Schismatrix Plus

Everything was going well. Sort of humor-ish with some sharp edges. The book was well recommended. Then it came to Page 168. Sterling's character Constantine doesn't seem to play well, but Sterling tries to dress him in sociable clothes, but then the little chapter comes up that describes a torture chamber with all sorts of high-tech tidbits, but there's a human being inside who has been drugged and cannot move. The character Constantine psychologically "twists the knife," and ends up murdering the victim, already at the end of his rope. Not funny. Not funny at all, and Sterling brought this into my home and played it before my mind. Eccchh. The book went right into the woodstove. Definitely not for the young reader, despite all other glorifications. Sterling is persona non grata in my library, and my fellow readers are warned herein.

Unbeatable price at something like $2.50 + shipping. I can tell the copy I got was well read, but it's still in great condition. The former owner loved Kitsune, and I love inheriting those annotations 💜

A very fine idea to collect all the Shaper/Mechanist work in one volume, the novel and the five stories. Sterling explains the pronunciation of Schmismatrix, and also says people, this is all there is, there won't be any more despite all the people asking. He also amusingly points out that Freeman Dyson was very good-humoured about wholesale lifting of ideas. Which means we will just have to keep rereading this great book. An absolute clear 5 out of 5. Schmismatrix Plus : Schismatrix - Bruce Sterling Schmismatrix Plus : Sunken Gardens - Bruce Sterling Schmismatrix Plus : Cicada Queen - Bruce Sterling Schmismatrix Plus : Twenty Evocations - Bruce Sterling Schmismatrix Plus : Spider Rose - Bruce Sterling Schmismatrix Plus : Swarm - Bruce Sterling There are two main political factions in the masses of humanity that have spread to the stars. The Shapers, and the Mechanists. These factions have two different schools of thought on posthuman alteration of the body, the former organic, the latter taking the cyborg route. They are not the only organisations that exist, but are the most influential. Blew my mind a bit as a kid, this one. 4 out of 5 Regal terraforming judgement. 4 out of 5 Wellspring of Investors. 4 out of 5 Shaper/Mechanist list. 3.5 out of 5 Nose For Profit pet interest trade real rescue transformation. 4.5 out of 5 Interspecies business shocks. 4 out of 5

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.

Wow. This is quirky, fun hard science fiction adventure that really works hard to make you think. Sterling isn't satisfied with ordinary science fiction, he has re-thought the ideas of spaceflight from the beginning. I especially like "Hive Queen", for what it's worth-- this is not John Cambell's science fiction universe of humans winning over everything because of their superior intelligence, but a universe in which humans are an insignificant part, and in which intelligence itself may be something of no particular value in the long-term game of survival. Wow.

With most books, you can read them several times and find something new in them each time through. With this book, it's an absolute necessity. The ideas expressed are so numerous, there must be at least two or three lurking on every other page. It would take probably a half dozen readings to really peg them all. The story itself is visionary, immensly complicated, and superbly executed, with a protaganist I couldn't help but admire and root for. This book definately has an incredibly unique flavor. This is one space epic absolutely worth owning.

Scared about the future? Is rapid technological change getting your panties in a bunch? If yes, then Schismatrix is your worst nightmare. For those of us that like cracking paradigms with a hammer, this is an excellent book. Why? Bruce shows us a compelling -- although unsettling -- view of the future that is at odds with much of today's received wisdom. Here are the two themes he developed that I think set him apart from the mainstream: 1) Will rapid technological advancement, particularly in biology, challenge our idea of what is human? Sterling's answer: Heck yes. You better broaden your definition of which attributes are necessary to be a human, anything and everything is possible when we take control of our own evolution. And there is nothing you can do about it. 2) Will the conquest of space be an orderly process akin to Star Trek? Sterlings answer: Hell no! It's a Diaspora -- everybody with an axe to grind heads for the hills, and frankly, they don't want to be bothored with some remote government's laws, taxes, or ethics. And there is nothing you can do about it. To unite these two themes Bruce developed an entertaining story line and a single powerful philosophy for the future: we live in a world of unlimited possibilites which will be more strange, awful, and wonderful than you can imagine. To survive in this new world people must create their own reality and ignore what everybody else is doing. Don't think civilization, think tribe._________ My recommendation: Read this book. A lot of what Bruce sees will happen.