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The Wired Man
Imagine a world where social media is your identity. Every tweet logged, every “like” tracked, and every interaction analyzed and distilled into a singular representation of existence: your social score. Software engineer Aaron Stills understands this system better than most. With his choice of friends, an amazing girlfriend, and a blossoming career, he is on top of the world. All that changes when his brother is charged with murder. His social score ruined, Aaron becomes a second-class citizen. What he doesn’t know is that this is all part of a plan that will lead him to the very heart of the system and what it means to be human. It will lead him to a choice. What is more important? Freedom or Safety?
- GenresScience FictionDystopia
118 pages, Paperback
First published November 28, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 22, 2014
Other than making me afraid of Facebook, along with the future in general, I enjoyed this book. The premise intrigued me: a future world in which social media has subordinated everything, and some Facebook-like system runs the world.
The author did a good job imagining this future world. He seems to borrow from 1984 (which he refers to in the book), painting a world sharply divided between linkedin white collar professionals and a working proletariat toiling (literally) below them. It seems that Suski imagines the current levels of income inequality only increasing into this future dystopia. Lose enough social media points and this society sends white collar "winners" down to be prols.
The author did a good job showing how the protagonist, who begins the story as an unlikeable, self-absorbed narcissist, realizes just how precarious his position in this imagined society actually is. Suski throws in a pretty good conspiracy that gets particularly interesting toward the end of the book. The book also takes place in the near future, so vestiges of our present world still survive, though the narrator doesn't understand what some of them are (e.g., a statue of Buddha, cigarettes, a character crossing himself), which I found interesting.
The author seems to know a lot (at least a lot more than me) about the tech side of social media, which makes the book even better.
One thing that didn't work for me (though it might just be me): I didn't 100% follow some of the transitions between chapters, which were done as "entries."
Overall, the book held my interest with an interesting premise and a suspenseful story.
The author did a good job imagining this future world. He seems to borrow from 1984 (which he refers to in the book), painting a world sharply divided between linkedin white collar professionals and a working proletariat toiling (literally) below them. It seems that Suski imagines the current levels of income inequality only increasing into this future dystopia. Lose enough social media points and this society sends white collar "winners" down to be prols.
The author did a good job showing how the protagonist, who begins the story as an unlikeable, self-absorbed narcissist, realizes just how precarious his position in this imagined society actually is. Suski throws in a pretty good conspiracy that gets particularly interesting toward the end of the book. The book also takes place in the near future, so vestiges of our present world still survive, though the narrator doesn't understand what some of them are (e.g., a statue of Buddha, cigarettes, a character crossing himself), which I found interesting.
The author seems to know a lot (at least a lot more than me) about the tech side of social media, which makes the book even better.
One thing that didn't work for me (though it might just be me): I didn't 100% follow some of the transitions between chapters, which were done as "entries."
Overall, the book held my interest with an interesting premise and a suspenseful story.
May 12, 2014
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I really enjoyed the universe Suski made and I felt he painted an excellent picture of the American class divide within his book, but I really wanted things to be more fleshed out. I was really interested in seeing more of what makes you gain or loss points or at least learning more about the organization behind the entire system.
There were also quite a number of obvious errors littered about that make me feel like he didn't proofread his story at all.
Overall, I felt like the book wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything great either.
I really enjoyed the universe Suski made and I felt he painted an excellent picture of the American class divide within his book, but I really wanted things to be more fleshed out. I was really interested in seeing more of what makes you gain or loss points or at least learning more about the organization behind the entire system.
There were also quite a number of obvious errors littered about that make me feel like he didn't proofread his story at all.
Overall, I felt like the book wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything great either.
January 4, 2014
The Wired Man was provided to me free of charge by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This novella takes us on a scary ride through the world of social media and how bad things can turn if are lives are judged on just our social status. Imagine a world much like good old corporate America where you are rated based on who you are liked to, who you date and even how grand a party you threw. I can say for this book worm I would not fare so well in this world that David has created. It’s all about planning and manipulation and the developer of this world Richard knows that there is just something terribly wrong with it. This is where the Wired Man, Aaron, comes into the picture. Aaron has a great score of 1717 and he looks down and blames those that don’t have the means to keep their scores up to par. Basically he is a self centered prick that only cares about moving up and staying on top. Unfortunately for him Richard has chosen Aaron to be one of his guinea pigs. Can Aaron bring it all down? Will Aaron make a choice that will end this social status era or will he choose to keep it?
I feel that David did a great job at world building and putting the read into the story. I imagined myself on the balcony looking down (scared as hell of the height) as Aaron jumped to escape the bad guys. At first it was a little difficult to understand what was going on as the point of view goes back and forth between Richard and Aaron. I have read plenty of books like this but for some reason this one was more difficult for me, however, after about 25% of the way through it stopped being a problem.
