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Glow
A man battles his addiction to a devastating nanotech drug that steals identities and threatens the survival and succession of mankind as a galactic species.After the Nova-Insanity shattered Earth’s civilization, the Genes and Fullerenes Corporation promised to bring humanity back from the brink. Many years later, various factions have formed, challenging their savior and vying for a share of power and control.Glow follows the lives of three very different beings, all wrestling mental instability in various forms; Rex – a confused junkie battling multiple voices in his head; Ellayna – the founder of the GFC living on an orbital satellite station and struggling with paranoia; and Jett – a virtually unstoppable robotic assassin, questioning his purpose of creation. All of them are inextricably linked through the capricious and volatile Glow; an all controlling nano-tech drug that has the ability to live on through multiple hosts, cutting and pasting memories and personas in each new victim.In this tech-crazed world where nothing seems impossible, many questions are what makes us who we are? What is our ultimate purpose and place in this world? And, most frightening of all, what are we capable of doing to survive?File Science Fiction [ Hivemind | One More Fix | No Escape | Run Like Hell ]
428 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 23, 2021
48 people are currently reading
763 people want to read
About the author
Tim Jordan
2 books12 followersTim grew up in Essex, England. Traumatized as a toddler by older brothers and the cover art of Brian Aldiss’ Space, Time and Nathaniel, he grew up with an abnormally active imagination. After discovering Tolkien and mentally devouring the world’s supply of fantasy fiction, he moved on to Science Fiction and has been an avid fan since. Tim loves to hike, play guitar, electronic music, and draw terrible pictures. He also writes software and is particularly fascinated by artificial intelligence and hopes to one day create an artificial mind that will replace his own and do all his work. Until then, he lives and works in Florida with his non-artificial-wife, pet computers and imaginary dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
January 14, 2021
I've been waiting for this book for about a year and whooooodoggie did it surpass expectations. The story was fresh and exciting, there are detailed descriptions of the characters and environments, and it gets surreal and dream-like in places adding to the complex mystery and plot. Glow is also a dense book, as in it seems bigger than its four hundred pages. There's a couple converging plot lines told through a multitude of character viewpoints and there's a ton of background stuff about not only the characters but the world and the history of how-we-got-to-where-we-are in the story in general. I loved the action as well. It's big and juicy and some of the weaponry ideas are staggering in their awesomeness. The final thirty percent is one long action sequence that changes locations about a dozen times and includes shit falling to the planet from space after being blown up, a seriously badass one man wrecking crew synthetic organism thing that does some mind-blowing shit to some deserving bad guys, and spectacular reveals that explains just what in the hell had been going on during the previous seventy percent. Did I mention the killer android nuns with dark secrets? Well, yeah, they're in here, too.
The author, Tim Jordan, has a strong, clear voice and was able to convey a very intricate and seemingly incoherent mix of happenings into a fun and entertaining read that does not insult the readers intelligence or rely on info dumps to further the story. I knew I was going to like this from about the first page as the writing was rich and concise and it all just seemed so new. A new voice, but one I connected to right away.
Thanks to Tim Jordan, Angry Robot, and Netgalley for the review copy, opinions are my own.
The author, Tim Jordan, has a strong, clear voice and was able to convey a very intricate and seemingly incoherent mix of happenings into a fun and entertaining read that does not insult the readers intelligence or rely on info dumps to further the story. I knew I was going to like this from about the first page as the writing was rich and concise and it all just seemed so new. A new voice, but one I connected to right away.
Thanks to Tim Jordan, Angry Robot, and Netgalley for the review copy, opinions are my own.
December 11, 2020
I selected this because my relatively balanced reading diet required a science fiction entry. But found this mostly unpalatable. It’s sad, really, because I’m the first person actually reviewing this on GR and ideally it’s be nice to have nice things to say about the book…so lemme look for some…ok, here goes…my dislike of Glow might not be entirely Glow’s fault. Technically (and I use the word deliberately because it’s such a tech heavy sci fi) it’s a fine book. It has an elaborate plot, intricate world building and oodles of action. It has idiosyncratic novelties like robot nuns and multiple personalities, but…but…the entire thing is such a plodding convoluted mess and so prolix with it, it takes forever to get through, it’s a drag the entire way and in the end there isn’t much to show for it, outside of checking that science fiction box.
Again, this is a very subjective opinion. I read a lot and as such encounter sh*t books with some frequency and this isn’t a sh*t book, it’s just one that really didn’t work for me. It didn’t grab me at first and failed to do so throughout, it didn’t begin to even remotely interest until about fifth of the way in, but even then it was never enough. The only character I remotely cared about/was interested in was rex and it might have been exclusively because of one of his alternate personalities that wasn’t a person. Which is actually directly responsible for the winner of an ending and the only time the book hit the right emotionally engaging notes in 400 pages.
Like so many debuts, this was dramatically overwritten and the kitchen sink approach did nothing for it. There are some genuine good thoughts that went into it about immortality and I really love the concept of Forever Friends, but, again, this just highlights how much of a letdown the people and robots of this book were.
Tons of tech, tons of jargon, tons of science, but light on fiction or at least the sort of fiction I’m into (think Black Mirror). Basically, I’m more about people stories told in scientifically enhanced worlds, not scientifically enhanced words with some people thrown in.
And to answer the obvious question here, I read this one all the way through because of my obsessively completist nature. That was the only reason. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have made it past chapter one and chapter one was meant to be the exciting beginning you can’t put down, it had a guy zip tied chained to a corpse with no memory of getting that way. And honestly, if you can’t sell that…
So yeah, a very disappointing, ploddingly slow mess of a read…for me. Might work for some, who knows. Thanks Netgalley.
