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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
An incredibly dense book with so much information packed into every paragraph that it left me both intellectually satisfied and exhausted.
The non-linear format of the story involving a woven set of memories/stories/dreams, is intriguing, but keeps you on your tows, trying to understand where is this all going?
I had to take it slowly, taking breaks with less complicated books when I couldn't give Gnomon my full attention.
There are novels that bombard you with references to geek culture, but this was much more satisfying, referencing ideas that a geek would have heard of or would understand.
The non-linear format of the story involving a woven set of memories/stories/dreams, is intriguing, but keeps you on your tows, trying to understand where is this all going?
I had to take it slowly, taking breaks with less complicated books when I couldn't give Gnomon my full attention.
There are novels that bombard you with references to geek culture, but this was much more satisfying, referencing ideas that a geek would have heard of or would understand.
An amazing book. This book does what I believe all great science fiction should do, makes us think about the world we live in and in what direction we are heading.
This is a big book: big in number of pages, big in ideas. It’s about the zeitgeisty ideas of our digital century: surveillance and identity and security and privacy. It takes in the global financial crisis, ancient witchcraft, modern cults, art, and software development. It’s entirely unpredictable.
I’ve only read on of [a:Nick Harkaway|1100593|Nick Harkaway|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1251220475p2/1100593.jpg]’s books before, and I enjoyed large parts of it but found some of it to be too much like [a:Douglas Adams|4|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1189120061p2/4.jpg] (an author I’ve never really got on with). Gnomon is nothing like that; it’s smart and serious and wry, never forced.
I probably need to read this again as I only read a little each night before I slept, and there’s so much in here that I’m sure I missed a lot because I was tired. But it was very, very good.
I’ve only read on of [a:Nick Harkaway|1100593|Nick Harkaway|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1251220475p2/1100593.jpg]’s books before, and I enjoyed large parts of it but found some of it to be too much like [a:Douglas Adams|4|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1189120061p2/4.jpg] (an author I’ve never really got on with). Gnomon is nothing like that; it’s smart and serious and wry, never forced.
I probably need to read this again as I only read a little each night before I slept, and there’s so much in here that I’m sure I missed a lot because I was tired. But it was very, very good.
This book too me a while to get through. It was a bit of a maze at times but that is what I found enjoyable.
I Feel Stupid This book definately belongs on the same shelf as Vellum, Splinter and Fairyland for me. The shelf should be titled 'Books I Just Don't Get'. I don't think of myself as being particularly dumb but this one went WAY over my head!. I can follow the very basic plot of the book but the meat of the story was just strange. Never mind. I would like to try another of the author's books but that probably won't be anytime soon.
A week later...
Right, so, I've revised my rating for the book because I have had time to think about it and understand what it was that bothered me. I understood the plot and the coming-together at the end, in other words, the basic storyline, which was really good. What I didn't get was the significance of the individuals' stories inside of Diana Hunter's head. I understood the overall significance of the individual characters themselves as part of the whole but their stories threw me. Maybe, I will reread it one day, now that I know what to expect and it will make more sense to me.
A week later...
Right, so, I've revised my rating for the book because I have had time to think about it and understand what it was that bothered me. I understood the plot and the coming-together at the end, in other words, the basic storyline, which was really good. What I didn't get was the significance of the individuals' stories inside of Diana Hunter's head. I understood the overall significance of the individual characters themselves as part of the whole but their stories threw me. Maybe, I will reread it one day, now that I know what to expect and it will make more sense to me.
This is a bit of a departure for Harkaway. His earlier novels have been marvelous adventure stories, with depth and style and wit, but still, at heart, adventures.
Gnomon is something else. It's a near-future mystery, and a distinctly literary novel, but it's also a clear cri de couer from a very smart and evidently very worried man watching the politics of his country (and others) going in a very sad and very scary direction. I picture him standing on castle ramparts, yelling and waving, "This is where you are going, you bloody idiots! What are you doing? Stop, please, and think! You really don't know how this works, and you're getting it all wrong!"
It's more serious, and in many ways more ambitious than his earlier works. Yes, it's a big book (though my copy clocked in at an even 666 pages, not the 700+ some people are moaning about), and at times it did feel a bit long, but there isn't much I'd willingly cut.
