5 comments about Battle Angel Alita, Volume 6: Angel Of Death (Battle Angel Alita (Graphic Novels)).

1. This is even worse than the big long sports story stretching from volumes 3-4, if that's possible. Pretty much this is a corny "romantic comedy" type thing. Sound Alita-ish? You're right, it's not. I mean, was Kishiro *forced* to write nine volumes even though he'd already run out of good stories, or what? Anyways, this is SO awful! Entirely unoriginal, the type of story where the girl and guy start out hating eachother, then go all lovey-dovey around the end. Aside from the romance, the *other* story pretty much involves Alita trying to blow people up. Somehow, the author actually managed to make this boring. I'd recommend you buy this book if you're curious as to how such a violent story could be so dull, but otherwise, don't waste your money. If you must, buy Alita #1&2, but don't go any further!



2. In a perfect transition from volume five, the story of Alita continues beautifully with "Beyond the Yellow Door". However, the later parts of volume six, "Angel of Death", might seem as meaningless and weak as the motorball volumes, volumes three and four. But that depends upon your tastes, really. For me, "Angel of Death" is a perfect demonstration of what the motorball volumes should have been!

   With volume six, Alita becomes nothing but a weapon, a tool, and a good deal of the volume is spent with Alita fighting and battling. Of course, the still-beautiful artwork is filled with mature-audience blood and gore, so it's good to see Yukito Kishiro maintain his sense of dedication to the series. Probably the part where people might run into problems is with the plot.

   Unlike the motorball episodes, volume six doesn't divert too far away from the main plot, but some of the volume is dedicated to a new character, Figure Four, who eventually falls for Alita (and vice versa). "Angel of Death" doesn't make it clear whether Figure Four plays a major role in future volumes, so this might frustrate some Alita fans. Also, the growth of the relationship between Alita and Figure Four isn't too realistic and feels a little sloppy.

   But does this make "Angel of Death" like the motorball volumes? Not really. The main plot does manage to stay that way throughout the book: main. And although there is a lot of seemingly needless fighting, it can be considered "enjoyable" needless fighting. What fan of Alita doesn't want to see her wield a scythe-like blade with an evil snicker on her face? It's a lot better than seeing Alita battle for a silly motorball!

   All in all, "Angel of Death" does make a few questionable choices in its execution, but in the end it's still an enjoyable read. But even if you feel that "Angel of Death" fell as low as the motorball volumes, look at it this way: at least the story in "Angel of Death" didn't span another volume!




3. Made of parts rescued from the Scrapyard, Alita was first recreated by Doc Ido. He awoke her, gave her a new body, and, unsurprisingly, fell in love with the beautiful cyborg whose skills include mastery of a secret fighting discipline - the Panzer Kunst. Alita first made a living as a hunter killer, then became a Motorball star and finally, in an apocalyptic confrontation, destroys a berserker body put together by the insane ex-Tipharian, Desty Nova. Alita saves the Scrapyard, is torn into pieces, and is promptly arrested for using a handgun and sentenced to death.

   Of course, no such thing is going to happen. At the last moment Alita is contacted by an agent of Tiphares and offered complete restoration - if she will agree to carry out the objectives of Tiphares as one of the 'tuned.' These are specially enhanced to be super killers (actually, the only 'tuned' is Alita). In no time at all, we find ourselves with Alita, guarding an atomic train bringing food and raw materials into the Scrapyard for further refinement and trans-shipment to Tiphares.

   Soon Alita and several new friends are in a struggle to survive bandits and the desert. There isn't a lot of trust to go around, but there is an army full of bandits. Somewhere beyond the tough guys Desty Nova is hiding. He is Tiphares' real target and Alita is determined to make sure Nova keeps his word and restores Doc Ido. Naturally, everything that can go wrong does. It will take nothing short of a miracle to keep the 'Angel of Death' on track. Somehow Alita always manages to persist, to find surprising internal stores of strength.




4. The plot: Alita, a killer cyborg tring to live a normal life but failing miserably, wakes up in an empty room. A face appears on a screen set into the wall and she is told that this is a computer generated environment. As punishment for using a gun within city limits to destroy an insane rouge cyborg (which was destroying the city - go figure), she has been sentenced to death. Her brain has been disconnected and is running out of oxygen. She is offered the choice to die or to begin working for the company that transports goods to and from the factory that owns the city where Alita has been living. The series would end if she turned that offer down.
   
   It seems that bandits in the area have recently gotten their hands on a shipment of guns. Guards are being recruited to protect the trains that come through. Which is where we meet the strapping Figure Four, a man who has signed on for the pay and is trying to discover for himself what freedom is. (Freedom is a theme that runs through this book by the way.) After signing on he discovers that explosives have been installed around his neck. If he tries to take off his gun or leave the train his head will be blown off. And he's working for the same people as Alita.
   
   Bad goes to worse when the train is attacked and he and Alita are separated from contact with the company. By watching her Figure (his name, not her figure) muses on freedom and tries different strategies to become free. Meanwhile Alita hasn't contacted the company on schedule and now has to escape bandits and her now former employer. Things are looking grim but things look up for Figure and Alita on account of their being opposite sexes.
   
   The art is all black and white and well done in a realistic style. This book has tons of fighting. In this case it got tedious for me. Plots were being advanced, but only subplots that seemed irrelevant. I could go through a copy of this and tear out half the pages and still have a very similar book. Sad.
   
   I recommend reading the previous book in the series (Angel of Redemption) first. I preferred that book and it will give you background. Once you have read that, then this one is worth reading but not buying. The reason is the fights here got very tedious. Nothing tricky going on in the plot. Get it from a library or just skip on to the next book.



