Webcrash

The Web - 2028 #1

by Stephen Baxter

One year after her adventure in "Gulliverzone", Metaphor is still as excited by the Web as anyone else her age, but even she isn't ready for the chaos and excitement that comes when the whole system crashes. No one knows what caused it; few know how to solve it; but all know it's a nightmare.

Genres: Science Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1998

About the author

Stephen Baxter is a trained engineer with degrees from Cambridge (mathematics) and Southampton Universities (doctorate in aeroengineering research). Baxter is the winner of the British Science Fiction Award and the Locus Award, as well as being a nominee for an Arthur C. Clarke Award, most recently for Manifold: Time. His novel Voyage won the Sidewise Award for Best Alternate History Novel of the Year; he also won the John W. Campbell Award and the Philip K. Dick Award for his novel The Time Ships. He is currently working on his next novel, a collaboration with Sir Arthur C. Clarke. Mr. Baxter lives in Prestwood, England.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the late 1990s, Dolphin books published "The Web," a series of novellas aimed at teens, which took as its theme the not-too-distant future of the then relatively nascent World Wide Web. Stephen Baxter contributed two books to this series, "Webcrash" being the second, and the more successful, of the two. Most of Baxter's conjectures regarding the future of the Web seem unlikely to be fulfilled (the books are set in the years 2027 and 2028, respectively). And although he envisions the Web, oddly enough, as primarily a platform for gaming and virtual reality, this, at least, has come to pass, if only partially. Fully-immersive virtual reality may still be the stuff of science fiction, but real-time online gaming using avatars and 3-D modeling has, indeed, become one of the Web's many popular uses.

Perhaps the most fascinating, gutsy, and successful aspect of this particular tale is the way he manages to combine elements of 10th century Viking culture, near-future technology, and far-future speculation. Baxter allows these disparate elements to clash and then weave into a single, seamless storyline. And if the climax and denouement are predictable -- particularly to an adult reader -- he still develops the material engrossingly enough. Adult fans of Baxter's work will like find this slight, but nonetheless entertaining, and very much in line with his overall body of work.

[Lorenzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

carino anche se senza pretese, narra di un futuro dove internet è una realtà virtuale e di come un giorno qualcosa si rompa rendendo impossibile alla protagonista il ritorno al mondo reale.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of a series of tales from the world of Virtual Reality by various authors, this children's thriller combines intriguing world building with a race against time. It's heavily story-based so don't expect any deep characterisation although now and again there's a little dose of irony to be found. The appended glossary of current and potential internet based terms is quite amusing.