Reviews and Comments

Small thoughts on this to come...

Erik Davis shows how science is just as much a part of our culture, even if it tries to stand aloof from it all. I found this book in an amazing second hand book shop in Scotland, lured in by the killer tag line. It delivered and then some. It's responsible for setting me off on my own critical tech explorations and to never forget that criticism can be done with a smile not just a frown!

For those who are clued up on a lot of the references this book is pulling from then there is not a lot here that is new. It makes for a good summary but I would not suggest this as an entry point for thinking critically about our relationship with tech. The most insightful part was Mr Postman's take on what he would propose to combat a technopoly. Unfortunately what he says is brief but I'd prefer to read a book about what he wrote in those brief passages than the rest of it.

This can be considered China Meiville's more 'straight' novel upon first read-through. The fantasy is not as in your face as previous outings and deliberately so. Instead it is relegated to a point of perception in the reader, a sort of anti-fantasy. It played with my expectations, with reveals that do not go where you expect or want them to go but at the same time leaving you wanting more. This is a tight telling of a crime procedural that had me page flipping til the end. Always a good sign.