5. This may throw some of the fans out there but Angel of Death is probably my favorite Battle Angel Alita book, maybe even including the Last Order books. I know that doesn't seem to be the consensus but let me explain why.
   
   *Spoilers ahead so head's up*
   
   In book 5 of the series, everything Alita held dear is either killed or burned and she is made into a sacrificial lamb by the very people she tried so hard to protect. And when she ultimately wins against the berserker bodied Zapan, those same people sentence her to death. That's how this book starts.
   
   Now my review. A lot of people are likening this book to the Motorball books 3 and 4. That seems kinda unfair. In this book the very character of Alita has been destroyed. The only thing about her that is still Alita is the desire to see Edo again, and that is buried deep. So when Alita is portrayed as a blood hungry berserker, I understand where she is coming from. Its the only thing that even makes her sane anymore, to totally forget the horrors of her past.
   
   Sure, it seems as though the love intrest Figure 4 is a throw away character. He does kinda disappear after this book. But his role in this story, basically giving Alita a reason to live and feel, is immeasurable. So even though the love story between them is rushed and clichéd, seeing Alita feel again is too precious to pass up.
   
   Sure, there is a lot of fighting in this book. So much that it seems to completely bury the story. But the fighting IS pretty much the story. It's what Alita has become, a war machine. But to hold that against the book ignores the story in the fighting, which is really a dissertation on difficult choices and how both sides of any conflict can be right AND wrong. Besides, as amazing choreography goes, this book if filled with awesome action that, in any other Manga, would be heralded in spite of lack of story... Kishiro just pampered us all too much with past books.
   
   So, now that I digress, I will wrap up. My opinion, which seems in conflict with the majority, is that this book, while maybe not the deepest or most epic, is easily worthy of the name BAA. And, if a reader, like me, enjoys seeing characters who revel in violence to avoid the pain of life or attachment, then this book is gold.

5 comments about Holy Fire (Bantam Spectra Book).

1. _____________________________________________
   Mia, a 94-yr old woman at the close of the 21st C., tries a new life-
   extension treatment. She emerges in the body of a thrill-seeking
   20-yr-old. . . you say you've seen this story before? Not as
   related by master extrapolationist, storyteller & all-around fine
   writer Bruce Sterling.
   
   Let's go into the polity, the medical-industrial complex that rules the
   world, where "the whip-hand of coercive power is held by
   smiling & stout-hearted medical rescue personnel. And by social
   workers. And by very nice old people. . ."
   
   "There were, of course, some people who disagreed with
   the entire idea of life extension. Their moral decision was
   respected & they were perfectly free to drop dead."
   
   The story-line is simple: a bildungsroman, the wanderjahr of a
   95-yr-old girl thru 21st C. Europe.
   
   We're at a fashion show in fin-de-siecle Roma. Mia is getting ready:
   
   
   ..they put the wig on & she left human perfection for a
   higher realm. It was a very smart wig. This wig could have leapt from
   her scalp like a supersonic octopus & flung its piercing tendrils right
   thru a plaster wall... It was a staggeringly pretty wig, a wig in rich,
   solid, deeply convincing, faintly luminescsent auburn, a wig as
   expensive, as cozy & as well-designed as a limousine... When it
   curled lustrously about her neck & shoulders it behaved the way a
   woman's hair behaved in daydreams...
   
   The models were old women, and they looked the way that modern
   old women looked when they were in truly superb condition ...
   They showed none of the natural signs of human aging, but they were
   just a little crispy, a little taut. The models were solemn and sloe-eyed
   and dainty and extremely strong...
   
   Their clothes were decorative and columnar and slender hipped and
   without much in the way of a bustline... The clothes were
   splendidly cut... Rather ecclesiastical, rather bankerly, rather like the
   court dress of high-powered palace eunuchs from the Manchu
   Forbidden City...
   
   
   Well. I could go on, & probably would if I had a scanner, or was a better
   typist.... but you should be picking up the flavor of the book, the
   richness and density of invention. Sterling at his best reads something
   like a collaboration between Tom Wolfe & John McPhee. Folks, I've
   been reading this stuff for 40 years. and I'm hear to tell you, it don't get
   much better than this.
   
   Highly recommended.
   
   Review copyright 1996 by Peter D. Tillman



2. This book was a big surprise to me. I have been a fan of the Cyberpunk or Movement genre since the 80's, and while Gibson and Rucker have captivated me with almost every book they write, Sterling's work has always... lacked something for me. I've enjoyed his short stories more than I have his novels, and have given them a fair shot. Most of them I would rate about a 3.
   
   This novel however, I place squarely in the full 5 star category. The best works of fiction, be they SciFi, Horror, Literature or what have you, are those which make one reflect upon oneself and the nature of existence. This book falls into such august company. A few of the reviews here mention the lack of action or resolution, but I think that they have missed the point. Mia/Maya is discovering both what it means to be an individual and what the nature of life is. She is both an observer and a participant as she is neither truly old or young. Her "wanderjahr" is an exploration and evolution of self and as such, despite the futuristic trappings resonates with the individual quest for the self and what lies beyond it in all of our lives no matter where we are on life's journey. I would hope that everyone makes such a journey in their lives (whether literally or metaphorically), or better yet, experiences life as a continuous unfoldment of same. Highly recommended, in my opinon Sterling's absolute best.



3. Previous reviewers here have touched most of the bases. This is a meander, not a nail-biter. It reminds me of one of the Sprawling Robert Altman films like "Nashville" with numerous characters and set pieces strung loosely together.
   
