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Centenal Cycle #1
Infomocracy
It's been twenty years and two election cycles since Information, a powerful search engine monopoly, pioneered the switch from warring nation-states to global micro-democracy. The corporate coalition party Heritage has won the last two elections. With another election on the horizon, the Supermajority is in tight contention, and everything's on the line.
With power comes corruption. For Ken, this is his chance to do right by the idealistic Policy1st party and get a steady job in the big leagues. For Domaine, the election represents another staging ground in his ongoing struggle against the pax democratica. For Mishima, a dangerous Information operative, the whole situation is a puzzle: how do you keep the wheels running on the biggest political experiment of all time, when so many have so much to gain?
Infomocracy is Malka Older's debut novel.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 7, 2016
986 people are currently reading
18162 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,080 reviews
June 23, 2016
It's easy to get stuck in a rut and ignore the good SF out there that is idea-rich and go for the more common spy-tech thriller. Fortunately, this one has both. Mishima is a great post-cyberpunk spy, or perhaps it might be better to call her a spymaster. The world is run by information, and the Information department makes certain everyone's informed. That's especially good when the world has gone democratic in a much more advanced information age than what we've got now.
The sweetest part of this novel, aside from an eventually awesome story of election hijinks and the slow burn of Mishima's and Ken's relationship, has got to be how the politics is set up. Now let me be clear about something. I don't want you to let the politic-themed world-building get you down. It is kinda overwhelming near the beginning because of all the different factions, but the fact that anyone can belong to their version of the Ideal from anywhere in the world makes it pretty awesome. I had the great enjoyment of a much more futuristic version of this idea in Too Like the Lightning and I raved about that book, too, so I know this is a going concern that is speaking to us.
I mean, wouldn't you like to choose what polity you belong to, separate from nation or location? Oh yes, I'm all for Liberty or Philip Morris or EarthFirst or any of the number of splinter polities that fits your personality or your mindset. Of course, it still falls under the same crazy disadvantages of democracies in general. There are Supermajorities and if you don't happen to be voting for the biggest and most powerful ones, then you're lost and will have to adjust to whatever they have in store for you... World Wide. So of course everyone is pretty much disaffected, but we don't really see that side of it in this novel, because we're firmly in the heads of the pollsters and the Information department that is pretty much the lawmen and the ones that are determined to make sure the BS doesn't get out of hand.
Of course, it does. This novel has tons of great conflict, great action, interesting characters, and a very solid story that ends with a lot of great questions while answering enough to satisfy this reader nicely. :)
I'm definitely going to to be reading anything that this author comes up with in the future.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
Postscript 6/23/16
By request, I was asked to add a slight warning to the early bits of this novel. I will admit that some of the early political infodumping was a bit of a slog fest, especially when there was little or no character building going on. My eyes crossed a little. BUT, once we get through all that, things really pick up and I got to be thankful for the grounding of the exposition.
Fare the well, dear reader, and worry not about rough seas. Smooth sailing is near at hand. )
The sweetest part of this novel, aside from an eventually awesome story of election hijinks and the slow burn of Mishima's and Ken's relationship, has got to be how the politics is set up. Now let me be clear about something. I don't want you to let the politic-themed world-building get you down. It is kinda overwhelming near the beginning because of all the different factions, but the fact that anyone can belong to their version of the Ideal from anywhere in the world makes it pretty awesome. I had the great enjoyment of a much more futuristic version of this idea in Too Like the Lightning and I raved about that book, too, so I know this is a going concern that is speaking to us.
I mean, wouldn't you like to choose what polity you belong to, separate from nation or location? Oh yes, I'm all for Liberty or Philip Morris or EarthFirst or any of the number of splinter polities that fits your personality or your mindset. Of course, it still falls under the same crazy disadvantages of democracies in general. There are Supermajorities and if you don't happen to be voting for the biggest and most powerful ones, then you're lost and will have to adjust to whatever they have in store for you... World Wide. So of course everyone is pretty much disaffected, but we don't really see that side of it in this novel, because we're firmly in the heads of the pollsters and the Information department that is pretty much the lawmen and the ones that are determined to make sure the BS doesn't get out of hand.
Of course, it does. This novel has tons of great conflict, great action, interesting characters, and a very solid story that ends with a lot of great questions while answering enough to satisfy this reader nicely. :)
I'm definitely going to to be reading anything that this author comes up with in the future.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
Postscript 6/23/16
By request, I was asked to add a slight warning to the early bits of this novel. I will admit that some of the early political infodumping was a bit of a slog fest, especially when there was little or no character building going on. My eyes crossed a little. BUT, once we get through all that, things really pick up and I got to be thankful for the grounding of the exposition.
Fare the well, dear reader, and worry not about rough seas. Smooth sailing is near at hand. )
December 19, 2021
The Logic of Democracy
Democracy is logically problematic. Its success depends upon the acceptance of a number of rather awkward propositions by the entire electorate. Key among these propositions is that everything is negotiable. If any political issue is perceived as ‘make or break’ by any faction, democracy is threatened and will likely deteriorate into tyrannical dictatorship or fragment into civil war.
There is a corollary to the requirement for universal negotiability: in a democracy no one is ever satisfied.* Democratic politics is always in flux as factions seek advantage to improve their position. Negotiated compromises are always temporary. And as new ‘interests’ are discovered (or manufactured), all existing positions are vulnerable.
Inevitably, these interests must include the rules of the democratic procedure itself. Who is entitled to vote, how this is determined, what constitutes fraud, and even the precise criteria for ‘winning’ are all fundamental issues which are self-referentially resolved by the very process which is to be controlled. Nothing in democracy can guarantee these issues are resolved ‘fairly’ since fairness is defined by the democratic process itself.
Infomocracy is a fictional account of what happens when the process of democracy becomes a non-negotiable single issue. The book follows several campaign agents as they organise rallies, disrupt counter-rallies and participate in gathering and using intelligence on the political opposition. Their field of action is a complex global democracy composed of popular and corporate ‘centenals’ (electoral units of exactly 100,000 people) in which factions compete for local dominance and the possibility of a wider Supermajority.
Because immigration restrictions have been eliminated in Older’s world, people have tended to migrate to regions whose populations hold similar views to their own. So constituencies have become economically, religiously, and ideologically homogenous. Centenal political allegiances are therefore international. The centenals are themselves simultaneously governments and political parties. It is through coalitions among the centenals that a Supermajority world government is formed. One might call the structure and the process DemocracyMax. Ingenious invention.
But by outlining such an extreme form of democracy, Older is able to demonstrate clearly the fatal flaw in all democracies: the more homogenous any electorate becomes, the more likely it is to construct non-negotiable demands - single issue stands on which a faction stakes its existence. And the more non-negotiable demands, the less likely that democratic politics will produce its best outcome: a situation which no one wants but which everyone can accept. And when democracy cannot approximate this situation, it is dead.
The problem with Older’s book is that its crucial insight gets hidden beneath a mass of sci-fi hype about fake news, voter manipulation and electoral dirty tricks. Of course these are the things in today’s news. But while significant, they are so as a perennial and probably necessary part of democratic politics. They are elements of the process whether we like it or not; and they always have been. Publicising them merely distracts from the much more fundamental issues and trends which can undermine the entire democratic enterprise. As Winston Churchill quipped, democracy is indeed a terrible form of government. But if it isn’t recognised for what it is, it could become a lot worse.
* This is an inherent and incorrigible aspect of democratic politics, in fact of any group decision-making from planning the family vacation to national elections. See: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Postscript 19Dec21, from the NYT: Map by Map, G.O.P. Chips Away at Black Democrats’ Power Black elected officials in several states, from Congress down to the counties, have been drawn out of their districts this year or face headwinds to hold onto their seats.
Democracy is logically problematic. Its success depends upon the acceptance of a number of rather awkward propositions by the entire electorate. Key among these propositions is that everything is negotiable. If any political issue is perceived as ‘make or break’ by any faction, democracy is threatened and will likely deteriorate into tyrannical dictatorship or fragment into civil war.
There is a corollary to the requirement for universal negotiability: in a democracy no one is ever satisfied.* Democratic politics is always in flux as factions seek advantage to improve their position. Negotiated compromises are always temporary. And as new ‘interests’ are discovered (or manufactured), all existing positions are vulnerable.
Inevitably, these interests must include the rules of the democratic procedure itself. Who is entitled to vote, how this is determined, what constitutes fraud, and even the precise criteria for ‘winning’ are all fundamental issues which are self-referentially resolved by the very process which is to be controlled. Nothing in democracy can guarantee these issues are resolved ‘fairly’ since fairness is defined by the democratic process itself.
Infomocracy is a fictional account of what happens when the process of democracy becomes a non-negotiable single issue. The book follows several campaign agents as they organise rallies, disrupt counter-rallies and participate in gathering and using intelligence on the political opposition. Their field of action is a complex global democracy composed of popular and corporate ‘centenals’ (electoral units of exactly 100,000 people) in which factions compete for local dominance and the possibility of a wider Supermajority.
Because immigration restrictions have been eliminated in Older’s world, people have tended to migrate to regions whose populations hold similar views to their own. So constituencies have become economically, religiously, and ideologically homogenous. Centenal political allegiances are therefore international. The centenals are themselves simultaneously governments and political parties. It is through coalitions among the centenals that a Supermajority world government is formed. One might call the structure and the process DemocracyMax. Ingenious invention.
But by outlining such an extreme form of democracy, Older is able to demonstrate clearly the fatal flaw in all democracies: the more homogenous any electorate becomes, the more likely it is to construct non-negotiable demands - single issue stands on which a faction stakes its existence. And the more non-negotiable demands, the less likely that democratic politics will produce its best outcome: a situation which no one wants but which everyone can accept. And when democracy cannot approximate this situation, it is dead.
