlessly fast pacing, you will likely enjoy Influx. But lack of emotional follow through and characters that get shortchanged for a chance to gush about tech make Influxa flawed novel. How much you enjoy Influx will depend on how much you’re willing to give up characterization in exchange for imaginative technologies and fast pacing.
Review and additional readalike suggestions at Come Hither Books
* Advanced science fiction technology
* Breakneck technothriller pacing
* Shady government directives and rogue agencies
Influx is an enjoyable rush of a technothriller, with the emphasis on the technology. After a first chapter of dense technobabble (don’t worry, that eases up a little after the intro), the story picks up quickly.
For the first half of the story, I really enjoyed Influx. The Bureau of Technology Control pairs dubious moral superiority with a stunning abuse of power that makes it easy to hate them. With bureaucratic efficiency, they justify increasingly evil actions. It’s terrifying to read, and made me ponder the clandestine operations of real world governments. Mind engaged: check.
Next, the main character is shipped off to a high tech prison and tortured, both mentally and physically. It’s impossible not to feel for Grady, and to suffer along with him. After the depths of despair, every moment of relief is welcome, and those who provide it seem like angels. Emotions engaged: check.
Then, the second half of Influx. Events accelerate into an adrenaline rush of high-tech combat and ever higher stakes. At first, it’s exciting after the torturous stillness of the prison. But as the battles escalate with no break from the action, it all becomes a bit numbing.
Characters are rushed from one battle to the next with no emotional consequences. More space is given to the description of how each tech gadget works than to how it affects the characters.
Spoiler
This problem is at its worst when the impact of a viewpoint character death is given less importance than the explanation of the technology that kills them.Final verdict:
If you enjoy technology heavy science fiction and relentlessly fast pacing, you will likely enjoy Influx. But lack of emotional follow through and characters that get shortchanged for a chance to gush about tech make Influxa flawed novel. How much you enjoy Influx will depend on how much you’re willing to give up characterization in exchange for imaginative technologies and fast pacing.
Review and additional readalike suggestions at Come Hither Books
RATING: 2 stars-ish.
Deixem-me dizer-vos como me deparei com este livro... não, esperem... já não sei. Por qualquer razão, vim parar à página de "Influx" e quando dei por mim tinha o livro no Kobo. Quer dizer, a premissa parecia bastante interessante: uma agência secreta que tem "protegido" a Humanidade das descobertas científicas desenfreadas, que poderiam, eventualmente, causar um colapso económico/social, se reveladas na altura em que foram descobertas. Parece fixe, certo.
Errado, errado, errado!
Se algumas vezes fico a pensar se ler críticas antes de ler o livro não estraga a leitura, outras (como neste caso), fico absolutamente convencida de que é vital. Se eu tivesse lido críticas, não tinha perdido uma semana da minha vida a ler um livro que a) é um thriller (eu eu não morro de amores pelo género); b) está mal escrito e c) tem as personagens mais... genéricas e desinteressantes que se pode imaginar.
Comecemos pelo enredo. Jon Grady, um gajo qualquer, inventa um "espelho de gravidade". Depois de uma explicação pesadíssima sobre o que isso é (só meia dúzia de pessoas é que provavelmente percebem aquela salganhada técnica e científica toda) - o autor nunca deve ter ouvido dizer que convém que todos os leitores percebam o que se passa e não apenas os doutorados em Física Quântica e afins - aparecem uns gajos que raptam o nosso herói (yawn) e o levam para uma prisão high-tech onde se põem a fazer experiências. Ele acaba por escapar e claro, vai lutar contra o sistema.
Entretanto há uma gaja boa, que é totalmente mais perfeita do que a perfeição porque foi geneticamente modificada ou lá o que é. Essa gaja é supostamente inteligente mas parece que o cérebro dela tirou umas férias durante alguns anos, porque não se apercebe que trabalha para uma organização MALÉFICA! :P
E depois há... 365 personagens diferentes, algumas importantes para o enredo e outras nem por isso, mas toda a gente aparece e tem capítulos (às vezes apenas parágrafos). A mudança constante de pontos de vista é confusa, irritante e completamente desnecessária. Porquê introduzir o ponto de vista de uma personagem que vai morrer 50 páginas mais tarde?
