I found out about this book from a website which gives details of free ebooks. I thought the blurb sounded really interesting, especially as the idea...moreI found out about this book from a website which gives details of free ebooks. I thought the blurb sounded really interesting, especially as the idea of Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, reality television and Ebay all merging into one thing doesn’t seem that unlikely or that far off! Neither does the idea of rating people, online popularity seems to be getting more and more important these days with the option to like or +1 things outside of Facebook/Google+ et al.
It took me a while to get into the book, although that probably wasn’t helped by reading it on my phone and I kept forgetting it was there. The plot starts off a little slow, which is down to a lot of scene-setting it has to do to explain the workings of the year 2043. Once I’d got past the first dozen chapters or so - they’re only short - I found it quite engrossing. It’s nicely paced and the ending is very satisfactory; it’s a bit clichéd but I really didn’t mind because it was the ending I hoped for. It’s certainly an entertaining and amusing read. It’s written in a very light and casual style that’s quick and easy to read; it doesn’t take an awful lot of brain power and is just the thing for unwinding with.
Some aspects reminded me of Douglas Adams, particularly the sections about the gadgets and computers talking to each other. They were quite well done and I liked the additional backstory that was going on there. It started off not seeming to be important at all but of course it ended up being a main factor in the outcome which I think is always a nice way of doing it. The different characters were entertaining, and it can’t be easy putting a character to a toothbrush or toilet!
The human characters in comparision were possibly a little flat but that could be down to the whole online aspect. As people who spend a decent amount of time online will know, a lot of people present a totally different character online than they do in Reality. The book is written from Gordy’s point of view so he is the one that the reader gets to know most about and although he seems very 2 dimensional at first, his character really develops and grows throughout the book.
Technology is a huge aspect of the book but I think it’s handled quite well, although I did have some trouble picturing how the vids worked especially when people were walking around. There’s a lot of amusement in there, such as the ideas of cars that are solely status symbols and never driven because people pod to work. The idea of a mandatory time at work to make sure that people leave their homes is also comical. And of course, those who refuse to take on board any of this new technology are also included, to the point where it’s almost a religion, and who are as baffling to the rest of society as they are today.
All in all, it’s a really good read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it, especially to anyone who has an active online life. (less)
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