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on April 15, 2017
Lots of fun and a great read. I like Daniel Suarez and William Gibson and Void Star fits into that section of the bookshelf. According to the Wired review, I expected a lot of interaction between humans and AI to see how the eminently qualified author would handle this interaction. You don't get a lot of that but what you do get is a group of very interesting characters that you come to care about and their individual and interlocking stories fuel this interesting narrative. I am glad I read it and would recommend it for readers looking for a thrilling story written by a man with a first class mind that is set in the future.
on May 23, 2017
Void Star (Hardcover) by Zachary Mason
Quite the ride! I have not read this author before, and am quite glad I have now. His near future society is well created, with more than a few dark twists and turns. And also some fun happening along the way. We have an ensemble cast that we are never quite sure about. And they seem to interact with each other in the strangest of manners.
The characters are a bit distant and disjointed, as is the storyline. Yet in some improbable manner it just works. Our characters each seem to be a bit more, and also less than human, and the story is so much better for it. Each person has to come to some understanding of who, or what they really are. And it these dispute journeys that end up linking them all together that makes the plot so intriguing.
Read it and wonder how human you really are.
Quite the ride! I have not read this author before, and am quite glad I have now. His near future society is well created, with more than a few dark twists and turns. And also some fun happening along the way. We have an ensemble cast that we are never quite sure about. And they seem to interact with each other in the strangest of manners.
The characters are a bit distant and disjointed, as is the storyline. Yet in some improbable manner it just works. Our characters each seem to be a bit more, and also less than human, and the story is so much better for it. Each person has to come to some understanding of who, or what they really are. And it these dispute journeys that end up linking them all together that makes the plot so intriguing.
Read it and wonder how human you really are.
on April 26, 2017
Like watching a movie while doing mushrooms...everything is vivid and runs into each other and is amazing. Great writing! Kudos.
on April 19, 2017
This is, without doubt, the best work of Cyberpunk science fiction of the past 20 years. Although loaded with the familiar tropes of the genre -- from rouge AIs, to corporate espionage, to competing private military factions, to the rain-swept and neon-lit cityscapes of Tokyo and Hong Kong -- it manages to make something new and truly interesting of them. A stunning achievement.
Void Star is most reminiscent in setting and tone to William Gibson's Bridge trilogy -- Idoru and Virtual Light, in particular -- but is broader in scope and grander in scale than those books are. The characters here are also Gibsonian, in the sense that some are inscrutable and difficult to fathom, whereas others are archetypical. (For e.g., "the warrior," "the guide," etc.) But, for all that, they're relatable, and even likable.
The book raises questions about the nature of memory and identity that are beyond the scope of this review. Suffice it to say that Void Star is deeper and more philosophical than most other works in this genre. It's not Hard Sci Fi -- nobody would confuse Void Star with something like Greg Egan's Permutation City -- but, in its vaguer and more amorphous way, it's as thought-provoking as the hardest work in the genre.
Very highly recommended. Mr. Mason is an author to keep an eye on.
Void Star is most reminiscent in setting and tone to William Gibson's Bridge trilogy -- Idoru and Virtual Light, in particular -- but is broader in scope and grander in scale than those books are. The characters here are also Gibsonian, in the sense that some are inscrutable and difficult to fathom, whereas others are archetypical. (For e.g., "the warrior," "the guide," etc.) But, for all that, they're relatable, and even likable.
The book raises questions about the nature of memory and identity that are beyond the scope of this review. Suffice it to say that Void Star is deeper and more philosophical than most other works in this genre. It's not Hard Sci Fi -- nobody would confuse Void Star with something like Greg Egan's Permutation City -- but, in its vaguer and more amorphous way, it's as thought-provoking as the hardest work in the genre.
Very highly recommended. Mr. Mason is an author to keep an eye on.
on April 30, 2017
Set in the not too distant future,done in a cyber punk style, three widely disparate characters are enmeshed in the maneuvering of the powerful and the more powerful. Our first protagonist makes her living evaluating corporate artificial intelligences that are malfunctioning-a brilliant loner she lives for her memories and little else. Protagonist number two has just(barely) survived a deadly ambush that killed his father and lives on stolen memories. The last of the trio is a barrio kid raised to be the type of zen warrior infused with a martial spirit and romanticism that never existed except in imaginations-false dreams if you will. Bleak as the world they have been put in is,author Zachary Mason puts heart and soul into his characters and the book. Tight plotting,humane leads and beautiful prose make Void Star stand out. Recommended.
on May 19, 2017
Anything of real merit requires at least a little work. While this story requires dedication and patience on the part of the reader, you will be well rewarded for the effort. Seldom have I read a story of our possible future more artfully written. The author's command of language, emotion, and his vision of the future of technolgy is second to none. I am humbled.
on May 19, 2017
Excellent! Void Star is excellent cyberpunk, reminiscent of the best of William Gibson's early works. The author manages to capture the same sense of adventure, possibilities, and danger brought on by rapid technological change. Although the prose tends to excessive floridity at times, the writing and story are excellent and Zachary Mason deserves his place along side the best of William Gibson and Neal Stephenson.
on May 1, 2017
So far, the story has been very entertaining. The book builds upon many themes made popular by Neal Stephenson and William Gibson, in books like Snow Crash and Neuromancer. Given the author's background in AI, this book has a good chance of reading like historical fiction in 30 years - much like Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash predicted many aspects of online gaming/social culture back in 1991.
My only quibble is with the author's writing style. Some of the passages are loaded with run-on sentences, or else sentences that are diced up with unnecessary commas. If you are an English major or a grammar nazi, some passages will make your eye twitch. The overall themes and plot are great... I just had to re-read the occasional paragraph, due to confusing punctuation.
A highly-recommended read- I will be telling Google to remind me to re-read this in 20 years, to see what has come true.
My only quibble is with the author's writing style. Some of the passages are loaded with run-on sentences, or else sentences that are diced up with unnecessary commas. If you are an English major or a grammar nazi, some passages will make your eye twitch. The overall themes and plot are great... I just had to re-read the occasional paragraph, due to confusing punctuation.
A highly-recommended read- I will be telling Google to remind me to re-read this in 20 years, to see what has come true.
on May 23, 2017
Good idea well executed. Gripping until the end when things are revealed more clearly.
