Customer Reviews

Crescent City Rhapsody

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 2012, the electromagnetic impulse that shuts down worldwide communications makes the Northeast blackout of four plus decades ago seems like a blown light bulb. Computers become silent. Studying that void, DC astrophysicist Zeb Aberly concludes that the impulse was not a freak of nature, but a signal from an intelligent ET source. Instead of accolades and kudos, Zeb is forced to run for his life, ultimately ending up in New Orleans.

While the pulses continue to wreck havoc, infants born after the disaster start showing strange physical and mental abilities. In New Orleans, someone assassinates mob chieftain Marie Laveau, her spouse, and child. Nanotechnology brings Marie back to life, but her family was beyond repair. Marie vows revenge. She also tries to build a safe haven with the help of outlawed technological geniuses like Zeb, but time is running out as the new world order plans to stop her and her Crescent City.

CRESCENT CITY RHAPSODY, the third novel in Kathleen Ann Goonan's "Nanotech" series (see QUEEN CITY JAZZ and MISSISSIPPI BLUES) is a wonderful futuristic tale. The story line speculates on the path science and technology may take mankind down in the next decade or so. The action is non-stop in this bleak but fascinating novel. The charcaters are fully developed, but what makes this tale and its predecessors so good is the author's ability to paint a grim landscape that feels genuinely possible.

Harriet Klausner

Crescent City Rhapsody absorbed me in a way no other novel has in recent history. Kathleen Ann Goonan has the gift for creating complex, interesting characters who people a richly developed plot that takes an intriguing, if terrifying look at the future. Far and away the best of the trilogy, and I liked the other books a lot, too. As a professional writer, I'm a tough customer, but I really loved this book.

Crescent City Rhapsody is the third in Kathleen Ann Goonan's nanotech/jazz series. It opens with a staggering collapse of global communications and ends with the promise of a better tomorrow. In between the ride is bumpy, sometimes compelling and sometimes not. Of the three, this one has a far higher level of suspense and far less speculation than the other two, probably because the time is so much closer to our own. Solid characters, stunning prose, and only a couple of weak spots make this a book well worth reading.

About those weak spots though,...

After the stunning portrayal of Hawaiian culture in "Bones of Time", the cultural symbols in this book often leave one wondering about their significance. The sections on Voudoun rites and ritual, although accurate and sympathetic, seem forced and awkward, as if they are wondering why they are even here. When she drops into Japan for a brief stint, she confuses common foods and falls back on a few tired cliches about Japanese culture. Other than those two minor weaknesses, an excellent book and a superb addition to her repertoire.

I really tried to like this book...The beginning snapped me up immediately, and I was eager to see what was going to happen to the woman (I forget her name. Go figure). Of course it took forever for the author to bring me to the resolution of the story's first conflict, but I overlooked that, and kept reading, hoping Goonan would pick up the pace. Those hopes were slowly, agonizingly dashed.

Yep, that's the overall pace of this book. Slow and agonizing. I kept reading and reading, waiting for something to happen. Goonan is telling a story here, but that's ALL she's doing. She's not pushing it along. It's not going anywhere. A hundred pages into the book, you're still pretty much at square one, and your head is lolling. I never even got to the end.

If you're looking for a nightcap, then keep this book at your bedside. It'll knock you out like a board across the head. But if you're looking for an exiting, engrossing read with good pace and deft narrative, you'd better skip this one.

A series of electromagnetic pulses from space disrupt the operation of human civilization and ultimately force it to come up with something new, namely nanotechnology. Several powerful female figures are central to this, and overcoming chaos in the meantime, while all male figures in the book are basically cute side-kicks. The book never resolves the overarching question: who is sending those pulses and how are we going to kick the **** out of them? Does this mean we're in for a follow-up story that wraps this up? The book presents nothing new or original in the way of technology. You have read this all before in "The Diamond Age" and others. Literary value of the book is low. The author divulges herself in stereotypical descriptions, flat emotions, lazy language. People are always shooting glances at each other, their hearts are beating hard, anger is welling up etc. There is not one, not two, but three love stories going on in this book. A bit too much, unless you enjoy the 50-cent type of romance stories you can buy at the kiosk. The author violates in many places the golden rule: write about what you know. One of the main characters is a Japanese scientist and that's why the author takes us to Japan. She makes people bow in places where no Japanese would bow, she misspells literally EVERY Japanese word she cares to employ ("doma" for domo, "kannitchiwa" for konnichiwa") and generally fails to create a credible atmosphere for scenes taking place in this country. In what other areas that I don't happen to know well has the author allowed herself this kind of sloppiness? Anyway, when I reached the end of the story I was scratching my head asking myself what this was all about. And I paid money for this.

