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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb Sci Fi Reminiscent of Heinlein and Gibson, July 29, 2003
This review is from: Schismatrix Plus (Complete Shapers-Mechanists Universe) (Mass Market Paperback)
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.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful and Strange, May 24, 2001
This review is from: Schismatrix Plus (Complete Shapers-Mechanists Universe) (Mass Market Paperback)
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.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A translator's perspective, August 4, 2005
This review is from: Schismatrix Plus (Complete Shapers-Mechanists Universe) (Mass Market Paperback)
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.
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