Cumulus

a novel

193 pages

English language

Published Nov. 11, 2016

ISBN:
978-1-5327-0719-3
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OCLC Number:
950399298

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4 stars (1 review)

In the not-so-distant future, economic inequality and persistent surveillance push Oakland to the brink of civil war. Lilly Miyamoto is a passionate analog photographer striving to pursue an ever more distant dream. Huian Li is preeminent among the Silicon Valley elite as the founder and CEO of the pervasive tech giant Cumulus. Graham Chandler is a frustrated intelligence agent forging a new path through the halls of techno-utopian royalty. But when Huian rescues Lilly from a run-in with private security forces, it sets off a chain of events that will change their lives and the world. The adventure accelerates into a mad dash of political intrigue, relentless ambition, and questionable salvation. Will they survive to find themselves and mend a broken system?

1 edition

Review of 'Cumulus' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

(Disclosure: Eliot's a friend and he sent me a pre-release copy of Cumulus.)

Really enjoyed this book from Eliot -- he takes the concept of "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and applies it to some present-day tech trends. Cumulus is a plausible (but fantastic) extrapolation of what the Bay Area could look like w/trends un-checked. Found myself nodding at several points at some obvious worst-case scenarios.

I like it when authors tease out a what-if scenario to see where things could go, and really enjoyed Lily (the main character) and her motivations. Her evolution in particular was fun to follow.

The ending is a bit abrupt, but in the end that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story as a whole. It's always a pleasure when authors truly understand the technology that they write about -- which Eliot clearly does. That lends a credibility to the story and to …

Subjects

  • Science fiction
  • Technological innovations
  • Intelligence officers
  • Women photographers
  • Fiction

Places

  • Oakland (Calif.)