Again, this is a very subjective opinion. I read a lot and as such encounter sh*t books with some frequency and this isn’t a sh*t book, it’s just one that really didn’t work for me. It didn’t grab me at first and failed to do so throughout, it didn’t begin to even remotely interest until about fifth of the way in, but even then it was never enough. The only character I remotely cared about/was interested in was rex and it might have been exclusively because of one of his alternate personalities that wasn’t a person. Which is actually directly responsible for the winner of an ending and the only time the book hit the right emotionally engaging notes in 400 pages.
Like so many debuts, this was dramatically overwritten and the kitchen sink approach did nothing for it. There are some genuine good thoughts that went into it about immortality and I really love the concept of Forever Friends, but, again, this just highlights how much of a letdown the people and robots of this book were.
Tons of tech, tons of jargon, tons of science, but light on fiction or at least the sort of fiction I’m into (think Black Mirror). Basically, I’m more about people stories told in scientifically enhanced worlds, not scientifically enhanced words with some people thrown in.
And to answer the obvious question here, I read this one all the way through because of my obsessively completist nature. That was the only reason. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have made it past chapter one and chapter one was meant to be the exciting beginning you can’t put down, it had a guy zip tied chained to a corpse with no memory of getting that way. And honestly, if you can’t sell that…
So yeah, a very disappointing, ploddingly slow mess of a read…for me. Might work for some, who knows. Thanks Netgalley.
January 16, 2021
This debut novel takes you on a deep dive into the meaning of consciousness and reality. As our hero, Rex, struggles with the “glow” that commands his subconscious mind, we discover a nefarious underworld of pirated, mind-altering drugs and those who would kill to sap the drug from their victims. This novel has the cerebral wow-factor of a P.K. Dick novel with the pacing and action of Richard Morgan’s “Altered Carbon.” The writing is spectacularly immersive, especially when we are in Rex’s point of view. A stellar and moving debut by a writer to watch.
May 23, 2021
Stars: between 3 and 3.5 out of 5
This book has magnificent worldbuilding and a rather scary view of what the human race could become in the near future if we continue or technological race for "improvements" without stopping to consider just how much damage we do to our planet and to ourselves in the process. So yes, I had much fun exploring the world created in this book.
The characters, however, were another story altogether. Granted, there were some interesting ones, like Rex or Elaine up in her crumbling ivory tower of an orbital. The major problem though is that there were simply too many of them. It's like the author tried to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks with this book. Too many ideas, too many plot lines, too many characters.
Unfortunately, he couldn't give enough attention to ALL his characters, so while some character arcs get satisfying (or at least plausible) resolutions, others are left hanging or shoehorned into other character stories as an after thought.
For example, what was the point of Mira in this book, Beyond having Rex realize that he could care and defend someone other than himself? Why bring her back into the story over and over again?
What was the point of Jaxx by the way? It spends the whole book hunting down the star river and merrily murdering and disassembling humans along the way (granted, that was fun to watch and to read about its thought process while this was happening), but then, when he has the river... he lets it go? What was the point of this character and this particular storyline? In fact, what was the point of the confrontation between the orbital and the artificial construct up in space? It brings nothing to the story itself and dies in the most stupid manner in the end.
And there are a lot of examples of those headscratching characters whose motivations and importance to the story aren't clear even in the end. That's what happens when you try to tell too many stories in one book. General confusion and hanging plot lines...
Even the ending, despite its explosions, confrontations, and general destruction and mayhem, is underwhelming. It doesn't bring any resolution to the story of the star river, the McGuffin that was so important to the future of mankind, or so we are told throughout the book... it stays inactivated in the brain of a man-dog. Oh, and why was it so important by the way? No real explanation apart from doom and gloom prophecies is given.
In summary, I loved the world the author created, but the story itself was confusing and meandering and the ending failed to deliver resolution or any emotional impact. Apart from Elaine. She got exactly what she deserved.
PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book has magnificent worldbuilding and a rather scary view of what the human race could become in the near future if we continue or technological race for "improvements" without stopping to consider just how much damage we do to our planet and to ourselves in the process. So yes, I had much fun exploring the world created in this book.
The characters, however, were another story altogether. Granted, there were some interesting ones, like Rex or Elaine up in her crumbling ivory tower of an orbital. The major problem though is that there were simply too many of them. It's like the author tried to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks with this book. Too many ideas, too many plot lines, too many characters.
Unfortunately, he couldn't give enough attention to ALL his characters, so while some character arcs get satisfying (or at least plausible) resolutions, others are left hanging or shoehorned into other character stories as an after thought.
For example, what was the point of Mira in this book, Beyond having Rex realize that he could care and defend someone other than himself? Why bring her back into the story over and over again?
What was the point of Jaxx by the way? It spends the whole book hunting down the star river and merrily murdering and disassembling humans along the way (granted, that was fun to watch and to read about its thought process while this was happening), but then, when he has the river... he lets it go? What was the point of this character and this particular storyline? In fact, what was the point of the confrontation between the orbital and the artificial construct up in space? It brings nothing to the story itself and dies in the most stupid manner in the end.
And there are a lot of examples of those headscratching characters whose motivations and importance to the story aren't clear even in the end. That's what happens when you try to tell too many stories in one book. General confusion and hanging plot lines...
Even the ending, despite its explosions, confrontations, and general destruction and mayhem, is underwhelming. It doesn't bring any resolution to the story of the star river, the McGuffin that was so important to the future of mankind, or so we are told throughout the book... it stays inactivated in the brain of a man-dog. Oh, and why was it so important by the way? No real explanation apart from doom and gloom prophecies is given.
In summary, I loved the world the author created, but the story itself was confusing and meandering and the ending failed to deliver resolution or any emotional impact. Apart from Elaine. She got exactly what she deserved.
PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 2, 2021
1.5 out of 5.
The half a star bump is for the last 25% where a semicoherent plot finally reveals itself. The rest of the book is a garbage dumpster fire masquerading as a grimdark, dystopian, cyberpunk, drug induced fever-dream corporate thriller.
I suppose if you really enjoy early Gibson and Stephenson, than "Glow" might be your jam. (I did, but this isn't the 80s anymore and this just felt woefully derivative to me - Snow Crash, anyone? Neuromancer? No?)
