I followed this story as it unfolded in the early 90s through the pages of Phrack, cud, and other philes and ezines. I talked to Bloodaxe and Phiber o...moreI followed this story as it unfolded in the early 90s through the pages of Phrack, cud, and other philes and ezines. I talked to Bloodaxe and Phiber on #mindvox back in the old days, but other than Emmanuel Goldstein, I never really *knew* the people who were central to this story, so it was interesting to relive it all through a journalist's eyes.
Like all of the stories written about the LOD/MOD feud, the subjects contest the facts as presented in the book, and like all of the stories written about hacking in the 80s and early 90s, it's difficult to tell what's fact and what's myth, but even then, when it was happening, the only people who knew what really happened were the guys who dialed into Tymnet, and then as now it was in their personal interest to make themselves seem a little taller, their conquests a little more epic, their accusers a little more dastardly.
In other words, you have to take everything in this book with a grain of salt ... just like we did when we telnetted into some long-forgotten BBS and read The History of MoD back in the old days.
This book probably deserves between 3 and 3.5 stars. The authors frequently switched between present and past tense, in what I think was an effort to make readers feel like they're listening to 18 year-olds talk, but I found jarring and distracting. Ultimately, though, I graded it on a curve and rounded up to 4 because I loved the subject, and the opportunity it gave me to revisit a time when I explored what would become the internet, 80 columns at a time, at 14.4k, dreaming of connecting at 56k some day.(less)
I know it's like saying "puppies are cute," but it bears repeating: everyone who wants to write, whether for a living or not, simply must read this bo...moreI know it's like saying "puppies are cute," but it bears repeating: everyone who wants to write, whether for a living or not, simply must read this book.
On Writing did more for me as a writer than anything, and any success I've found as a storyteller can be traced to my reading it.(less)
Without getting into any spoilers: this is a fictionalized account of the doomed Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage in 1845. It is abou...moreWithout getting into any spoilers: this is a fictionalized account of the doomed Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage in 1845. It is about hubris, greed, strength during unspeakable adversity, and possibly redemption.
Oh, there's also a terrifying monster that they call The Thing on The Ice which is slowly killing everyone aboard the two ships.
It's Dan Simmons, so he takes his time getting into the meat of the story (my dad said that he was telling three stories when he could have told one) but I consider that to be a feature of his writing, rather than a bug.
I absolutely loved this novel. In fact, I loved it so much, I read most of it during JoCoCruiseCrazy in the beginning of 2011, because I just couldn't put it down, even though I was in the middle of the Caribbean on an amazing cruise.(less)
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