Oh, that title is clever
Extras
by Scott Westerfeld
So, it only took almost three years, but I finally read Extras, the fourth book in the Uglies Trilogy... yeah, that's right, fourth in the trilogy. How very Douglas Adams of them. When the book first came out I thought it was the beginning of a new series, given that it has new characters, but no further adventures came so I had to get around to reading it eventually to finish off the series.
The novel takes place three years after the events of Specials, and takes us across the world to Japan. It's never specified that it's in Japan, but it's obvious from character names and the fact that when they meet the characters from the first three books, they do specify the language divide between English and Japanese. At one point the characters end up in Singapore. So already this is a more culturally- and language-based book than the earlier installments, which existed in somewhere that seemed like North America but was never specified until now, when characters say they're from "Diego."
After the collapse of their ugly/pretty society, this future Japan switched to a reputation-based economy, where wealth is measured by how famous you are. The city systems basically measure how often a person's named is mentioned, which sounds so innocuous in the context of the book, but when you think about it, it's kind of creepy. The computer is even smart enough to figure out who you're talking about when you use nicknames, pseudonyms, or outright slander, and it will still award points accordingly. Regardless, I'm fascinated by the concept, as it is the principle that many websites run off of, and there are sites that will measure your influence through Twitter, such as Klout and The Whuffie Bank (named after Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, which also utilized a reputation economy as well). As a result, I found myself rooting for Aya, even when what she was doing was, well, wrong.
The characters in this book are way more likable than anyone we meet in the first three installments. Aya is little dumb, but for some reason I found it forgivable due to her age (fifteen) and the economy itself (she is obsessed with increasing her FaceRank). Her brother is a typical older brother, both derisive and supportive at the same time. Interestingly, he has a friend named Ren who is around all the time with no explanation, so it's possible that Westerfeld gave us gay characters without making a big deal of it, which is fantastic. Aya also has a smart hovercam named Moggle that follows her around and reminds me of Scuzzy from Reboot.
To get to the meat of the plot, Aya starts following around a group of thrill-seekers because she wants to "kick" their story on her feed to get a better FaceRank. This in turn unearths a conspiracy and everything snowballs from there, to the point where Tally Freakin' Youngblood gets involved.
Yawn.
Actually, the book doesn't get boring, it's just that even when she is not the main character, Tally manages to suck all the fun out of the room and annoy the hell out of me. At least we don't have to listen to all the crap inside her head this time, since everything's through Aya's eyes, but even Aya notices that she's crazy and scary, a reasonable response. We only get a brief mention of what's been happening with Tally and the other Cutters since the events of the last book. That's fine, because this is Aya's story now.
The shame is that we won't get any more of Aya's story, because all this book ends up being is an epilogue, a "extra" chapter to what came before. Tally introduced a brave new world, Aya shows us what's it's like to live in it.
It's the best book in the series.
by Scott Westerfeld
So, it only took almost three years, but I finally read Extras, the fourth book in the Uglies Trilogy... yeah, that's right, fourth in the trilogy. How very Douglas Adams of them. When the book first came out I thought it was the beginning of a new series, given that it has new characters, but no further adventures came so I had to get around to reading it eventually to finish off the series.
The novel takes place three years after the events of Specials, and takes us across the world to Japan. It's never specified that it's in Japan, but it's obvious from character names and the fact that when they meet the characters from the first three books, they do specify the language divide between English and Japanese. At one point the characters end up in Singapore. So already this is a more culturally- and language-based book than the earlier installments, which existed in somewhere that seemed like North America but was never specified until now, when characters say they're from "Diego."
After the collapse of their ugly/pretty society, this future Japan switched to a reputation-based economy, where wealth is measured by how famous you are. The city systems basically measure how often a person's named is mentioned, which sounds so innocuous in the context of the book, but when you think about it, it's kind of creepy. The computer is even smart enough to figure out who you're talking about when you use nicknames, pseudonyms, or outright slander, and it will still award points accordingly. Regardless, I'm fascinated by the concept, as it is the principle that many websites run off of, and there are sites that will measure your influence through Twitter, such as Klout and The Whuffie Bank (named after Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, which also utilized a reputation economy as well). As a result, I found myself rooting for Aya, even when what she was doing was, well, wrong.
The characters in this book are way more likable than anyone we meet in the first three installments. Aya is little dumb, but for some reason I found it forgivable due to her age (fifteen) and the economy itself (she is obsessed with increasing her FaceRank). Her brother is a typical older brother, both derisive and supportive at the same time. Interestingly, he has a friend named Ren who is around all the time with no explanation, so it's possible that Westerfeld gave us gay characters without making a big deal of it, which is fantastic. Aya also has a smart hovercam named Moggle that follows her around and reminds me of Scuzzy from Reboot.
To get to the meat of the plot, Aya starts following around a group of thrill-seekers because she wants to "kick" their story on her feed to get a better FaceRank. This in turn unearths a conspiracy and everything snowballs from there, to the point where Tally Freakin' Youngblood gets involved.
Yawn.
Actually, the book doesn't get boring, it's just that even when she is not the main character, Tally manages to suck all the fun out of the room and annoy the hell out of me. At least we don't have to listen to all the crap inside her head this time, since everything's through Aya's eyes, but even Aya notices that she's crazy and scary, a reasonable response. We only get a brief mention of what's been happening with Tally and the other Cutters since the events of the last book. That's fine, because this is Aya's story now.
The shame is that we won't get any more of Aya's story, because all this book ends up being is an epilogue, a "extra" chapter to what came before. Tally introduced a brave new world, Aya shows us what's it's like to live in it.
It's the best book in the series.