   Sterling occasionally seems to be trying to show how witty he is. But I found much to enjoy in this book. One pleasure, a cyber-punk mainstay, is utter confidence in the wordplay depicting the fabulous computer networks of a future world, with wearable super-power communication hardware, etc.
   
   I appreciated, actually, that the story took more interest in its amusing characters than in plot development to some sort of climax. That said, there is occasional action and excitement. It's true the central Mia / Maya character wasn't deeply drawn, but I liked her and her adventurous spirit.
   
   Altogether a fun, light read that made me think a bit.



4. A realised version of the old people are boring meme. Rejuvenation
   treatments are available to those that can afford them, and these lead
   to, of course, those very elderly being in control through wealth and
   influence. They tend to lead static, safe, placid lives to protect
   their investment in themselves.
   
   So, any change can only come through the young who avoid any of the
   existing technology. Here, one of the former group crosses to the
   latter, slumming to some degree.



5. I actually took a class in SF as Literature in college learned that the best SF was supposed to tell you something about people. Unfortunately, there is a lot of SF that doesn't even try, but this book was a nice example of setting up a futuristic setting and then looking at people. Think about what would happen to a very old woman if she REALLY did have the same body AND brain of a teenager again. Would she act in ways her 60 something children would approve of? Sterling is not my favorite, but this is worth a read.

5 comments about Freeware.

1. In this novel Rudy Rucker creates an original, twisted world where moldies (artificial life forms) and humans live amongst each other. Rudy creates a surfer/stoner dialect that could quite plausibly be a future lingo, like our generic, hip, MTV influenced lingo. Although I love Rudy's world and writing style I must admit this book was somewhat of a letdown. It was very captivating at times but those times were often followed by idle narrative. Plus the novel jumped around. It's like when you're watching a captivating sitcom, and right at the climax "to be continued" appears; tune in next week. The plot would then start a new chapter with a new character's story. Rudy would be careful to work in each character into the overall theme of the book though. I think if Rudy cut out all the idle, boring parts (that would be about half of the book) it would be a good novel. Some of Rudy Rucker's other books got better reviews so I would recommend you read those books.



2. I've never thought of Rucker as a great writer, but he never wants for interesting ideas. While his characters tend to be fairly broad and cartoonish, the bright colors of his invented slang and weird technology make for a nice pleasant brain buzz.
   
   In "Freeware", Rucker continues his little AI saga begun in "Software" and "Wetware". The boppers (the little AI robots featured in the first two novels) are all dead, but their spirit (or at least their core software) lives on in the "moldies", who are basically big pieces of self-aware floppy plastic infected with a stinky fungus. Of course what Rucker immediately wants to investigate is: Can you have sex with a moldie? The answer, of course, is yes.
   
   The plot meanders through the backstories of its various characters (which also help shed light on the events which have occurred since "Wetware"), shows off the interesting abilities of the moldies (some of which require some suspension of disbelief), showcases exciting new fictional mind-altering drugs, and eventually comes to the Big Reveal, which I found fairly interesting. Although this sort of thing (I'm not going to say WHAT sort of thing) has certainly been done before, I don't think it's ever been done in quite this fashion.
   
   One major complaint I have about the book is its rather abrupt ending. Rucker wraps things up here in about two pages, as if he was in a rush to finish. A bit more denouement would have been nice.
   
   Basically, if you've read and enjoyed the first two "Ware" books, you're likely to find this enjoyable as well. Anyone who HASN'T read the first two books is advised to start with the first book, "Software", which is a rather short (150 pages) and breezy read.



3. With all the predictions and future strangeness this comes off as Sodom and
   Gomorrah: the characters are mostly seriously morally challenged ( bright like Molly).
   It comes off with the feeling that it was written by a person on pot having a dream that turns rapidly into a nightmare.
   The ideas of using
   aperiodic tiles as computers has so far not had anything but virtual fruit like this.
   Written before the current quantum computing doctrines came in
   and AI went out of fashion, this novel has a genealogy of humans and moldies
   and some sexual content that might be too much for a lot of people.
   The two other novels I've read by Rudy Rucker were much better than this one.



4. Evolution continues rapidly in Rudy Rucker's freeware. From bops, big bops, little bops through meatbops we have yet another life form appearing in freeware, and it is sentient mold.
   
   These moldies, being more organic, can interact with humans differently, and in some cases very closely.
   
   More of the burned out beach bum and borg style can be found here.



5. At his best, Rudy Rucker demonstrates that he can write truly engaging cyberpunk science fiction tales that are heavily infused with his knowledge of mathematics (In real life he is a professor of mathematics as well as a science fiction writer.). I honestly don't know what to make of "Freeware", which is the third of his "ware" novels chronicling the evolution of both humanity and self-replicating AI life. Here he introduces us to "Moldies", a plastic-derived AI life form that has developed an uneasy truce with humanity and colonized the Moon after the "bop" AI life forms were killed off by a virus. Alas "Freeware" isn't as funny as Neal Stephenson's "Snowcrash", though Rucker often tries to be, mixing up fast-paced action sequences with lots and lots of kinky sex. (I'm not troubled at all by the sex, but I've seen it done with more realism and finer literary technique from other science fiction writers.). So hardcore fans of Rucker's work may find "Freeware" quite enjoyable; for me it's a bit of a disappointment.

5 comments about Cyberpunk 2020: The Roleplaying Game of the Dark Future.

1. I've ben GMing for something like fifteen years and this is the system I always return to. If I want to run someting of my own, this is the system I base it on.