The problem with Older’s book is that its crucial insight gets hidden beneath a mass of sci-fi hype about fake news, voter manipulation and electoral dirty tricks. Of course these are the things in today’s news. But while significant, they are so as a perennial and probably necessary part of democratic politics. They are elements of the process whether we like it or not; and they always have been. Publicising them merely distracts from the much more fundamental issues and trends which can undermine the entire democratic enterprise. As Winston Churchill quipped, democracy is indeed a terrible form of government. But if it isn’t recognised for what it is, it could become a lot worse.
* This is an inherent and incorrigible aspect of democratic politics, in fact of any group decision-making from planning the family vacation to national elections. See: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Postscript 19Dec21, from the NYT: Map by Map, G.O.P. Chips Away at Black Democrats’ Power Black elected officials in several states, from Congress down to the counties, have been drawn out of their districts this year or face headwinds to hold onto their seats.
June 27, 2016
Full review, first posted on Fantasy Literature:
In the latter half of the twentieth century, most of the world (a few areas like Saudi Arabia excepted) has moved to a form of government called micro-democracy. The world is divided into “centenals” of about 100,000 people each, and each centenal votes for its own separate government. The political party that wins control of the most centenals wins the Supermajority, which gives that party additional political clout and power, although the specific details of that Supermajority power aren’t entirely clear. There are dozens, if not more, political parties, though only about a dozen have worldwide clout. Parties are based on all types of factors: aspects of identity (like race, nationality or religion), a particular view of policy, the importance of military might, loyalty to a particular large corporation, etc. In fact, one of the most powerful parties in the world is PhilipMorris.
A worldwide vote is held every ten years and, as the story begins, the third Election Day is only sixteen days away. With the upcoming vote so close, campaigning and scheming ― both legal and illicit ― have reached a peak. A party called Heritage has held the Supermajority for the last twenty years, since the micro-democracy system was implemented, and is determined to hold onto that position … but at what price? Meanwhile, the Liberty party is making veiled but ominous statements about “peacefully” annexing other territories.
Infomocracy follows four characters through the few weeks before, during and immediately after this vote. Ken is an undercover political operative for the idealistic, environmentally-minded Policy1st party. Ken is both trying to assess and promote his party’s chances in the upcoming election, and hopefully score a good job within the party after the election. Mishima is also an operative, an employee of and trouble-shooter for Information, a Google-like entity that has vastly expanded and become the primary means for communications and obtaining news and information for the entire world. Anarchist Domaine is bent on undermining the entire political system, and is willing to use whatever means available to do that. Yoriko is a taxi driver in Okinawa who moonlights as a spy for Policy1st, trying to get some dirt on its competitors.
If this all seems a bit dry, well, it initially did to me as well. The first third of this novel is devoted to world-building and, although it’s creative world-building, it takes some time to gel for the reader, and comes at the expense of any notable action in the plot for about 150 pages. It was difficult for me to lose myself in the story when I was still confused by the world, somewhat bored, and not finding the characters particularly real or distinguishable from one another (characterization is not Older's strong point). Thankfully, however, at that point all of the build-up starts to pay off, as both natural and man-made disasters occur and the characters scramble to deal with them, each in his or her own way. Ken and Mishima meet and begin a romance, which remains rather undeveloped, understandably so when it’s sidelined by the various emergencies, but their relationship does have one memorable moment involving use of a sharp knife.
This debut novel is the most overtly political science fiction novel I’ve read; it’s completely immersed in and about the political process, as it exists in the latter part of the 21st century, and about how the flow of information ― and the disruption of that flow ― can affect people’s votes. Malka Ann Older is a PhD candidate studying governance and disasters, and has several years’ experience in humanitarian aid, responding to emergencies and natural disasters in Uganda, Indonesia, Japan and other countries. Her knowledge, expertise and concerns are woven into the plot of Infomocracy, giving it a depth and resonance than can only come from an author who has immersed herself in a field of knowledge and can intelligently extrapolate the effects and aftermath of particular trigger events.
Any reader who appreciates intelligently written science fiction will find much to enjoy in Infomocracy, but it’s most likely to engage readers who are interested in the political process and the underside of campaigning, and how that might play out in a speculative future.
3.75 stars, rounding up to 4.
In the latter half of the twentieth century, most of the world (a few areas like Saudi Arabia excepted) has moved to a form of government called micro-democracy. The world is divided into “centenals” of about 100,000 people each, and each centenal votes for its own separate government. The political party that wins control of the most centenals wins the Supermajority, which gives that party additional political clout and power, although the specific details of that Supermajority power aren’t entirely clear. There are dozens, if not more, political parties, though only about a dozen have worldwide clout. Parties are based on all types of factors: aspects of identity (like race, nationality or religion), a particular view of policy, the importance of military might, loyalty to a particular large corporation, etc. In fact, one of the most powerful parties in the world is PhilipMorris.
A worldwide vote is held every ten years and, as the story begins, the third Election Day is only sixteen days away. With the upcoming vote so close, campaigning and scheming ― both legal and illicit ― have reached a peak. A party called Heritage has held the Supermajority for the last twenty years, since the micro-democracy system was implemented, and is determined to hold onto that position … but at what price? Meanwhile, the Liberty party is making veiled but ominous statements about “peacefully” annexing other territories.
Infomocracy follows four characters through the few weeks before, during and immediately after this vote. Ken is an undercover political operative for the idealistic, environmentally-minded Policy1st party. Ken is both trying to assess and promote his party’s chances in the upcoming election, and hopefully score a good job within the party after the election. Mishima is also an operative, an employee of and trouble-shooter for Information, a Google-like entity that has vastly expanded and become the primary means for communications and obtaining news and information for the entire world. Anarchist Domaine is bent on undermining the entire political system, and is willing to use whatever means available to do that. Yoriko is a taxi driver in Okinawa who moonlights as a spy for Policy1st, trying to get some dirt on its competitors.
If this all seems a bit dry, well, it initially did to me as well. The first third of this novel is devoted to world-building and, although it’s creative world-building, it takes some time to gel for the reader, and comes at the expense of any notable action in the plot for about 150 pages. It was difficult for me to lose myself in the story when I was still confused by the world, somewhat bored, and not finding the characters particularly real or distinguishable from one another (characterization is not Older's strong point). Thankfully, however, at that point all of the build-up starts to pay off, as both natural and man-made disasters occur and the characters scramble to deal with them, each in his or her own way. Ken and Mishima meet and begin a romance, which remains rather undeveloped, understandably so when it’s sidelined by the various emergencies, but their relationship does have one memorable moment involving use of a sharp knife.
This debut novel is the most overtly political science fiction novel I’ve read; it’s completely immersed in and about the political process, as it exists in the latter part of the 21st century, and about how the flow of information ― and the disruption of that flow ― can affect people’s votes. Malka Ann Older is a PhD candidate studying governance and disasters, and has several years’ experience in humanitarian aid, responding to emergencies and natural disasters in Uganda, Indonesia, Japan and other countries. Her knowledge, expertise and concerns are woven into the plot of Infomocracy, giving it a depth and resonance than can only come from an author who has immersed herself in a field of knowledge and can intelligently extrapolate the effects and aftermath of particular trigger events.
Any reader who appreciates intelligently written science fiction will find much to enjoy in Infomocracy, but it’s most likely to engage readers who are interested in the political process and the underside of campaigning, and how that might play out in a speculative future.
3.75 stars, rounding up to 4.
November 28, 2017
4ish stars.
I liked this way more than I expected to. I'm typically not into political sci-fi especially when it's idea-heavy versus character-driven like this is. The ideas are just so intelligent and relevant and interesting that it worked for me.
To be honest, I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to last. The first part of the novel is all politics and info-dump. We see the world through the eyes of a few different characters but they seem to be there only incidentally because we don't really learn or care anything about them for the first bit. Eventually Older fleshes them out a bit, especially Mishima and Ken, and they become pretty cool (for the normal people they are) but characterization never becomes a huge part of the book. The characters mostly react to the plot instead of driving it, which works for the story.
Even though the second half becomes much more engaging, it never reaches "political thriller" status. Political, yes. Thriller? There are a couple briefs moments that are thrilling but they're over quickly. Still, this is a novel about number-crunchers, campaigners, nerds and interns and Older squeezes every ounce of coolness possible out of a boring premise so that it ends up becoming legitimately engaging.
The near-future utopia/dystopia (there's a fine line isn't there?) conceived here is impressive in its feasibility. It shares themes with a lot of other dystopia/near future novels but they're so fully realized in this novel that it sets itself apart. It's never really explained how the world has become what it has but Older manages to make it seem like a natural continuation of the current political trajectory.
Your mileage may vary, but I'm glad I stuck this one out.
Posted in Mr. Philip's Library
I liked this way more than I expected to. I'm typically not into political sci-fi especially when it's idea-heavy versus character-driven like this is. The ideas are just so intelligent and relevant and interesting that it worked for me.
To be honest, I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to last. The first part of the novel is all politics and info-dump. We see the world through the eyes of a few different characters but they seem to be there only incidentally because we don't really learn or care anything about them for the first bit. Eventually Older fleshes them out a bit, especially Mishima and Ken, and they become pretty cool (for the normal people they are) but characterization never becomes a huge part of the book. The characters mostly react to the plot instead of driving it, which works for the story.
Even though the second half becomes much more engaging, it never reaches "political thriller" status. Political, yes. Thriller? There are a couple briefs moments that are thrilling but they're over quickly. Still, this is a novel about number-crunchers, campaigners, nerds and interns and Older squeezes every ounce of coolness possible out of a boring premise so that it ends up becoming legitimately engaging.
