Reviews and Comments

Well, that was a breezy set of anecdotes I'll never remember.

I have literally seen this idea five times now, not even punting Groundhog Day.

it does not make you a science fiction writer. It does not make a book interesting. And the magic pixie dream girl wife set up is just so damn ridiculous.

Disappointed in this. It's a rehash of systems theory with some personal anecdotes and some user experience design mixed in.

Although I did think he captured the climate crisis / overpopulation systems problem very well.

So, so dumb. In a world full of nanotechnology and Telepathy, it's just bullshit to have two thirds of the book be about people either hitting each other or planning to hit each other.

And it boggles my mind that in this world, no one has heard of PKI and all the assassins use Nexus. All of them.

Gah.

Is good book. I like first two parts. Third part not so much. I think too much detail sometimes not care so much about technical details sometimes, also politics part is bullshit. But is okay.

I really have a hard time with "anarchist" political theory books set in the future -- they are very much a product of their time, and too often try to cover all the angles while hitting you with the polemic mallet.

The Dispossessed falls into this trap way too often -- Shevek, the protagonist, doesn't ever seem to have fun unless he's debating with someone, is caught in a diabolical conspiracy caused by Lust For Power, or is discussing temporal mechanics (although, of course, without any kind of technical backing or Greg Egan like mathspeak).

It's just... too much talk. Too little action. It reminds me of Floating Worlds.