The half a star bump is for the last 25% where a semicoherent plot finally reveals itself. The rest of the book is a garbage dumpster fire masquerading as a grimdark, dystopian, cyberpunk, drug induced fever-dream corporate thriller.
I suppose if you really enjoy early Gibson and Stephenson, than "Glow" might be your jam. (I did, but this isn't the 80s anymore and this just felt woefully derivative to me - Snow Crash, anyone? Neuromancer? No?)
January 10, 2021
When I read the description of this book I was pretty excited to read it, unfortunately it didn’t deliver.
Set in a depressing futuristic earth this story follows three characters as some eminent threat approaches. Rex, an ex drug addict/human-dog hybrid, is trying to get clean at a rehab center run by robot nuns. Jett, a super hi tech android, was sent to earth to find the source of Glow, a drug made of nano-bots. Ellayna, the founder of some sort of all powerful corporation, lives in space with the various heads of the company, most of whom exist almost entirely in VR.
This def has the makings of an amazing space opera/ action/mystery/ fantasy/ sci-fi thriller, but really it was chaotic mess. I almost DNFed this book but I struggled through hoping that it would get better.
The first few chapters were pretty dry and boring. There was a lot of technical jargon and i found myself zoning out. Things didn’t start getting interesting until almost halfway through the book, and by then I just didn’t care anymore.
I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
Set in a depressing futuristic earth this story follows three characters as some eminent threat approaches. Rex, an ex drug addict/human-dog hybrid, is trying to get clean at a rehab center run by robot nuns. Jett, a super hi tech android, was sent to earth to find the source of Glow, a drug made of nano-bots. Ellayna, the founder of some sort of all powerful corporation, lives in space with the various heads of the company, most of whom exist almost entirely in VR.
This def has the makings of an amazing space opera/ action/mystery/ fantasy/ sci-fi thriller, but really it was chaotic mess. I almost DNFed this book but I struggled through hoping that it would get better.
The first few chapters were pretty dry and boring. There was a lot of technical jargon and i found myself zoning out. Things didn’t start getting interesting until almost halfway through the book, and by then I just didn’t care anymore.
I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
February 22, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. Yes, it is heavy on the science and the fiction but that is what I like. Being a nerdy academic, it is refreshing to read a book where the plausible science challenges a scientist. Jordan does a great job of building a world that is rich in gore and grit while being human and vulnerable, a rare find in a hard science fiction book. One review I read was that it reads like a great space opera, and I agree. From its gritty start in a back alley to the unexpected ending, the world of nanotech longevity drugs, hacked to create an ever-more addictive product that turns users into chemical repo-men who take back the street version, Glow, is quite a backdrop for everything else that Jordan throws at you, and it's a lot. So start on a Saturday morning and make sure you have some crunchy snacks to sustain you till the end, at least that's how I consumed it.
February 25, 2021
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 2.0 of 5
From the publisher's description, as found on Goodreads:
After the Nova-Insanity shattered Earth's civilization, the Genes and Fullerenes Corporation promised to bring humanity back from the brink. Many years later, various factions have formed, challenging their savior and vying for a share of power and control.
Glow follows the lives of three very different beings, all wrestling mental instability in various forms; Rex - a confused junkie battling multiple voices in his head; Ellayna - the founder of the GFC living on an orbital satellite station and struggling with paranoia; and Jett - a virtually unstoppable robotic assassin, questioning his purpose of creation.
...
I think that's all you really need to know, although the description does go on.
Three beings wrestling mental instability, including a robotic assassin questioning his purpose. Uhhhh.... That alone would suggest that either this is going to be a wild, Philip K. Dick-like tale or a messy conglomerate of ideas. The possibility of the former is what had me excited to read it, but unfortunately it came across as the latter.
There's a lot going on here ... a LOT ... but that shouldn't be a detriment to the story - it should enhance the reader's desire to put it all together. Unfortunately it is a detriment. We get bogged down in the weight of this world and all the information that we have to receive in order to make sense of it all.And somehow there's characters in here, involved in the story, but I never felt I got to know them and I certainly cared even less about them.
A big chunk of the plot revolves around 'Glow' - a nanotech drug. While there was a pretty interesting facet of this drug (the ability to survive from host to host, carrying portions of the previous host(s) into the next host), I really couldn't shake the feeling that this was so familiar.
Drugs and drug use in science fiction is not a new concept but it does feel as though we've suddenly seen a rash of 'tech drugs' in recent sci-fi and I can name three that have come from publisher Angry Robot (Ramez Naam's Nexus series; Ferrett Steinmetz's Flex series [okay ... not a tech drug, but a high-profile drug around which the series is based]; and Amanda Bridgeman's Salvi Brentt series' drugs).
'Glow' didn't feel new and creative but rather a slightly creative rehash of what has gone (recently) before.
Looking for a good book? Glow, by Tim Jordan, is a science fiction novel that tries to encompass too much in a wildly inventive manner and the result is a difficult to read mess.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
From the publisher's description, as found on Goodreads:
After the Nova-Insanity shattered Earth's civilization, the Genes and Fullerenes Corporation promised to bring humanity back from the brink. Many years later, various factions have formed, challenging their savior and vying for a share of power and control.
Glow follows the lives of three very different beings, all wrestling mental instability in various forms; Rex - a confused junkie battling multiple voices in his head; Ellayna - the founder of the GFC living on an orbital satellite station and struggling with paranoia; and Jett - a virtually unstoppable robotic assassin, questioning his purpose of creation.
...
I think that's all you really need to know, although the description does go on.
Three beings wrestling mental instability, including a robotic assassin questioning his purpose. Uhhhh.... That alone would suggest that either this is going to be a wild, Philip K. Dick-like tale or a messy conglomerate of ideas. The possibility of the former is what had me excited to read it, but unfortunately it came across as the latter.
