WWW:Watch by Robert J. Sawyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having only read the first two of this trilogy that is, obviously, a single-story, I'm forced to write a review that reads more like an update rather than an all-out "This is Great".

That being said...

This is great!

Why?

If I went by a certain set of standards that was commonplace ten or fifteen years ago, I would have been reading this novel and saying... hey! This is on par or better than almost ALL the SF out there. It has all the huge scope, the excellent science, the pure speculation of what a modern-day singularity might become with our current technology. It has emergent an emergent AI, with full explanations, in the World Wide Web. It has heart, social and Game Theory, great storytelling, and a hugely updated nod and a literal nod to Wargames.

And above all, it's GOOD. Effortless storytelling, easygoing pace, enjoyable characters, and an almost corny plug for Canadians.

So what happened? Robert J. Sawyer has written something easily as good if not better than his prior Hugo noms and wins in the early 2000s. I actually ENJOY this on more levels than his other trilogy.

Hell, I started crying once or twice. And the whole damn thing is OPTIMISTIC and HOPEFUL.

Awards aside, this is very good SF. I think it should be a staple of all you fanboy-and-fangirl's diets. And this is especially true if you have noticed an ongoing trend in SF in general that seems to be having a conversation with itself. As in... every generation builds on what the prior generations have created. The same is true for SF as in everything. But in this case, Sawyer is self-consciously bridging several huge gaps between all the classics and the modern sensibilities.

I can do nothing but applaud.

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