The near-future utopia/dystopia (there's a fine line isn't there?) conceived here is impressive in its feasibility. It shares themes with a lot of other dystopia/near future novels but they're so fully realized in this novel that it sets itself apart. It's never really explained how the world has become what it has but Older manages to make it seem like a natural continuation of the current political trajectory.
Your mileage may vary, but I'm glad I stuck this one out.
Posted in Mr. Philip's Library
October 29, 2017
So I may be a bit biased in my assessment of this book. Unlike many other sci-fi and fantasy stories with brash, action oriented kick-ass heroes saving the day, the real heroes of this book are number crunchers, data analysts, and nerds. Sure there is also a ninja in the employ of a global information corporation, but she does her time in analyzing data just like the everyone else. Being an electron shephard myself I have always thought the importance of data analysis and control was under appreciated in science fiction (and the real world if we are being completely honest). Informocracy puts the importance of crunching numbers and analyzing data in its proper place, front and center.
Let me back up for a moment.
Informocracy takes place in the near future, a near future where somehow (it is never fully explained) nation states have been dissolved and the main polity unit is a Centenal, each of which comprise 100,000 people. Political parties, some global some regional, and some extremely local, compete every 10 years to govern each Centenal. The most popular political party globally (by Centenal won) takes over as the ruling party for the world government (though it isn't entirely clear what powers that position has given the power local political parties exercise in their own Centenals). Since the inception of the micro-democracies there has been world peace and the same political party has ruled globally (though local Centenals change parties). Another election approaches and with it comes storm clouds of discontent.
We see this world through a few different perspectives: Mishima, a neuro-atypical ninja/data analyst working for Information (the information organization that runs the elections and most informational searches), Ken, a political operative for one of the Mid-Major parties, and Domaine, a political dissident who doesn't think this whole micro-democracy thing is all its cracked up to be. We get to see different facets of this world, the good and the bad.
I generally liked the characters and their globetrotting built out the world nicely. We got to see how the system worked form the inside, from a political party's perspective, and from an outsider's perspective. I did feel the Domaine was a bit underused, though Older may merely be setting him up for bigger things in later books. The characters themselves were not terribly deep but they were well rounded and well written. They all behaved in reasonable ways given their motivations and I never felt that characters did things just to advance the story.
I did really like the world and thought it was fascinating. Granted I cannot conceive of how nation states could fall away so quickly but I am willing to grant the book that conceit. I liked the idea behind the Centenals and the micro-democratic concept Older created. I have many thoughts about how to better operate elections to ensure an outcome more consistent with the popular will and the ideas put forth by Older were intriguing. Though as the story showed there will always be forces looking to tear down to the established order if it would get them more power. The story itself was a engaging and there were lots of twists and turns in this near future world. By turns each character got to grow and shine in their own way, though the real heroes are of course the tireless data workers of Information.
I would say that the setting was the strongest part of the book, delivering a unique and fascinating speculative world. The characters were good enough to deliver an exciting story and kept me interested in their concerns. While not strong on all fronts it was still a neat and engaging read.
Let me back up for a moment.
Informocracy takes place in the near future, a near future where somehow (it is never fully explained) nation states have been dissolved and the main polity unit is a Centenal, each of which comprise 100,000 people. Political parties, some global some regional, and some extremely local, compete every 10 years to govern each Centenal. The most popular political party globally (by Centenal won) takes over as the ruling party for the world government (though it isn't entirely clear what powers that position has given the power local political parties exercise in their own Centenals). Since the inception of the micro-democracies there has been world peace and the same political party has ruled globally (though local Centenals change parties). Another election approaches and with it comes storm clouds of discontent.
We see this world through a few different perspectives: Mishima, a neuro-atypical ninja/data analyst working for Information (the information organization that runs the elections and most informational searches), Ken, a political operative for one of the Mid-Major parties, and Domaine, a political dissident who doesn't think this whole micro-democracy thing is all its cracked up to be. We get to see different facets of this world, the good and the bad.
I generally liked the characters and their globetrotting built out the world nicely. We got to see how the system worked form the inside, from a political party's perspective, and from an outsider's perspective. I did feel the Domaine was a bit underused, though Older may merely be setting him up for bigger things in later books. The characters themselves were not terribly deep but they were well rounded and well written. They all behaved in reasonable ways given their motivations and I never felt that characters did things just to advance the story.
I did really like the world and thought it was fascinating. Granted I cannot conceive of how nation states could fall away so quickly but I am willing to grant the book that conceit. I liked the idea behind the Centenals and the micro-democratic concept Older created. I have many thoughts about how to better operate elections to ensure an outcome more consistent with the popular will and the ideas put forth by Older were intriguing. Though as the story showed there will always be forces looking to tear down to the established order if it would get them more power. The story itself was a engaging and there were lots of twists and turns in this near future world. By turns each character got to grow and shine in their own way, though the real heroes are of course the tireless data workers of Information.
I would say that the setting was the strongest part of the book, delivering a unique and fascinating speculative world. The characters were good enough to deliver an exciting story and kept me interested in their concerns. While not strong on all fronts it was still a neat and engaging read.
June 28, 2016
This was a really good book that I didn't particularly enjoy. Definitely a case it's not you, it's me. The politics of real life are a bit too horrifying for me right now to appreciate politics in my fiction.
Read
February 25, 2018I gave this a try at the end of last year when I was in bleak despair about politics, and had to give up because the existence of fictional politics on top of real was just more than I could handle. I'm extremely glad I came back to it. This is a cracking techno-futurist thriller about information, democracy, election-stealing and more, a highly enjoyable twisty tale of political skulduggery with plenty to think about. (I love the idea of microdemocracy--the world divided into centenals of 100K people who can each go for their own government. Please please please can we have it.)
Interesting note: it's written in present tense with POV switches paragraph to paragraph. Normally this would cause my head to explode, but this is, uniquely in my experience, done for a really good reason. The Information, the global feed to which everyone has access, has turned the world into a constantly scrolling present, with people switching non stop between vids, newsfeeds, actual conversations, data, so the manner of telling the story as if flipping from tab to tab is exactly right and reinforces the sense of the nonstop barrage of information with which the characters cope.
Hugely enjoyable, with a terrifically diverse cast. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.
****
Initial review:
I love the premise of this highly political novel--a near future where voting is microdemocratic, ie in blocks of 100K people (centenals) across most of the world, which allows mini-governments arise of idealists, corporations, weird trends, with a massive global search/information engine serving everyone. But I'm too obsessed and sick at heart with the state of politics now to really enjoy immersing myself in a fictional political world (especially since I could be living in a centenal that wasn't full of Brexit voters).
Going to come back to this one as I really want to see how it develops, it's just not the right book for me right now.
Interesting note: it's written in present tense with POV switches paragraph to paragraph. Normally this would cause my head to explode, but this is, uniquely in my experience, done for a really good reason. The Information, the global feed to which everyone has access, has turned the world into a constantly scrolling present, with people switching non stop between vids, newsfeeds, actual conversations, data, so the manner of telling the story as if flipping from tab to tab is exactly right and reinforces the sense of the nonstop barrage of information with which the characters cope.
Hugely enjoyable, with a terrifically diverse cast. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.
****
Initial review:
I love the premise of this highly political novel--a near future where voting is microdemocratic, ie in blocks of 100K people (centenals) across most of the world, which allows mini-governments arise of idealists, corporations, weird trends, with a massive global search/information engine serving everyone. But I'm too obsessed and sick at heart with the state of politics now to really enjoy immersing myself in a fictional political world (especially since I could be living in a centenal that wasn't full of Brexit voters).
Going to come back to this one as I really want to see how it develops, it's just not the right book for me right now.
February 10, 2017
Goodreads needs an "I give up" option, rather than "I'm finished."
Infomocracy's premise is timely, especially after the recent debacle that was the U.S. presidential election. Namely, a premise where given access to heaps and heaps of information, the average voter still remains uninformed and distracted by the shiny.
Infomocracy's premise is timely, especially after the recent debacle that was the U.S. presidential election. Namely, a premise where given access to heaps and heaps of information, the average voter still remains uninformed and distracted by the shiny.
There was a study, done with minimally educated voters who, given a hypothetical ballot, picked the names of famous serial killers over randomly generated names as well as over those of actual, less well-know politicians.
And those voters often vote against their own interests:The new Heritage coalition of wealthy, experience global corporates ignored the accessibility of Information, produced their standard glossy misinformation, and not only took the Supermajority but won centenals where, analysts agreed, it was demonstrably not in the interest of the people living there to vote for them.
So...great ideas, but...just getting to the 42% mark was a slog for me. First, the story is heavy on show don't tell to the point where I still don't understand how the multitude of micro-democracies--most countries no longer exist--work. Or when or how often elections like the one taking place in the novel, occur. Clearly several "governments" are vying for Supermajority. This is bad, or good, or...hell if I know.
The writing is serviceable, but sort of bland and reporter-ly. The characters--eh--all blend together and have pretty much the same voice. Flat, emotionless. There's no sense of urgency or tension, not even during a chase scene.
This is clearly a novel for readers who love minutia and idea-driven fiction. I'm not adverse to idea-driven fiction, but need more character development, more exposition, and...less tedium.
Nope.