There's a lot going on here ... a LOT ... but that shouldn't be a detriment to the story - it should enhance the reader's desire to put it all together. Unfortunately it is a detriment. We get bogged down in the weight of this world and all the information that we have to receive in order to make sense of it all.And somehow there's characters in here, involved in the story, but I never felt I got to know them and I certainly cared even less about them.
A big chunk of the plot revolves around 'Glow' - a nanotech drug. While there was a pretty interesting facet of this drug (the ability to survive from host to host, carrying portions of the previous host(s) into the next host), I really couldn't shake the feeling that this was so familiar.
Drugs and drug use in science fiction is not a new concept but it does feel as though we've suddenly seen a rash of 'tech drugs' in recent sci-fi and I can name three that have come from publisher Angry Robot (Ramez Naam's Nexus series; Ferrett Steinmetz's Flex series [okay ... not a tech drug, but a high-profile drug around which the series is based]; and Amanda Bridgeman's Salvi Brentt series' drugs).
'Glow' didn't feel new and creative but rather a slightly creative rehash of what has gone (recently) before.
Looking for a good book? Glow, by Tim Jordan, is a science fiction novel that tries to encompass too much in a wildly inventive manner and the result is a difficult to read mess.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
September 18, 2025
Non credo di aver mai letto un libro come Glow.. lo definirei un cyber-lisergic-punk!!!
È un libro denso, complesso, contorno anche, pieno di trovate assurde, originali, folli.. Jordan ha creato un worldbuilding davvero unico.. la Genetic Fullerene Company ha creato il Simmorta, o Simulata Immortalità, un composto bionanotecnologico che permette al corpo di rigenerarsi all'infinito.. composto al solo appannaggio di ricchi e potenti.. quindi la gente si è ribellata, e in seguito alla diffusione online dei segreti sulla bomba Nova, ognuno ha potuto costruirsi la sua testata nucleare.. eventi che hanno portato a una sorta di fallout nucleare.. successivamente abbiamo la GFC che abita in decrepite e semi vuote città volanti in orbita geostazionaria.. L'Alleanza, che dalla terra distrutta e in buona parte vetrificata, li contrasta e li attacca in attesa del momento per carpire i loro segreti e distruggerli definitivamente.. e in città come Coriolis City, la gente si ammassa per vivere come meglio può.. Droghe di ogni tipo spopolano.. soprattutto la Glow, che in parte replica in parte i benefici della Simmorta, permettendo a chi la usa di vivere a lungo.. ma senza i limiti imposti dalla GFC, questa droga nanotecnologica fa un botto di danni.. se non viene alimentata fa impazzire, porta a crisi assurde, ma può anche essere ripresa dal tossico tramite spremitura del sangue, con conseguente morte del soggetto, beninteso, e rimessa in circolo.. dato che crea una sorta di 'rete' interna al soggetto, porta con sé pensieri, ricordi e coscienza del precedente ospite, e del precedente, e del precedente, e così via, creando nel nuovo utente dei buchi nel cervello e nella coscienza non indifferenti..
Con queste spettacolari premesse prende il via la storia di Glow..
Rex è un tossico pieno di personalità nel cervello che lo rendonon un folle, in giro per Coriolis City, che si risveglia legato a un morto senza ricordare nulla..
Ellayna è una dei fondatori della GFC e vive su Cloud9, sola per lo più, con la maggioranza dei suoi concittadini che ormai vive in realtà simulate..
Jett non è umano, non è un AI, è ciò che viene dopo.. con un corpo composto di Fullerene, materiale bionanotecnologico, può mutare forma a piacimento, una sorta di Venom, creato per combattere, in missione per conto di Usurper Gale, rinnegato della GFC, in discesa sulla terra in cerca di qualcosa di strano.. le sue seguenze di combattimento sono davvero spettacolari e graficamente ben descritte..
Tra suore robotiche, cyborg, AI folli, nanotecnologia, reti AI interne, droghe, cani, modifiche genetiche, tecnologie originali e assurde, coscienze modificate, uploadate, realtà simulata e aumentata, contraffazione di ricordi, sdoppiamento di personalità, esseri post umani, città volanti, religione del Dio-Futuro.. le idee lisergiche e un po' metafisiche di Jordan seguono una folle escalation verso un finale di fuochi d'artificio.. le tre trame non sembrano tangenti per buona parte del libro, ma quando tutto comincia a convergere, diventa davvero una corsa frenetica verso la verità.. una trama originalissima, imprevedibile, con mille capovolgimenti e con mille contorsioni, non facile da seguire ne da capire per chi potrebbe essere poco avezzo alla fantascienza.. io ho goduto come un riccio con una tale complessità e profondità di riflessione (senza mai diventare pesante e filosofico) sulla coscienza, su ciò che rende umani, e su come la nostra intelligenza possa evolvere in modi devastanti.. scatole dentro ad altre scatole, un Total mind-fucking, con un finale emozionante e fragoroso!!! davvero una figata di romanzo!!
È un libro denso, complesso, contorno anche, pieno di trovate assurde, originali, folli.. Jordan ha creato un worldbuilding davvero unico.. la Genetic Fullerene Company ha creato il Simmorta, o Simulata Immortalità, un composto bionanotecnologico che permette al corpo di rigenerarsi all'infinito.. composto al solo appannaggio di ricchi e potenti.. quindi la gente si è ribellata, e in seguito alla diffusione online dei segreti sulla bomba Nova, ognuno ha potuto costruirsi la sua testata nucleare.. eventi che hanno portato a una sorta di fallout nucleare.. successivamente abbiamo la GFC che abita in decrepite e semi vuote città volanti in orbita geostazionaria.. L'Alleanza, che dalla terra distrutta e in buona parte vetrificata, li contrasta e li attacca in attesa del momento per carpire i loro segreti e distruggerli definitivamente.. e in città come Coriolis City, la gente si ammassa per vivere come meglio può.. Droghe di ogni tipo spopolano.. soprattutto la Glow, che in parte replica in parte i benefici della Simmorta, permettendo a chi la usa di vivere a lungo.. ma senza i limiti imposti dalla GFC, questa droga nanotecnologica fa un botto di danni.. se non viene alimentata fa impazzire, porta a crisi assurde, ma può anche essere ripresa dal tossico tramite spremitura del sangue, con conseguente morte del soggetto, beninteso, e rimessa in circolo.. dato che crea una sorta di 'rete' interna al soggetto, porta con sé pensieri, ricordi e coscienza del precedente ospite, e del precedente, e del precedente, e così via, creando nel nuovo utente dei buchi nel cervello e nella coscienza non indifferenti..
