Echoes of Flavio's Ghost Dreaming

Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Enjoyed the book -it does meander a bit but then you already know that is a given in a Neal Stephenson book; he does his homework thoroughly (good)) and has to let you know how thoroughly (sometimes not so good). I've heard it often said that he should learn to use editors and sub-editors, but then sometimes those ancillary bits of information are as interesting as the plot from which they are a diversion. I know they were for me on Anathem, sparking an interest in quantum physics and the many worlds theory -and in the Baroque Cycle, as this was a historic period of which I knew very little and which contains the germ of much modern thinking in science and other fields. The book is very topical, climate change is real and it is a threat; ideas like the geo-engineering methods to take carbon out of the atmosphere are and will be contentious and controversial. This was a good take on those subjects.



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Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this. Feels like more traditional science fiction and at first it feels a little too white, anglo-saxon but the premise of the story is interesting and, perhaps more importantly, the characters are, for the most part, believable as people. At least the main ones -some of the secondary characters, like Jason and Diane's parents, feel quite one-dimensional and as plot advancing devices rather than 'real' people. The basic premise of the book (apart from the time distortion) is something that I have seen speculated upon on several outlets on astrophysics, etc: a sentient race eventually sends out self-replicating machines to explore their surrounding part of the cosmos. They have to be fairly autonomous given the distances involved, etc...

Enjoyed it a lot, though, and went on to read the rest of the series in, what, three or four days the lot.



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MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved this world. Well, it is a bit grim but engagijng, a post-apocalyptic world where a man made plague has wiped out the human race (yes, it does sound, in the current times, like one of the wackiest conspiracy theories going round), with the run up to this (with corporations running the world including law and order, justice and health -sounds a bit familiar..) constituting the bulk of the story. The characters are believably human (with perhaps a couple of exceptions -'Blanco' was clearly more of a plot device than a person). The story was engaging and the world made sense in itself almost all the time. So far I've liked pretty much everything that I've read of Atwood's and, as I've recently found out, she is also a good person, with clear views on the right side of things.



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The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Stephenson goes back to the many worlds theory with a rather different take on it. The world is now devoid of magic because... ah, wait, that might be a spoiler. Quite short by Stephenson's standards at 'only' 700 pages, which might be the influence of the co-author, Nicole Galland. Who I had not heard about but looks interesting and whose work I will be checking out. The usual Stephenson slow build up -but not as slow as in some of his other books. Again, maybe Galland rather than Stephenson. Quite believable characters, for the most part, as well as plot (once you accept the basic premise of the book); the account of the ballooning bureaucracy surrounding the project and the way it operates is quite funny and rings, alas, very true.

I read the whole of this in six days or so, in one go, pretty much. 'Anathem' is still my Stephenson favourite (as is its world), in which I know I am alone but I enjoyed this a lot and will probably read it again at some point.



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