February 7, 2017
To be fair , i was not into this book from the beginning , so i felt kind of forced to finish it. That aside the book never grabbed me, the premise behind it was that in the future all countries have united somehow and have become fewer entities (conglomerates of countries) , Every 20 years there is an election that determines which one of the major players gains the supermajority (world domination in a way). the society is stratified in such a way that there this units called centennials that represent zones of over 100000 people , they are free to choose their own government (this reminds me of greek city-states). Somehow among this mess , the time for another election has come and some of the players are suspects of trying to rig the election, Characters are never represented well and their appearances are so far in between that you forget who is who and who is doing what. The plot is complicated and not easily understandable (even after finishing still not sure what the main plot was). You are never given an in-depth explanation of how things turned out too the way they are, you are just thrown into this reality and have to fight to catch up. Not an entertaining book.
November 27, 2019
Malka Older writes a near future tome that hits close to home. In this media rich, propaganda, lies, deception, misinformation, deflection and if that doesn't work; voter suppression. This novel looks at information as currency as operatives of various factions try to influence an election. It was a fascinating book that hit far too close to home. Right down to the description of sense of hopelessness/uselessness described when the information network was down. This one was chalked full of ideas and may well be a beacon about the future. I liked it.
4ish Stars
Listened to the audio book. Christine Marshall did a good job, though nothing special.
4ish Stars
Listened to the audio book. Christine Marshall did a good job, though nothing special.
July 1, 2016
This is not at all what I was expecting. I saw the "ocracy" and thought it would be an information government. Instead, it's more like this company called Information gathers data and analyzes it to track the election process. They're the source for absolutely all types of information so it's not just elections, but elections are what the book is about.
I think this was a pretty good book but I didn't really love it. The characters seemed very two dimensional to me and the story itself was so heavily based in politics and analytics that for the most part it was uninteresting to me. It was pretty fast paced and that was just about the only thing I did like.
This definitely wasn't a bad book, it was just a poor fit for me.
I think this was a pretty good book but I didn't really love it. The characters seemed very two dimensional to me and the story itself was so heavily based in politics and analytics that for the most part it was uninteresting to me. It was pretty fast paced and that was just about the only thing I did like.
This definitely wasn't a bad book, it was just a poor fit for me.
Read
August 24, 2016In the future, countries don’t exist anymore. The planet is a patchwork of independent governments, ruling constituents in blocs of 10,000 neighbors at a time. Every 10 year there’s an election in which governments try to get the most territories possible — the Supermajority. Watching over all of this is Information, a sort of global internet-news source-election commission-social media hybrid of an organization. But not everyone loves Information, or the election cycle. This book, told from the points of view of an Information worker and a campaign worker is science fiction for election nerds and for media geeks. I highly recommend it.
– A.J. O’Connell
from The Best Books We Read In April: http://bookriot.com/2016/04/29/riot-r...
____________________
This is exactly the kind of imaginative, speculative fiction we need more of. It is set in a weird future version of our world, and while Older has done all her homework—building a fully-fleshed world with technologies, subcultures, and political systems that are creative and plausible—but she mercifully doesn’t force the reader to endure that homework. (Too many science fiction and fantasy authors display their worldbuilding like a badge, when in fact their books would be better off if they made that world a setting for an interesting story rather than the point itself. But I’ll get off my soapbox now.) Older’s book is set in a future where the management of information and the exercise of political power are intertwined in ways both deeply odd and oddly familiar, and its plot makes the most of that world by following two protagonists as they try to unravel a possible conspiracy (or maybe several). It’s thrilling and thoughtful, ambitious and modest. And it’s also a lot of fun.
–Derek Attig
from The Best Books We Read In June 2016: http://bookriot.com/2016/06/29/riot-r...
____________________
I hate election years, and I know I’m not alone. I hate them because every day brings horrible new campaigning, the good guys are often indistinguishable from the bad guys, and social media is a 24/7 garbage fire. I also think they’re incredibly important — you can’t make change by checking out, or fight injustice by walking away, so we have to stay tuned in enough to vote on the things we care about. Malka Older’s Infomocracy is the election-year sci-fi thriller I didn’t know I wanted and desperately needed. It takes place in a near-future where micro-democracy rules and voters are divided into “centenals” (100,000-person regions), the organization Information (think Google on an unlimited budget with a public mandate) provides constant real-time facts to the voting populace, and politics are still a quagmire. There are fight scenes and data-crunching scenes and characters with wildly different ideologies, and Older puts them all together beautifully. Above all, this book explores the idea of citizenship in a way that will make you think — and maybe even help you get through to November.
— Jenn Northington
from The Best Books We Read In July 2016: http://bookriot.com/2016/08/01/riot-r...
– A.J. O’Connell
from The Best Books We Read In April: http://bookriot.com/2016/04/29/riot-r...
____________________
This is exactly the kind of imaginative, speculative fiction we need more of. It is set in a weird future version of our world, and while Older has done all her homework—building a fully-fleshed world with technologies, subcultures, and political systems that are creative and plausible—but she mercifully doesn’t force the reader to endure that homework. (Too many science fiction and fantasy authors display their worldbuilding like a badge, when in fact their books would be better off if they made that world a setting for an interesting story rather than the point itself. But I’ll get off my soapbox now.) Older’s book is set in a future where the management of information and the exercise of political power are intertwined in ways both deeply odd and oddly familiar, and its plot makes the most of that world by following two protagonists as they try to unravel a possible conspiracy (or maybe several). It’s thrilling and thoughtful, ambitious and modest. And it’s also a lot of fun.
–Derek Attig
from The Best Books We Read In June 2016: http://bookriot.com/2016/06/29/riot-r...
____________________
I hate election years, and I know I’m not alone. I hate them because every day brings horrible new campaigning, the good guys are often indistinguishable from the bad guys, and social media is a 24/7 garbage fire. I also think they’re incredibly important — you can’t make change by checking out, or fight injustice by walking away, so we have to stay tuned in enough to vote on the things we care about. Malka Older’s Infomocracy is the election-year sci-fi thriller I didn’t know I wanted and desperately needed. It takes place in a near-future where micro-democracy rules and voters are divided into “centenals” (100,000-person regions), the organization Information (think Google on an unlimited budget with a public mandate) provides constant real-time facts to the voting populace, and politics are still a quagmire. There are fight scenes and data-crunching scenes and characters with wildly different ideologies, and Older puts them all together beautifully. Above all, this book explores the idea of citizenship in a way that will make you think — and maybe even help you get through to November.
— Jenn Northington
from The Best Books We Read In July 2016: http://bookriot.com/2016/08/01/riot-r...
January 3, 2019
Okay, wow. That was intense, beautifully written, and so completely relevant. One of my favorite reads this year.
International politics are a major interest of mine (my undergrad degree is in international affairs) and I love the "what-if" part of spec fic in general, so I found the hypotheticals on the future of democracy and international governance in this series completely fascinating. (The author did a great interview on some of the inspirations for the book, for anyone else who finds these topics interesting.) Malka Older's experience in international aid and development comes through clearly in the story, especially in the details, and gives it a very realistic feeling. This was honestly at times a bit painful, given current politics in the U.S., but it was something I also really appreciated.
There's a lot going on in this book, but for me it had a great balance of world-building, character development, and action. I loved that I could never predict what was going to happen, yet everything that did happen felt fitting and consistent with the world that the author had created. Mishima was a fascinating central character, supported by a varied cast. The changes in POV were at times jarring, but overall really didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. Onto the second book!
International politics are a major interest of mine (my undergrad degree is in international affairs) and I love the "what-if" part of spec fic in general, so I found the hypotheticals on the future of democracy and international governance in this series completely fascinating. (The author did a great interview on some of the inspirations for the book, for anyone else who finds these topics interesting.) Malka Older's experience in international aid and development comes through clearly in the story, especially in the details, and gives it a very realistic feeling. This was honestly at times a bit painful, given current politics in the U.S., but it was something I also really appreciated.
There's a lot going on in this book, but for me it had a great balance of world-building, character development, and action. I loved that I could never predict what was going to happen, yet everything that did happen felt fitting and consistent with the world that the author had created. Mishima was a fascinating central character, supported by a varied cast. The changes in POV were at times jarring, but overall really didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. Onto the second book!
June 30, 2017
Actual rating 3.5
So I enjoyed this book, it was well organized, well written and the idea well processed. So why I cannot give it more than 3.5 stars? I don’t know really! Just that it didn’t have anything to grasp me, to excite me at some moments, to make me grab something and cannot let go. It just didn’t.
This book is a political thriller/techno spy book and happens in a future which nations/countries have less power than the policy of the governor. Basically worlds is divided to “centenals” and each centenal belongs to a cooperation government which has its own policy. This micro democracy system has been in place since twenty years ago and now this new world is at the verge of a new election. Supermajority has been with Heritage for past twenty years but now Liberty seems more threatening than before and other smaller cooperates tries their best to get as many as centinals they can. There is Information too, which main responsibility is make sure everybody is informed well along with supervising the campaigns and running a healthy election.
Ken is an unofficial dedicated Poly1st campaigner and with his skills and connectiona finds out Liberty is using unmoral methods to get more votes, at the same time Mishima a great analyst from Information has her own suspicious over Liberty’s dirty methods. Domaine on the other hand has no belief in current micro democracy system and does whatever he can to prevent people of voting. These three with others shape this good thriller story.
It’s a smooth read.
So I enjoyed this book, it was well organized, well written and the idea well processed. So why I cannot give it more than 3.5 stars? I don’t know really! Just that it didn’t have anything to grasp me, to excite me at some moments, to make me grab something and cannot let go. It just didn’t.
This book is a political thriller/techno spy book and happens in a future which nations/countries have less power than the policy of the governor. Basically worlds is divided to “centenals” and each centenal belongs to a cooperation government which has its own policy. This micro democracy system has been in place since twenty years ago and now this new world is at the verge of a new election. Supermajority has been with Heritage for past twenty years but now Liberty seems more threatening than before and other smaller cooperates tries their best to get as many as centinals they can. There is Information too, which main responsibility is make sure everybody is informed well along with supervising the campaigns and running a healthy election.