Harkaway's built a densely interlocking, spiraling structure specifically to convey an intense, layered sense of complexity. It's beautifully constructed, and I really enjoyed it, but I can see how it wouldn't be to everyone's taste. In what is probably a related point, this demands commitment from its readers: It is not a "pick-up whenever one has five minutes to read" sort of book.
Gnomon is something else. It's a near-future mystery, and a distinctly literary novel, but it's also a clear cri de couer from a very smart and evidently very worried man watching the politics of his country (and others) going in a very sad and very scary direction. I picture him standing on castle ramparts, yelling and waving, "This is where you are going, you bloody idiots! What are you doing? Stop, please, and think! You really don't know how this works, and you're getting it all wrong!"
It's more serious, and in many ways more ambitious than his earlier works. Yes, it's a big book (though my copy clocked in at an even 666 pages, not the 700+ some people are moaning about), and at times it did feel a bit long, but there isn't much I'd willingly cut.
Harkaway's built a densely interlocking, spiraling structure specifically to convey an intense, layered sense of complexity. It's beautifully constructed, and I really enjoyed it, but I can see how it wouldn't be to everyone's taste. In what is probably a related point, this demands commitment from its readers: It is not a "pick-up whenever one has five minutes to read" sort of book.
Here is a book that is crafted as a literary puzzle. When it starts, it seems somewhat straight forward. But as the Inspector dives into the interrogation file of the person who died in custody, it gets weird. The interrogation is a recording of the mind, a way to ascertain truth in this near future world. An England where everything is known and recorded. The System keeps everyone safe. The System allows for perfect democracy.
The book is much more than that. It is multiple intertwined stories that are like the Matrix on acid. Or watching Dreamscape on acid. This is a long book, but it pulled me in and wouldn't let go. There is a lot going on between the pages. As one of the characters says, it is information dense.
I really liked it. The writing was much richer than what you usually find in contemporary dystopian fare. The characters that inhabit this world feel real and challenge whether you really know what is going on. It makes you think. That is really cool. Saying any more would ruin the spell.
The book is much more than that. It is multiple intertwined stories that are like the Matrix on acid. Or watching Dreamscape on acid. This is a long book, but it pulled me in and wouldn't let go. There is a lot going on between the pages. As one of the characters says, it is information dense.
I really liked it. The writing was much richer than what you usually find in contemporary dystopian fare. The characters that inhabit this world feel real and challenge whether you really know what is going on. It makes you think. That is really cool. Saying any more would ruin the spell.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really struggled with this, unfortunately and couldn't finish it. The premise seemed really interesting - I love dystopian fiction, but I found the story overly long and convoluted. It was very slow paced, with large sections devoted to descriptions, and unloading a lot of information in one go, making it difficult to hold my attention. I also struggled to get emotionally invested in anything that happened.
Unfortunately not for me, but I'm sure those looking for a deep novel that requires a lot of concentration with a hint of science fiction will love it.
I really struggled with this, unfortunately and couldn't finish it. The premise seemed really interesting - I love dystopian fiction, but I found the story overly long and convoluted. It was very slow paced, with large sections devoted to descriptions, and unloading a lot of information in one go, making it difficult to hold my attention. I also struggled to get emotionally invested in anything that happened.
Unfortunately not for me, but I'm sure those looking for a deep novel that requires a lot of concentration with a hint of science fiction will love it.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
This is so dense - a ton going on and it deserves a re-read, although I'm not sure I will. It's got puzzles and layers and things that mean other things and overlapping stories and different levels of "reality" and it's generally confusing and entrancing at the same time. Even so, the main theme is never in doubt - mass surveillance is not good for society.
This felt like a combo of David Mitchell and Neil Stephenson, plus the most obscure words you can find in the dictionary. A little bit of DFW nonlinear-ness. It was totally worth the time and concentration it took to get through almost 700 pages.
This felt like a combo of David Mitchell and Neil Stephenson, plus the most obscure words you can find in the dictionary. A little bit of DFW nonlinear-ness. It was totally worth the time and concentration it took to get through almost 700 pages.