   Slim-line, fast, flexible, simple, expansive, effective. All words that describe Talsorian's game mechanics - it simply does not get any better.

   As for the universe - this is a REAL world of darkness. No bright dawn, no happy ever after. Only your wits and tech, style and edge. No right or wrong, only power and death, a world of grey areas that seems only just around the corner.

   If you are a gamer and you don't have this - get it now.

   If you aren't a gamer but love the Dark Future setting, it's worth it.

   Magnificent.




2. I was stationed in Vilseck Germany with the 2nd of the 63rd Armor when I friend told me about Cyber Punk. It was almost a year before we found someone with the books, and immediatly set up a game. It was a game that I have never forgoten. It sits in my mind like the begining of Secret of Mana, forever a defining factor in my oppinions.

   This game does tend to drag with its role to hit/role to dodge rules, but it is more believable then any other game I have seen or played. The setting for Cyber Punk is OURT world, with OUR history. It is science fiction. We can look at our own lives, make few changes to the timeline, and see that it IS possible. In reality, these things would never happen, but in the game, it is easier for us to adapt to this new world because it is so close to our own. Realy, what has changed? The world has met a sort of anarchy, like in Mad Max. The government is now run by Corporations. Bionics are common enough that you see people with mettle limbs on a regular basis. This world is more real then any other I have seen, and this makes more believable. Since it is more believable it becomes easier to enter your charactor and enjoy the game.

   If I had to rate all the games I have played, I would put this on tope, even with its long combat and ineffectiveness with machine guns.




3. CP 2020 is by far the best pencil and paper RPG, this is all you need to get started. Playing CyberPunk will open your eyes to the world and the direction it is heading in and also opens your creativity and imagination. Everything from the weapons, the armor and the stat system whips AD&D. Anyone who doesn't like the whole fantasy ideals and/or combat system of AD&D needs to give CP a serious look-see.

   If you like CP:2020 check out the CyberSphere MOO, well coded and reasonably closely based on CP.

   Telnet on over to:

   cs.vv.com:6969
   or
   cs.vv.com:7777




4. Out of the whole cyberpunk movement and craze, it would seem that a role playing game was a natural. This had an interesting setting and information, and was appropriately brutal. This would lead to characters having the life expectancy of at least a little more than a paranoia clone, so you had to do something about that if you wanted to feature violence in your games.



5. In the short-run, it's like Shadowrun only without anything in the way of mysticism or magic. It's all metal or nothing in this game.
   
   Plenty here have praised the games mechanics, so I won't dive into that... ditto the excellent storyline (I haven't actually GMed a CP game in almost 10 years, and haven't played in five, yet I'll still flip through the rulebook every so often just to read about the local color and stories provided)
   
   If the game has a downfall it is only in that the story lineage is a little dated by modern standards (although strangely prophetic). As 2020 is fast approaching us (being 12 years away as of this writing) much of what was theorized as being "part of the future" has actually come to pass: The internet (ok, not QUITE as they have invisioned it, but can it be far off?), cellphones, corperations wielding vast political power, even modern stem-cell research is a harbinger to the body limb-regrowth capabilities tauted in the game, ditto with cyberlimbs/prosthetics.
   
   The game itself is still very much worth playing. Only now instead of a "dark future", the game has instead become more of a "grim alternate reality"... or alternately, you could just move the game's story ahead 20-30 years and adjust accordingly :)
   
   I highly reccomend it. If I could find another regular crew to play with locally, I'd be all over it!

5 comments about Better than Real: Sensual Solutions for the Discerning Client.

1. This is the type of book that you won't want to put down until you reach the end. Huw Lyan Thomas is a superb storyteller along the lines of Orson Scott Card or Robert Heinlein. Clear and easy to read, the story builds upon itself with each chapter. It's not a cold, robotic science fiction, but one where you'll feel you're living alongside the characters in their own world. You'll experience the wonder of their technology, but will also feel their pain and joy. Highly recommended!



2. I enjoyed this book very much. Thomas has a skill in bringing a world to life, then bringing the reader into that world. The technology is interesting and convincing and the story sets a fine pace. It is imaginative writing and good writing to boot. Highly recommended.



3. This is an absorbing work that I spent a day and a half reading cover to cover. It is written so smoothly and visually that when done you feel as though you have lived in this world (and don't want it to end, which was great because the way the ending is written, it is a complete work unto itself yet leaves the door open for a sequel.) Suspense-filled, with great and memorable characters. The author obviously knows a lot about current and future technology and renders this highly imagined world in a way that makes it scarily real for the reader, and the tone of the book is great throughout, you feel as though Lee is real and a friend and even the most brutal of characters are made human. (I am an attorney and when I have a "client" that means one thing to me but when Stranger, pronounced, Strang-er, has a "client" it means something shudderingly different.)
   
   I greatly recommend this book. If there are any smart film makers out there, they ought to read it. I hope the author is working on a screenplay because this would seriously make a wonderful movie -- it has all the successful elements of box office hits like The Matrix-- it fill your senses, keeps you on the edge of your seat and transports you into another world while connecting you to the characters so that you truly enjoy the ride (and don't want it to end-- I hope the author will do that sequel.)



4. Better Than Real by Huw Lyan Thomas presents a fast paced story in a coherent and believable near-future world with a great cast of characters, all of whom have at least one quality that makes them engaging or just plain cool. The story is a fast and fairly easy read. It's focused more on characters and plot than technical jargon and minute details. In other words, cyberpunk aficionados may find this book overly simplistic and may enjoy something like Looking Glass by James R. Strickland a lot more. But more casual cyberpunk readers may like this one.
   
   The tale told is certainly not the most original tale, but a story does not need to be original to be enjoyable. I was reminded of some of my favorite anime, manga, comics, etc. as I was reading. The first chapter, for example, evoked thoughts of Elfen Lied in me and that's part of the reason I wanted to check this book out- because it evoked feelings of something else I liked.
   
   The book is not without flaws, however. Sometimes the writing is a tad choppy. Sometimes events, albeit minor ones, just suddenly happen. This is one book that I felt could have benefited from smoother writing with more details. Of course, if you dislike copious details and just want to get to the good parts, check this book out. Even the first chapter starts off in the middle of the action and it was reading that first chapter on Amazon that made want to buy the book and find out what happens next.
   
   Bottom line? If you are a more casual reader and don't mind sometimes choppy writing, this is a fun book to read over a holiday or weekend. If you want deeper, meatier, and more "tech-y" cyberpunk, there are better choices out there, such as James Strickland's Looking Glass. I enjoyed the book personally because I was looking for a more fun and relaxed read for the holidays.
   
   But don't take my word for it. Go ahead and read the excerpt provided here at Amazon and decide for yourself if this is a book you'd like to read.



5. Lee is a "mindware" designer for the Zendyne Corporation. Mindware is what we would call AI. In particular, he designs the shallow personalities of love dolls; mindless androids who exist to please. That is, until one of them goes berserk and kills her owner. Lee is called to the scene to investigate. Instead of discovering a malfunctioning love doll, he makes an astonishing discovery: the doll is lucid, she's self-aware. And she's got a name: Lilith.
   
   Not wanting Zendyne to get their hands on this advanced new AI, Lee downloads her into his "handeck", and convinces his employers that he's still trying to determine the cause of the malfunction. After managing to find a new doll body for the Lilith AI, Lee suddenly finds himself up against her rightful owners. In particular, a knife-wielding robot-eyed sociopath named Stranger (pronounced STRAIN GRRR). They flee, Lee and Lilith in a high-tech RV, and violence ensues.
   
   I enjoyed this book. Even as I encountered passages that were silly, inane, ho-hum, wandering, and sometimes disgusting, after I finished reading Better Than Real, I immediately went online to find the sequel (there's not one).
   
   The primary characters make the book enjoyable, despite its flaws. The author lets them spring to life on their own, instead of trying to contrive zany personalities for them. There are zany characters to be found, of course. If the book were a movie, Stranger would be played by Michael Ironside, who never has trouble going temporarily insane in front of the camera.
   
   But the main three characters are what it's really all about. Lee, the techie who gets caught in the middle between a rogue military AI and a frightening corporation with high-tech Draconian policies literally turning its employees into drones. Lilith, who's too beautiful to be human, but too human to be an android. And Sooz, the sassy 20XX Ellie May, who dreams of escape and finds it.
   
   I enjoyed spending time with them. So much so that I dragged out reading the last fifty pages for a week. Here's hoping for that sequel.

5 comments about Master of Space and Time.

1. Any chance of this book actually being reprinted now that it is being adapted as the next film by the brilliant Michel Gondry? I'd like to read it, but I don't want to shell out twenty-five bucks for a paperback when I know the film will be brilliant anyway.



2. ______________________________________________
   "Master of Space
   & Time" (1985) is still my favorite Rucker novel,
   in which the tale of three wishes granted is explored via quantum
   mechanics, with wonderfully bizarre results. The apotheosis of Harry
   Gerber... I've read MST at least three times, & laughed aloud each time. One never knows
   what someone else's taste in humor might be, but I've given away at least half-a-dozen
   copies of MST over the years, and never heard a complaint. I'm very glad to see it back in print.
   
   Happy reading--
   Peter D. Tillman



3. I love Rucker's work... but this was not his best. This novel involves people making 'wishes.' And the wishes really aren't thought through very well, even when the novel suggests they are. This is obviously one of Rudy's earlier works... its fun and enjoyable, but he has produced much better.



4. This is my first Rudy Rucker book, and I guess he's not for me. Lots of wacky things happen from chapter to chapter, but it would be nice if there was a plot that I cared about. It just felt very haphazard.



5. I don't know what book those other people were reading, when they gave this five stars. What bothered me about this book. Short list:
   1) Bigotry. I'd obviously prefer people don't flap their bigotries in the wind, but if they're going to, then it's incredibly distasteful to see people justify their bigotry by making the people they hate *deserve* that hatred by doing such palpably inane things. Anti-religious bigotry runs throughout this book. He makes up a couple of religions that are really stupid (showing that he doesn't understand how any religions outside of California actually work), and he has Christians flock straight into alien subservience for no other apparent reason than that it would be stupid to flock in, so Christians would obviously do that. And it just never seems to occur to him that there's something wrong with that.
   2) Speaking of Rucker not having properly thought out what "real people" should actually do: early on, a giant lizard attacks a city. The book takes place in a world fairly similar to this one, so nothing like that has ever happened. And the next day, is anyone talking about it? For some reason, no. It's boring old business as usual. And when the main character actually asks somebody about it, it's like "Oh yeah, that thing. Yeah that was kinda weird."
   3) If you're going to rip off Robert Heinlein (Puppetmasters) please do a good job of it. Better yet, don't rip off Robert Heinlein.
   4) If you're going to rip off Robert Heinlein (By His Bootstraps) please do a good job of it. Better yet, don't rip off Robert Heinlein.
   5) Isn't Rucker supposed to actually be a scientist? Then why doesn't he display some sense of science? He just tosses out science terms willy-nilly as justifications for the plot, without any actual science. Why does changing Plank's constant give these guys power? Seriously. There used to be a day when you'd read science fiction and come away actually having learned something. But hey, Rucker's obviously a string theorist. Those guys don't feel like they need to make sense with science, either, so he probably doesn't see what's wrong with this.
   6) And for kicks, we get to come along on Rucker's transsexual fantasy. He does make sure to explain that he wished to become a beautiful woman as part of a heterosexual urge, though. Uh, yeah. Riiiiight.

