Tribe.net. Local Connections Bo http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/0126e139-ea5d-45d0-9f8e-d1af8d42936e#caff10a7-c4b4-4b7b-8bee-7b7356aac23f 2007-08-23T20:57:13Z 2007-08-23T20:57:13Z

This is the first book my Stirling I've read... a friend of mine is really into him, so he loaned it to me. It's good to know that it might not be representative of the rest of his work. I'll check out that Di Fillipo book. The wacky Victoriana of "Difference Engine" was what thrilled me. I have a soft spot for those crazy Vikkies. They were so screwed up...

Bo 2007-08-23T20:57:13Z shamus http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/0126e139-ea5d-45d0-9f8e-d1af8d42936e#d507056f-287c-45ba-a99d-2d6101b47560 2007-08-23T05:42:18Z 2007-08-23T05:42:18Z

I got into Sterling briefly in the late 80s early 90s, through his association with Gibson and the Mirrorshades book, but really didn't get too into him. I thought that red star, winter orbit was one of the weaker stories in that collection and in burning chrome, and Mozart in mirrorshades didn't exactly thrill me. I read Islands in the net, found it boring, and moved on. I similarly only made it through one Pat Cadigan novel, Synners, but did find Paul Di Fillipo through that collection. And I didn't care for the difference engine. Though if you liked that, Di Fillipo's The Steampunk Trilogy should be a must-read. After 15 years or so, I returned to Sterling with Holy Fire, and found that it was quite a bit better than the other work from Sterling. I thought the ending was somewhat disappointing, but there were some interesting ideas and it didn't drag as much as his other works. After reading Holy fire, I dug the difference engine off the shelf, and re-read it, and again didn't care for it. I probably will go back and read schizmatrix, since Alistair Reynolds gave it a thumbs up.

shamus 2007-08-23T05:42:18Z Bo http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/0126e139-ea5d-45d0-9f8e-d1af8d42936e#fe76172d-5b9f-453d-87cb-b495a7291265 2007-08-22T23:13:48Z 2007-08-22T23:13:48Z

I think he has to make up the jargon, at least in this book - the stuff they do is so beyond anything medicine has even attempted! I think a good sci-fi author can get you to buy in to their "no idea how this would really work" smoke and mirrors trick. I loved "The Difference Engine"... William Gibson is another big-time favorite of mine. I felt this funny kind of lightness when I finished "All Tomorrow's Parties"... I felt like the Bridge series was so well-crafted. I'm really looking forward to Gibon's new book, "Spook Country." I just read an interview with Gibson in Discover magazine... they ask him about how he was so accurately able to envision technology like the internet. He's so blithe about it, like, "I just saw a computer and knew everyone would have one someday." Wow. As for second-rate sci-fi... I just had to put down "Lightpaths." Yuck. It sounded so promising. I'll have to read "Schismatrix" instead!

Bo 2007-08-22T23:13:48Z Ben http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/0126e139-ea5d-45d0-9f8e-d1af8d42936e#dda91c20-b625-4a54-964f-8c70b14903e3 2007-08-22T22:33:51Z 2007-08-22T22:33:51Z

Bruce Sterling is one of my favorites! I've read, Heavy Weather Schismmatrix The Difference Machine (w/ William Gibson) Tomorrow Now A Good Old Fashioned Future (short stories) Crystal Express (same) Globalhead (same) My favorite is still his '85 classic, Schismatrix! He's very witty and I always get tons of quotes from his books. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/bruce_sterling.html Funny that you mentioned the jargon as I totally believe he makes half that s*** up...but am to broke / lazy to buy the dozen profession-specific dictionaries needed just to read Schismatrix again. I heard him in a interview (the same Mavericks of the Mind Series I talked about somewhere else, with David Jay Brown, sans Rebecca McClen Novick much to the detriment of the interview, I think the book is called "Voices from the Edge of the Apocalypse") talk about how he takes the direction society is going 3 turns forward in his fiction and that's really what I like about him. Most of the second rate sci-fi I've read unfortunately has been limited to regular, rather boring adventure / romance novels set in some bizarre planet. Sterling really comments on culture which is why he also works as a speaker of design and media for huge mega-corporations / educational institutions etc. See his non-fiction books, 'Tomorrow Now, Envisioning the Next Fifty Years.' among others. Here's his blog for Wired: http://blog.wired.com/sterling/ and his wikipedia Bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Sterling From actually seeing him speak in Austin, I think he's a very smart man but also supa-egotestical, and sometimes his books do seem to be a little contrived...all one-liners and plodding plot building, but overall, his brain still fascinates me. Thanks for the reminder! and the suggestion I'll have to check out 'Holy Fire'!

Ben 2007-08-22T22:33:51Z Bo http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/0126e139-ea5d-45d0-9f8e-d1af8d42936e#5ea91fd2-ee3b-40b3-a0fa-c9d0ae9135ab 2007-08-22T21:29:46Z 2007-08-22T21:29:46Z

I just finished this very enjoyable, very thought-provoking sci-fi novel. It has little to do with aliens, super-computers, or laser guns. The main focus is the philosophy of life, and how it varies by generation. The main character, Mia, is an extremely healthy, extremely careful gerontocrat, living on an Earth that is thriving after having suffered massive plagues. The new elite are the old, and life extension technology is a booming business. Those who have their bodies pushed beyond natural years are referred to as "posthuman" - an acknowledgment that they are losing that which makes them mortal. Mia's life change comes very rapidly, in the form of two people: a dying ex-lover, also post-human, who forces Mia to remember what she herself was like as a young woman, and Brett, a young woman who is nothing like Mia now, and everything like Mia could have been. Faced with the sudden understanding that her life has been one long, boring exercise in not getting sick or injured and playing by all the rules, Mia decides to undergo a radical new life extension - one that will allow her to start over as a young woman, in a young and healthy body. Once in that body (that was probably my favorite chapter!), Mia realizes that all she has done is put herself in the position to live her uninteresting, empty life all over again. So she decides to start taking risks. I had no idea where this book would go, honestly. The above only describes the beginning, and the real story takes place after Mia has decided that the rules aren't working for her, anymore. As a young, perfectly fit woman with the benefits of almost 100 years of experience, Mia is a force to be reckoned with. The supporting characters are all unique and very human - their flaws highlight portions of Mia's own life that require examination. The story drives toward a culmination that is art, philosophy, religion, and technology, all rolled into one. There were a few moments in the book where I was so lost in technical jargon (even as a science student) that I had to buy in and believe Stirling's fantastic medical procedures on faith. And there were a few situations in the story where I felt a little let down by the outcome. Overall, though, this is one of the best books I've read this year. I couldn't put it down. I took it on a camping trip and found myself reading by the campfire from late afternoon into darkness, and then I wished for a headlamp, so I could keep going.

Bo 2007-08-22T21:29:46Z