Avoid this book.

Cresent City has many amusing and intricate little plots, a couple cute ideas, and a bit of politics. That is it folks! The show is over! Half the plots are never resolved and it's not written well enough for me to forgive Goonan for that. Electronic equipment can be protected from electromagnetic impulses, and the entire premise of nanites being automaticaly immune to the impulse is absurd. The idea of pheremone comunication is about the only thing in the book that is plausible. Read some Neal Stephenson or find a "Transmetropolitan" graphic novel. If you feel the need to read Cresent City Rhapsody go to the library.

For those who are looking for a good tale of hard SF, I would advise you look elsewhere. Much of the science in this book is, at best, half-baked. Pivotal points in the plotline which involve nanotechnology run amok (the old and busted gray goo scenario) are simply glossed over. The technologically informed reader who decides to pick up this book is left with two choices: suspend any and all disbelief, or stop reading.

A good SF book involves making the fantastic plausible. Authors usually make one fantastic assumption (i.e. time travel is possible) and extrapolate what might happen after that. This particular author made multiple assumptions (any single one would have made a good SF book) and tried to brew up a single great story. For this reader, she failed.

For those who do not consider themselves fans of hard SF, there are still problems with this book. The plot is badly fractured, and has absolutely NO resolution. Every character is in some way damaged goods, and the author dwells upon this for the entire book. In the end I felt no compassion for any of the main characters, who seemed to wallow in self-pity.

Are there any positives to this book? Yes. The author seems to be skilled in describing environments. That is the only reason I gave this book two stars.

OK, where to begin? The ONLY reason this tale merits more than one star is the tremendous idea on which the book is based and the arrangement of material into symphonic movements. The tale: An alien energy pulse (EMP) knocks out sophisticated electronic systems, all governments go bonkers and a woman in New Orleans has a plan to save the world. What follows is an unmitigated disaster on almost every element - characterization, plotting, authenticity, social comment, science...you name it.

There is enough here for three books: Voodoo, globetrotting, New Age nonsense, dire environmental warnings, unconvincing characters, nanotechnology, biotechnology (two fields the author continually crossbreeds) and space travel. And that doesn't include the UN military force (a la black helicopter) or the socio-economic comments that sound like Daffy Duck attempting Mandarin.

The sheer number of stories prevent any of them from standing out. The evil government forces are never seen, heard from nor given a chance to explain their actions. Marie (our erstwhile heroine) is attempting to set up a new type of human society, Crescent City, somewhere in the Gulf that will operate "without a government" according to bio/nano technology - as if these fields contained moral truths for humanity. The author seems clueless about the real world and of course the action is totally illogical and improbable.

Let's see: A Tibetan learns the secret of the messages, cities secede from the United States, the future revolves around nanotechnology, jazz, New Age tripe and a "mixture of socialism and capitalism." My pet peeve (and not just here despite the breakdown of society, the return of barter and barbarism, and the presence of conflicts, science and scientific advances continue unabated. That is NOT the way the world works. THis is just so pathetic. We start a slow slide reaching the nadir on the last page. Not Recommended unless trapped in an elevator.

I'm mystified that people thought this book was too long, not based in reality enough (hello?? science FICTION, anyone??) to be plausible.

Personally I felt that it paced well, engaged my mind and provided both characters and story that were not only sympathetic and interesting but at the same time compelling.

Is Ms. Goonan's vision of the future realistic enough? Is it based on too many wild assumptions and implausibilities? I don't know. What I do know is that it raised interesting philosophical issues around mankind's rampant charge into unknown technologies and the possibility of not only technological disaster, but of the social and policitical ramifications of such events.

If you're looking for a primer to science, this is likely not it. If you're looking for an interesting human story in a plot based on scientific possibility, this might be for you.

One caveat to this review is that I didn't realize it was the third in a series of four books, so I've started with this book--I don't bring any baggage or pre-knowledge to the book from the other books in this series.

Its highly likely that I'll go back and read the rest of the series.

Crescent City Rhapsody envisions a world transformed by nanotechnology and art. This intriguing novel explores many of the sins of the moderns age--child prostitutes in Asia, clandestine government operations, sexism, agism and the legacy of slavery.

The various protagonists of the story suffer in various degrees from some aspect of modern culture. Their talents allow them to contribute to the changes brought about by the breakdown of old technology caused by interference from extraterrestrials. The new technology transforms both cities and individuals.

This was an enjoyable read. The first half of the book was more compelling as our heroes struggled with the breakdown of culture and the resulting change. The second half as things were starting to come together was not as interesting but I definitely wanted to know what happened at the end.