You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
frasersimons 's review for:
Cypulchre
by Joseph MacKinnon
3/5
It definitely reminded me of Neuromancer. It uses a lot of new terminology (and thankfully has an index at the end of the book), it often describes technology with organic terms and vice versa. It's written as though it's keeping in mind it could be a screenplay to an action movie but isn't dumbed down. I was not into the fact that the main character was schizophrenic, even though it's a pretty big (old) cyberpunk trope. And I lean more towards post-cyberpunk tropes and themes. I don't know how accurate that depiction is but it felt like it was only invoked when the imagery was cool.
Paul Sheffield, The inventor of the CLOUD technology—that's swept Los Angeles' rich and willing into the noosphere—has lived in exile for a decade, north of the mountains, feared, defamed, and despised by his former colleagues and estranged family. When he learns that the same technology that led to his downfall now threatens his family as well as the thousands synchronized to it, he must take action. Nothing is what it seems, especially with his psychoses turning allies to enemies, and enemies into demons.
I found it well written and a fun ride, with some commentary on humanity integrating into the CLOUD and extrapolating a few other technologies being hinted at these days. Intuiting instructions to our devices (which I imagined to be something like Minority Report tech), western culture's addiction to medication. Lots of stuff.
"He is an electric ghost painted in the colours of a dead moment.”
It does still play out like an action movie though, with the ending telegraphed from the very beginning, which isn't unenjoyable but I was hoping for a bit more out a twist. There's some good quotes, everything is in line with the themes. It's not bad, I would have given it 4 stars... but the constant switching between 2nd and 3rd perspectives makes for a lot of Paul does, and Paul sees, and Paul Paul Paul. It did grate on me at some points while being seamless in others.
“These vertical suburbs--jet black glass structures in matte-grey iron and titanium corsets.--boast their own mayors and their own municipal services. They flicker with illegally-rerouted power and pirated water--pumped up external piping from the Toronto Syndicate's aquifers in San Jaquin.”
It definitely reminded me of Neuromancer. It uses a lot of new terminology (and thankfully has an index at the end of the book), it often describes technology with organic terms and vice versa. It's written as though it's keeping in mind it could be a screenplay to an action movie but isn't dumbed down. I was not into the fact that the main character was schizophrenic, even though it's a pretty big (old) cyberpunk trope. And I lean more towards post-cyberpunk tropes and themes. I don't know how accurate that depiction is but it felt like it was only invoked when the imagery was cool.
Paul Sheffield, The inventor of the CLOUD technology—that's swept Los Angeles' rich and willing into the noosphere—has lived in exile for a decade, north of the mountains, feared, defamed, and despised by his former colleagues and estranged family. When he learns that the same technology that led to his downfall now threatens his family as well as the thousands synchronized to it, he must take action. Nothing is what it seems, especially with his psychoses turning allies to enemies, and enemies into demons.
I found it well written and a fun ride, with some commentary on humanity integrating into the CLOUD and extrapolating a few other technologies being hinted at these days. Intuiting instructions to our devices (which I imagined to be something like Minority Report tech), western culture's addiction to medication. Lots of stuff.
"He is an electric ghost painted in the colours of a dead moment.”
It does still play out like an action movie though, with the ending telegraphed from the very beginning, which isn't unenjoyable but I was hoping for a bit more out a twist. There's some good quotes, everything is in line with the themes. It's not bad, I would have given it 4 stars... but the constant switching between 2nd and 3rd perspectives makes for a lot of Paul does, and Paul sees, and Paul Paul Paul. It did grate on me at some points while being seamless in others.
“These vertical suburbs--jet black glass structures in matte-grey iron and titanium corsets.--boast their own mayors and their own municipal services. They flicker with illegally-rerouted power and pirated water--pumped up external piping from the Toronto Syndicate's aquifers in San Jaquin.”