Con queste spettacolari premesse prende il via la storia di Glow..
Rex è un tossico pieno di personalità nel cervello che lo rendonon un folle, in giro per Coriolis City, che si risveglia legato a un morto senza ricordare nulla..
Ellayna è una dei fondatori della GFC e vive su Cloud9, sola per lo più, con la maggioranza dei suoi concittadini che ormai vive in realtà simulate..
Jett non è umano, non è un AI, è ciò che viene dopo.. con un corpo composto di Fullerene, materiale bionanotecnologico, può mutare forma a piacimento, una sorta di Venom, creato per combattere, in missione per conto di Usurper Gale, rinnegato della GFC, in discesa sulla terra in cerca di qualcosa di strano.. le sue seguenze di combattimento sono davvero spettacolari e graficamente ben descritte..
Tra suore robotiche, cyborg, AI folli, nanotecnologia, reti AI interne, droghe, cani, modifiche genetiche, tecnologie originali e assurde, coscienze modificate, uploadate, realtà simulata e aumentata, contraffazione di ricordi, sdoppiamento di personalità, esseri post umani, città volanti, religione del Dio-Futuro.. le idee lisergiche e un po' metafisiche di Jordan seguono una folle escalation verso un finale di fuochi d'artificio.. le tre trame non sembrano tangenti per buona parte del libro, ma quando tutto comincia a convergere, diventa davvero una corsa frenetica verso la verità.. una trama originalissima, imprevedibile, con mille capovolgimenti e con mille contorsioni, non facile da seguire ne da capire per chi potrebbe essere poco avezzo alla fantascienza.. io ho goduto come un riccio con una tale complessità e profondità di riflessione (senza mai diventare pesante e filosofico) sulla coscienza, su ciò che rende umani, e su come la nostra intelligenza possa evolvere in modi devastanti.. scatole dentro ad altre scatole, un Total mind-fucking, con un finale emozionante e fragoroso!!! davvero una figata di romanzo!!
March 23, 2021
This fair and unbiased review originally appeared on my blog, available at www.infinitespeculation.com. It was conducted with gratitude for the free electronic copy of the book which I received from the publisher, Angry Robot.
Humanity has stalled. The world-shaking event known as the Nova-Insanity has caused the GFC - manufacturers of the life extending nanotech drug Simmorta - to sequester themselves inside their orbital platform. Once connected to Earth via space elevator, they now live isolated and in constant fear of infiltration by the powers that be on Earth, as well as by a deadly foe of their own making. Meanwhile, Coriolis City, the manufactured island port for the space elevator, has become a hive of gang activity and criminality, where the memory altering drug known as Glow ravages the increasingly addicted populace. The void spawned assassin known as Jett searches for answers across this decaying landscape, while the mysterious addict known simply as Rex struggles to piece his shattered memories back together and understand his past.
In stark contrast to its cosy sounding title, there’s a distinctly grungy feeling to Glow. This isn’t a shimmering, shiny white plastic vision of the future where everything looks like it just rolled off the Apple manufacturing line. No, this is a world of partially collapsed buildings inhabited by increasingly desperate members of society, with acres of the surrounding land scarred into vitrified glass by the devastation of the Nova-Insanity. Things are little better high above Earth, where filthy orbital platforms are occupied by paranoid corporate business leaders like Ellayna, who clutches at her last vestiges of power while jumping at shadows. There’s tons of atmosphere and style here, all with a liberal handful of grime rubbed across it.
Tim Jordan does such a wonderful job of setting the scene thanks to the level of detail he provides; indeed, the Nova-Insanity itself could be a book all of its own. When the plans for a microscopic solid-state fusion reactor were released for free to everyone with a 3D printer, the catastrophic consequences of hackers realising they could be rigged to function as devastating weapons of mass destruction brought humanity to the brink of annihilation. The inextricable links between the setting and this succinctly delivered piece of backstory - as well as its impact on humanity’s wary approach to technology in the event’s wake - is a masterfully conceived piece of storytelling. It also ensures that anyone who stands against the technologically advanced voidian known as Jett doesn’t stand much of a chance.
Jett is a singularly deadly entity, a biotech being made of fullerene fibres and topped with a leering skull. Able to survive an onslaught capable of destroying a small army, he is sent to Earth by his voidian mentor and fellow adversary of the GFC, Ursurper Gale. Like a cross between Venom and the T-1000, Jett closes on his prey through a variety of means, be they grisly interrogation tactics or all-out, blistering assault, morphing between forms for infiltration, deception or unmitigated carnage in the blink of an eye. His adaptability and combat proficiency keep him far more than one step ahead of most assailants, as he literally rips apart those who get in his way, often before they even realise what’s happening. Amongst the existential probing and the corporate wrangling taking place elsewhere, Jett’s scenes are entertainingly action-packed segments of hyperviolence.
That’s not to say, of course, that these other elements of the story are dull - far from it. Rex, with his addiction and seemingly inexplicable resistance to the ravages of Glow, is a veritable treasure trove of mysteries and intrigues. His head is full of the memories and personalities of past addicts, carried along with his gruesomely recycled drug of choice. He’s picked up early on by the Sisterhood of Salvitor, a group of robotic nuns who believe in the coming of an entity known as the Future-Lord, and are eager to nurse the recovering addict back to health. It’s through Rex that some of the deeper philosophical dives take place, with a recurring theme of the fallibility of memory and the consequent ramifications akin to the likes of A Scanner Darkly. He frequently questions his reality, his sense of self and his own mind; at times, it can be a lot to wrap your head around, but clarity comes with hindsight as the storylines converge and weave together in a way that’s both satisfying and highly climactic.
