3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Archipelago of nightmares; Allegorical sagas, October 11, 1996
By A Customer
Divided into three sections; Shaper/Mechanist, Science-Fiction
and Fantasy, Crystal Express provides a series of vignettes
for the reader. Sterling's Shaper/Mechanist saga follows the
developments of the two parties through war, peace and nervous
antebellum. Starting with a story called the Swarm, the allegories
are firmly underway; justifications for Caananite slavery in the
name of science destroyed by sheer humanity (or entymology).
Through a series of characters neurotic about their own societies,
the Mechanists and Shapers represent the human need for
perfection - with the reptillian Investors acting almost as Greek
Chorus - and yet despite their advances we are still filled with
horror. Sterling is offering a grim caveat that we need to retain
our humanity, no matter what devices become viable to us. The
last Shaper/Mechanist, Twenty Evocations, is in itself a series
of short stories, encompassing the life of a Shaper and yet with
the twist of each sinking deeper to what we conceive to be our
souls. So much for the Shaper/Mechanists, then. What of the
rest of the book? Amongst them are the romance and beauty
of Green Days in Brunei; evocative and rich, though the storyline
somewhat askewed; the twist at the end also questions our
beliefs of what is beautiful and what should be pursued, and
Spook, a delightful thriller-macabre, is essentially Heart of
Darkness with an unexpected twist, and a few nods to the
inhumanity of medical technology. The Fantasy section
reinforces one's conception of Sterling as an iconoclast, his
sly yet almost whimsical story of a man who attains eternal
life without the expected regret destroys a thousand myths;
wise men of an ancient city discuss their eternal reign and;
in perhaps the strangest, yet most wildly exotic in its reality,
deals with the coming of electricity to Japan. In this last, there
are no allegories, aside from a sense that now Japan has lost
all its magic and wonder, just human beauty and rich, rich,
lovingly-researched detail
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surpisingly good...., August 8, 2001
While waiting at a train station I was loaned this book by a friend and soon found myself interested in the stories. _Crystal Express_ is a wonderful introduction to the work of Bruce Sterling and I found it good enough to actually convince me to try and reread _Schismatrix Plus_. If you are a fan of the Shaper/Mechanist storyline then you should buy _Schismatrix Plus_ and leave this one behind.
Sterling is actually good in the short story genre whereas, some of his novels may drag a bit and be a bit scanty in character development the stories in this collection hpowever, are quite good in pacing and development.
One of the best moments was reading "Flowers of Edo" while on a train to Nara. The story of Japan's embrace of modern technology and the destruction of its past had a great resonance for me after seeing the hyper buzz of Tokyo. I felt that Sterling also showed more hope and charm of his romantic nature with "Green Days in Brunei".
The most daring work within a standard narrative format were all the Shaper/Mechanist stories. The other stories were interesting in ideas and themes, but nothing outside the scope of regular science fiction or fantasy themes found elsewhere.
Before slapping heavier works on your plate such as, _Global Head_ or _Disctraction_ pick up this book of his early work when he was learning his craft and was willing to dare a little bit more.
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