Ken is an unofficial dedicated Poly1st campaigner and with his skills and connectiona finds out Liberty is using unmoral methods to get more votes, at the same time Mishima a great analyst from Information has her own suspicious over Liberty’s dirty methods. Domaine on the other hand has no belief in current micro democracy system and does whatever he can to prevent people of voting. These three with others shape this good thriller story.
It’s a smooth read.
May 18, 2017
DNF @15%
Maybe it was just too soon to read a book with a political tone with the continuing unrest in the country between the libbies and pubbies but the story also lacked a direction and the writing didn't flow.
Maybe it was just too soon to read a book with a political tone with the continuing unrest in the country between the libbies and pubbies but the story also lacked a direction and the writing didn't flow.
June 8, 2016
Probably the easiest 5 stars I'll give this year, what a great book! And it's the author's first so that makes it even more surprising.
There's a lot in here that probably flew right over my head, mostly because I don't follow politics, but the story was told in a very engaging way with very engaging characters.
It's an extremely interesting view at what the world would be like with global democracy and an all encompassing information system. What happens when people try to exploit the system?
There's a lot in here that probably flew right over my head, mostly because I don't follow politics, but the story was told in a very engaging way with very engaging characters.
It's an extremely interesting view at what the world would be like with global democracy and an all encompassing information system. What happens when people try to exploit the system?
March 12, 2017
I don't think this book really knows what it's for, or what it's trying to do.
If it does, it sure hasn't given me any hints.
Infomocracy presents a world where politics have become both much, much bigger, and much, much smaller. It's a micro-democracy - the world has been split into "centenals," blocs of 100,000 people each, and each centenal elects its very own government. What does remain vast and global is an outfit called Information - an all-encompassing entity providing instant, constant information on any topic desired, and then devoutly wishing that people would wise up and make sensible use of it.
These are interesting ideas, and they're big changes -- but they're not the kind of changes that have immediate, vivid consequences. The only answer to "OK, how are people's lives different now" is "well, it depends on the very particular government their 99,999 neighbors voted into office." And while many, many styles of government are mentioned offhandedly, none of them actually gets fleshed out into anything approaching a substantial setting.
Instead, the only changes that Infomocracy is interested in are the changes to the election system itself. Which mostly amount to: bigger, wider, louder. There are more parties in contention; hundreds of them. Politics aren't confined to one area or country; all the major players are running for office everywhere in the world at once. And Information means everyone knows everything; a firehose of information that just keeps gushing nonstop.
It's the biggest, most all-consuming contest ever.
But it's just that: a contest.
With absolutely nothing at stake.
There are no characters worth speaking of; the protagonists have no personality beyond the fierce belief that whatever faction they're with is incredibly important. (Particularly cringe-worthy are the various stabs at romance; their emptiness demonstrates just how superficial and hollow the various characters are.)
There's no plot, outside "There is a very big election and occasionally stuff happens that people didn't expect."
There are villains, kind of, but they're pretty much on the level of "Those bad people over there want to win the contest, but they're bad and it will be bad if they win." Not bad in any particular, specific compelling way; just, y'know, war and bad stuff. And they never do anything overt or concrete enough for the protagonists to actually have a reaction beyond, "Huh, that's unfortunate. I hope things don't continue to get worse."
This is not the stuff of high drama.
Now, I'm the first to agree that election systems can be fascinating. The interplay between democracy and the media is full of sticky issues. And the author has, quite rightly, an arsenal of annoyances and outright abuses that come to the fore during a political campaign.
But in Infomocracy, none of that translates into an actual story. There's no hook. There's no plot. There's nothing to engage your attention and keep it engaged. It's basically a compilation of observations and misuses on democracy and the media (e.g., ), frequently interspersed with futile, dead-end action scenes pointless special effects. I could see enjoying this book if you'd enjoy seeing some worldbuilding based exclusively on election systems - but when I say "worldbuilding," I mean you'd need to be happy with dry detail and mechanisms, rather than the actual setting feeling rich or immersive.
I got a little over halfway through, hoping that at some point the book would find its focus and set up some stakes, and DNF'd when I got to the point that going any further would be an unvarnished hate-read.
I strongly suspect that if I made it through to the very end, the book probably does deign to tell you what it thinks the point is. At 53%, there's something bad going on, you just have no idea what and no reason to expect that finding out will be interesting. I'd venture that the solution is likely to be interesting, and probably indicative of what the book's intention is meant to be - but I'm damned if I'm going to read a book so aimless and annoying just because the author has something they won't tell me until the second-to-last chapter.
If it does, it sure hasn't given me any hints.
Infomocracy presents a world where politics have become both much, much bigger, and much, much smaller. It's a micro-democracy - the world has been split into "centenals," blocs of 100,000 people each, and each centenal elects its very own government. What does remain vast and global is an outfit called Information - an all-encompassing entity providing instant, constant information on any topic desired, and then devoutly wishing that people would wise up and make sensible use of it.
These are interesting ideas, and they're big changes -- but they're not the kind of changes that have immediate, vivid consequences. The only answer to "OK, how are people's lives different now" is "well, it depends on the very particular government their 99,999 neighbors voted into office." And while many, many styles of government are mentioned offhandedly, none of them actually gets fleshed out into anything approaching a substantial setting.
Instead, the only changes that Infomocracy is interested in are the changes to the election system itself. Which mostly amount to: bigger, wider, louder. There are more parties in contention; hundreds of them. Politics aren't confined to one area or country; all the major players are running for office everywhere in the world at once. And Information means everyone knows everything; a firehose of information that just keeps gushing nonstop.
It's the biggest, most all-consuming contest ever.
But it's just that: a contest.
With absolutely nothing at stake.
There are no characters worth speaking of; the protagonists have no personality beyond the fierce belief that whatever faction they're with is incredibly important. (Particularly cringe-worthy are the various stabs at romance; their emptiness demonstrates just how superficial and hollow the various characters are.)
There's no plot, outside "There is a very big election and occasionally stuff happens that people didn't expect."
There are villains, kind of, but they're pretty much on the level of "Those bad people over there want to win the contest, but they're bad and it will be bad if they win." Not bad in any particular, specific compelling way; just, y'know, war and bad stuff. And they never do anything overt or concrete enough for the protagonists to actually have a reaction beyond, "Huh, that's unfortunate. I hope things don't continue to get worse."
This is not the stuff of high drama.
Now, I'm the first to agree that election systems can be fascinating. The interplay between democracy and the media is full of sticky issues. And the author has, quite rightly, an arsenal of annoyances and outright abuses that come to the fore during a political campaign.
But in Infomocracy, none of that translates into an actual story. There's no hook. There's no plot. There's nothing to engage your attention and keep it engaged. It's basically a compilation of observations and misuses on democracy and the media (e.g., ), frequently interspersed with futile, dead-end action scenes pointless special effects. I could see enjoying this book if you'd enjoy seeing some worldbuilding based exclusively on election systems - but when I say "worldbuilding," I mean you'd need to be happy with dry detail and mechanisms, rather than the actual setting feeling rich or immersive.
I got a little over halfway through, hoping that at some point the book would find its focus and set up some stakes, and DNF'd when I got to the point that going any further would be an unvarnished hate-read.
I strongly suspect that if I made it through to the very end, the book probably does deign to tell you what it thinks the point is. At 53%, there's something bad going on, you just have no idea what and no reason to expect that finding out will be interesting. I'd venture that the solution is likely to be interesting, and probably indicative of what the book's intention is meant to be - but I'm damned if I'm going to read a book so aimless and annoying just because the author has something they won't tell me until the second-to-last chapter.
January 10, 2018
Malka Older is a prescient über educated marvel and her debut novel reflects this. A tale of election fraud released in 2016? Genius.
Infomocracy is a near future, globe trotting, political thriller. Global politics have become Centenal based, in other words land areas encompassing one hundred thousand people are effectively their own nation state. There are many global parties to choose from (gasp! more than two, who could possibly keep up?) and every ten years there is a global election for the Supermajority (think state vs federal). This is when the book takes place, election fever!
Guns have been obviated as weapons due to a simple magnetic technology all peacekeeping forces have. Plastic guns exist but they’re rare. You know what this means? Swords!!! Oh yes, the future is full on Kill Bill! The fight scene was memorable.
Long ago, pre Google, I loved my political science classes. I think if you have absolutely no interest in politics this book does not have enough action/romance/sex/humor to see you through.
Best of the sci-fi political thrillers, five stars.
July 7, 2023
Infomocracy started out making me think there would be a lot to this book. There were a lot of characters, futuristic political ideas being introduced, and a cyberpunk sense of the setting. However most of the book I was left wondering where the plot was or when events would be introduced that would cause things to get more exciting. I thought this might be because it was a trilogy so there would be a lot of build up in the first book to a long conflict in the later two. This did not seem the case as it appears this could be a standalone and didn't seem like it was setup for a sequel which left me a little confused. I will probably still read the next book in the trilogy to at least see if something is going to carry over.
Overall an average read.
(the narrator on the audiobook was excellent though!)
Overall an average read.
(the narrator on the audiobook was excellent though!)
July 25, 2016
Review from Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2016/0...
Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older was a fascinating blend of technology, politics, big corporations and conspiracy. Everything in this world revolves around Information, a corporatized database of sorts that contains pretty much everything. It’s like Google, research libraries and government databases all rolled into one mega-powered Information solution. Pretty much, it’s all the information in the world contained and controlled.
