LE Modesitt Jr: Flash
I'm only about two-thirds through. It doesn't matter -- I really like this one. It wasn't as terrifying as Archform: Beauty, even though I finally determined that this is an alternate piece or reality to it and not just a sequel.
This, like a lot of his pieces, is a standalone and like most of those, different enough from each other that I'd only suggest one to one person and another to another. I had just read The One Eyed Man when I started this, so perhaps I was even more terrified than I would have normally been. Instead, this one reads as a conspiracy theory action book. Not even close to as scary as the all-too realistic-sounding social, political, and economic situation that was Archform: Beauty.
This, like the Octagonal Raven, I'd have my mom read. The Octagonal Raven because the approach and the structure of the story is very appealing. That and I feel it's an approach in storytelling that usually is not seen in his work -- having the reader go and see a person's life and perspective through their eyes. The Imager Portfolio does this well as well, but the main character's personality is so at odds with the reader that it becomes comical at times. (I can say this with certainty because I have never met anyone that brutally practical.)
Anyway, while The One-Eyed Man features a system used to time dilatation, this one features a real AI. (Okay so that's somewhat of a spoiler. Somewhat.) And why people go through great lengths to prevent one from existing... or the illusion of such. Neither are the points of the books, but very unusual features in them.
The effect, like Yukikaze of Kanbayashi Chouhei, could either be amusing or terrifying, depending on the person.
I didn't mean to write this like some sort of article. Sorry. I also won't say more because that's a spoiler. Just stating what the genre is is enough.
This, like a lot of his pieces, is a standalone and like most of those, different enough from each other that I'd only suggest one to one person and another to another. I had just read The One Eyed Man when I started this, so perhaps I was even more terrified than I would have normally been. Instead, this one reads as a conspiracy theory action book. Not even close to as scary as the all-too realistic-sounding social, political, and economic situation that was Archform: Beauty.
This, like the Octagonal Raven, I'd have my mom read. The Octagonal Raven because the approach and the structure of the story is very appealing. That and I feel it's an approach in storytelling that usually is not seen in his work -- having the reader go and see a person's life and perspective through their eyes. The Imager Portfolio does this well as well, but the main character's personality is so at odds with the reader that it becomes comical at times. (I can say this with certainty because I have never met anyone that brutally practical.)
Anyway, while The One-Eyed Man features a system used to time dilatation, this one features a real AI. (Okay so that's somewhat of a spoiler. Somewhat.) And why people go through great lengths to prevent one from existing... or the illusion of such. Neither are the points of the books, but very unusual features in them.
The effect, like Yukikaze of Kanbayashi Chouhei, could either be amusing or terrifying, depending on the person.
I didn't mean to write this like some sort of article. Sorry. I also won't say more because that's a spoiler. Just stating what the genre is is enough.