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crimsoncor's review against another edition
2.0
Super dense. Felt like it took ages to get through. There were moments when it was interesting, but ultimately I'm not sure there was anything to take away from it; certainly nothing that was an adequate payoff for the time invested.
anakaya's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This book is slow but a good read of you like hard sci-fi. It asks us to reflect on the use and future use of AI and the value of people as data. The writing can feel clunky at times, but it works.
jacalata's review against another edition
2.0
This book sounds weird from the blurb and it is weird but then you get into the second half and it is twice as bizarre as you expected. I am not sure I appreciated it - it felt a little more grinding and miserable than I was looking for.
secre's review against another edition
2.0
If this book had finished as it started, it would have been a three star book. If it had started in the same fashion as the later half a book then it would have likely been abandoned and a one star. It begins confusing but purposeful; a world which you have to make sense of in which The Process rules all. The second half is disjointed, unconnected and simply fails to engage the reader. In reality either the whole novel should have been the war game or the whole novel should have been the village. It just doesn't work with the focus of the first half being the village and the Institute and the second half being the war game with largely new characters with brief interludes of village. It just ended up purposeless and messy and didn't hold the attention at all.
I will admit that the writing style is well done; there are vivid descriptions and tense story telling aspects throughout. If the thing was less muddled there would be the potential for a strong novel. It doesn't help that very little is actually explained and so the entire thing is distinctly baffling, even in the first section of the novel. The reasons behind and methodology of the Process are only ever hinted at, as indeed are the nature of the post apocalyptic event. But then when it flits to the world war aspects it becomes oddly surreal, with even less rhyme or reason. Even when what little explanation comes to the fore, it still seems oddly purposeless.
I will admit that the writing style is well done; there are vivid descriptions and tense story telling aspects throughout. If the thing was less muddled there would be the potential for a strong novel. It doesn't help that very little is actually explained and so the entire thing is distinctly baffling, even in the first section of the novel. The reasons behind and methodology of the Process are only ever hinted at, as indeed are the nature of the post apocalyptic event. But then when it flits to the world war aspects it becomes oddly surreal, with even less rhyme or reason. Even when what little explanation comes to the fore, it still seems oddly purposeless.
msoblong's review against another edition
2.0
**Goodreads First Reads Book**
I received this book quite awhile ago and just never wanted to pick it up. I finally did and at first it was great. The premise was very intriguing. Unfortunately, about 2/3 through, things really slowed done. The war itself was not the issue but it was extremely drawn out. I think the author could have caught out 75-100 pages and the book would have been a lot better.
I received this book quite awhile ago and just never wanted to pick it up. I finally did and at first it was great. The premise was very intriguing. Unfortunately, about 2/3 through, things really slowed done. The war itself was not the issue but it was extremely drawn out. I think the author could have caught out 75-100 pages and the book would have been a lot better.
kateofmind's review against another edition
4.0
This did drag in the middle but turned out to be an odd, affecting and utterly unique read, and one I'll be thinking about for a long time.
meags1's review against another edition
3.0
"This may upset some of my students at MIT, but one of my concerns is that it's been a predominantly male gang of kids, mostly white, who are building the core computer science around AI, and they're more comfortable talking to computers than to human beings. A lot of them feel that if they could just make that science-fiction, generalized AI, we wouldn't have to worry about all the messy stuff like politics and society. They think machines will just figure it all out for us." - Joi Ito
offmessage's review
5.0
An exquisitely written and mind fucking trip that cycles first through our current anxieties about privacy, big data and capitalism before going on to riff on the nature of war, love, change, resistance and futility.
Or.
You know.
It's a fantastically written piece of speculative fiction set in a hugely inventive near future that drags you on in ways you couldn't imagine only pages beforehand.
Either way, like [b:The Red Men|2263657|The Red Men|Matthew De Abaitua|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348369711s/2263657.jpg|2269665], this is up there with Jeff Noon for me; making us consider our minds as a potential battleground of the future.
Or.
You know.
It's a fantastically written piece of speculative fiction set in a hugely inventive near future that drags you on in ways you couldn't imagine only pages beforehand.
Either way, like [b:The Red Men|2263657|The Red Men|Matthew De Abaitua|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348369711s/2263657.jpg|2269665], this is up there with Jeff Noon for me; making us consider our minds as a potential battleground of the future.
mikewhiteman's review
4.0
This feels a bit like two ideas thrown together and it works well in some parts but less so in others. The speculative aspect is necessary for the story explored in the historical(ish) parts but still felt that they didn't quite gel together.
We have a post-singularity town on the south coast of England, where everything is organised and controlled by a network of algorithms called the Process for maximum happiness across the society. This involves a return to a largely pre-technological life and the regular eviction of any who do not have a place in the Process' plans. No reasons are given to the evicted but theories and superstitions arise around it.
This part is fascinating and sets up a plot that I was eager to discover.
Once things move to the recreated Dardanelles campaign, things take a turn for the bleak and the conclusions reached didn't quite fit the set up for me.
Needless to say, the construction and re-enactment of part of World War 1 forms part of the Process' logical, well, process. There is also some question of whether it has been influenced in some way, as it is designed to respond to the data from the people living within it.
The WWI sections are well done and nicely blend the horrors and madnesses of the war with the realisation of what is actually being done seeping in.
However, I ended up with a lot of unanswered questions. If what is included is interesting or exciting enough, that can be fine but I felt that resolution we do get was too vaguely downbeat to satisfy.
Nevertheless, there is a lot I liked here, the married couple at the centre of the story are well-drawn and De Abaitua's writing is intelligent, covering a lot of ideas that had my mind shooting in all directions. I will definitely read more from him.
We have a post-singularity town on the south coast of England, where everything is organised and controlled by a network of algorithms called the Process for maximum happiness across the society. This involves a return to a largely pre-technological life and the regular eviction of any who do not have a place in the Process' plans. No reasons are given to the evicted but theories and superstitions arise around it.
This part is fascinating and sets up a plot that I was eager to discover.
Once things move to the recreated Dardanelles campaign, things take a turn for the bleak and the conclusions reached didn't quite fit the set up for me.
Needless to say, the construction and re-enactment of part of World War 1 forms part of the Process' logical, well, process. There is also some question of whether it has been influenced in some way, as it is designed to respond to the data from the people living within it.
The WWI sections are well done and nicely blend the horrors and madnesses of the war with the realisation of what is actually being done seeping in.
However, I ended up with a lot of unanswered questions. If what is included is interesting or exciting enough, that can be fine but I felt that resolution we do get was too vaguely downbeat to satisfy.
Nevertheless, there is a lot I liked here, the married couple at the centre of the story are well-drawn and De Abaitua's writing is intelligent, covering a lot of ideas that had my mind shooting in all directions. I will definitely read more from him.
socprof's review
1.0
The premise intrigued me but I quickly got bored and failed to see the point of all this.