I also had trouble with Aaron and Carissa’s relationship when his status was returned to normal. I could understand why Aaron wanted a relationship and needed the human touch after falling down so far but Carissa? Why did she suddenly change her mind? She was painted as status hungry woman yet all of a sudden she was willing to loose it all, or at least the points that kept her out of the Lowers? True we want to think people are willing to do anything for love but it just seemed so forced in this book. Don’t get me wrong I am totally satisfied that Aaron found love and someone to care for. I understand that he needed something besides a lifestyle to lose in order to put him in a position to want to fight. I guess I just needed more sustenance or an explanation of why she choose to give it all up, at least for a while.
I found it extremely ironic that in this world of David’s people are rated based on their social status but there was a large lack of actual human interaction on the personal level.
I think this is a great read and highly recommend it for its suspenseful, page turning writing.
Happy reading!
Find this and other reviews on my blog
This novella takes us on a scary ride through the world of social media and how bad things can turn if are lives are judged on just our social status. Imagine a world much like good old corporate America where you are rated based on who you are liked to, who you date and even how grand a party you threw. I can say for this book worm I would not fare so well in this world that David has created. It’s all about planning and manipulation and the developer of this world Richard knows that there is just something terribly wrong with it. This is where the Wired Man, Aaron, comes into the picture. Aaron has a great score of 1717 and he looks down and blames those that don’t have the means to keep their scores up to par. Basically he is a self centered prick that only cares about moving up and staying on top. Unfortunately for him Richard has chosen Aaron to be one of his guinea pigs. Can Aaron bring it all down? Will Aaron make a choice that will end this social status era or will he choose to keep it?
I feel that David did a great job at world building and putting the read into the story. I imagined myself on the balcony looking down (scared as hell of the height) as Aaron jumped to escape the bad guys. At first it was a little difficult to understand what was going on as the point of view goes back and forth between Richard and Aaron. I have read plenty of books like this but for some reason this one was more difficult for me, however, after about 25% of the way through it stopped being a problem.
I also had trouble with Aaron and Carissa’s relationship when his status was returned to normal. I could understand why Aaron wanted a relationship and needed the human touch after falling down so far but Carissa? Why did she suddenly change her mind? She was painted as status hungry woman yet all of a sudden she was willing to loose it all, or at least the points that kept her out of the Lowers? True we want to think people are willing to do anything for love but it just seemed so forced in this book. Don’t get me wrong I am totally satisfied that Aaron found love and someone to care for. I understand that he needed something besides a lifestyle to lose in order to put him in a position to want to fight. I guess I just needed more sustenance or an explanation of why she choose to give it all up, at least for a while.
I found it extremely ironic that in this world of David’s people are rated based on their social status but there was a large lack of actual human interaction on the personal level.
I think this is a great read and highly recommend it for its suspenseful, page turning writing.
Happy reading!
Find this and other reviews on my blog
January 5, 2016
I liked the idea of a dystopian world in which pretty much everything in your life was affected by your social media ‘score’. I thought that could be a good storyline to follow. I wanted to see more of what affects scores, how exactly they affect other aspects of one’s life than just work and dating, etc. We know that relationships alter your score; throwing a really good party alters your score. But we don’t see much of the mechanism through which this occurs. It feels like a fuzzy, nebulous ‘they’ attributing points (maybe a computer algorithm?) which takes the ‘social’ out of one’s social score. I wanted to see the details of how other people affect your score directly–who’s hitting that virtual ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ button and how.
I had trouble understanding how this particular version of the world could have come together. What incentive could have given social media such power? More troubling: how did corporations end up making their hiring and firing decisions based on those scores? Since social media scores come from social activity–which is by and large not job activity–this means companies are incentivizing their employees to NOT work hard or put in long hours. I fail to see how a company could get away with firing potentially their best people based on an irrelevant scoring mechanism. Also, who’s winning in this situation? Someone has to be getting something out of it. Advertisers somehow?
Some of the material was confusing. I had trouble putting together who was being followed by the narrative in several places. I particularly had difficulty following everything going on in the behind-the-scenes meta-plotting regarding how one might disrupt the dystopia. Some of the details didn’t come together well, and I would have liked at least a little bit of an epilogue to what happens.
This is a relatively short tale, but it raises some interesting questions about how much social media controls our lives. I would have liked a tighter narrative along with more depth and believability.
Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2015/11/r...
