false 218571 6 Slightly dated science fiction about the near future can be fun, especially when it evokes a strange, chaotic, and dangerous world that's uncomfortably close to our present one. Bruce Sterling's 1988 book, <I>Islands in the Net</I>, is a thrilling blend of high tech and low humanity. The glue that binds together this world of data pirates, mercenaries, nanotechnology, weaponry, and post-millennial voodoo is the global electronic net. You'll find jarring references to pre-Microsoft Windows computer technology, the Soviet Union, and that fancy new wonder machine--the fax. But this book has enough cool stuff to keep even a jaded cyberpunk interested. The characters are far more than mere constructs used to show off the technology, and the plot is fast, complicated, and mysterious. Veteran Sterling fans will enjoy this taste of his pre-fame style. 962311 book 1988 Islands in the Net total:380|5:62|4:130|3:150|2:32|1:6| 380 1350 505 20 1 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1996 Fri Dec 19 22:09:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 22:18:45 -0800 2008 Pyromania! Hysteria! Islands in the Net! How the hell ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Aug 10 18:23:43 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 18:24:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Apr 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 23:32:27 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 14:51:48 -0700 2009 The fun part is that when you're r...more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Dec 17 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 22:35:35 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 10:32:27 -0800 2008
Okay, we don't have personal watch-phones. We have personal phone-watches instead. Big deal.

The trajectory of this book, the whiff of cynicism, menace, strangeness, and internationalism -- it's basic arguments about the future of power, all of them are still rel...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Nov 06 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Thu Jul 03 04:58:16 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 29 08:16:54 -0700 2008 Sterling, lui, préfère s’intéresser au basculement, et c’est à ce moment précis que se situe l’i...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1991 Wed Sep 05 01:46:04 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 19 21:01:31 -0700 2007 Islands in the Net now, it may take a minute to figure out why it's a cyberpunk classic. There is very little VR, and what is there is not described in detail. Most of the book is off the grid (but then again, much of Neuromancer is, too). The heroine isn't a hack, programmer, or countercult...more...]]> 1 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1993 Thu Dec 18 17:35:55 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 18 17:35:55 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Thu Aug 30 15:59:06 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 30 15:59:06 -0700 2007 Islands in the Net was my first experience with Bruce Sterling and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. I really dig the political aspects of the writing. It dosen't have the incredible technological detail that William Gibson is so great at, or the slick, futuristic, "cool" that Neil Step...more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Dec 23 04:18:07 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 23 04:19:22 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Thu Jul 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 12:29:32 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 12:36:06 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 16 18:59:49 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 07:07:59 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jul 08 12:17:06 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 12:17:06 -0700 2009 4 1 false false Fri Jun 20 22:17:03 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 20 22:21:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Wed Aug 13 18:33:49 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 13 18:39:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Jul 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 19:44:01 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 15:09:40 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Dec 14 23:24:34 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 14 23:27:55 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Tue Aug 19 16:03:32 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 16:03:47 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Thu May 08 12:56:51 -0700 2008 Thu May 08 13:09:00 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Jan 11 17:06:33 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 11 17:07:32 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Fri Jan 04 14:08:14 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 04 14:08:24 -0800 2008