5 comments about The Shockwave Rider.

1. Little is to be added to the other reviews. This 28-year old book not only decribed the internet as it will become very soon long before its inception, but computer viruses (called "worms" by Brunner) before the first PC too, plus a few other things and issues not even mentioned yet.
   Since a friend gave it to me to read many years ago, I've bought every copy of it I could find. I have kept one German and one English version and as I will not let them out of my bookshelf under no circumstances I gave all others away as gifts, still looking for more copies to give away.
   It has been sold out so often and for such a long time, each time and in each of those two languages available to me, that if one were to be a follower of conspiracy theories, well, the fact that this book is not reprinted as often as some other books of Brunner are would be reason for suspicion.



2. Although I can certainly understand the appeal of this groudbreaking precambrian cyberpunk novel, the story and language are hopelessly dated to a modern reader. In a way the book reminded me of an Ayn Rand novel; good ideas stuck between pages upon pages of confusing and ridiculous dialog spewed by one-dimensional characters.



3. I remember buying all Brunner novels I could find as he wrote them back in the 20th C. His were among the few science fiction novels that were in the book racks at the grocery, back in the late 70's and early 80's. I guess I was about 14 or so when I got my little paws on this one. I was enticed and excited, much as I was by other sci-fi novels back then, but it was only when I began reading Gibson and Walter John many years later that I began to recall ... dated, of course, and Brunner's characters are all very much 1950-70's type characters, very neurotic and uptight. (People are not so much like that any more, of course ;-). They are now just whacked, or stupid.)
   
   And it is amusing to see Brunner's future world where everybody logs into a massive mainframe for the entire continent. It's amusing to think maybe we could have gone that route technologically; a central monolithic network instead of a zillion anarchistic distributed networks. Then perhaps Windows would be the "good guys" and Nix would be the "Evil Empire!"
   
   In this techno-dystopian novel, it seems the wrong people have been given root privileges. And although the word "hacker" had not been invented yet, our protagonist is indeed an anti-social computer whiz/underachiever, who devises a virus that ... well, enough spoiling for today. Read teh book!
   
   And if you enjoyed this, consider looking at the "Future Shock" trilogy by Alvin Toffler, a major inspiration to Brunner, both intellectually and stylistically, and Brunner's "The Sheep Look Up," his other greatest novel -- one of very many, as Brunner was very prolific.



4. First cyberpunk! Got the internet's effect on people right in 1975! Got the "wisdom of crowds" right in '75! And, of course, future shock and Brunner's style of short "chapters" tangental to the plot to flesh out the world. There is a lot of good stuff to think about here.
   
   But, its all exposition. Characters talking about how they think the world should be run. Events happen, many integral to the plot, but they are all basically resolved in a section break then characters talk about the results. Don't get me wrong, I really like the book and think it is worth a read for almost everyone. I just don't think its a 5.
   
   The message I take away is "give people information and let them make their own decisions". But, at the same time, the story tells us that it takes very exceptional people -- one virtually unique -- to make that happen. Which leaves me with the worry that if people were to start making the wrong choices -- as the bulk of society has in the story -- would the "enlightened elite" let them keep doing it? No easy answers.



5. Shockwaver Rider is a cyberpunk precursor style of book, written before there were even personal computers, Brunner comes up with a very extensive multi-user system that everyone is connected to.
   
   That is obviously open to abuse, and a talented rebel sets out to do something about what is happening.

4 comments about Storming the Reality Studio: A Casebook of Cyberpunk & Postmodern Science Fiction.

1. Ian Davis's Review of: Storming the reality studio
   How to explain this book... The young persons guide to modern Sf,
   Nahhhh...
   Cyberpunk sampler....no that's not it...
   Ah ha! Got it!!!
   The cyberpunk catalouge! That's good...
   

   This book is, and i'm quoting from the cover, "A casebook of post-modern and cyberpunk fiction"...

   Eeeep!

   Whenever I hear the words "post modern" and "fiction", in the same sentence it makes my ears sweat. I don't like the term..not one bit...

   But this book over came part of that fear...and take note when I say part..because it still needs something...like better content.

   Don't get me wrong..I liked the book. It has some very good art and stories..including some rare art from J. O'Barr.

   But a high proportion is shit, pure pseudo SF shit at it's most dismal. It has excerpts from many a book...that's why it's like a catalouge.On how the editor Larry McCaffrey, has compiled this tome I have a theory.

   McCaffery sits in his office. One man, a well dressed excec from a large publisher sits across from him in one chair, and a semi-serious Sf reader in another. They take turns choosing stories. the reader picks stories that best represent authors with a grasp of the field, and the exec looks at a list of books that sit unsold in one of his wharehouses.

   I say this because that is how the book feels. some excerpts from novels have all the right in the world to be there. A "cyberpunk" book WITHOUT Neuromancer would be ludicrous. But to include bizzre poems and little picture assembled by a first year art student, is not at all good, espescially when you include books like "Empire of the senseless". The book lacks any coherent structure, except for the flimsy Fiction, non Fiction division.