Glow is an immensely entertaining and hugely ambitious debut, a tale of technology running riot - quite literally, in some cases - that’s packed with interesting ideas and themes, not to mention visceral action perpetrated by morally grey characters. Tim Jordan has aimed high here, and it’s paid off spectacularly. One to watch.
Humanity has stalled. The world-shaking event known as the Nova-Insanity has caused the GFC - manufacturers of the life extending nanotech drug Simmorta - to sequester themselves inside their orbital platform. Once connected to Earth via space elevator, they now live isolated and in constant fear of infiltration by the powers that be on Earth, as well as by a deadly foe of their own making. Meanwhile, Coriolis City, the manufactured island port for the space elevator, has become a hive of gang activity and criminality, where the memory altering drug known as Glow ravages the increasingly addicted populace. The void spawned assassin known as Jett searches for answers across this decaying landscape, while the mysterious addict known simply as Rex struggles to piece his shattered memories back together and understand his past.
In stark contrast to its cosy sounding title, there’s a distinctly grungy feeling to Glow. This isn’t a shimmering, shiny white plastic vision of the future where everything looks like it just rolled off the Apple manufacturing line. No, this is a world of partially collapsed buildings inhabited by increasingly desperate members of society, with acres of the surrounding land scarred into vitrified glass by the devastation of the Nova-Insanity. Things are little better high above Earth, where filthy orbital platforms are occupied by paranoid corporate business leaders like Ellayna, who clutches at her last vestiges of power while jumping at shadows. There’s tons of atmosphere and style here, all with a liberal handful of grime rubbed across it.
Tim Jordan does such a wonderful job of setting the scene thanks to the level of detail he provides; indeed, the Nova-Insanity itself could be a book all of its own. When the plans for a microscopic solid-state fusion reactor were released for free to everyone with a 3D printer, the catastrophic consequences of hackers realising they could be rigged to function as devastating weapons of mass destruction brought humanity to the brink of annihilation. The inextricable links between the setting and this succinctly delivered piece of backstory - as well as its impact on humanity’s wary approach to technology in the event’s wake - is a masterfully conceived piece of storytelling. It also ensures that anyone who stands against the technologically advanced voidian known as Jett doesn’t stand much of a chance.
Jett is a singularly deadly entity, a biotech being made of fullerene fibres and topped with a leering skull. Able to survive an onslaught capable of destroying a small army, he is sent to Earth by his voidian mentor and fellow adversary of the GFC, Ursurper Gale. Like a cross between Venom and the T-1000, Jett closes on his prey through a variety of means, be they grisly interrogation tactics or all-out, blistering assault, morphing between forms for infiltration, deception or unmitigated carnage in the blink of an eye. His adaptability and combat proficiency keep him far more than one step ahead of most assailants, as he literally rips apart those who get in his way, often before they even realise what’s happening. Amongst the existential probing and the corporate wrangling taking place elsewhere, Jett’s scenes are entertainingly action-packed segments of hyperviolence.
That’s not to say, of course, that these other elements of the story are dull - far from it. Rex, with his addiction and seemingly inexplicable resistance to the ravages of Glow, is a veritable treasure trove of mysteries and intrigues. His head is full of the memories and personalities of past addicts, carried along with his gruesomely recycled drug of choice. He’s picked up early on by the Sisterhood of Salvitor, a group of robotic nuns who believe in the coming of an entity known as the Future-Lord, and are eager to nurse the recovering addict back to health. It’s through Rex that some of the deeper philosophical dives take place, with a recurring theme of the fallibility of memory and the consequent ramifications akin to the likes of A Scanner Darkly. He frequently questions his reality, his sense of self and his own mind; at times, it can be a lot to wrap your head around, but clarity comes with hindsight as the storylines converge and weave together in a way that’s both satisfying and highly climactic.
Glow is an immensely entertaining and hugely ambitious debut, a tale of technology running riot - quite literally, in some cases - that’s packed with interesting ideas and themes, not to mention visceral action perpetrated by morally grey characters. Tim Jordan has aimed high here, and it’s paid off spectacularly. One to watch.
April 19, 2021
This is not my normal genre, but I enjoyed this book. Glow has lots of interesting ideas and creativity. A story set in the near future that explores the possibility of where humanity could be heading.
This is a character-driven story, in which the tech element of sci-fi is ever-present. In this complex world, Tim Jordan defines three main characters, and scenes move along like three separate stories.
My favorite character is Rex a drug addict trying to resist Glow, a nanotech futuristic drug, that has been instrumental in the downfall of humanity. Rex has an interesting memory bank of other characters that continue to influence him. The most predominant being a dog, and I loved the creativity of the dog’s memory inside a human being.
Glow has elements of a space opera with characters far above the earth living in virtual reality, but on the futuristic earth, everything is ruined and people are driven to desperation.
Even though this is a depressing world, Tim Jordan drips enough upbeat feeling into the mix in the form of, the forever friends’ sanctuary, robot nuns, and other nuanced characters to keep the reader engaged right to the climatic and emotional end of the story.
.
This is a character-driven story, in which the tech element of sci-fi is ever-present. In this complex world, Tim Jordan defines three main characters, and scenes move along like three separate stories.
My favorite character is Rex a drug addict trying to resist Glow, a nanotech futuristic drug, that has been instrumental in the downfall of humanity. Rex has an interesting memory bank of other characters that continue to influence him. The most predominant being a dog, and I loved the creativity of the dog’s memory inside a human being.
Glow has elements of a space opera with characters far above the earth living in virtual reality, but on the futuristic earth, everything is ruined and people are driven to desperation.
