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A review by andrewspink
The Circle by Dave Eggers
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sometimes people complain about the EU privacy laws, the GDPR, but this book makes you realise how necessary they are. The book was written ten years ago and is a dystopian view of what might happen if the big US tech companies were all merged into one and get more and more power. It is interesting to see what aspects have come true and what not. Manipulation of information and social media by foreign governments and extreme political movements, not to mention the polarization caused by the algorithms of the companies themselves, are examples of things which we were all blissfully unaware of ten years ago.
It is also interesting to see which of the tech gadgets have taken off (wrist warn wearables are indeed much better now than ten years ago) and which are still impossible (video cameras still use far too much power to wirelessly stream live video without being plugged into the mains). The rise of AI was not really visible ten years ago, and that would have given quite a different dimension to the book.
In the end, it is surprising how much of the book, which does centre on technical developments, still feels very realistic today, there is not much suspension of disbelief required.
The book is a real page turner, with the tension gradually building throughout. Various key pieces of information are held back from the reader, and some we can guess and some are surprises.
It is also interesting to see which of the tech gadgets have taken off (wrist warn wearables are indeed much better now than ten years ago) and which are still impossible (video cameras still use far too much power to wirelessly stream live video without being plugged into the mains). The rise of AI was not really visible ten years ago, and that would have given quite a different dimension to the book.
In the end, it is surprising how much of the book, which does centre on technical developments, still feels very realistic today, there is not much suspension of disbelief required.
The book is a real page turner, with the tension gradually building throughout. Various key pieces of information are held back from the reader, and some we can guess and some are surprises.