Customer Reviews

Schismatrix Plus

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I became interested in Bruce Sterling's writing because he co-authored a book with my favorite sci-fi writer, William Gibson, called "The Difference Engine" about an alternative history of Victorian England. Sterling's Schismatrix Plus shows that he is truly Gibson's equal as a science fiction writer, capable of inventing a complete alternate universe.

The Schismatrix novel, and the short stories that accompany it in this edition, take place in the future, where human beings have migrated to space stations and circumlunar colonies within the solar system. The schism at the heart of the universe is between two sects; the Shapers, who are genetic engineers; and the Mechanists, who believe in cybernetics. The Schismatrix novel follows the character Abelard Lindsay through his several hundred years of life, first starting out as a Shaper revolutionary, then after his exile becoming a pirate, and eventually the father of a new sect called Posthumanism. The book is reminiscent of Heinlein's "Time Enough For Love" -- we follow Lindsay through his several re-creations of himself much like we do Lazarus Long in Heinlein's work.

The book has an eery beauty to it; the posthuman universe, although melancholy, is not without charm. Central to the work is a distrust of ideology -- the blood feuds in the work between the various sects are extremely destructive of the characters' personal relationships; but Sterling's message is still positive -- all narrow sects are doomed in the end by the shock of the new future, and all old revolutionaries are outdone by their descendants.

The short stories that accompany the novel are also very good; and they are helpgul in explaining, in shorthand, the universe of the author. Sterling does not coddle the reader -- his universe is believable in part because he does not explain its cleverness in long narrative passages -- you discover it as you go. This makes the book's many turns seem as shocking as they are to the characters themselves.

An excellent work, a must for any modern sci-fi collection.

I first read Schismatrix when it was originally published in paperback -- and made the mistake of 'permanently' loaning the book to a friend.

Of the many, many science fiction novels I have read over the years -- my original reading of Schismatrix left one of the most powerfull impressions.

I recently purchased and re-read this expand volume because I wanted to see if the book was as good as I remembered.

The book is quite old and, when compared to recent novels like Ventus and the Nake God trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton, shows its age. Some of the ideas, and especially the visions of technology, haven't held up very well when compared with current novels.

But, once again, I was captivated by the broad vision of the novel, its awe inspiring scope, quirky storyline and its characters. I was also better able to appreciate how influential this novel has been on subsequent authors. Visionary is a strong word, but also appropriate in describing this work when placed in the context of when it was written. Many of the more recent 'cyberpunk' and 'nanotech' novels owe more than a pasing debt to Bruce Sterling and this novel.

The additional short stories, appearing at the end of the book, also add a lot to the story and round out the Shaper/Mechanist universe.

Whether you've already read the novel, and are wondering if the expanded edition is worth it, or are going to read this seminal story for the first time -- this book is well worth your money.

I've read this book - or, at this point, 223 pages of it -
while translating it. As I've had occasion to note elsewhere:

Translation is a grueling process, inflicting agonies on the translator, but also subjecting the text to a peculiar and ruthless scrutiny.

Ordinarily, when we read a book, we are mild and forgiving creatures, or so it seems to the translator. As long as we are carried along by the story or the argument, we are prepared to skip lightly over the odd boring passage, and the little stylistic quirks and weaknesses of the author don't trouble us. We don't pause to make sense of every image or visualize every description.

Reading a book as a translator is a very different matter. The little stylistic quirks and weaknesses take on the dimension of instruments of torture. Explosive groans of sheer anguish have escaped my lips as I encounter some descriptive device or image or turn of phrase that the doting author sees fit to inflict upon the reader for what seems to be the eighty-ninth time. Violent hatred for the author has flared in my mind as I have looked, with little hope, at yet another piece of imbecile imagery or muddy description that no reader would ordinarily need to make sense of, but that I have to render into some sort of coherent language. The translator knows that faithfully reproducing the repetitiveness or inanity or sheer unintelligibility of the original will inevitably lay him open to charges of poor translation, whereas on the other hand he cannot in all conscience rewrite the sentence, the way the editor of the original should have. So he struggles on, doing the best he can, in a series of impossible compromises.