Even though this is a depressing world, Tim Jordan drips enough upbeat feeling into the mix in the form of, the forever friends’ sanctuary, robot nuns, and other nuanced characters to keep the reader engaged right to the climatic and emotional end of the story.
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March 10, 2021
This is an excellent novel. A rather complex story that is well written, well executed and satisfying to read. It is a dark novel as I was expecting from the dystopian setting. So I was not expecting a comedy. Having said that, there were some genuinely laugh-out-loud funny moments, but also moments of tenderness and real sadness. I laughed, cried, pondered existence, and learned a thing or two, so this book covers the full gamut of emotions. This is a complex novel, meaning that there are three main characters with a lot going on and lots of new technology to keep track of. Many science fiction novels fall into laziness and use magical thinking and absurd physics. I felt everything happening in Glow was plausible and possible in our near future, but also interesting and most importantly, very original.
The book moves at a fast pace with some good twists, and all the threads come together nicely at the end leaving plenty of scope for a sequel. Which I would be very happy to read.
The book moves at a fast pace with some good twists, and all the threads come together nicely at the end leaving plenty of scope for a sequel. Which I would be very happy to read.
March 7, 2025
Three stars for decent writing. Main issues: confusing and disjointed plot/locations and unsympathetic, inconsistent characters with limited arcs.
There are four main characters, Ellayna, Rex, Jett, and Mira, and a whole host of subsidiary characters, some of the most important being Gale and Del. The plot centers around a conflict between two organizations, GFC and the Alliance, and an android outlaw who wants to locate the source of Glow for himself.
GFC is a commercial company that developed a nanobot-type technology that sort of acts as a longevity drug, at least for the mind, although it appears that bodies continue to deteriorate. One of the main characters, Ellayna, is one of the original company members. She and a few other people live on a space station. Apparently, anyone who leaves the space station, for example to move to Earth, is considered a traitor and killed. However, most of them have left over time anyway. Ellayna lives there with a bunch of men, who are indistinguishable from one another and with whom she is in various stages of relationships. All of these people each have four possible viewpoints through which to see the story: their real body, an ‘Inner-I’, which is like a computer interface, Virtual Reality, and their Somanet, which is the nanobot network. It’s often very difficult to tell which viewpoint Ellayna is in and what’s happening to her real body meanwhile, or if that’s actually her or a remotely-controlled-through-VR or Inner-I android, for example. I was at least semi-lost for a good part of her story.
The Alliance is apparently an Earth-based company that reverse-engineered Somanet and turned it into a facsimile that operates like a drug, called Glow. Glow doesn’t deteriorate in the body and thus picks up memories and emotions from each host it passes through, which causes it to make current hosts confused as to which personality is really theirs and which are just Glow memories. There are no real Alliance main characters, but two characters, Gale and Jett, appear to be trying to find the Alliance’s source of Glow and take it over. Gale lives in space on a defunct space station, and creates an android copy of himself, Jett, to go to Earth and try to find the source of Glow. Jett is an incredible, changeable, flowing pseudobeing who can assume absolutely any form, survive any attempt to kill him, adopt any disguise he chooses, but who nonetheless is over-the-top violent and pretty much a failure, since he keeps killing everyone around him.
Rex lives on Earth, or at least I think it’s supposed to be Earth. There was apparently a nuclear apocalypse, but there are still normal populations, and it’s never clear what those normal populations think of the other stuff that’s going on around them, or if there are governments or countries, or where the main part of the story takes place. It’s just a jumble of scenes with no geographical connection. Rex is a Glow addict (it’s apparently physically addictive) and he’s somehow special, but it isn’t clear how. He falls in with some android nuns, who tell him he’s remarkably resistant to Glow, but he sure doesn’t seem to be. He’s pretty pathetic, which I think is supposed to make you care about him, but since I never knew who he was or what his motivations were, at least until the very end, when who he was was made clear but didn’t end up mattering, I really didn’t connect with him. His personality flips back and forth through multiple people, and there’s quite a bit of “this is the real him, oh, no, just kidding, the real him is Rex, oh, gotcha, the other one really IS him, maybe.” Mira is similar, but female. I think she is supposed to be sassy, but comes off as brash and kind of gross. She has no real character arc, although at the end it’s hinted she might try to get clean from Glow. There are also dogs, which serve the purpose dogs often do, which is striving to create some kind of emotion in the reader and give you something to care about and then mourn. Dogs die, gruesomely.
Most of these characters’ stories don’t interface with one another until very near the end. Frankly, I wasn’t sure what was happening half the time. The writing in and of itself is not bad, although it could use better editing, as there were quite a number of times words were misused. One example is that the phrase ‘puss-yellow’ was used to describe someone/something several times. Did the author mean ‘piss-yellow’? ‘Pus-yellow’? Not sure, but the image I got was of a cat, which I doubt was the intention.
The ’star-river’, which seems to be important, wasn’t introduced early enough to make it seem important, isn’t well-described, and feels like it was added as an afterthought to provide some sort of explanation for Rex’s supposed resistance to Glow and for how Del managed to download his persona into another being. I never really understood what was so shocking about that; isn’t that exactly what the Somanet and permanent VR worlds are doing?
I think people who like being in multiple different cyber-world scenarios without worrying about their connections and who like horror/gore will appreciate this book more than I did.
There are four main characters, Ellayna, Rex, Jett, and Mira, and a whole host of subsidiary characters, some of the most important being Gale and Del. The plot centers around a conflict between two organizations, GFC and the Alliance, and an android outlaw who wants to locate the source of Glow for himself.
