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A review by books17
Infoquake by David Louis Edelman
4.0
I'm a big fan of cyberpunk as a genre and as a general concept; some of my favourite books, video games and media in general have been set in cyberpunk worlds, often dystopian. Typically, they revolve around cyber-warfare, oppression and incredible technology.
The world of Infoquake is interesting in that it while it definitely includes the latter of those three, it isn't dystopian. Well it is, slightly, but the distinction is that the novel isn't based on that at all. It's more a general thing that you're sort of aware of while reading, but it isn't the focus of the narrative, nor does it need to be.
Instead of the battle between good and evil, like a lot of cyberpunk fiction Infoquake is firmly rooted in the many shades of grey in between. It follows Natch Personal Programming Fiefcorp, fiefcorps being a future amalgamation of research, development and marketing of technological devices which exist within the human body thanks to billions of tiny nanomachines. NPPF quickly gets involved in an enormous, mysterious project, drama ensues.
Infoquake is incredibly well written, with a unique and well-realised world. The characters have just enough characterisation to make you care about them, but not enough that the characters become the main focus of the story. The main focus of the story is always the technology involved, and the world itself.
It was very interesting to read a cyberpunk novel from the point of view of business, something that I'm not aware has ever really been done before. I'm not sure why, the cutthroat world of business seems to go hand-in-hand with the grimness of cyberpunk.
Very good, 4/5, highly recommend.
The world of Infoquake is interesting in that it while it definitely includes the latter of those three, it isn't dystopian. Well it is, slightly, but the distinction is that the novel isn't based on that at all. It's more a general thing that you're sort of aware of while reading, but it isn't the focus of the narrative, nor does it need to be.
Instead of the battle between good and evil, like a lot of cyberpunk fiction Infoquake is firmly rooted in the many shades of grey in between. It follows Natch Personal Programming Fiefcorp, fiefcorps being a future amalgamation of research, development and marketing of technological devices which exist within the human body thanks to billions of tiny nanomachines. NPPF quickly gets involved in an enormous, mysterious project, drama ensues.
Infoquake is incredibly well written, with a unique and well-realised world. The characters have just enough characterisation to make you care about them, but not enough that the characters become the main focus of the story. The main focus of the story is always the technology involved, and the world itself.
It was very interesting to read a cyberpunk novel from the point of view of business, something that I'm not aware has ever really been done before. I'm not sure why, the cutthroat world of business seems to go hand-in-hand with the grimness of cyberpunk.
Very good, 4/5, highly recommend.