I'm pleased to be able to report, therefore, that Sterling's
book passes this acid test remarkably well. He actually tells
a story that captivates my interest, and his writing is by
no means torture to translate, in spite of the usual quirks
and weaknesses. This is not cyberpunk drivel, but a story
in the best tradition of sf, well told.

A sweeping history of man's future in space, a time when humanity has reworked itself in dozens of different ways at the fundamental levels of thought, biology, and technology in order to adapt to its new environment. These scattered, interrelated communities exist within two general, mutually antagonistic factions: the Shapers, who rely on genetic manipulation, and the Mechanists, who rely on advanced technology. Bruce Sterling is an inventive writer with a lively intellect, but his novel often introduces such a barrage of names and factions that it was difficult for me to orient myself. Furthermore, the action sometimes leaps years forward with scarcely any attention given to what happened in between. Sterling's focus is more on developing his complex history than his characters and the novel suffers as a result.

Fortunately, this volume also contains Sterling's short fiction set within the same universe. Every one of them is a gem--a rabbit punch to the mind with sharply drawn characterizations. I would recommend reading the stories before the novel. They supply an introduction to the Shaper/Mechanist universe and a firm grounding in its realities that probably would have increased my appreciation of the novel.

For me, Ambitious is the very word that describes Schismatrix Plus. It aims very, very high, whether Sterling's aim was accurate, is for everyone to judge individually.

I had very high expectations from this book. I've previously read Sterling's 'The Swarm', the very first Shapers/Mechanist story, in Gardner Dozois's anthology, THE GOOD NEW STUFF, and liked it alot.

Furthermore, the last two books I've read were very different from each other, and both really good - George R. R. Martin's new Fatasy Epic A Storm of Swords, and Stephen Zweig's The Royal Game. In between those two masterworks, I've read the prologue to Schismatrix, and loved it.

What impressed me most about the prologe, about the Swarm and indeed about the novel itself, was the scope and the vividness of Sterling's Future. The Shapers/Mechanist universe is clearly one of the most fascinating and exotic worlds created in Science Fiction.

So I came to Scismatrix with exteremly high expectations, believing I was about to read a classic on par with Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, Frank Herbert's Dune, or Dan Simmons's Hyperion Cantos.

The first 80 pages cured me of that hope. I'm not a passionate Cyber-Punk fan, quite the contrary, and the first 80 pages consist of a Cyber Punk story set in Space. A well written Cyber Punk, no doubt - others have commented on Sterling's prose, and he has a great deal of talent, but a traditional Cyber Punk story nonetheless, and thus somewhat out of date.

However, after those 80 pages, Sterling changes the style fo the novel, and returns to the issue of the introduction - the wide spread political sweeps that take the universe, as Sterling's hero, Lindsay, finds his peaceful life threatens by both his ideology and his long time friend turned bitter enemy, Constantine.

And then, the novel changes again, this time becomes a generational story, of the hero passes through a universe which changes in terrifying speed. Sterling attempts the kind of paradigm shifting SF story telling, as evident in such works as Clarke's Childhood's End, and in the process comes up with some very nice touches - a particularly lovely scene is the final meeting between Lindsay and his long friend/Archi Nemesis Constantine.

All in all the novel, and the stories, portray a wonderfully realised world. But they lack the kind of plot structure and advances necessary to make this kind of work appealing to me, and the ideas, while sometimes fascinating are often reduced to merely new Jargon versions of old clisches.

My own high expectations damaged my enjoyment of the novel, but Í have enjoyed it nonetheless, and would recommand it to others. Schismatrix is a seminal work of Cyber Punk, and an immaginative attack on the age old tradition of SF - and for that it deserves to be read.

