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A Song Called Youth #1-3
A Song Called Youth
In a near-future dystopia, a limited nuclear strike has destroyed portions of Europe, bringing the remaining nation-cities under control of the Second Alliance, a frighteningly fundamentalist international security corporation with designs on world domination. The only defense against the Alliance's creeping totalitarianism is the New Resistance, a polyglot team of rebels that includes Rick Rickenharp, a retro-rocker whose artistic and political sensibilities intertwine, and John Swenson, a mole who has infiltrated the Alliance. As the fight continues and years progress, so does the technology and brutality of the Alliance... but ordinary people like the damaged visionary Smoke, Claire Rimpler on FirStep, and Dance Torrence and his fellow urban warriors on Earth are bound together by the truth and a single purpose: to keep the darkness from becoming humankind's Total Eclipse - or die trying!
An omnibus of all three novels-revised by the author-of the prophetic, still frighteningly relevant cyberpunk masterpieces: Eclipse, Eclipse Penumbra, and Eclipse Corona. With an introduction by Richard Kadrey and biographical note by Bruce Sterling.
An omnibus of all three novels-revised by the author-of the prophetic, still frighteningly relevant cyberpunk masterpieces: Eclipse, Eclipse Penumbra, and Eclipse Corona. With an introduction by Richard Kadrey and biographical note by Bruce Sterling.
768 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 28, 2012
28 people are currently reading
369 people want to read
About the author
John Shirley
320 books464 followersJohn Shirley won the Bram Stoker Award for his story collection Black Butterflies, and is the author of numerous novels, including the best-seller DEMONS, the cyberpunk classics CITY COME A-WALKIN', ECLIPSE, and BLACK GLASS, and his newest novels STORMLAND and A SORCERER OF ATLANTIS.
He is also a screenwriter, having written for television and movies; he was co-screenwriter of THE CROW. He has been several Year's Best anthologies including Prime Books' THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR anthology, and his nwest story collection is IN EXTREMIS: THE MOST EXTREME SHORT STORIES OF JOHN SHIRLEY. His novel BIOSHOCK: RAPTURE telling the story of the creation and undoing of Rapture, from the hit videogame BIOSHOCK is out from TOR books; his Halo novel, HALO: BROKEN CIRCLE is coming out from Pocket Books.
His most recent novels are STORMLAND and (forthcoming) AXLE BUST CREEK. His new story collection is THE FEVERISH STARS. STORMLAND and other John Shirley novels are available as audiobooks.
He is also a lyricist, having written lyrics for 18 songs recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on their albums Heaven Forbidden and Curse of the Hidden Mirror), and his own recordings.
John Shirley has written only one nonfiction book, GURDJIEFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND IDEAS, published by Penguin/Jeremy Tarcher.
John Shirley story collections include BLACK BUTTERFLIES, IN EXTREMIS, REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES, and LIVING SHADOWS.
source: Amazon
He is also a screenwriter, having written for television and movies; he was co-screenwriter of THE CROW. He has been several Year's Best anthologies including Prime Books' THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR anthology, and his nwest story collection is IN EXTREMIS: THE MOST EXTREME SHORT STORIES OF JOHN SHIRLEY. His novel BIOSHOCK: RAPTURE telling the story of the creation and undoing of Rapture, from the hit videogame BIOSHOCK is out from TOR books; his Halo novel, HALO: BROKEN CIRCLE is coming out from Pocket Books.
His most recent novels are STORMLAND and (forthcoming) AXLE BUST CREEK. His new story collection is THE FEVERISH STARS. STORMLAND and other John Shirley novels are available as audiobooks.
He is also a lyricist, having written lyrics for 18 songs recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on their albums Heaven Forbidden and Curse of the Hidden Mirror), and his own recordings.
John Shirley has written only one nonfiction book, GURDJIEFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND IDEAS, published by Penguin/Jeremy Tarcher.
John Shirley story collections include BLACK BUTTERFLIES, IN EXTREMIS, REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES, and LIVING SHADOWS.
source: Amazon
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 8, 2012
The Definitive Cyberpunk Trilogy from One of Its Greatest Practitioners: John Shirley
What was cyberpunk? Compelling near future high tech science fiction tales replete with characters hooked up to the internet, getting their minds stimulated via drugs or some kind of biotechnology (such as computer chip brain-interfaces), and most likely, all three. Engrossing tales about those revolting against “the system” (“The Man” or “The Woman”) enriched by an almost paranoid dystopian vision of the near future, written by science fiction writers who were – and in many instances, still are – among the finest literary stylists ever to work in this genre, worthy of comparison with mainstream Anglo-American fiction’s greatest literary talents: William Gibson (who coined the term “cyberspace”), Bruce Sterling, Lewis Shiner, Pat Cadigan, and Michael Swanwick. However, none of these great writers epitomized science fiction’s most important literary movement since the 1960’s New Wave like John Shirley did; none of them lived the very lives which John Shirley depicted vividly for many of his cyberpunk protagonists; none of them wrote and performed punk rock songs; none took drugs to the extent that he did; in other words, none acted like a real-life rebellious cyberpunk protagonist.
William Gibson’s “Cyberspace” (or “Sprawl”) trilogy “Neuromancer”, “Count Zero”, “Mona Lisa Overdrive”), may have succeeded in introducing literary audiences to an internet-dominated near future, but it pales in comparison with John Shirley’s “A Song Called Youth” trilogy (“Eclipse”, “Eclipse Penumbra”, “Eclipse Corona”) for offering a frighteningly realistic, dystopian vision of the near future; a vision that now, more than ever, seems all too probable in its “kaleidoscopic mix of politics, pop and paranoia”, to quote Sterling in his glowing assessment of Shirley’s trailblazing epic cyberpunk trilogy. In its present, slightly updated, Prime Books-published incarnation, “A Song Called Youth” is not only the definitive cyberpunk trilogy ever written, but the one that should resonate strongly with mainstream literary audiences familiar with the contemporary sociopolitical movements sweeping across the United States (and elsewhere globally). It deserves a wide readership since Shirley’s compelling vision of the near future should be familiar with anyone who has read Don De Lillo, William Gibson, Rick Moody, and Thomas Pynchon; this is not just the definitive cyberpunk trilogy, but also one of the most important works of contemporary fiction written by an American writer. If science fiction is viewed as a genre-based mirrored exploration of our present quite capable of producing high literary art, then I can think of no better “mirror” than “A Song Called Youth”.
In the waning months of the “Third World War”, in the immediate aftermath of a Western European invasion by “New Soviet” Russian armies repelled by NATO forces with limited tactical nuclear strikes, an American private security corporation, the Second Alliance, seeks to restore law and order in the desolated cities of NATO-liberated Western Europe. Only a relative few, the “New Resistance”, realize that the Second Alliance’s aims are far from benign, seeking instead global domination via Fundamentalist Christian totalitarian dictatorships, and whose genocidal plans for much of humanity are far worse than anything dreamt by Adolf Hitler and his fellow fanatical Nazis. Against impossible odds the New Resistance wages a guerilla war on the Second Alliance and its Western European regimes, uniting a motley crew composed of a has-been punk rocker (Rick Rickenharp), an idealistic Democratic Socialist (Dean “Hard-Eyes” Torrance), a poet-philosopher (Jack Brendan Smoke), and the daughter (Claire Rimpler) of the founder of FirStep, humanity’s first orbital space colony, committed to making a final stand against humanity’s “Eclipse”; the Second Alliance’s nightmarish futuristic vision for mankind.
What was cyberpunk? Compelling near future high tech science fiction tales replete with characters hooked up to the internet, getting their minds stimulated via drugs or some kind of biotechnology (such as computer chip brain-interfaces), and most likely, all three. Engrossing tales about those revolting against “the system” (“The Man” or “The Woman”) enriched by an almost paranoid dystopian vision of the near future, written by science fiction writers who were – and in many instances, still are – among the finest literary stylists ever to work in this genre, worthy of comparison with mainstream Anglo-American fiction’s greatest literary talents: William Gibson (who coined the term “cyberspace”), Bruce Sterling, Lewis Shiner, Pat Cadigan, and Michael Swanwick. However, none of these great writers epitomized science fiction’s most important literary movement since the 1960’s New Wave like John Shirley did; none of them lived the very lives which John Shirley depicted vividly for many of his cyberpunk protagonists; none of them wrote and performed punk rock songs; none took drugs to the extent that he did; in other words, none acted like a real-life rebellious cyberpunk protagonist.
William Gibson’s “Cyberspace” (or “Sprawl”) trilogy “Neuromancer”, “Count Zero”, “Mona Lisa Overdrive”), may have succeeded in introducing literary audiences to an internet-dominated near future, but it pales in comparison with John Shirley’s “A Song Called Youth” trilogy (“Eclipse”, “Eclipse Penumbra”, “Eclipse Corona”) for offering a frighteningly realistic, dystopian vision of the near future; a vision that now, more than ever, seems all too probable in its “kaleidoscopic mix of politics, pop and paranoia”, to quote Sterling in his glowing assessment of Shirley’s trailblazing epic cyberpunk trilogy. In its present, slightly updated, Prime Books-published incarnation, “A Song Called Youth” is not only the definitive cyberpunk trilogy ever written, but the one that should resonate strongly with mainstream literary audiences familiar with the contemporary sociopolitical movements sweeping across the United States (and elsewhere globally). It deserves a wide readership since Shirley’s compelling vision of the near future should be familiar with anyone who has read Don De Lillo, William Gibson, Rick Moody, and Thomas Pynchon; this is not just the definitive cyberpunk trilogy, but also one of the most important works of contemporary fiction written by an American writer. If science fiction is viewed as a genre-based mirrored exploration of our present quite capable of producing high literary art, then I can think of no better “mirror” than “A Song Called Youth”.
In the waning months of the “Third World War”, in the immediate aftermath of a Western European invasion by “New Soviet” Russian armies repelled by NATO forces with limited tactical nuclear strikes, an American private security corporation, the Second Alliance, seeks to restore law and order in the desolated cities of NATO-liberated Western Europe. Only a relative few, the “New Resistance”, realize that the Second Alliance’s aims are far from benign, seeking instead global domination via Fundamentalist Christian totalitarian dictatorships, and whose genocidal plans for much of humanity are far worse than anything dreamt by Adolf Hitler and his fellow fanatical Nazis. Against impossible odds the New Resistance wages a guerilla war on the Second Alliance and its Western European regimes, uniting a motley crew composed of a has-been punk rocker (Rick Rickenharp), an idealistic Democratic Socialist (Dean “Hard-Eyes” Torrance), a poet-philosopher (Jack Brendan Smoke), and the daughter (Claire Rimpler) of the founder of FirStep, humanity’s first orbital space colony, committed to making a final stand against humanity’s “Eclipse”; the Second Alliance’s nightmarish futuristic vision for mankind.
July 15, 2021
Combining the best parts of pop sci-fi, "alternate history" (read: alternate future), military and espionage novels, John Shirley's A Song Called Youth is THE book that has gripped me the most in the past year. Part Snow Crash, part Red Storm Rising, this book kept me up for 200-page nights multiple nights in a row.
The plot drives relentlessly forward, never meandering on unnecessary detours. The action moves from continent to continent, island hideaways to underground safehouses. The military action of the novel is rather sterile as it's written, reading like a description of a Call of Duty mission. The upshot of this is that words are not wasted in describing firefights and explosions, and the writing shines through as impactful in this way.
If you've read even a little cyberpunk before you probably will not find much in the way of new ideas here. There's the overarching and overreaching information networks, computer powered body modifications, plenty of novel drugs and a laissez faire attitude towards sex, indescribable styles of dress, the works. All of this functions exactly how it's supposed to in the story, without wasting much time on expositional explanations. If it's not the freshest of ideas they certainly follow the cyberpunk and sci-fi ethos of taking the ideas and technologies we have now and pushing them to their logical ends. One aspect of the cyberpunk future that felt fresh, fleshed out, and passionate was the examination of future music in the trilogy. There are a few main characters who are musicians converted to the resistance, and many musical subcultures are explored at length. This is mostly where the average reader will find new ground in cyberpunk.
Perhaps the most engaging facet of this book to me is the exploration of racism, classism, and fascism that drives the story. Citing plenty of real world history, Shirley shows a sober and logical (and frighteningly realistic) future of neo-Fascism and -Naziism that unfortunately turned out to be fairly prescient. He accurately describes the rise of far right fundamentalist christians in American government, and if you're able to find the single volume collection published in 2012 there are some clearly post-1985 (the year the first book of the trilogy was published) additions that further strengthen the feeling that this book is rooted in real world events. Any author that evokes a second Holocaust as the climax of a trilogy is certainly saddling themselves for a hard sell, but in the universe Shirley has created there is no question of what the world is speeding towards.
The two gripes that I can take away from the book: 1) by the third book there are so many characters to track, that eventually I just gave up remembering names and caught up using context clues later, and 2) the climax in the third novel comes about rather quickly and disappointingly. These two complaints are very minor however, and are absolutely no reason to forgo what for me was the best read I have had in months.
I can confidently recommend this book to just about anyone with a passing interest in sci-fi. I'm frankly shocked I had never heard of it before, because after reading I now think of it as a seminal text in the sci-fi genre and the cyberpunk subgenre. I will absolutely be reading this again in a few years, and can't think of ANY reason not to recommend it to anyone I know.
The plot drives relentlessly forward, never meandering on unnecessary detours. The action moves from continent to continent, island hideaways to underground safehouses. The military action of the novel is rather sterile as it's written, reading like a description of a Call of Duty mission. The upshot of this is that words are not wasted in describing firefights and explosions, and the writing shines through as impactful in this way.
If you've read even a little cyberpunk before you probably will not find much in the way of new ideas here. There's the overarching and overreaching information networks, computer powered body modifications, plenty of novel drugs and a laissez faire attitude towards sex, indescribable styles of dress, the works. All of this functions exactly how it's supposed to in the story, without wasting much time on expositional explanations. If it's not the freshest of ideas they certainly follow the cyberpunk and sci-fi ethos of taking the ideas and technologies we have now and pushing them to their logical ends. One aspect of the cyberpunk future that felt fresh, fleshed out, and passionate was the examination of future music in the trilogy. There are a few main characters who are musicians converted to the resistance, and many musical subcultures are explored at length. This is mostly where the average reader will find new ground in cyberpunk.
Perhaps the most engaging facet of this book to me is the exploration of racism, classism, and fascism that drives the story. Citing plenty of real world history, Shirley shows a sober and logical (and frighteningly realistic) future of neo-Fascism and -Naziism that unfortunately turned out to be fairly prescient. He accurately describes the rise of far right fundamentalist christians in American government, and if you're able to find the single volume collection published in 2012 there are some clearly post-1985 (the year the first book of the trilogy was published) additions that further strengthen the feeling that this book is rooted in real world events. Any author that evokes a second Holocaust as the climax of a trilogy is certainly saddling themselves for a hard sell, but in the universe Shirley has created there is no question of what the world is speeding towards.
The two gripes that I can take away from the book: 1) by the third book there are so many characters to track, that eventually I just gave up remembering names and caught up using context clues later, and 2) the climax in the third novel comes about rather quickly and disappointingly. These two complaints are very minor however, and are absolutely no reason to forgo what for me was the best read I have had in months.
I can confidently recommend this book to just about anyone with a passing interest in sci-fi. I'm frankly shocked I had never heard of it before, because after reading I now think of it as a seminal text in the sci-fi genre and the cyberpunk subgenre. I will absolutely be reading this again in a few years, and can't think of ANY reason not to recommend it to anyone I know.
May 27, 2023
DNF @ 21%
I just couldn't. Dull characters, non-existent plot. The themes really aren't that well explored.
I guess it hasn't aged that well, given that the "future dystopia" described is pretty much where we're at today - and that just takes away all the speculative elements.
I just couldn't. Dull characters, non-existent plot. The themes really aren't that well explored.
I guess it hasn't aged that well, given that the "future dystopia" described is pretty much where we're at today - and that just takes away all the speculative elements.
June 14, 2025
This omnibus is veryvery good. Eerily like some things that are currently happening in USA, though.
May 10, 2015
War is gripping the world, but that's not the real danger. The real danger is that it's being used by secretive powers to promote a new wave of racist fascism, where 'undesirables' can be accused of being enemy agents, terrorist sympathizers, or security risk, and systematically eliminated from power... and, eventually, just eliminated. However, there are forces working for freedom, the New Resistance, often struggling just to stay alive and to expose the villains for who they are. But it's harder than ever, especially in a world where, if you fall into enemy hands, their machines can extract every secret and even turn them to their side.
A Song Called Youth is actually a collection of three late-80s, early-90s cyberpunk novels: Eclipse, Eclipse Penumbra, and Eclipse Corona, collected in an omnibus under a new title for the 21st century. For the sake of my reading challenge, I considered just marking down and reviewing each book separately, despite reading it in an omnibus, but I decided not to when I read the first mention of Facebook, in a book written in the 80s. I'm pretty sure this doesn't signify that John Shirley has precognitive powers, but rather that, in collecting all three novels, he also "updated" them to reflect current concerns (I had my suspicions before Facebook was mentioned that this was happening, but that sealed it). It's impossible for me to be sure of what elements were unique to this update and which were in the original story, so I must review the omnibus on its own merits.
I don't have an objection to such updating, incidentally (although it is a case where I'd love to not only have both versions in ebook, but also a function where I could flip back and forth to the equivalent page in each just to see how things changed), it just depends on how it works. And, largely, it works better than you'd think. Sometimes there's a reference that's a bit jarringly out of date, but most of the time I can ignore it and pretend it's an extrapolation of today, not of the 90s... although it does feel retro in some areas, particularly in the focus on music. Still, the ideas about creeping fascism, subtle propaganda in mainstream media, and racism are timeless and perhaps even more relevant and timely than ever, and on those it reads as almost chillingly plausible.
For enjoyment, though? There's a bit too much of stuff that's just me, the military aspect of the resistance didn't interest me nearly as much as the space station or the worries about the extractors, and it also seemed the least plausible given the level of surveillance that not only the world of the book has, but also that we have... any such organized armed resistance would seem to be easy to squash out, if the enemy had the will and resources that these obviously do. There are ways for resistance groups to work around it, I believe, but it doesn't work for me as written. And, in part because of the resistance elements that don't interest me, but not exclusively so, the book felt a bit like a slog to me. There were moments I was riveted to the book, but not often, mostly I was just getting to the next good part.
Breaking it down by section, I think the middle one was the strongest, but for one glaring flaw (where people who know that the enemy machines can turn a loyal friend into a traitor, and know that a certain person has been in enemy hands, nonetheless refuse to believe that he could now be an enemy agent and take simple precautions). Still, it was the sub-novel that I enjoyed the most.
I'm rating it three stars, which means "I liked it", while the truth is I'd probably describe it as "ok"... it gets the extra star because it's one of those rare books that I'm glad I read despite it being a slog, despite not enjoying it on a pure pleasure, because I think it has some important ideas that'll stick with me.
A Song Called Youth is actually a collection of three late-80s, early-90s cyberpunk novels: Eclipse, Eclipse Penumbra, and Eclipse Corona, collected in an omnibus under a new title for the 21st century. For the sake of my reading challenge, I considered just marking down and reviewing each book separately, despite reading it in an omnibus, but I decided not to when I read the first mention of Facebook, in a book written in the 80s. I'm pretty sure this doesn't signify that John Shirley has precognitive powers, but rather that, in collecting all three novels, he also "updated" them to reflect current concerns (I had my suspicions before Facebook was mentioned that this was happening, but that sealed it). It's impossible for me to be sure of what elements were unique to this update and which were in the original story, so I must review the omnibus on its own merits.
I don't have an objection to such updating, incidentally (although it is a case where I'd love to not only have both versions in ebook, but also a function where I could flip back and forth to the equivalent page in each just to see how things changed), it just depends on how it works. And, largely, it works better than you'd think. Sometimes there's a reference that's a bit jarringly out of date, but most of the time I can ignore it and pretend it's an extrapolation of today, not of the 90s... although it does feel retro in some areas, particularly in the focus on music. Still, the ideas about creeping fascism, subtle propaganda in mainstream media, and racism are timeless and perhaps even more relevant and timely than ever, and on those it reads as almost chillingly plausible.
For enjoyment, though? There's a bit too much of stuff that's just me, the military aspect of the resistance didn't interest me nearly as much as the space station or the worries about the extractors, and it also seemed the least plausible given the level of surveillance that not only the world of the book has, but also that we have... any such organized armed resistance would seem to be easy to squash out, if the enemy had the will and resources that these obviously do. There are ways for resistance groups to work around it, I believe, but it doesn't work for me as written. And, in part because of the resistance elements that don't interest me, but not exclusively so, the book felt a bit like a slog to me. There were moments I was riveted to the book, but not often, mostly I was just getting to the next good part.
Breaking it down by section, I think the middle one was the strongest, but for one glaring flaw (where people who know that the enemy machines can turn a loyal friend into a traitor, and know that a certain person has been in enemy hands, nonetheless refuse to believe that he could now be an enemy agent and take simple precautions). Still, it was the sub-novel that I enjoyed the most.
I'm rating it three stars, which means "I liked it", while the truth is I'd probably describe it as "ok"... it gets the extra star because it's one of those rare books that I'm glad I read despite it being a slog, despite not enjoying it on a pure pleasure, because I think it has some important ideas that'll stick with me.
January 15, 2013
Ah, a nice meaty SF novel with lots of politics and spying and high tech, lots of things for me to enjoy. John Shirley sees this as a pre-nuclear holocaust novel. Given all the international stresses and wars going on in it, it's amazing nobody dropped a nuke on anyone else.
I have to give it four stars rather than five because the bad guys are a little too cartoonish. The best novels are those where all the characters are complex, not just the good guys. While Shirley brings us many, many, MANY points of view in many locations, the people on the "bad guy side" (who are literally Nazi-type racists with a dishonest overcoat of Christianity that really isn't what it seems) with the most interesting struggles are those who end up questioning their ideology.
While I found the behavior of the large governmental organizations all too believable, we don't have any POVs there, just the people in either the Second Alliance (the Nazi analogues) or the New Resistance (the Coalition of Everyone Against Racist Jerks) or fence sitters forced to choose one or the other. We have government writ small on a space colony that is slowly being taken over by the SA, enforcing their worldview via strong-arming, bullying, and economic repression. The struggle between the two groups goes in wildly different directions in different countries, so there is plenty of excitement. And like George RR Martin, John Shirley is willing to kill viewpoint characters you've come to appreciate.
Shirley also makes good use of both musical performance and social media engineering as political tools. Some of the technology he posits for this 21st century world is intriguing, some seems built on wishes and nonsense. But I was willing to go with it all. And this was a book I was sorry to finish, because I wanted to stay with some of these characters a little longer, just to see if all they fought for would be successful.
I have to give it four stars rather than five because the bad guys are a little too cartoonish. The best novels are those where all the characters are complex, not just the good guys. While Shirley brings us many, many, MANY points of view in many locations, the people on the "bad guy side" (who are literally Nazi-type racists with a dishonest overcoat of Christianity that really isn't what it seems) with the most interesting struggles are those who end up questioning their ideology.
While I found the behavior of the large governmental organizations all too believable, we don't have any POVs there, just the people in either the Second Alliance (the Nazi analogues) or the New Resistance (the Coalition of Everyone Against Racist Jerks) or fence sitters forced to choose one or the other. We have government writ small on a space colony that is slowly being taken over by the SA, enforcing their worldview via strong-arming, bullying, and economic repression. The struggle between the two groups goes in wildly different directions in different countries, so there is plenty of excitement. And like George RR Martin, John Shirley is willing to kill viewpoint characters you've come to appreciate.
Shirley also makes good use of both musical performance and social media engineering as political tools. Some of the technology he posits for this 21st century world is intriguing, some seems built on wishes and nonsense. But I was willing to go with it all. And this was a book I was sorry to finish, because I wanted to stay with some of these characters a little longer, just to see if all they fought for would be successful.
May 30, 2017
Att läsa "A Song of Youth" är på något vis som att öppna en tidskapsel och se en spegel. Av alla cyberpunk-författare (och Shirley är en av de som både inspirerade och deltog i rörelsen) är nog John Shirley den som bäst förutsåg hur världen skulle komma att se ut och den effekt som teknologin skulle ha på den. Speciellt då medias roll och hur den påverkar folk och den alltmer växande extrem-högern. Trilogin känns, trots alltmer överdrivna sci-fi grepp, mer än allt annat RIKTIG. Inte så mycket teknologin i sig som den effekt den har på människor och hur det i slutändan är just med medias hjälp som protagonisterna till slut lyckas vinna. Med mycket våld, absolut, men Shirley var väl medveten om medias betydelse. Språket är bitvis briljant och speciellt action-scenerna (och en eller två av sex-scenerna iof) glänser med riktigt briljant prosa. Bäst är den nog när Smoke irrar runt i ett urbombat Amsterdam i början. Karaktärerna är tillräckligt starka utan att vara briljanta. Roseland är väl undantaget och jag hade verkligen föredragit att han introducerats tidigare. Allt är förstås inte perfekt. De romantiska förhållandne som uppstår bara landar i ens knä utan att byggas upp och det hela blir ibland lite väl överdrivet i tredje boken.SA var som bäst i de två första innan det blev fullt ut med hemmabyggda virus och genmanipulerade valp-människor. Samma med Witchers förräderi som kommer ur ingenstans. Men i slutändan är detta en fantastisk bok som i sina bästa stunder, och det finns flera, griper tag om läsarens ryggrad och klämmer hårt.
Fortfarande skrämmande relevant, dessutom.
Ja, den här boken är en av författaren själv reviderad utgåva så jag kan inte säkert säga vad som är nytt och vad som fanns med i originalet. Men det spelar på det stora hela liten roll.
February 17, 2013
This was a good one.
Back in my youth (no pun intended), I devoured Gibson's novels and so considered myself an ardent fan of the genre. And yet, I must not have been much of one because I never even heard of John Shirley before seeing this doorstop of a volume in the store a year or so ago. Intrigued, I bought it, brought it home, stuck it on my TBR shelf because I was in the middle of some other large master piece at the time (some Hamilton space opera, most likely), and forgot about it until now.
First published in the mid to late eighties, with updates by the author for this edition (Facebook and iPads are mentioned, as well as the Arab Spring as something positive. I wonder if Shirley regrets that last one), the book's anachronistic qualities are equal parts attractive and disturbing.
Attractive because it's fun to read a 25 year old sci-fi story to see how the the present and near future jibs with the author's view of the future two generations past the time it was written in. I have to say, Shirley hits the mark more often than he misses in that regard.
Disturbing because, despite all of the positive events that have moved the world closer to freedom and equality for all in the last 25 years, the current political climate is such that it is very easy to see how we could end up in the world of 2040 he envisions.
Back in my youth (no pun intended), I devoured Gibson's novels and so considered myself an ardent fan of the genre. And yet, I must not have been much of one because I never even heard of John Shirley before seeing this doorstop of a volume in the store a year or so ago. Intrigued, I bought it, brought it home, stuck it on my TBR shelf because I was in the middle of some other large master piece at the time (some Hamilton space opera, most likely), and forgot about it until now.
First published in the mid to late eighties, with updates by the author for this edition (Facebook and iPads are mentioned, as well as the Arab Spring as something positive. I wonder if Shirley regrets that last one), the book's anachronistic qualities are equal parts attractive and disturbing.
Attractive because it's fun to read a 25 year old sci-fi story to see how the the present and near future jibs with the author's view of the future two generations past the time it was written in. I have to say, Shirley hits the mark more often than he misses in that regard.
Disturbing because, despite all of the positive events that have moved the world closer to freedom and equality for all in the last 25 years, the current political climate is such that it is very easy to see how we could end up in the world of 2040 he envisions.
September 16, 2016
4.5
One hell of a thing. Intense.
One hell of a thing. Intense.
August 7, 2012
I read the original trilogy years ago and enjoyed it. What I found in the omnibus is that John Shirley has actually gone back and refreshed the novels with events and technologies from the past 15 years to bring it into the 21st century. What is truly shocking is how little he had to edit, and how bang on his future imagining has turned out to be. We are not far off from the new militant racism that he portrays in our near future. Some the the other elements, like the orbital habitat, are less likely, but he nails the new religious fundamentalism perfectly. The evolution into surveliance society where public opinion is blatently tampered with seem also eriely prescient.
A must read for the cyberpunkers out there - this one really is the orignal ancestor.
A must read for the cyberpunkers out there - this one really is the orignal ancestor.
August 18, 2020
I read these over the course of a few years, not back to back as is possible with this collection but lots of what’s here really stuck. It’s big and ambitious and meaty and full of characters and ideas. It slips in a couple of spots but not enough to dim the concepts. Sure some elements are dated (idea of soviets invading Europe, rock music having clout) but others (rise of fascism) are far too prescient. It’s cyberpunk trappings aren’t quite as pronounced as Neuromancer but still really interesting (idea of joining minds with a chip to hack, renting out part of your brain for computing, etc). Overall this was great and could make a really good tv series if someone had the $$$ and will to make it happen.
July 30, 2016
Loved it. It's an anthology of three books, which took longer to get through than I expected (a bonus IMO). Came to it via a recommendation from Neal Stephenson or Bruce Sterling (can't remember which). It's a story rooted in punk rock, democratic ideals, and personal relationships. Apparently the version I read (Kindle) was updated to tweak some of the technology references so they sound more modern. Some people hate that, but it didn't impact the story for me, and made it a little more relatable. There's always a gap in sci fi - that's part of the fun.
I'd highly recommend this one to fans of cyberpunk, and it's very timely with all the hate, strife, and conflict going on in the world today. A good reminder to seek and protect the good in all people.
I'd highly recommend this one to fans of cyberpunk, and it's very timely with all the hate, strife, and conflict going on in the world today. A good reminder to seek and protect the good in all people.
January 31, 2018
Europe is invaded by the New Soviets. At the same time racist nationalism is sweeping the Western world. A sinister organization, the SA, promises security and stability behind the NATO battle lines. The SA is a quasi-Christian cult that has plans to wipe out all non-whites. The protagonists are the New Resistance, or NR, who are a ragtag group of rebels fighting in a desperate attempt to save the world.
It's full of awesome ideas about how a near future world could occur. It's packed with insight into politics, subculture philosophy, technology, neuroscience, information technology and the media.
Dissidents must wrestle to overcome the lure of fascism that diseases the mind and soul of humanity.
It's full of awesome ideas about how a near future world could occur. It's packed with insight into politics, subculture philosophy, technology, neuroscience, information technology and the media.
Dissidents must wrestle to overcome the lure of fascism that diseases the mind and soul of humanity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2013
Loved this book. Got this off a discount shelf and was intrigued. From the start I enjoyed the plot, intrigue and characters. The descriptions that Shirley provided, details about places, events and references to the past really bring the ideas of this book to life and make it seem as if the stark reality of this future could be possible if certain events happened. I loved the depth of the characters and the point of views shown throughout the books, giving insight into the minds of characters and how certain events along the way changed and defined them. A book I know I'll keep and be reading again in the future.
December 23, 2013
A dark future told by the best. This book has everything in it (music, tech, espionage, love, death). Who could ask for more. Having all three novels at you finger tips is great. Once you start reading you will not be able to stop. And if you are like me, even when finished, I was hoping for more.
July 31, 2014
Well I had heard about John Shirley and had started this trilogy in my teens, but I loved it, it contains some of the most quintessentially 'cyberpunk' moments of anything in the genre I've ever read.
November 16, 2015
Simply put, this book changed cyberpunk, and it changed my views. Eerily close to modern day this book is not only wildly entertaining, and gripping, but as important a read as any science fiction book that is around today.
August 28, 2016
Probably the best cyberpunk book I've ever read, possibly even surpassing "Shockwave Rider" and "Neuromancer". It's a brutal, dark work, where some of the people you want to survive do, but no one walks away from this unscarred.
November 12, 2012
An amazingly prescient and insightful read. Up there with the great dystopian novels of the 20th C by the likes of Burgess, Huxley, Orwell et al.
January 15, 2013
Best Sci Fi Book I've ever read. The wide range of characters and personal story was what caught my attention. The story was well written and consistent in the 3 different books.
October 5, 2013
I liked it. Some cool ideas, a compelling plot and a satisfying ending. A few minor flaws like characters that went nowhere, but overall worth a read.
September 10, 2016
It was ok, took me a long time to get through this one. I think I set my expectations too high.
August 1, 2013
The original cyberpunk epic, it has strange haunting reflections of the modern geopolitical landscape... Not perfect, but a fascinating read
August 17, 2013
It started off pretty good but started to drag after a while, I ground to a halt about 60% of the way through. The plot kind of stopped developing and the same themes kept being repeated
August 31, 2014
Thank You! Thank you for the drugs. Thank you for the sex. Thank you for the fucking rock and roll. Loved it.
May 27, 2015
Cyberpunk at its best
I really enjoyed this book. This brings to mind so many current events and how easy the human race forgets the beginnings of fascism.
I really enjoyed this book. This brings to mind so many current events and how easy the human race forgets the beginnings of fascism.
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November 4, 2018While in many ways the bleak future Shirley describes is worse than our present, it fails to imagine the forces of oppression being so decentralized that it's not clear how they can be effectively fought.
One weird linguistic detail popped up a couple of times in the third book--Shirley describes some of the British characters sitting around drinking glasses of "bitters", which at first I thought was far too continental a thing to be doing (I was imagining soda water + bitters). But what he clearly meant was pints of "bitter".
One weird linguistic detail popped up a couple of times in the third book--Shirley describes some of the British characters sitting around drinking glasses of "bitters", which at first I thought was far too continental a thing to be doing (I was imagining soda water + bitters). But what he clearly meant was pints of "bitter".
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