   The last thing that makes me cringe is whenever McCaffery writes. He seems to think Cyberpunk is this incredible Post-MTV and MuchMusic art form, but in reality it's still Sf, just with better stories, and no talking fur covered aliens.

   But you might think a hate it. Nay! I liked about 65% of it very much and another 10% quite a bit, but that last %25 wretch! Lets say what's good...

   Some of the stories are quite good, printing exerpts from hard to find and little known books, like IMP plus and MetroPhage. these are really good examples of the "cyberpunk" genre. And the short stories are pretty well done. The best parts however lie in the rarest.
   

   J. O'barrs graphics short storie is easily one of the best examples of the comic as fiction I have ever seen.

   The inteview with Cyberpunk-papa William Gibson is quite interesting, and available here and here alone, as far as I've looked. Some of the essays are very nice, if you have read the books they refer to. The non-fiction peice on Japan's love of Cyberpunk is impressive, especially about the earliest stories from that country in the vein of "cyberpunk".

   Two last good notes.

   One part, the comaparison between the text in Kathy Ackers "Empire of the sensless" and Gibsons "Neuromancer", is quite effective in showing Acker as the low grade writer she is, demonstrating how she lifts whole sections right out of Gibsons book, only changing the name of the characters.

   And finally the explanations of what several authors think is "Cyber", are interesting in their different viewpoints.

   So should you get it? If you are a purist for everything Cyber, Yes If you want rare fiction, also yes If you jack-all about Cyberpunk Sf, maybe If you hate bad poetry, No! If you want to read 5 page snippets from books, Yes

   All in all, a new revised edition removing crap like Acker and the poety would be very good, and instead of cramming it with commercials for other books, more whole short fiction would be great.

   All in all, an average book, you might like it, you might hate it. I, on a whole, semmed to like it, despite it's many problems.

   Try it for a taste of the best (and very worst) of "Cyberpunk" Sf




2. I enjoyed this collection of cyberpunk writing immensely. McCaffery chose a fine collection of cyberpunk examples, ranging from the well known to the less known, from fiction to non-fiction ssay. The ordering is near perfection--the arrangement allows the pieces to speak to each other, and of each other (a very cyberpunkean move). Given the above reviewer's apparent distress concerning certain aspects of the book, and some misguided reductions of cyberpunk (basically just SF without hairy aliens; and his basic misunderstanding of the interpolation that occurs within the genre--i.e. his rantings re: Acker and hackdom), I hope this doesn't dissuade you from purchasing this very worthwhile book--it's wonderful. Especially exciting is the "Cyberpunk 101" section where various books and films are listed and shortly (and bitingly witty--see the one for Ballard's _Crash_) are recommended and briefly summarized.



3. It's a shame that this book had to be so big, and its excerpts so brief. McCaffery has chosen a good selection of postmodern SF, but the excerpts are too often just a couple pages long. The result is a book a mile wide and an inch deep: it touches on every aspect of postmodern SF without really explaining or clearing up anything at all.

   A good way to use this book might be to read through it, choose what strikes your fancy, then buy the complete books attached to those. But I'm afraid if you just read this book, your glimpses of this very exciting genre will be too fleeting for you to get a good picture of it as a whole.

   To his credit, McCaffery has chosen an excellent array of writers and subgenres, including many who I did not know were SF or who dealt with SF in ways I hadn't expected. I should also mention that the design of the book is fantastic.




4. This book is a must-have if you're a fan of anything cyberpunk. There are more than 40 contributors, so not every piece is brilliant, but the book still deserves a five star rating. Highlights: fiction from almost everyone who was important in the cyberpunk movement (Gibson, Rucker, Shiner, Shirley, Sterling, etc.) and some other excellent writers not usually included in the group (Ballard, W. S. Burroughs, Pynchon), along with insightful essays by a diverse selection of writers including Timothy Leary and several important figures in the world of postmodern theory (Baudrillard, Derrida, Jameson, Kroker). Storming the Reality Studio is one book that I am proud to own, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

5 comments about Kiln People (The Kiln Books).

1. A great read! Written in a bizarre mixture of POV's, it takes a bit to get used to this novel. There are also quite a few slang terms used for the technology that add verisimilitude and character to this fictional world. Throughout the course of the book, there are interesting plot twists and turns to keep you riveted, and the moral questions can keep you thinking! A highly enjoyable read that I reccomend to others.



2. I've been reading science fiction for more than 40 years. Mr. Brin gave me a gift in this book.... something completely different. It is nice to get a surprise rather than have a rehashing of tired old themes. If you want a surprise and are tired of the old Bug-Eyed-Monsters-Eat-The-World kind of books, I highly recommend this author and this book.



3. Strangely unsatisfying for a Brin work, although an interesting idea, the clay copies part. Perhaps for a mystery/murder type book this is a bit on the long side, so that is part of the problem. Definitely lighter in tone than a lot of his other novels, or less serious, although not without serious implications.



4. This book was a long read, and I wouldn't say it was very streamlined when it comes to plot. No, I'd say that in place of any sort of this-happens-and-then-this-happens-etc. type of plot, this book focuses on creating an entire, amazing, previously unthought-of WORLD--and doing a fine job of it, I might add.
   The book tells the story of a world in which people can download copies of their souls into temporary clay bodies, send those bodies out to do their work (or play) for them, and then inload those bodies' memories into themselves at the end of the day. It's a terrific idea with tons of opportunities provided (and taken) by the author to sketch out all the crazy practices and idiosyncracies and philosophical ramifications that such a world would incorporate: from war to sex to child custody.
   The book takes a little while to understand and to get into, but it ultimately really pays off. The story is good, but ultimately seems like merely a vehicle to put this amazing world of clay "dittos" on display.
   I read online that a sequel, "Kiln Time" is in the works, and this book was good enough that I would certainly buy that as well.