I found the government structure in this really intriguing. Instead of countries ruled by their own local governments, the world is now broken into pieces (centenals – which contain a population of about 100,000). Each centenal is ruled by their elected government, at least until the next election in 10 years. They don’t vote for individual people here or there, the entire government is a whole package deal. They refer to this model as “micro-democracy”.
Now, as you can imagine, the campaigning, research and everything else that goes into a typical election here is on a whole other level when it is the entire package being voted on. It pretty much turns governments into corporations (in fact, some of them bear the names of modern day corporations we are quite familiar with) and all the tactics are taken to a much higher level. This also includes the more desperate, behind the scenes business, because if they lose the election, it’s a huge deal. To remain relevant, survive, and of course, in power, they will do whatever it takes to win.
While I found this part of the story fascinating, I know not everyone will be as drawn in by the politics and technology. If you fall into this camp, don’t worry, because this is certainly not all the book has to offer. I really enjoyed the characters and relationships in the book as well. Mishima’s character is the most fleshed out, and I definitely enjoyed her as well as her relationship with Ken, another POV. There is also a bit of spying and intrigue, a bit of romance, and some action. Really this book has a ton to offer and I think it can appeal to a larger base than just the political SF fans.
To be fair, I will warn you, the book can be a bit slow to start. At first I was a bit unsure because there is a lot of information being given to you in the beginning. I was worried that it was going to overrun the story. But trust me, it pays off and the pace really picks up once you understand the world and what is going on. Overall, Infomocracy uniquely twists politics, information and corporate governments for a very thrilling story.
Audiobook Notes: I did listen to the audiobook version of Infomocracy and found it worked well overall. There is a good amount of information presented in the beginning, and I have to admit that sometimes with audiobooks I find I don’t retain details quite as well when I get a lot of them in a short time. But I do feel that this book worked well, and I never felt like I missed important details. The narration was well done.
Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older was a fascinating blend of technology, politics, big corporations and conspiracy. Everything in this world revolves around Information, a corporatized database of sorts that contains pretty much everything. It’s like Google, research libraries and government databases all rolled into one mega-powered Information solution. Pretty much, it’s all the information in the world contained and controlled.
I found the government structure in this really intriguing. Instead of countries ruled by their own local governments, the world is now broken into pieces (centenals – which contain a population of about 100,000). Each centenal is ruled by their elected government, at least until the next election in 10 years. They don’t vote for individual people here or there, the entire government is a whole package deal. They refer to this model as “micro-democracy”.
Now, as you can imagine, the campaigning, research and everything else that goes into a typical election here is on a whole other level when it is the entire package being voted on. It pretty much turns governments into corporations (in fact, some of them bear the names of modern day corporations we are quite familiar with) and all the tactics are taken to a much higher level. This also includes the more desperate, behind the scenes business, because if they lose the election, it’s a huge deal. To remain relevant, survive, and of course, in power, they will do whatever it takes to win.
While I found this part of the story fascinating, I know not everyone will be as drawn in by the politics and technology. If you fall into this camp, don’t worry, because this is certainly not all the book has to offer. I really enjoyed the characters and relationships in the book as well. Mishima’s character is the most fleshed out, and I definitely enjoyed her as well as her relationship with Ken, another POV. There is also a bit of spying and intrigue, a bit of romance, and some action. Really this book has a ton to offer and I think it can appeal to a larger base than just the political SF fans.
To be fair, I will warn you, the book can be a bit slow to start. At first I was a bit unsure because there is a lot of information being given to you in the beginning. I was worried that it was going to overrun the story. But trust me, it pays off and the pace really picks up once you understand the world and what is going on. Overall, Infomocracy uniquely twists politics, information and corporate governments for a very thrilling story.
Audiobook Notes: I did listen to the audiobook version of Infomocracy and found it worked well overall. There is a good amount of information presented in the beginning, and I have to admit that sometimes with audiobooks I find I don’t retain details quite as well when I get a lot of them in a short time. But I do feel that this book worked well, and I never felt like I missed important details. The narration was well done.
June 19, 2018
I had high expectations with this one, but I knew it wasn’t my cup of tea within the first few chapters. So the rest of what I read felt like pure torture :)
I loved the whole setup, the idea of centennals, the concept of micro democracies but that’s it. I didn’t care for the characters, I think the author didn’t give us a chance to get to know them.
I wouldn’t say this book is a thriller, although the blurb says it is. Political? Yes. Sci-fi? Yes. Thriller? Uhm… I don’t think so.
I think the main problem for me personally is the book started a bit confusing, I wasn’t eased into the world, it felt like when we found a movie on TV (back then when we didn’t know what was on), and you thought it was interesting so you decided to watch it but you caught it right in the middle and you had no idea what was going on. I don’t like that. Plus, high expectations. You read great reviews online and think you’re also going to love it, but maybe you’re not in the correct frame of mind, or it just wasn’t meant to be :(
By the time I knew what was going on in the story I just didn’t care, maybe because of all the characters I had read about, maybe because of the weird “action scenes” or the world had lost its charm.
It’s weird that I have written such a detailed review of a book I didn’t enjoy. I love books that make me think and inspire thoughts, and this one has many interesting ideas to think about, which is why I’m bumping my review to a 3-star rating, but it’s unfortunate that I couldn’t get into her story.
I loved the whole setup, the idea of centennals, the concept of micro democracies but that’s it. I didn’t care for the characters, I think the author didn’t give us a chance to get to know them.
I wouldn’t say this book is a thriller, although the blurb says it is. Political? Yes. Sci-fi? Yes. Thriller? Uhm… I don’t think so.
I think the main problem for me personally is the book started a bit confusing, I wasn’t eased into the world, it felt like when we found a movie on TV (back then when we didn’t know what was on), and you thought it was interesting so you decided to watch it but you caught it right in the middle and you had no idea what was going on. I don’t like that. Plus, high expectations. You read great reviews online and think you’re also going to love it, but maybe you’re not in the correct frame of mind, or it just wasn’t meant to be :(
By the time I knew what was going on in the story I just didn’t care, maybe because of all the characters I had read about, maybe because of the weird “action scenes” or the world had lost its charm.
It’s weird that I have written such a detailed review of a book I didn’t enjoy. I love books that make me think and inspire thoughts, and this one has many interesting ideas to think about, which is why I’m bumping my review to a 3-star rating, but it’s unfortunate that I couldn’t get into her story.
October 10, 2016
(Audiobook) 4.5 stars
If she were to choose the quote that is found above the entrances to Information offices worldwide, it would be the one that said "Democracy is the worst system...except for all the other ones".
"Infomocracy" is a brilliant political thriller set in the not-too distant future. Malka Older's world runs on "micro democracies" which are made up of individual "Sentinels" of 100,000 voters.
Our story is set during election season in the 3rd ever global vote to determine the "super majority" of Sentinels. A faction known as "Heritage" won the first 2 "super majorities" and compete with "corporates" such as Philip Morris, Sony-Mitusbishi, military faction "Secure Nation" and bleeding hearts like "Policy first". Of course there are plenty of smaller factions like Rastafarian's and Hello Kitty fan service parties as well as the main threat to "Heritage", the party known as "Liberty". There is a party for everyone in the new micro-democracy. The tendency of likeminded people to want to join forces leads to a process called "Mander-Jerrying" as the "Sentinels" shift populations and causes. The entire process and the information available to consumers is overseen by a giant independent department named aptly enough "Information".
Eureka finds herself nodding along with the people around her. She is watching the debate at a Liberty campaign event. A huge projection is set up on the beach with cows turning on spits, and of course lots of free Coke and Asani, Galoaz cigerettes, Degree anti-perspirant and Nestle breastmilk substitute
Mmm can't beat that Nestle Breastmilk Substitute..."Infomocracy" brilliantly combines politics, marketing and media in Malka Older's imagining of the election cycle of the future.
While this may sound heavy handed, a "1984 for Millennials" shrieking about Faux News and Republicrat's/Democrans, I actually found it to be quite subtle and even handed. Of course there are parallels to the current political climate that can be drawn, particularly if you are looking for them.
Lines like:
"I hate your stupid pseudo-democratic Infomocracy, true". Domain agrees. "But I would hate a corporate dictatorship manipulated by the military industrial complex even more".
are delivered with a knowing wink - but the larger point I believe Older is trying to get across is about Information. How we can drown in too much information, how we seek out information that agrees with our pre-established viewpoints, how useless we are without a glut of information at our fingertips.
I loved Older's worldbuilding. the first 1/3 of the book is just setting up the world. I was actually kind of annoyed once the plot started to take over I was enjoying the world building so much. Before long though I was taken in by the suspense of the story. It has elements of a John Grisham thriller within it's higher aspirations. I would tell anyone that is turned off by the idea of the politics, this works purely on the level of a taught thriller as well.
Older writes with assured prose and managed to keep each character clear and distinct in my mind. Ken and Mishimi were strong characters built with an economy of words instead of 100s of pages of character building. I felt there was very little fat on this. Speaking of fat can I interest you in a Grilled squid soft-serve No? How about a spam and bitter melon twist? Sorry I am all out of Nestle Breast milk substitute.
Christine Marshall did an excellent job as a narrator. A lot of the female narrators given higher profile books then this could take notes from her performance. I don't need Julianne Moore level acting in my audiobooks, I would just like each character voiced distinctly and to not be distracted from the story by weird/bad acting choices. I doubt when anyone hears Marshall do her Irish or Russian accents, natives of those countries would consider them perfect, but they are certainly "good enough". She was particularly good at making daft or self absorbed characters comical. I could tell every character apart, even if I forget their names, from her voicings alone so Bravo Christine Marshall.
