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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I'm note quite sure how to rate this book. On the one hand it's enjoyable to read and the premise is certainly engaging, but on the other hand a lot of the characters seem to have no inner motivation and just exist to push the story forward.
Also the ending is a bit deus-ex-machina-y.
To sum it up: I like Stephensons later books better.
Also the ending is a bit deus-ex-machina-y.
To sum it up: I like Stephensons later books better.
3.5/5 stars. Enjoyable thriller, but sometimes, the overabundance of characters holds the pace back somewhat. Some of the classic Stephenson themes, which will be reiterated and greatly improved on in later novels.
Attention: whoever did the editing on this is manifestly unfit for unsupervised employment as an editor. Spelling and punctuation errors abound.
Attention: whoever did the editing on this is manifestly unfit for unsupervised employment as an editor. Spelling and punctuation errors abound.
Published in 2005, this story of political intrigue was prophetic. The candidate's brain is "improved" after a stroke with an implant. A very powerful secretive society is invited to take control.
Really enjoyed this, and think about the premise all the time - especially when any of our real state and national leaders face a medical crisis. Definitely the better of NS' two co-written thrillers originally published under the Stephen Bury name.
Master storytelling, as expected from Neal Stephenson
Written 25 years ago, this political thriller also predicted some of the future pretty well. Locations are beautifully described, and ideas are usually introduced with characters (though perhaps one too many). For me, it is a book which was tough to put down, and as fun to read as it was in the 90s.
The book is a collaboration between Neal Stephenson and his uncle, which wasn't well known when first published. Having read a lot of the former, I think I can identify some passages, but overall it flows in a smooth narrative. On this reread, it is also fun to look at some of those future predictions. GODS is quite similar to Amazon, for instance. It is also interesting to read between the lines, interpreting what the candidate says and connecting to the source - and from there back to the author (pro or con). The Strong character quite resembles our current president.
I could have done without the last character introduced (on page 526). His purpose is to show the aspect of negative campaigns, and a score of pages later he is mostly out of the story - which would have been fine without him. The appearance of all the other characters is perfect, making this anomaly that much more glaring. For me, this costs the novel half a star, but it is still highly recommended. 4½ out of 5 stars.
"All that Democrat/Republican stuff is bullshit," he said. "And as far as liberal versus conservative, well, people are very promiscuous in the way the use those words. They don't really mean anything. Within those two camps there are very wide divisions. And between those two camps, there is a lot more overlap than you think. None of that bullshit really matters. The only thing that matters is values."
The book is a collaboration between Neal Stephenson and his uncle, which wasn't well known when first published. Having read a lot of the former, I think I can identify some passages, but overall it flows in a smooth narrative. On this reread, it is also fun to look at some of those future predictions. GODS is quite similar to Amazon, for instance. It is also interesting to read between the lines, interpreting what the candidate says and connecting to the source - and from there back to the author (pro or con). The Strong character quite resembles our current president.
I could have done without the last character introduced (on page 526). His purpose is to show the aspect of negative campaigns, and a score of pages later he is mostly out of the story - which would have been fine without him. The appearance of all the other characters is perfect, making this anomaly that much more glaring. For me, this costs the novel half a star, but it is still highly recommended. 4½ out of 5 stars.
"All that Democrat/Republican stuff is bullshit," he said. "And as far as liberal versus conservative, well, people are very promiscuous in the way the use those words. They don't really mean anything. Within those two camps there are very wide divisions. And between those two camps, there is a lot more overlap than you think. None of that bullshit really matters. The only thing that matters is values."
I read this book because it was available at the library and nothing I wanted to read was. Also, it's by Neal Stephenson, so it couldn't be that bad. It wasn't really what I was in the mood to read, and you kind of have to put yourself back in a 1990s mindset, but overall I was interested and entertained. The whole politics thing is not what I would have expected from Stephenson, but he pulled it off well. A decent enough read, just not something I would have picked as my first choice because politics are not my cup of tea.
Yhdysvaltain presidentti pitää vaalien alla unionin tila -puhettaan ja lupaa parantaa valtion rahatilannetta jättämällä valtion ottamien lainojen korot maksamatta. Illinoisin kuvernööri William Cozzano saa tämän seurauksena aivohalvauksen ja toisaalla suursijoittajien salainen verkosto närkästyy vielä pahemmin. Kuvernöörin sisäpiiri ostaa aikaa vihjailemalla kuvernöörin harkitsevan presidenttiehdokkuutta, mikä sopii sijoittajaverkostolle erittäin hyvin — presidentti on vaihdettava paremmaksi.
Cozzanolle tarjotaankin pian mahdollisuutta päästä kokeilemaan aivan uudenlaista hoitoa aivohalvaukseen. Cozzanon päähän istutetaan biosiru, jonka avulla hän saavuttaa — ja ohittaa — aikaisemman toimintakykynsä tuotapikaa. Cozzanon päähän pystytään välittämään suoraan Yhdysvaltain väestöä kuvaavan tilasto-otoksen mielipiteitä eri asioista — siis reaaliaikaista tutkimusdataa siitä, mistä kansa tykkää. Kuinka tällainen ehdokas voi olla voittamatta?
