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Hyperthought
Under the earth. Inside our minds. "A smart, fast-paced SF thriller, and one of the best debut novels I've read in a long time" (Allen Steele).
Hyperthought recounts the adventures of a young man who trusts an unscrupulous doctor to enhance his brain function, and of a young woman who tries to save him.
The year is 2125, and the Earth has undergone drastic climate change due to global warming. People crowd in sealed underground habitats to avoid the stormy, toxic surface. Feisty little Jolie Sauvage leads extreme surface adventure tours for rich executives.
Jolie's friend, Dr. Judith Merida, is peddling a new cosmetic neurosurgery, which she claims will wake the brain's latent, unconscious senses.
Jolie makes a disasterous mistake when she introduces Dr. Merida to one of her wealthy tour group clients, Jin Sura, an arrogant but troubled young man with a terrible desire for knowledge.
Hyperthought recounts the adventures of a young man who trusts an unscrupulous doctor to enhance his brain function, and of a young woman who tries to save him.
The year is 2125, and the Earth has undergone drastic climate change due to global warming. People crowd in sealed underground habitats to avoid the stormy, toxic surface. Feisty little Jolie Sauvage leads extreme surface adventure tours for rich executives.
Jolie's friend, Dr. Judith Merida, is peddling a new cosmetic neurosurgery, which she claims will wake the brain's latent, unconscious senses.
Jolie makes a disasterous mistake when she introduces Dr. Merida to one of her wealthy tour group clients, Jin Sura, an arrogant but troubled young man with a terrible desire for knowledge.
212 pages, ebook
First published January 28, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 10, 2012
The Earth in Hyperthought has been mostly destroyed with people living underground or in domes. The north is controlled by powerful corporations while the south is free. In the south Jolie Sauvage runs a business acting as a tour guide for rich northerners. She meets Jin, a handsome movie star and son of one of the corporation CEO's. She falls for Jin, but he leaves for California to have experimental surgery on his brain. Nanobots are inserted into his brain to help expand his thought processes so he can understand the universe. Jolie comes to believe he is in trouble and mounts an impossible rescue.
The plot sounded exciting, but unfortunately for me it wasn't, mostly because the eponymous 'hyperthought' is barely touched upon. It's more of an adventure novel detailing Jolie's activities as a tour guide, revolutionary and finally, rescuer. The characters are not given much depth and that includes Jolie. This book is under 200 pages but I had to force myself through it. It's certainly not badly written, it just never caught my interest and in the end, the science fiction content was too light.
The plot sounded exciting, but unfortunately for me it wasn't, mostly because the eponymous 'hyperthought' is barely touched upon. It's more of an adventure novel detailing Jolie's activities as a tour guide, revolutionary and finally, rescuer. The characters are not given much depth and that includes Jolie. This book is under 200 pages but I had to force myself through it. It's certainly not badly written, it just never caught my interest and in the end, the science fiction content was too light.
July 18, 2014
Poorly written; not a good story
July 3, 2018
This book has been on my shelf for years and I never quite got around to picking it up. I did this summer and I was transported into the harsh landscapes of the Earth in 2125. These were honestly the best part of the book! I'm still uncertain about the .coms and politics of the novel, but those are never very deeply explained. I'm glad the narrator is Jolie Sauvage who by nature doesn't understand the big corporation and single-mindedly focuses on her job, lead expeditions to the surface and save Jin. I'm not going to lie I grew to hate Jin more and more as the book progressed. He just got weird and I never felt like I knew his story or motivations. I was not a fan of the ending. If there is a sequel I might borrow it from the library just to see where Jolie goes next.
June 1, 2007
This is a very fast paced book with lots of action. At under 200 pages it is a very fast read. I do think that the breivity of the book does sacrifice character development. The only character we get to know is Jolie and we only get a small glimpse into her past. I was never sure what made her tick and the character (not unlike real women) seemed inconsistent. I would have liked to have a more indepth look into the characters and into how society had transformed from present day into the bleak future Buckner paints. This is a good sign though. My idea of a good book is one that leaves you wanting more and yet there is no sequel to ruin the mystique.
July 18, 2014
This book isn't great but it isn't bad either. I would give it 3.5 stars if that were and option, since it's not as good as books I generally give 4 stars to. It is fairly light reading for a book about nano technology. Occasionally the storyline seems strays or has some holes, and the characters could have been fleshed out better. Still it is a quick read with lots of action and interesting concepts so I'm not sorry I took the time to read it.
December 4, 2008
I had been really excited about this book, but was let down a little. I don't know how to explain it other than that you could tell that it was written by a woman immediately. I don't really remember much about it aside from that. If I am ever a sci-fi writer I will probably use that same tactic with the initials or make up a male pseudonym like Alice Sheldon/James Tiptree, Jr.
October 11, 2008
Good. Too much of a love story. I did enjoy the main characters' strong friendships. Stark, toxic, swirling surface of the earth. Strong female lead who had grown up as a sort of a "sewer rat." MM Buckner's first novel. I would read another.
May 7, 2016
Poor writing aside, I found the story to be interesting, but the book is so poorly edited that there are multiple typos on almost every page. I would happily give this book another star if it were better written, but as it is now, I would not recommend it to anyone.
June 10, 2009
this was a very short book but it was great! There were so many events packed into the less than hundred pages and details were not spared. I was able to picture everything in my head. great book!
July 30, 2014
Got this for pretty cheap on Kindle just to have something. It wasn't very well written and the story wasn't great either. I made it to the end, but wouldn't really recommend it.
March 19, 2016
Short but good cyberpunk fiction. A little overboard on the climate change but still a good story.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews