Islands in the Net

...I found value in this work by Sterling. I don't remember a whit of the plot machinations or the characters ten years after reading it. I do remember, however, the author's gift for thoughtfulness about the mechanisms of the future--the "sunglasses" in particular are something I think about often, being used to confer with "board members" all over the globe. I think Islands in the Net is a valuable read in that the author put a lot of thought into the technology itself of his "future." It's regretful that the book itself is turgid, but an awful lot of cyberpunk at the time was plot- or "feeling"- heavy, with the technology needed by the plot just "there," and little thought given to how and if it would work and be used. This book was very interesting at the time I originally read it if you were thinking about how to build the future, and what to build and how it could actually be used in practical fashion, rather than say, the kevlar dusters and mirrorshades.

This is one of the gutsiest SF novels I know of. Bruce Sterling has set his novel in one of the most incredibly detailed, well thought out futures ever developed. He's thought about his world geopolitically, economically, ideologically, and on a host of other levels, including how people live on a day to day basis. His people have internalized genuinely different ideas because of the world that has shaped them. In this sense it is most like some of the best Heinlein novels.The world Sterling creates alone would make this worthwhile reading, but his characterization is strong and unconventional, and he tells an extremely interesting story that travels all over the world. This isn't really a fast-paced pageturner, and it isn't immersed in hard-science details about how things work in the future--it's more like real life for most of us, where technology is part of the background, and just works. So if those are the kinds of things you value in a SF novel, this may not be your book. But the traditional virtues of plot, characterization, and setting make this an outstanding novel.

I agree with some other reviewers' criticisms that the protagonist is poorly characterized and the narrative sometimes drags, but this is nevertheless an excellent book, more than redeemed by its wealth of ideas about the world's technological, social and political future, illustrated through lively and colorful incidents, dialogue and settings. Offshore data havens in the global information web; the abandonment of Africa to poverty and anarchy; the rise of transnational corporations and international organizations and networks; the withering away of governments; terroristic chemical and electronic warfare: The treatment of these near-future motifs is rich, sophisticated, and interesting, and stands up very well in comparison to their handling by other writers who have exploited them since this book was published in 1988.

I have read all of Neal Stephenson's and William Gibson's books and only some of Sterling's. I thought that this book was better constructed, although the tech is a little lower, than the early books of the others. I was confused by why, when the main character is described as small and blonde, the book jacket displays a Paula Cole look alike. Just free form marketing I guess.

One of the best books from the cyberpunk originals. Very plausible, and packed with near future concepts. A must read for people that think SF can be high quality literature