Kirja etenee erikoisella tavalla. Siitä saa vähän teknotrillerivaikutelman (Bruce Sterlingin määritelmän mukaan teknotrilleri on scifi-kirja, jossa on mukana presidentti), mutta mikään tiukka trilleri Interface ei ole, ainakaan ennen loppuaan. Tapahtumat etenevät pitkään yllättävän leppoisasti ja ilman varsinaisia pahiksia, juonta rakennellaan kaikessa rauhassa.
Mikäs rakennellessa, sillä Interface on Stephensonin tyyliin hulvattoman hauskaa luettavaa. Tyylin tunnistaa hyvin, vaikka kirja onkin selvästi mainstreamimpi kuin vaikkapa Cryptonomicon. Tästä voivat nauttia muutkin kuin nörtit. Vaikka tekniikka onkin vähän vanhentunutta — selvimmin se näkyy videonauhurien valtavasta määrästä — juttu toimii silti ja kirja on tupaten täynnä todella herkullisia yksityiskohtia.
Kirjan loppu on hivenen pettymys, mutta matkan varrella Interface tarjoaa niin runsaasti viihdettä, että sitä ei voi olla suosittelematta. Mainitaan vielä, että lukemassani Arrowin julkaisemassa pokkarissa oli huomiota herättävän paljon painovirheitä, joten joku muu laitos voi olla parempi.
Interface on julkaistu alunperin salanimellä Stephen Bury, jonka takana ovat siis Neal Stephenson ja tämän setä George Jewsbury, joka käyttää taiteilijanimeä J. Frederick George. (4.5.2010)
Cozzanolle tarjotaankin pian mahdollisuutta päästä kokeilemaan aivan uudenlaista hoitoa aivohalvaukseen. Cozzanon päähän istutetaan biosiru, jonka avulla hän saavuttaa — ja ohittaa — aikaisemman toimintakykynsä tuotapikaa. Cozzanon päähän pystytään välittämään suoraan Yhdysvaltain väestöä kuvaavan tilasto-otoksen mielipiteitä eri asioista — siis reaaliaikaista tutkimusdataa siitä, mistä kansa tykkää. Kuinka tällainen ehdokas voi olla voittamatta?
Kirja etenee erikoisella tavalla. Siitä saa vähän teknotrillerivaikutelman (Bruce Sterlingin määritelmän mukaan teknotrilleri on scifi-kirja, jossa on mukana presidentti), mutta mikään tiukka trilleri Interface ei ole, ainakaan ennen loppuaan. Tapahtumat etenevät pitkään yllättävän leppoisasti ja ilman varsinaisia pahiksia, juonta rakennellaan kaikessa rauhassa.
Mikäs rakennellessa, sillä Interface on Stephensonin tyyliin hulvattoman hauskaa luettavaa. Tyylin tunnistaa hyvin, vaikka kirja onkin selvästi mainstreamimpi kuin vaikkapa Cryptonomicon. Tästä voivat nauttia muutkin kuin nörtit. Vaikka tekniikka onkin vähän vanhentunutta — selvimmin se näkyy videonauhurien valtavasta määrästä — juttu toimii silti ja kirja on tupaten täynnä todella herkullisia yksityiskohtia.
Kirjan loppu on hivenen pettymys, mutta matkan varrella Interface tarjoaa niin runsaasti viihdettä, että sitä ei voi olla suosittelematta. Mainitaan vielä, että lukemassani Arrowin julkaisemassa pokkarissa oli huomiota herättävän paljon painovirheitä, joten joku muu laitos voi olla parempi.
Interface on julkaistu alunperin salanimellä Stephen Bury, jonka takana ovat siis Neal Stephenson ja tämän setä George Jewsbury, joka käyttää taiteilijanimeä J. Frederick George. (4.5.2010)
I thought this was very entertaining all the way, although not suspenseful - but that's not surprising for this author. However, it was less technical than many of his books, so that normally puts you off, don't let it in this case, although it is slightly technical. But I thought there were some truly interesting characters, with a lot of humor throughout. Unfortunately, the most interesting character was one of the bad guys. I liked him and wasn't sure whether he was a good guy or a bad guy until the end; actually, I'm still not really sure he was such a bad guy.
Some might think the premise isn't likely or believable, but I would answer with "Are you sure?" I think perhaps the Trump fake news and misinformation coming from Washington might make this a lot more likely. Fake news rules in this story, although it was written long before the recent elections. But likely or not, it's a fun read. For those complaining that it's not on par with other Neal Stephenson books, I say "so what" and "who says?"
Some might think the premise isn't likely or believable, but I would answer with "Are you sure?" I think perhaps the Trump fake news and misinformation coming from Washington might make this a lot more likely. Fake news rules in this story, although it was written long before the recent elections. But likely or not, it's a fun read. For those complaining that it's not on par with other Neal Stephenson books, I say "so what" and "who says?"
"Stephen Bury" Neal Stephenson is seriously underrated. That was a lot of fun.