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The Cassini Division
At the beginning of the 24th century, the inner Solar System is dominated by the socialist Solar Union. Their front-line fighting force, the Cassini Division, defends against viral attacks from post-human Jovians and keeps careful watch on a wormhole. Ellen May Ngwethu, a member of the Division's Central Committee, travels to areas of Earth occupied by "non-cos", low-tech anarchists who still use such antiquated devices as money. Her goal is to find the physicist Malley, whose help is necessary to find a way through the wormhole. And after taking the losing side in a debate over whether to bomb the Jovians or to try to communicate with them, Ellen travels through the wormhole to ultra-capitalist New Mars.
After a slower opening, there largely to link back to earlier books set in the same universe, The Cassini Division rattles along at a good pace. It is not particularly compelling as a novel, however, with no characters that really come to life. Ellen has centre-stage throughout but remains something of a cipher, her dominant feature her dedication to "the true knowledge" on which the Solar Union was founded ("self interest") and her hostility to non-humans, both rooted in her personal history. And none of the other characters gets much play at all. Suze, for example, is a sociologist who joins Ellen early on in the story and has as high a profile in it as anyone else, but she could still have been trivially edited out.
The science is "space opera" style, deployed when necessary for the plot but otherwise passed over, and the intellectual interest comes from the politics. This takes the form of open discussions of political theory and depictions of different forms of social organisation in action, but it never becomes didactic or stodgy. MacLeod himself is a Trotskyist libertarian, a label which gives some feel for his eclecticism, and he depicts very different political systems working reasonably well -- though he often verges on parody. There are also plenty of little jokes, such as a statue of Mises in the Central Planning Committee building.
A significant factor is that aging has been stopped, so many people are centuries old and have political views formed in the 21st century. This makes the recurrence of current political ideologies three centuries down the road more plausible, but it is also a key stabilising factor. Whether in non-co areas of Earth, in the Solar Union, or on New Mars, to a great extent the system works because it's what people are accustomed to. And even the Jovian "fast folk", descendants of humans who moved into computers and experienced a kind of singularity, have some continuity with their past.
Overall? There's not much more to it, but The Cassini Division makes a decently entertaining action story, with plenty of ideas for anyone interested in political theory. I'm not going to rush off and buy Ken MacLeod's other books, but I'll keep an eye out for a chance to borrow them or scam review copies.
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I love him simply because he understands anarchism. A rarity in any genre of literature these days. The Sky Road did an excellent job not only showing his ability to produce good hard SF but also his ability to understand the political issues that will be inherent in any future society.
./revolution
Nothing says the start of summer like some paperback science fiction.
A two piece bikini says it much better than a paperback baby.
You'll have that sometimes...
I thought that comment was a little TOO geeky,
There's no such thing as too geeky. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go polish my Star Trek figurines, attend to my X-Wing model, review my anime collection, dust my wallscrolls, order an Alienware case, muse over Kerouac, check the Slashdot front page again, write a new Linux text editor, submit an Amazon review for the latest Babylon 5 novel, put a P4 motherboard in a Commodore case, make a particle accelerator out of coffee grounds and tin foil, and post to sci.math and alt.tv.x-files. And recompile my kernel.
The coolest voice ever.
... is the clever use of nanotechnology. Ellen wears a smart suit composed of nanomachines that allow it to take any form. It even has a rudimentary intelligence.. at one point it morphs from a defensive suit of armor into a soft plushy comfortable garment suitable for lounging around a hi-tech spacecraft. Another highlight of the suit is a moment where Ellen blacks out and the suit forms microscopic tubules to inject oxygen directly into her system to keep her alive.
Brilliant!
Jennifer Government by Max Barry.
Very near-future society where multinationals have been carried to their logical conclusion. Funny, interesting and thought provoking and highly reminiscent of Neal Stephenson's earlier work (in a good way).
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.
Entertaining story along with two extremely interesting concepts: the intragalactic usenet and well-executed small group-minded aliens. If you like it, A Deepness in the Sky by the same author is a definate next stop. Vinge reminds me a lot of Larry Niven, again in a good way.
Harry Potter
Just go ahead and buy it -- you know you want to. Don't let the disapproving looks from the book snob working the checkout counter at Borders deter you -- they're working at Borders, few chrissake, who are they to criticise? A little fluff reading never hurt anyone.
Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
A lot of people are crazy about American Gods, and I agree it's a good read. However, Neil Gaiman's real strongpoint is his short stories, of which this is a collection. "Murder Mysteries", "Only the End of the World Again" and "Don't Ask Jack" are my personal favorites, although there's really good stuff throughout.
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
I think this reviewer is missing out; reading this book by itself is kinda like watching Return of the Jedi without have seen the two previous parts. MacLeod's first work, The Star Fraction, is a good prequel (now available in the US), but to really grasp the setup for The Cassini Division, it is very helpful to read The Stone Canal first. (The Sky Road is a sequel to The Stone Canal as well, but the world described is mutually exlusive with The Cassini Division)
Personally, I've enjoyed all of MacLeod's works (including the trilogy in progess that starts with Cosmonaut Keep). Part of that is the well paced/structured stories, the intriguing look at tech and/or politics, and especially the low-key humor that he works in. In The Cassini Division, the story is peopled with ber-socialists; guess what the euphemism, "Go employ yourself!" refers to...
"I'm a scientist! I don't think, I observe!" - Dr. Clayton Forrester
Ken MacLeod keeps an active weblog at
http://kenmacleod.blogspot.com/
Good sci-fi is so great, like any of the Culture series. I wish there were more good sci-fi movies too, but it seems that Hollywood is much more interested in "Science Fear", as opposed to sci-fi. Even our beloved Matrix is more about how tech is bad for people, than about freeing the storyline to explore other areas that aren't possible with today's tech.
... lucky for me, the public library is two blocks away!
It seems a lot easier to avoid "sci-fear" in text form though
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
I should tell those hot girls next door to keep it down, too.
The coolest voice ever.