IDENTIFIED: A hacker thriller ripped from the headlines of today's newspapers by John Wilander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Premise: hacker-focused heist in an uber-surveillance world.

Honestly, this book should 100% appeal to me. I love a great rag-tag rebellious skills-based comeuppance against corporate and nationalist Big Brother.

What is really surprising, and at least initially wonderful, was the sheer page-count of actual hacking, with actual hacking problems/knowledge. I can APPRECIATE the neat woo-woo of so many technical challenges and visualizations of the problems while also thinking, quite often, that it DESTROYS the natural flow of the novel.

So, it's a caveat. This is a fun techno-thriller that forces you to study and follow complicated grids of numbers with no easy way to just hand-wave the challenges away--unless you just skip them.

For those who do want a challenging book, by all means, pick this up and challenge yourselves. The story, characters, plot, are just fine. I'm not saying the whole book is impenetrable. It's also not a Greg Egan.

Brass tacks: is it fun? Yep. Does it challenge your T in your MBTI? Yep.

If I were to synesthesia this review, I'd say I'd be smelling ozone the entire time I read it. Specifically, dust getting burnt in ozone, the smell of a case getting cracked while the fan is still running, the heat of a machine in a cold room. My nose still feels cold in memory.


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to DM requests. I think it's about time I get some eyes on them.

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Picks and Shovels by Cory Doctorow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a 5 star with caveats. Let me explain. I think it's a wonderful novel within the Martin Hench universe, the place where forensic economics, spreadsheets, programming ability, meets modern techno-mystery.

But this isn't the modern Martin. Indeed, it might be what we've all been wanting all this time, assuming you've been following Doctorow's unique character. This is YOUNG Martin Hench. Before he made untold riches bringing down mastermind accountant villains. Indeed, this IS that story.

I won't say this is better than the ones that came before it, but it DOES fill in some major gaps, and it's very fulfilling on its own.

Indeed, this is a savory crock-pot of characterization, full of youthful, less-than-choice-cut meats, plenty of potatoes, and enough programming-veggies to make you feel like you've eaten both healthy AND smart. Do you smell that rich, hearty umai? This is what I sense with my synesthesia. This is what sticks to the bones.

I could read this stuff forever.



Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to DM requests. I think it's about time I get some eyes on them.

Arctunn.com

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Victoria Unveiled by Shane Joseph
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Timely and rather on the nose novel about crossing the lines of sentience.

Very, very near future SF that probably has a lot more in common with a modern retelling of Pygmalion, Cherry 2000, and Spielberg's AI -- written very hornily.

It explores creativity, coercion, and rightful anger. At this point, it doesn't matter whether the anger is human or AI. When others coerce, it's dehumanizing.

Decent novel, though not all that new. But it IS, as I said, very timely.

And before I forget, let's weave a little synesthesia into the review. I swear as I was reading this, I was smelling hothouse flowers. Totally constrained and controlled and often deadly. The smell was nearly overpowering. Definitely not food. It was definitely an attack. Interesting, either way.



Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to DM requests. I think it's about time I get some eyes on them.

Arctunn.com

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Casual Farming by Wolfe Locke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm gonna go whole hog writing synesthesia reviews this year, so look out and keep those senses open.

But in this case, and primarily because there were SO MANY OF THEM in this book, I got an utter eggy vibe going on for this novel. Sure, sure, it could be pure repetition, but I SMELL the butter wafting off this story.

Sure, lots of hard work, easy-going Stardew Valley vibes, monsters and two-legged monsters, a little romance, but above all, MAKING MONEY is the name of this game. It's a special kind of of LitRPG. Maybe later there will be some leveling, but for now, it's all about living a nice, comfortable life.

As for me, I thought it was very, very relaxing. A true comfort read. And even though I said it was eggy, I swear I felt like I was slathering a good deal of butter on my bread.



Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to DM requests. I think it's about time I get some eyes on them.

Arctunn.com

View all my reviews