Overall this was an outstanding audiobook that I feel deserves to be considered among the year's best. I am marking it down as the 2nd best SF of 2016 so far. Highly recommended.
If she were to choose the quote that is found above the entrances to Information offices worldwide, it would be the one that said "Democracy is the worst system...except for all the other ones".
"Infomocracy" is a brilliant political thriller set in the not-too distant future. Malka Older's world runs on "micro democracies" which are made up of individual "Sentinels" of 100,000 voters.
Our story is set during election season in the 3rd ever global vote to determine the "super majority" of Sentinels. A faction known as "Heritage" won the first 2 "super majorities" and compete with "corporates" such as Philip Morris, Sony-Mitusbishi, military faction "Secure Nation" and bleeding hearts like "Policy first". Of course there are plenty of smaller factions like Rastafarian's and Hello Kitty fan service parties as well as the main threat to "Heritage", the party known as "Liberty". There is a party for everyone in the new micro-democracy. The tendency of likeminded people to want to join forces leads to a process called "Mander-Jerrying" as the "Sentinels" shift populations and causes. The entire process and the information available to consumers is overseen by a giant independent department named aptly enough "Information".
Eureka finds herself nodding along with the people around her. She is watching the debate at a Liberty campaign event. A huge projection is set up on the beach with cows turning on spits, and of course lots of free Coke and Asani, Galoaz cigerettes, Degree anti-perspirant and Nestle breastmilk substitute
Mmm can't beat that Nestle Breastmilk Substitute..."Infomocracy" brilliantly combines politics, marketing and media in Malka Older's imagining of the election cycle of the future.
While this may sound heavy handed, a "1984 for Millennials" shrieking about Faux News and Republicrat's/Democrans, I actually found it to be quite subtle and even handed. Of course there are parallels to the current political climate that can be drawn, particularly if you are looking for them.
Lines like:
"I hate your stupid pseudo-democratic Infomocracy, true". Domain agrees. "But I would hate a corporate dictatorship manipulated by the military industrial complex even more".
are delivered with a knowing wink - but the larger point I believe Older is trying to get across is about Information. How we can drown in too much information, how we seek out information that agrees with our pre-established viewpoints, how useless we are without a glut of information at our fingertips.
I loved Older's worldbuilding. the first 1/3 of the book is just setting up the world. I was actually kind of annoyed once the plot started to take over I was enjoying the world building so much. Before long though I was taken in by the suspense of the story. It has elements of a John Grisham thriller within it's higher aspirations. I would tell anyone that is turned off by the idea of the politics, this works purely on the level of a taught thriller as well.
Older writes with assured prose and managed to keep each character clear and distinct in my mind. Ken and Mishimi were strong characters built with an economy of words instead of 100s of pages of character building. I felt there was very little fat on this. Speaking of fat can I interest you in a Grilled squid soft-serve No? How about a spam and bitter melon twist? Sorry I am all out of Nestle Breast milk substitute.
Christine Marshall did an excellent job as a narrator. A lot of the female narrators given higher profile books then this could take notes from her performance. I don't need Julianne Moore level acting in my audiobooks, I would just like each character voiced distinctly and to not be distracted from the story by weird/bad acting choices. I doubt when anyone hears Marshall do her Irish or Russian accents, natives of those countries would consider them perfect, but they are certainly "good enough". She was particularly good at making daft or self absorbed characters comical. I could tell every character apart, even if I forget their names, from her voicings alone so Bravo Christine Marshall.
Overall this was an outstanding audiobook that I feel deserves to be considered among the year's best. I am marking it down as the 2nd best SF of 2016 so far. Highly recommended.
September 27, 2023
This was such a great book I listened to it twice already.
Partly because I didn't want to let go of the characters yet and partly because the first time around I didn't really understand everything about the world and the details of the election.
Listening to it again really cleared up parts I didn't pick up on the first time and a lot of things made more sense to me as I already knew where things were going and I could identify hints and clues better.
I really liked the characters in the book and how they interacted, there was a nice balance between action and slow story, between politics and character development.
The writing is really well done and the audiobook is captivatingly read. Both sucked me into the story despite being confused in the beginning and then didn't let me go anymore.
Just give it a try, it really surprised me and exceeded my expectations.
Partly because I didn't want to let go of the characters yet and partly because the first time around I didn't really understand everything about the world and the details of the election.
Listening to it again really cleared up parts I didn't pick up on the first time and a lot of things made more sense to me as I already knew where things were going and I could identify hints and clues better.
I really liked the characters in the book and how they interacted, there was a nice balance between action and slow story, between politics and character development.
The writing is really well done and the audiobook is captivatingly read. Both sucked me into the story despite being confused in the beginning and then didn't let me go anymore.
Just give it a try, it really surprised me and exceeded my expectations.
March 22, 2016
I feel like a good portion of this book went over my head, and it took me several weeks to finish it. That's several weeks of googling political and economic terms side-by-side with the novel. That DOES NOT MEAN I DIDN'T LOVE IT. I love working hard for an enjoyable reading experience if the experience is actually worth it, which this was.
I think Older has written an entertaining, brilliant, and somewhat terrifying glimpse into what the future may have in store for us. Corporate assassins, micro-democracies, an all-knowing near-future version of Google....all-in-all an amazing political thriller!
Much thanks to Macmillan/Tor for the galley!
I think Older has written an entertaining, brilliant, and somewhat terrifying glimpse into what the future may have in store for us. Corporate assassins, micro-democracies, an all-knowing near-future version of Google....all-in-all an amazing political thriller!
Much thanks to Macmillan/Tor for the galley!
July 1, 2016
This was quite an enjoyable techno-political dystopian thriller. Occasionally, it felt a bit too much like watching the news - what with the US elections, Brexit and so on! However, although it was an interesting read, I felt the characters were a little bit flat, and at times I just found it a bit boring (though maybe that comes from feeling a bit politicked-out in real life). I do think it was well written though, especially for a first novel, and I would certainly consider reading more from Malka Ann Older in the future.
September 13, 2018
(Warning: basic plot spoilers ahead)
Finished this tonight and really enjoyed it. This is a political science fiction thriller set in a future world where countries are replaced by units of 100,000 people called centenals. This is referred to as microdemocracy. Each of these centenals is able to vote on their own form of government, and the government with the most centenals (known as the supermajority) acts as the intergovernmental peacekeeper.
Ken is working on the campaign for Policy1st, who believe that you should vote for them based on policy, and is unique from other governments in that policy rules, not a singular particular person.
Mishima works for Information. Information has replaced TV, radio, and internet. It’s built into handhelds and visual chips. You use it to pay for things, see the history of various objects around you, read news feeds, watch advids. Basically, Information is working to give the people all the information they could ever want. I saw them as truth keepers.
Ken and Mishima are brought together by the circumstances of their pre-election work, and kept together by a twisting turning election conspiracy.
This was a world hopping adventure. We get to visit Tokyo, Lima, Paris, the Adapted Maldives. The settings were kept interesting and worked well with the plot given that country borders aren’t really a thing anymore. I also enjoyed the world building, the tech and gadgetry were cool, but it’s most definitely the societal and political structures that stole the show.
The characters were fun and fairly diverse (more diverse than most books for sure). I adored Mishima right from the start. She’s a no nonsense, don’t take no crap from nobody, kind of character that I couldn’t help but respect. Ken took longer to grow on me I think because he’s sort of just a go with the flow kind of guy. It was hard to know where he really stood on anything.
The plot definitely kept me guessing. It takes right to the end to see how everything fits together, but the ending is the part that I had the most issues with. It felt very rushed, and it sucks because we’d been treated to such a high level of detail prior to that. It was almost like her publisher gave her a word count she couldn’t exceed and as she neared it she just cut chunks out of the ending instead of trimming earlier parts of the novel and balancing it all. Those last two chapters just didn’t fit with the rest of the book.
I still have some burning questions about other details too. A lot of it has to do with the tech. Mishima uses some different tools for her work that are given some misleading names and I couldn’t piece together what they were or how they worked.
But I mostly enjoyed it and never found it difficult to pick back up or wanting to put it off, so 4 stars for me. I will definitely pick up Null States.
Finished this tonight and really enjoyed it. This is a political science fiction thriller set in a future world where countries are replaced by units of 100,000 people called centenals. This is referred to as microdemocracy. Each of these centenals is able to vote on their own form of government, and the government with the most centenals (known as the supermajority) acts as the intergovernmental peacekeeper.
Ken is working on the campaign for Policy1st, who believe that you should vote for them based on policy, and is unique from other governments in that policy rules, not a singular particular person.
Mishima works for Information. Information has replaced TV, radio, and internet. It’s built into handhelds and visual chips. You use it to pay for things, see the history of various objects around you, read news feeds, watch advids. Basically, Information is working to give the people all the information they could ever want. I saw them as truth keepers.
Ken and Mishima are brought together by the circumstances of their pre-election work, and kept together by a twisting turning election conspiracy.
This was a world hopping adventure. We get to visit Tokyo, Lima, Paris, the Adapted Maldives. The settings were kept interesting and worked well with the plot given that country borders aren’t really a thing anymore. I also enjoyed the world building, the tech and gadgetry were cool, but it’s most definitely the societal and political structures that stole the show.
The characters were fun and fairly diverse (more diverse than most books for sure). I adored Mishima right from the start. She’s a no nonsense, don’t take no crap from nobody, kind of character that I couldn’t help but respect. Ken took longer to grow on me I think because he’s sort of just a go with the flow kind of guy. It was hard to know where he really stood on anything.
