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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
NANO - a wake-up call to the world, February 9, 2004
If you haven't read Nano by John Robert Marlow, I strongly encourage you to add it to your list-at the top. It is plausible, scientifically accurate, and timely. While I certainly believe it will be the next blockbuster movie, more importantly this exceptional work is a wake-up call for those who do not yet understand the tremendous potential (good and bad) of advanced nanotech. Marlow understands both the science and the politics governing advanced technologies, and accurately depicts several near-future potentials of nanotechnology. Where Michael Crichton uses extremely unlikely and largely debunked theories as the basis of his latest novel (Prey), Marlow uses simple extensions of known science. Nano is a plausible, fast-paced technothriller, and is destined to become one of the best of the best. While Crichton fans will love this book, don't mistake John Robert Marlow for Michael Crichton; Marlow employs cutting-edge technology in a believable manner, describing science within the bounds of the generally-accepted. While Nano is techno-fiction, it could one day be techno-fact. While simple, the characters are entirely believable, as is the characterization of the various government organizations. Nano is crafted in such a way as to bring all the frightening potential of advanced nanotechnology to the mind's eye. I easily pictured the events as they transpired, and hung on every word and plot twist. Further, Marlow accurately details some of the ethics involved in the decisions we must begin making now, in order to minimize the potential downsides and maximize the benefits of nanotechnology. Anyone who understands history will see that the politics he describes should be taken seriously. Anyone with even a modicum of understanding of nanoscale science and technology will rapidly come to the conclusion that this writer has done his homework. "Give me a lever and a place to stand, and I will move the earth," said Archimedes. Advanced nanotechnology is that lever, and Marlow's Nano describes the many ways in which it may be used. From a "wake-up call" standpoint, this is the most important piece of fiction written to date.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The "science" in Nano is irritating, November 11, 2004
This book has a Vernor Vinge quote on the back cover and is about the coming technological Singularity (look it up using Google).
And Vinge is right in what he says; the book will make a spectacular movie.
But oh man is it painful to read. Not because of the story line. Even if a bit predictable it's ok for Matrix type violent adventure.
The problem is the "science," or rather what is supposed to pass for science.
Nanotechnology is not magic and most of my complaints are about gross violation of conservation of mass, thermodynamics, mass flows, doubling times and the like. But that's not all the places it will irritate you. On page 133 the good guys are trying to see who the bad guys are by analyzing a depleted uranium bullet. "We should have a signature on the uranium by the end of the day; from there we'll have the nation and reactor core of origin."
I know what this story bit is imitating--Tom Clancy's "Sum of all Fears" where the origin of plutonium in a bomb is determined from impurities. But depleted uranium that's used for things like bullets never went near a reactor. It's "depleted" of the easy to fission isotope U235. This is the kind of error a knowledgeable editor should have caught.
The scenes with nanotechnology devices are every bit as bad. Toward the end of the book he has nano disassemblers eating away at a seaport city. In a short time they have created a hole where massive amounts of seawater is pouring in. So where did a fair fraction of a cubic mile of dirt go?
Early in the book the hero stops a car in seconds by growing a huge redwood tree in the middle of the street. Now, nanotechnology *can* grow redwoods a good deal faster than the natural way, but not *that* fast, not starting with a tenth of a cubic centimeter of nano machines. Eric Drexler makes a case for doubling in an energy- and material-rich environment of 20 minutes. Estimating a redwood at meter square by 100 meters tall, growing from a 0.1 cc is an expansion of a billion, 10 exp 9. Since 10 exp 3 is about 2 exp 10, we are talking 30 doublings, ten hours by Drexler's estimate.
And you don't even want to think about Marlow's understanding of thermodynamics. Someone told him that heat is a problem when making nano things fast. So he "solves" it thus:
"Thermal problems?" . . . . "If it becomes a problem you assemble water for evaporative cooling, then grab the atoms in the vapor and do it over again."
*Sigh.*
(Grabbing the vapor returns every bit of heat evaporation took away, and "assembling" water from atoms releases the searing heat of an oxy hydrogen flame.)
I am reminded of the first "chemistry" teacher I had in high school. First day he told us that boiling water was a chemical reaction that broke up the water into hydrogen and oxygen which was called "steam."
About half way into the first semester the FBI took him away. Fortunately for Mr. Marlow they don't do that for authors making such mistakes. <grin>
The shame is that with some advice on science and engineering the story could have been written so that it didn't violate physical laws and been just as exciting.
As Dr. Vinge says, it will make a spectacular movie. But if you know even a little about science or engineering reading the book will irritate the heck out of you.
Keith Henson
PS If you want an example of high adventure that does not violate physical laws try _The Revolution from Rosinante_ by Alexis A Gilliland. A bit dated (1981) but still it has an excellent treatment of computers that transcend humans and are starting to take care of humans the way humans take care of cats. Mr. Gilliland just gets science and engineering details *right.*
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Cautionary Tale, June 6, 2005
This review is from: Nano (Mass Market Paperback)
Nano is meant to be a warning about the power and danger of nanotechnology. The author chose to use a thriller format to get his ideas and warnings across. Unfortunately I feel he failed in his mission by relying too much on imagery even when it doesn't match the facts.
The richest man in the world is assassinated just before he is to make a world-shaking announcement. A reporter is determined to find out why he was killed. The story quickly leads her to a scientist funded by the trillionaire. He has just crack the secret of nanotechnology. Others are also on his trail and a game of cat and mouse ensues wherein we get to see both the benefits and the horrors of nanotechnology.
While the thriller was pretty good, I couldn't help being put off by the misinformation and lack of crucial details. For instance, the nano assemblers can build things atom by atom like a kid building with blocks. We first see this with a tree. But the tree is not assembled, it is grown at super speed. The ground sinks as the tree grows. Unfortunately plants get most of their mass from the air, not the ground. Also, trees are mostly dead objects covered by a veneer of living cells. A rapid-growing tree would probably not "die" fast enough. Later we are given an example of how disassemblers work. The scientist pulls apart a molecular model and throws the pieces away. No mention of how the strong forces are overcome, or that atoms are not solid balls the same way the solar system isn't. No mention of what a nanite can be made of if it is small enough to get between atoms to pry them apart.
These are two simple examples but the book is full of even worse. For example, if nanites are so small, the distance between a person's hands and feet would be nearly astronomical. So how do nanites know when they first reach someone's feet, if that person is holding someone else's hand? What about energy? How long will it really take a nanite to crawl any macro distance? How much information can really be programmed into an individual nanite? If nanites disassemble pollution, the atoms are still there. Lead is still lead and mercury is still mercury. How do they get rid of it?
But still, if you don't care about the science or if it makes sense, then the pace of the book is sure to keep you going and wondering what is going to happen next. But otherwise you might want to stay away from this one. You choose.
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