I had trouble understanding how this particular version of the world could have come together. What incentive could have given social media such power? More troubling: how did corporations end up making their hiring and firing decisions based on those scores? Since social media scores come from social activity–which is by and large not job activity–this means companies are incentivizing their employees to NOT work hard or put in long hours. I fail to see how a company could get away with firing potentially their best people based on an irrelevant scoring mechanism. Also, who’s winning in this situation? Someone has to be getting something out of it. Advertisers somehow?
Some of the material was confusing. I had trouble putting together who was being followed by the narrative in several places. I particularly had difficulty following everything going on in the behind-the-scenes meta-plotting regarding how one might disrupt the dystopia. Some of the details didn’t come together well, and I would have liked at least a little bit of an epilogue to what happens.
This is a relatively short tale, but it raises some interesting questions about how much social media controls our lives. I would have liked a tighter narrative along with more depth and believability.
Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2015/11/r...
December 14, 2013
I was given a free e copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review
This was an interesting story. Short, a little over 100 pages, but well written. I like what the author did, leaving the reader in the dark on some of the plot. That definitely made it more intriguing. However, I don't like waiting until 75% through the story to find out the main character's name. (very much a personal preference thing) I feel like he was the most described character, which was good. But I wanted to know who everyone else was in the story. I didn't have a clear picture of who they were or why they were doing the things they were doing. Most of it does get revealed. But I still didn't feel totally invested in what they were doing. I would have loved more of a back story and maybe a little more knowledge on what as actually going on. But again, I think that might have been what the author had intended when he wrote this. It definitely kept me guessing, kept me interested. I just had a hard time following the story line sometimes. But I think everything was made clear by about 80% through. It started to come together, it made sense and I could see the plot unfolding. It wasn't bad before 80%, just confusing at times. Very quick read for me so I never felt bored. Easy to read and enjoyable.
I believe this may have been Mr Suski's first novel. If that is the case, then his debut book was rather impressive. It's obvious he knows how to write. But it sort of felt like he was "testing the waters" with this story. This had the potential for a really awesome book, I guess I just wanted more. It's all personal taste. This was a great story, just not my favorite. But I see the value of a talented author. And this book was edited nicely. Always a huge plus!! I will definitely read another book by Mr Suski.
This was an interesting story. Short, a little over 100 pages, but well written. I like what the author did, leaving the reader in the dark on some of the plot. That definitely made it more intriguing. However, I don't like waiting until 75% through the story to find out the main character's name. (very much a personal preference thing) I feel like he was the most described character, which was good. But I wanted to know who everyone else was in the story. I didn't have a clear picture of who they were or why they were doing the things they were doing. Most of it does get revealed. But I still didn't feel totally invested in what they were doing. I would have loved more of a back story and maybe a little more knowledge on what as actually going on. But again, I think that might have been what the author had intended when he wrote this. It definitely kept me guessing, kept me interested. I just had a hard time following the story line sometimes. But I think everything was made clear by about 80% through. It started to come together, it made sense and I could see the plot unfolding. It wasn't bad before 80%, just confusing at times. Very quick read for me so I never felt bored. Easy to read and enjoyable.
I believe this may have been Mr Suski's first novel. If that is the case, then his debut book was rather impressive. It's obvious he knows how to write. But it sort of felt like he was "testing the waters" with this story. This had the potential for a really awesome book, I guess I just wanted more. It's all personal taste. This was a great story, just not my favorite. But I see the value of a talented author. And this book was edited nicely. Always a huge plus!! I will definitely read another book by Mr Suski.
January 15, 2014
THE WIRED MAN by David Adam Suski
I was given a free eBook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I had no prior knowledge of this author prior to reading THE WIRED MAN and I did not receive any compensation (other than the e-copy of this book) for writing this review.
A person's place in society is based on their "Social Score" and Aaron's score is great at 1717.
The higher the score, the better your job, the better quality girlfriend/boyfriend you can have and even your accommodations are dictated by your social score.
Aaron looks down on those people that have lower scores and he excels at knowing just what to do to keep his score high.
However, Aaron's score takes a nosedive when his brother is arrested for murdering his wife. It doesn't matter that Aaron was not involved and in fact didn't even know it had happened until his score dropped. Aaron is informed that his score will be suspended at 900 indefinitely, just because he is a family member of a an accused murderer.
Suddenly Aaron finds himself suspended from his job, and having to seek government assistance to be able to put food on the table. He is also close to losing his beautiful apartment.
He discovers a way to get his score back, but should he? Why was he targeted in the first place?
Someone powerful has engineered the entire thing and Aaron is an unwitting pawn in a game where the stakes are high.
Though this book is short, it packs a lot of story into it.
A truly imaginative world and a great read. I highly recommend THE WIRED MAN.
