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A review by iffer
Nexus by Ramez Naam
3.0
Although others may criticize Nexus for various reasons, most likely that the writing/character development could be better or that the ideas and themes in the book are reminiscent of other science fiction and speculative fiction out there, including, but not limited to...
X-men
Fear of the unknown and of becoming obsolete; human : mutant :: human : post-human
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Video game)
The possibility of using technology to augment physical and intellectual abilities of humans will exacerbate class divisions and wreak havoc with the economy/black market.
Chuck (TV show)
What is there left for the human mind to do if knowledge can be written directly to the mind?
Battlestar Galactica
Are we human if our memories can be written to new bodies? Will we be the same person when "reincarnated," and if so, what would it mean for that no one every truly dies?
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., or more traditionally, the atomic bomb hindsight ;p
There are amazing ideas, technology, and human minds out there that could lead to bursts in human progress, not just physically and mentally, but socially, but these ideas have the potential to cause great evil. Who, if anyone, should be in charge of disseminating that knowledge? Is freedom of knowledge and freedom of choice (via wide dissemination) always the best route?
...above all, I think that Ramez Naam does a great job of combining many ideas and themes that we've seen from other works; combining them with some of his own ideas, neuroscience knowledge, and coding background; and making a book that is a rip-roaring, entertaining, pound-pulsing action techno-thriller.
P.S. There are parts of the book, especially at the beginning, in which it's clear that the main character, Kaden Lane is a Gary Sue. There are also a couple of times when Naam not quite info-dumps, but indulges in blabbering about neuroscience and/or coding as if he thought that pages of those things might be interesting to general readers.
P.P.S. It tickled me that Naam found a way to use plausible technology to give people telepatic powers!
X-men
Fear of the unknown and of becoming obsolete; human : mutant :: human : post-human
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Video game)
The possibility of using technology to augment physical and intellectual abilities of humans will exacerbate class divisions and wreak havoc with the economy/black market.
Chuck (TV show)
What is there left for the human mind to do if knowledge can be written directly to the mind?
Battlestar Galactica
Are we human if our memories can be written to new bodies? Will we be the same person when "reincarnated," and if so, what would it mean for that no one every truly dies?
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., or more traditionally, the atomic bomb hindsight ;p
There are amazing ideas, technology, and human minds out there that could lead to bursts in human progress, not just physically and mentally, but socially, but these ideas have the potential to cause great evil. Who, if anyone, should be in charge of disseminating that knowledge? Is freedom of knowledge and freedom of choice (via wide dissemination) always the best route?
...above all, I think that Ramez Naam does a great job of combining many ideas and themes that we've seen from other works; combining them with some of his own ideas, neuroscience knowledge, and coding background; and making a book that is a rip-roaring, entertaining, pound-pulsing action techno-thriller.
P.S. There are parts of the book, especially at the beginning, in which it's clear that the main character, Kaden Lane is a Gary Sue. There are also a couple of times when Naam not quite info-dumps, but indulges in blabbering about neuroscience and/or coding as if he thought that pages of those things might be interesting to general readers.
P.P.S. It tickled me that Naam found a way to use plausible technology to give people telepatic powers!