5. The first half or so of David Brin's "Kiln People" is written in the style of a Robert Ludlum thriller set in a pulp-fiction atmosphere. Albert Morris is a futuristic Sam Spade specializing in the ostensibly not-very-sexy field of copyright infringement--although, centuries from now, one's most valuable "intellectual property" is one's own consciousness. Copyright takes on new meaning when the latest nanotechnologies allow humans to download their egos into duplicates that can perform hazardous, exotic, erotic, or mundane tasks for 24 hours before uploading the day's experiences back to the owner's mind. There's a burgeoning black market for the mental imprints of celebrities; for some, the vicarious thrills are even better when you can have one of your dummies tango with "kinky-specialist personalities" cloned from somebody famous at cut-rate discounts. It's the world's worst possible dystopia: a million little pirated Britneys.
   
   To solve his latest case, Morris sends out a number of his clones (dittos), and when they become separated, we are treated to the giddy spectacle of multiple Morrises--all with the same pasts but with entirely different presents. The twists continue when dittos disappear or rebel or are led to believe that the original Morris has been assassinated. We see the world from the perspective of each of the copies--and none is quite sure what has happened to the others. Soon, the original and his clones find themselves trapped in the intrigues of corporate espionage and murder involving the inventors of the very technology that created them.
   
   These opening sections--and the subsequent chase scenes--are thrilling, innovative noir of the highest caliber. It's great fun--and to say much more would spoil the plot's many surprises. Admittedly, the "science" requires a suspension of disbelief: that clay (!) would be used for creating the clones. I think, however, that Brin has made the right choice here: basing the future on a famous myth (i.e., the golem) is more powerful than imagining a scientific breakthrough that might seem even more ridiculous within a few years.
   
   It's somewhat disarming, then, to reach the book's final chapters, when Brin switches, quite dramatically, from the atmospherics of mythical noir to a quasi-mystical Swedenborgian theopoetics blending quantum theory, biomechanics, and the soul. Brin spells out his metaphysics in turgid sequences of sentence fragments, flowery aphorisms, and bizarre non-sequiturs. ("But evolution clings! Your body yearns for the tingle of fair wind, the sting of rain, the luscious event and taste of food, the fight-flight rush or adrenaline.") It's as if Ralph Waldo Emerson had decided to take up science fiction--the Transcendental Over-Soul meets the Genetic Soulscape--and the result is not pretty.
   
   After the first two hundred pages, I was beginning to think that "Kiln People" would be one of the best science fiction novels I had ever read. Yet, just as the dittos escape Albert Morris, it seems that the plot and the characters spin out of control from the author, whose story gets lost in the philosophical implications of the world he has created from whole clay. Paging again through a few passages, I realize that I may as well have been reading two different books: the early chapters could have appeared in an old issue of Black Mask; the final chapters remind me of late Heinlein. The change is mood is jarring, and, in spite of a promising foundation, "Kiln People" ultimately resembles an unglazed pot.

5 comments about Wetware.

1. Rucker will open up your mind with this book Wetware. The imagination Rucker has of the future is crazy yet believable enough to immerse yourself in him world. Wetware takes you to a world with self-sufficient robots living on the moon and people melting themselves for pleasure. The humans no longer control the robots; the robots are trying to control humans. If you are thinking this is just another book about robots, you are wrong. This book is not the norm in robot books. Rucker's robots come is huge variety of different shapes and sizes. They can even show their emotions though colors flashing across there bodies. Rucker gives a fresh view and some new concepts in his world of the future.

   How far will AI go? How far could the human race take drugs to satisfy sexual of emotional needs? Could human actually live off earth? After you read this book, you might wonder about these same things. This book does jump around a little but is still easy to follow. Wetware has made me want to read the other books in this series, Software, Freeware and Realware. If you are a cyberpunk fan then it is well worth the read!




2. Rucker's "Wetware" is one of those books that confirms everything bad that some people believe about Science Fiction. Aside from a rushed pace and the overused "robotic messiah" plotline, the most frusturating thing about Wetware is the fact that you can't avoid its prevalent sexism. Women exist either as prostitutes for drug dealers or temporary carriers for robot/human hybrids. In such an environment it takes a strong author to create sympathies for a character, but here all we are left with is a depressing vision of all the characters as scum without the vitality of prose that Gibson or Stephenson manage to portray even their most unsympathetic character with.



3. Rucker's Robotos, or bops, have decided to go in for a bit of hybridisation, so they create organic clone bodies for themselves from human DNA.
   
   Quite a bit of silliness in these books, robot moon bases and other explorations notwithstanding, it is a bit of a look at how weird sentient machines or AI could get.



4. Gideon's Fall: When You Dont Have a Prayer, Only a Miracle Will Do This is a strange but intriguing novel. Written in a lyrical style that melds one to the subject matter. I enjoyed it from the first page........think of that



5. Sorry, but I don't understand the negative reviews. This book is so well, so completely conceived, it really has few peers. Hilarious, too. There are more projective/predictive ideas in the first chapter than in most writer's entire oeuvres. It makes perfect sense to me and I am awe at an author who has such a vivid, logical, and prolific imagination. Well written, too, in a gonzo way.
   
   Incidentally, the boppers aren't robots, exactly. They are more like self-programmable, sentient, artificial protoplasm... with good senses of humor, no less (well, some of them).
   
   Highly recommended.