The plot definitely kept me guessing. It takes right to the end to see how everything fits together, but the ending is the part that I had the most issues with. It felt very rushed, and it sucks because we’d been treated to such a high level of detail prior to that. It was almost like her publisher gave her a word count she couldn’t exceed and as she neared it she just cut chunks out of the ending instead of trimming earlier parts of the novel and balancing it all. Those last two chapters just didn’t fit with the rest of the book.
I still have some burning questions about other details too. A lot of it has to do with the tech. Mishima uses some different tools for her work that are given some misleading names and I couldn’t piece together what they were or how they worked.
But I mostly enjoyed it and never found it difficult to pick back up or wanting to put it off, so 4 stars for me. I will definitely pick up Null States.
October 17, 2018
In the near-future world of Infomocracy, the world's political system is comprised of territories divided into 100 000 person "Centenals" who vote to elect a global supermajority. In Older's story, we're quickly approaching the third global election--they happen once a decade--and all sorts of backstabbing, espionage, campaigning, and technological manipulation lie between the election and a new world order. Complicating matters is search-engine-become-law, Information, which regulates the distribution of information to the world's populace via ubiquitous personal technology.
In short, Older's crafted a really complex world.
My main issue with the book is that world-building takes up 75% of the novel's real estate before peeling back a more fast-paced and compelling story in its back quarter. There's interesting dynamics at play throughout the book, but I found myself confused and disoriented through most of my read. It was only towards the end of the book that I had a decent handle on the major political parties and the bevy of characters that populate the pages of Infomocracy.
Luckily, Mishima, Ken, and Domaine are great leads and when their roles clash and collide with each other, the book is at its strongest. There's also a pretty huge supporting cast, not all of whom I was able to keep track. Mishima steals the show as badass spy in the book's most cinematic moment: a raid on Tokyo's Information headquarters. Ken's optimism and idealism makes a nice contrast to both Mishima's task-oriented mindset and Domaine's antiestablishment leanings. As the characters travel to an incredibly diverse number of countries and Centenals, I got the sense that Older took her time in crafting a story that felt not only well-built, but unique in the sci-fi world.
Unfortunately, I was bogged down by the details the book inundated me with for most of my reading. Though the last 80 pages or so are stimulating, it felt like a ton of work for some payoff and promise of more in the sequel. All the same, I'm really impressed with the risks that Older took with this book: I've never read any sci-fi book like it and it feels prescient. Despite me not having enjoyed the book immensely, I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a book that people tout as one that moved the genre forward. I was really excited for Infomocracy, so I feel a bit let down, but I think I'll come back at some point to see if the tension picks up and the info dumps slow down in the sequel.
[2.5 Stars]
In short, Older's crafted a really complex world.
My main issue with the book is that world-building takes up 75% of the novel's real estate before peeling back a more fast-paced and compelling story in its back quarter. There's interesting dynamics at play throughout the book, but I found myself confused and disoriented through most of my read. It was only towards the end of the book that I had a decent handle on the major political parties and the bevy of characters that populate the pages of Infomocracy.
Luckily, Mishima, Ken, and Domaine are great leads and when their roles clash and collide with each other, the book is at its strongest. There's also a pretty huge supporting cast, not all of whom I was able to keep track. Mishima steals the show as badass spy in the book's most cinematic moment: a raid on Tokyo's Information headquarters. Ken's optimism and idealism makes a nice contrast to both Mishima's task-oriented mindset and Domaine's antiestablishment leanings. As the characters travel to an incredibly diverse number of countries and Centenals, I got the sense that Older took her time in crafting a story that felt not only well-built, but unique in the sci-fi world.
Unfortunately, I was bogged down by the details the book inundated me with for most of my reading. Though the last 80 pages or so are stimulating, it felt like a ton of work for some payoff and promise of more in the sequel. All the same, I'm really impressed with the risks that Older took with this book: I've never read any sci-fi book like it and it feels prescient. Despite me not having enjoyed the book immensely, I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a book that people tout as one that moved the genre forward. I was really excited for Infomocracy, so I feel a bit let down, but I think I'll come back at some point to see if the tension picks up and the info dumps slow down in the sequel.
[2.5 Stars]
September 2, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this fine-grained, extremely funny, timely story of election-time shenanigans in an age of an omnipresent Information bureaucracy. It takes place in a future in which much (but not all) of the world has embraced micro-democracy, a system where instead of being divided into nations, geography is divided into groupings of 100,000 people (called centenals), which can vote for any number of different governments. (Malka Older must have had fun inventing these: Heritage, Liberty, Policy1st, PhilipMorris--yes, it's its own party--1China, Economix, SecureNation, and so on. I grinned each time a new one showed up.) These governments, in turn, can campaign across centenals worldwide, and the one that controls the plurality of them has the supermajority.
Characters include Ken, an earnest campaigner for Policy1st; Mishima, a highly skilled Information operative with a narrative disorder (she obsessively spins stories, connecting events and people like one of those webs of string and photographs); and Domaine, an anti-election activist. There's sabotage, plotting, fake news, a natural disaster, and some ninja-worthy exploits. And there's an environmental note threading through too: something is describe as "as rare as bananas" at one point, and the characters spend some time in the Adapted Maldives--so called because they no longer have any actual landmass above sea level.
This book is so much fun and so *smart*. It raises some serious questions, and I'm interested to see where the author takes things in the next volume.
Characters include Ken, an earnest campaigner for Policy1st; Mishima, a highly skilled Information operative with a narrative disorder (she obsessively spins stories, connecting events and people like one of those webs of string and photographs); and Domaine, an anti-election activist. There's sabotage, plotting, fake news, a natural disaster, and some ninja-worthy exploits. And there's an environmental note threading through too: something is describe as "as rare as bananas" at one point, and the characters spend some time in the Adapted Maldives--so called because they no longer have any actual landmass above sea level.
This book is so much fun and so *smart*. It raises some serious questions, and I'm interested to see where the author takes things in the next volume.
June 30, 2023
4.0 Stars
This was such a fun and engaging sci fi thriller. Set in the near future, I loved how this novel explored a theoretical electoral system through the lense of a suspenseful thriller. I had a great time reading this even though I noticed potential weaknesses within the plotting. This is the first book in a trilogy so my feelings about this will largely be shaped by how the next books work out.
This was such a fun and engaging sci fi thriller. Set in the near future, I loved how this novel explored a theoretical electoral system through the lense of a suspenseful thriller. I had a great time reading this even though I noticed potential weaknesses within the plotting. This is the first book in a trilogy so my feelings about this will largely be shaped by how the next books work out.
October 8, 2024
the “politics, what a concept!” of sf books. so continues my consideration of sf written by academics. and I report back with a thesis sure to surprise no one: they looove to write about their own areas of interest. who’d have thought?
sometimes this means that the background culture is influenced by renaissance discourse (a la palmer). and sometimes it means something different. and here it’s different. older — a sciencespo-credentialed sociologist who writes about competition dynamics between multinational organizations, and remains engaged in brainstorming and implementing economic development initiatives abroad — so thoroughly plumbs those comps-list depths that we basically have a sentient, fictionalized dissertation on our hands, in which the libertarian-inflected idea of global micro-democracies is poked and prodded and considered and turned over from every possible speculative angle.
at least, it is for the first 3/4ths of the thing, until the spot at which you can almost feel older’s grudging concession that “okay, something has to actually happen here” (those who’ve read the thing will recognize the crowus ex machina of which i speak). and then something does happen, and it gets worse from there.
because the thing was, that until that turn, there was a legit, idiosyncratic idiot-savant brilliance to the thing. indeed, that solipsistic “of-course-everyone’s-as-interested-in-tenth-century-byzantine-finance-as-i-am” focus of the academic had created something nearly wonderful, so fully was it divorced from the latterly prevailing norms and expectations of genre writing. what I mean is that it’s a strange-ass book. it’s like someone tried to write the novelization of nate cohn’s election day data visualization chart. there were several times during the first 200 pages where i genuinely asked myself whether this person had ever read another sf book (don’t put it past academics to confidently stake a claim to realms of knowledge they otherwise only recently learned existed). and I was happy to follow her down that blinkered rabbit hole, until she herself finally came up for air (and maybe for a couple glances at her editors notes). thereafter, it became less interesting.
sometimes this means that the background culture is influenced by renaissance discourse (a la palmer). and sometimes it means something different. and here it’s different. older — a sciencespo-credentialed sociologist who writes about competition dynamics between multinational organizations, and remains engaged in brainstorming and implementing economic development initiatives abroad — so thoroughly plumbs those comps-list depths that we basically have a sentient, fictionalized dissertation on our hands, in which the libertarian-inflected idea of global micro-democracies is poked and prodded and considered and turned over from every possible speculative angle.
at least, it is for the first 3/4ths of the thing, until the spot at which you can almost feel older’s grudging concession that “okay, something has to actually happen here” (those who’ve read the thing will recognize the crowus ex machina of which i speak). and then something does happen, and it gets worse from there.
because the thing was, that until that turn, there was a legit, idiosyncratic idiot-savant brilliance to the thing. indeed, that solipsistic “of-course-everyone’s-as-interested-in-tenth-century-byzantine-finance-as-i-am” focus of the academic had created something nearly wonderful, so fully was it divorced from the latterly prevailing norms and expectations of genre writing. what I mean is that it’s a strange-ass book. it’s like someone tried to write the novelization of nate cohn’s election day data visualization chart. there were several times during the first 200 pages where i genuinely asked myself whether this person had ever read another sf book (don’t put it past academics to confidently stake a claim to realms of knowledge they otherwise only recently learned existed). and I was happy to follow her down that blinkered rabbit hole, until she herself finally came up for air (and maybe for a couple glances at her editors notes). thereafter, it became less interesting.
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