5 out of 5 stars.
I was given a free eBook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I had no prior knowledge of this author prior to reading THE WIRED MAN and I did not receive any compensation (other than the e-copy of this book) for writing this review.
A person's place in society is based on their "Social Score" and Aaron's score is great at 1717.
The higher the score, the better your job, the better quality girlfriend/boyfriend you can have and even your accommodations are dictated by your social score.
Aaron looks down on those people that have lower scores and he excels at knowing just what to do to keep his score high.
However, Aaron's score takes a nosedive when his brother is arrested for murdering his wife. It doesn't matter that Aaron was not involved and in fact didn't even know it had happened until his score dropped. Aaron is informed that his score will be suspended at 900 indefinitely, just because he is a family member of a an accused murderer.
Suddenly Aaron finds himself suspended from his job, and having to seek government assistance to be able to put food on the table. He is also close to losing his beautiful apartment.
He discovers a way to get his score back, but should he? Why was he targeted in the first place?
Someone powerful has engineered the entire thing and Aaron is an unwitting pawn in a game where the stakes are high.
Though this book is short, it packs a lot of story into it.
A truly imaginative world and a great read. I highly recommend THE WIRED MAN.
5 out of 5 stars.
April 1, 2014
Note that I received a free copy from the author for an honest review. David Suski's The Wired Man is a very interesting look at the current trend of on-line social networking. It is an action adventure science fiction work.
I did have a little trouble in the beginning keeping the different characters straight, possibly because of the way chapters are written with different characters points of view as a data log. Eventually, I was able to keep track of the characters. The main character, Aaron, is a little unlikeable to begin with, but I suspect that was intentional. He works in a generic office with a cubical. All aspect of individual lives are tied to their social networking status.
The plot was interesting and kept the book moving at a good pace. Not wishing to drop any spoilers, I'll just say at the end, some of the characters actions could have been supported more throughout the story. Everything does begin to make more sense at the end.
Overall, The Wired Man was an enjoyable read that keeps you turning pages.
I did have a little trouble in the beginning keeping the different characters straight, possibly because of the way chapters are written with different characters points of view as a data log. Eventually, I was able to keep track of the characters. The main character, Aaron, is a little unlikeable to begin with, but I suspect that was intentional. He works in a generic office with a cubical. All aspect of individual lives are tied to their social networking status.
The plot was interesting and kept the book moving at a good pace. Not wishing to drop any spoilers, I'll just say at the end, some of the characters actions could have been supported more throughout the story. Everything does begin to make more sense at the end.
Overall, The Wired Man was an enjoyable read that keeps you turning pages.
February 26, 2014
Received a copy of the book from the author for an honest review. It took me quite a while to finish it mainly because I couldn't quite get in to it. It was a good book (even with the several grammatical errors) but it doesn't seem finished. I never connected with any of the characters and for some reason, couldn't keep a few of them straight. I enjoyed reading it but I feel unfulfilled. I feel like I just finished the section of dividing fractions in a math book and although I passed the test, I still really don't feel like I understand it! Can't put my finger on it-there's just "something" missing.
January 15, 2014
I received a copy of this book through an Author read and review thread here on the Goodreads group forums. My longer; spoiled review can be found on Amazon.
This was an easy, well written, fast paced and engaging book. I read it in one sitting and enjoyed every minute of it. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the synopsis.
My only qualm: It was too short! I would have loved a bit more of this... but I expect a sequel-- one that I would read as well.
Good, suspenseful, engaging read.
This was an easy, well written, fast paced and engaging book. I read it in one sitting and enjoyed every minute of it. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the synopsis.
My only qualm: It was too short! I would have loved a bit more of this... but I expect a sequel-- one that I would read as well.
Good, suspenseful, engaging read.
May 7, 2014
I received this book free in a Goodreads First reads Giveaway.
This is one of the best books I've read in a really long time! What if everything we did had a social rating and our ability to function in life depended on that rating? The "Wired Man" took me on a fast past journey through the eyes of a man who has it all, until suddenly...he doesn't. Highly recommend!!
This is one of the best books I've read in a really long time! What if everything we did had a social rating and our ability to function in life depended on that rating? The "Wired Man" took me on a fast past journey through the eyes of a man who has it all, until suddenly...he doesn't. Highly recommend!!
November 17, 2015
I enjoyed this quick read. A warning about a future where social media controls every aspect of your life, it posed some interesting questions about what really matters. I wasn't very satisfied with the end - some of the characters made choices that didn't make sense, IMO, but the story was fun.
May 20, 2014
Great detail, suspenseful, and really makes you think about our life with technology now.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews