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A review by ninj
Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling
3.0
Set in 2023, written 35 years ago, the internet is more pervasive, multinationals have more sway, data transactions and privacy and data havens are prominent issues. Laura from Rizome balances family life with her corporate aims, navigating politicians and shady groups to benefit herself and the company. Interesting world building, with a lot of eco elements and a mix of ideals both at group and individual levels.
That said, the writing to start with seemed ... clunky. Either it picked up or I got through it, and the discussion on where the world was going and what people wanted out of it got fairly interesting around a third of the way in. That said, I lost a lot of interest and connectivity around the middle of the novel, and it was mostly a push-through a disconnected slump at that point. However, the last third really picked up, was quite cohesive, fleshed out some backstory, and brought in some characters and storylines that flowed well and wrapped up the novel nicely.
That said, the writing to start with seemed ... clunky. Either it picked up or I got through it, and the discussion on where the world was going and what people wanted out of it got fairly interesting around a third of the way in. That said, I lost a lot of interest and connectivity around the middle of the novel, and it was mostly a push-through a disconnected slump at that point. However, the last third really picked up, was quite cohesive, fleshed out some backstory, and brought in some characters and storylines that flowed well and wrapped up the novel nicely.