With most books, you can read them several times and find something new in them each time through. With this book, it's an absolute necessity. The ideas expressed are so numerous, there must be at least two or three lurking on every other page. It would take probably a half dozen readings to really peg them all. The story itself is visionary, immensly complicated, and superbly executed, with a protaganist I couldn't help but admire and root for. This book definately has an incredibly unique flavor. This is one space epic absolutely worth owning.

But not amazing. Sometimes it read like a history text book (ie rather flat though conveying interesting information) and other times sucked me in till I found myself 50 pages down the road and well into the wee hours of the morning ^_^

Some of the ideas have definitely not aged well (in terms of being quite as believable) but it's still a good collection. 1 220 page novel and 4-5 short stories comprise the book, plus an introduction.

I still like Heavy Weather better than any other Sterling book, but this will still be a goof addition to your scifi library.

?Schismatrix must rank as one of the most interesting, unentertaining books I've read in
sometime.

I approached this with a of bias of course. I got turned on to Cyberpunk like most through
Neuromancer, but quickly moved on from Gibson to more unconventional (who would have
thought Gibson would become part of a convention) work like Noon's Vurt books. Come from
Noon's 'vazed and vurted out' world back to Sterling was...jarring.

Sterling manages to paint an incredibly intricate society here, the philosophies and factions of
Shapers and Mechanists, Neo Serotonists and Catyclysts are complexly compelling.

The book however lacks a certain flair that expected, after having read Gibson and Noon.The
book has no sense of humor, the philosophies are too dense to allow it. It took me about two
weeks to finish the ?Schismatrix? portion. Reading it almost became work, I found myself
scheduling time to finish it.

The book is worth reading if for nothing else, the chapter on Kitsune?s Dembowska. A city made
of living flesh. The description made my skin crawl.

Farscape fans should also note the cameo appearance of two characters near the end that are
undoubtdly the inspirations for Pilot and Moya.

Recommended, but not for relaxing reading.

Scared about the future? Is rapid technological change getting your panties in a bunch? If yes, then Schismatrix is your worst nightmare.

For those of us that like cracking paradigms with a hammer, this is an excellent book. Why? Bruce shows us a compelling -- although unsettling -- view of the future that is at odds with much of today's received wisdom.

Here are the two themes he developed that I think set him apart from the mainstream:

1) Will rapid technological advancement, particularly in biology, challenge our idea of what is human? Sterling's answer: Heck yes. You better broaden your definition of which attributes are necessary to be a human, anything and everything is possible when we take control of our own evolution. And there is nothing you can do about it.

2) Will the conquest of space be an orderly process akin to Star Trek? Sterlings answer: Hell no! It's a Diaspora -- everybody with an axe to grind heads for the hills, and frankly, they don't want to be bothored with some remote government's laws, taxes, or ethics. And there is nothing you can do about it.

To unite these two themes Bruce developed an entertaining story line and a single powerful philosophy for the future: we live in a world of unlimited possibilites which will be more strange, awful, and wonderful than you can imagine. To survive in this new world people must create their own reality and ignore what everybody else is doing. Don't think civilization, think tribe._________ My recommendation: Read this book. A lot of what Bruce sees will happen.

This is the type of book which you have to become a part of. You can't hope to read it and understand it. In some cases, I had to stop and reread passages one, two, even three times a piece. But once I dove into the meat of the book, needless to say I was entranced. I could easily see this book embodying the future (or is it vice versa?). I was not turned off by ridiculous technologies or superhuman beings. Instead, this book chooses to reflect upon basic human values, virtues, modes of thought and reason, and instrinsic drives and how they could easily push apart our race and fill us with ambition. The Shapes and the Mechs are beautfully crafted factions, each with real potential and dissidents. If you're looking for a book that will push you, that will make you think, that will drive you to wonder at the possibilities the future holds, I suggest clicking the add to cart button above right now.