Mesmo dentro de um capítulo, o ponto de vista muda ao acaso. Uma frase poderá começar "Grady olhou para cima e viu um avião", mas o parágrafo seguinte já começa com "Alexa sentou-se e respirou fundo". Ou seja, não há coesão narrativa, não temos a perspetiva completa de uma, ou vá, diversas personagens, mas sim pontos de vista aleatórios e fraturados que mudam de parágrafo para parágrafo.
As personagens são... horríveis. Estereotipadas e muito pouco humanas, é quase impossível sentir empatia ou ligação com elas ou mesmo entre elas.
No geral, não foi um livro assim muito bom. A premissa prometia, mas ficou-se mesmo só pela promessa.
Deixem-me dizer-vos como me deparei com este livro... não, esperem... já não sei. Por qualquer razão, vim parar à página de "Influx" e quando dei por mim tinha o livro no Kobo. Quer dizer, a premissa parecia bastante interessante: uma agência secreta que tem "protegido" a Humanidade das descobertas científicas desenfreadas, que poderiam, eventualmente, causar um colapso económico/social, se reveladas na altura em que foram descobertas. Parece fixe, certo.
Errado, errado, errado!
Se algumas vezes fico a pensar se ler críticas antes de ler o livro não estraga a leitura, outras (como neste caso), fico absolutamente convencida de que é vital. Se eu tivesse lido críticas, não tinha perdido uma semana da minha vida a ler um livro que a) é um thriller (eu eu não morro de amores pelo género); b) está mal escrito e c) tem as personagens mais... genéricas e desinteressantes que se pode imaginar.
Comecemos pelo enredo. Jon Grady, um gajo qualquer, inventa um "espelho de gravidade". Depois de uma explicação pesadíssima sobre o que isso é (só meia dúzia de pessoas é que provavelmente percebem aquela salganhada técnica e científica toda) - o autor nunca deve ter ouvido dizer que convém que todos os leitores percebam o que se passa e não apenas os doutorados em Física Quântica e afins - aparecem uns gajos que raptam o nosso herói (yawn) e o levam para uma prisão high-tech onde se põem a fazer experiências. Ele acaba por escapar e claro, vai lutar contra o sistema.
Entretanto há uma gaja boa, que é totalmente mais perfeita do que a perfeição porque foi geneticamente modificada ou lá o que é. Essa gaja é supostamente inteligente mas parece que o cérebro dela tirou umas férias durante alguns anos, porque não se apercebe que trabalha para uma organização MALÉFICA! :P
E depois há... 365 personagens diferentes, algumas importantes para o enredo e outras nem por isso, mas toda a gente aparece e tem capítulos (às vezes apenas parágrafos). A mudança constante de pontos de vista é confusa, irritante e completamente desnecessária. Porquê introduzir o ponto de vista de uma personagem que vai morrer 50 páginas mais tarde?
Mesmo dentro de um capítulo, o ponto de vista muda ao acaso. Uma frase poderá começar "Grady olhou para cima e viu um avião", mas o parágrafo seguinte já começa com "Alexa sentou-se e respirou fundo". Ou seja, não há coesão narrativa, não temos a perspetiva completa de uma, ou vá, diversas personagens, mas sim pontos de vista aleatórios e fraturados que mudam de parágrafo para parágrafo.
As personagens são... horríveis. Estereotipadas e muito pouco humanas, é quase impossível sentir empatia ou ligação com elas ou mesmo entre elas.
No geral, não foi um livro assim muito bom. A premissa prometia, mas ficou-se mesmo só pela promessa.
Stock characters versus evil wizards with some of the most hackneyed dialogue ever.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoy Suarez's thinking, especially the [b:Daemon|6665847|Daemon|Daniel Suarez|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348912643s/6665847.jpg|4763873] series. Although he can be ultra-violent, his ideas are novel. This book isn't as compelling as his others' however. I think partially the ability to create any futuristic technology that meets his story's need minimizes the tension we feel as an audience.