[Book Review] Islands in the Net

Islands in the Net / Bruce Stirling

Like this book, my life has been a bit of a hot mess lately.  This isn't entirely a criticism of the book, Islands in the Net is a book about futureshock and war, so if it wasn't a hot mess I'd probably be a bit dubious.  We follow along with Laura as she is buffeted along the shockwave of wars and conspiracies fought across corporate rather than national lines.  An interesting read looking back through the years at how things change and how things stay the same.

 I read this back in May as my Virtual Speculation read, and then missed a few months.  Almost done with the July read (which I mixed up with Augusts).

Discussion Fodder:
  • What can you say about the different political, social, and economic systems present in the book?  How are they different or similar from what you know?  How are they different or similar from each other?
  • What do you think of the Data Pirates and their havens?
  • How is technology represented.  Is, as Prentis says, "All tech is dangerous - even with no moving parts"?
  • Let's talk about race.  Or maybe not, I am so not qualified for this.  But I feel like you can't read this book and not think about race, skin tone, and cultural experience.  I'm also wincing a bit at David when his skin first is darkened.
  • What exactly is Laura's role in everything?  What makes her the person tasked for her assignments?

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