GFC is a commercial company that developed a nanobot-type technology that sort of acts as a longevity drug, at least for the mind, although it appears that bodies continue to deteriorate. One of the main characters, Ellayna, is one of the original company members. She and a few other people live on a space station. Apparently, anyone who leaves the space station, for example to move to Earth, is considered a traitor and killed. However, most of them have left over time anyway. Ellayna lives there with a bunch of men, who are indistinguishable from one another and with whom she is in various stages of relationships. All of these people each have four possible viewpoints through which to see the story: their real body, an ‘Inner-I’, which is like a computer interface, Virtual Reality, and their Somanet, which is the nanobot network. It’s often very difficult to tell which viewpoint Ellayna is in and what’s happening to her real body meanwhile, or if that’s actually her or a remotely-controlled-through-VR or Inner-I android, for example. I was at least semi-lost for a good part of her story.
The Alliance is apparently an Earth-based company that reverse-engineered Somanet and turned it into a facsimile that operates like a drug, called Glow. Glow doesn’t deteriorate in the body and thus picks up memories and emotions from each host it passes through, which causes it to make current hosts confused as to which personality is really theirs and which are just Glow memories. There are no real Alliance main characters, but two characters, Gale and Jett, appear to be trying to find the Alliance’s source of Glow and take it over. Gale lives in space on a defunct space station, and creates an android copy of himself, Jett, to go to Earth and try to find the source of Glow. Jett is an incredible, changeable, flowing pseudobeing who can assume absolutely any form, survive any attempt to kill him, adopt any disguise he chooses, but who nonetheless is over-the-top violent and pretty much a failure, since he keeps killing everyone around him.
Rex lives on Earth, or at least I think it’s supposed to be Earth. There was apparently a nuclear apocalypse, but there are still normal populations, and it’s never clear what those normal populations think of the other stuff that’s going on around them, or if there are governments or countries, or where the main part of the story takes place. It’s just a jumble of scenes with no geographical connection. Rex is a Glow addict (it’s apparently physically addictive) and he’s somehow special, but it isn’t clear how. He falls in with some android nuns, who tell him he’s remarkably resistant to Glow, but he sure doesn’t seem to be. He’s pretty pathetic, which I think is supposed to make you care about him, but since I never knew who he was or what his motivations were, at least until the very end, when who he was was made clear but didn’t end up mattering, I really didn’t connect with him. His personality flips back and forth through multiple people, and there’s quite a bit of “this is the real him, oh, no, just kidding, the real him is Rex, oh, gotcha, the other one really IS him, maybe.” Mira is similar, but female. I think she is supposed to be sassy, but comes off as brash and kind of gross. She has no real character arc, although at the end it’s hinted she might try to get clean from Glow. There are also dogs, which serve the purpose dogs often do, which is striving to create some kind of emotion in the reader and give you something to care about and then mourn. Dogs die, gruesomely.
Most of these characters’ stories don’t interface with one another until very near the end. Frankly, I wasn’t sure what was happening half the time. The writing in and of itself is not bad, although it could use better editing, as there were quite a number of times words were misused. One example is that the phrase ‘puss-yellow’ was used to describe someone/something several times. Did the author mean ‘piss-yellow’? ‘Pus-yellow’? Not sure, but the image I got was of a cat, which I doubt was the intention.
The ’star-river’, which seems to be important, wasn’t introduced early enough to make it seem important, isn’t well-described, and feels like it was added as an afterthought to provide some sort of explanation for Rex’s supposed resistance to Glow and for how Del managed to download his persona into another being. I never really understood what was so shocking about that; isn’t that exactly what the Somanet and permanent VR worlds are doing?
I think people who like being in multiple different cyber-world scenarios without worrying about their connections and who like horror/gore will appreciate this book more than I did.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2021
Long after the Nova Insanity, in which a promise of cheap power turned into the ability for virtually anyone to easily make a devastating weapon, Earth still hangs on. In orbitals, the rich purveyors of an exclusive immortality drug know that their only leverage may disappear if those on Earth all decide to move against them, and they're plagued by an artificial being created by one of their own board. And on Earth, cities are often slums torn between gang territory dealing drugs to the many addicts, including a particular one nanotech drug called Glow, which users often experience the thoughts and memories of previous users. Rex is one of these addicts, gone clean, but there may be something in his head that everybody wants.
The concept of this really attracted me when I read the blurbs, but in practice... it didn't quite work for me. And I'm not really sure why, I can't put my finger on anything and say 'this is badly done!' I just had trouble connecting to it, or the characters. It did feel a little more cyberpunky than I had anticipated and though I can enjoy Cyberpunk I do kind of have to be in a mood for the vibe, and that may be part of it.
There were three basic plots and viewpoints, and all of them had a few elements that really interested me but none ever hooked me whollly into the story, and so every time we switched I felt a little adrift. Especially, because, as I said, I never really liked most of the characters very much, and sometimes the settings or situations I was more into had the characters I was least into. Like, I liked the struggling space station as a setting, but I didn't really care to read about these immortal corporate executives there. And Rex was okay to follow as a character but he was just living in a not-particularly-interesting cyberpunk city. I did like the robot nuns though, I wish the author leaned into them a little more. And leaned into the notion of people with Glow having bits of other memories.
I don't know, maybe it was just bad timing for me to try it out. I didn't quite dislike it, I'd probably put it slightly above 'it was okay' and below 'I liked it', so 2.5 feels a fair score. But Goodreads still seems to think half-scores are the devil's work, so I'll round up to three, I guess, as it's a first novel and I usually give them a little leeway. There's enough I like that I might be willing to give the author another shot, though.
The concept of this really attracted me when I read the blurbs, but in practice... it didn't quite work for me. And I'm not really sure why, I can't put my finger on anything and say 'this is badly done!' I just had trouble connecting to it, or the characters. It did feel a little more cyberpunky than I had anticipated and though I can enjoy Cyberpunk I do kind of have to be in a mood for the vibe, and that may be part of it.
There were three basic plots and viewpoints, and all of them had a few elements that really interested me but none ever hooked me whollly into the story, and so every time we switched I felt a little adrift. Especially, because, as I said, I never really liked most of the characters very much, and sometimes the settings or situations I was more into had the characters I was least into. Like, I liked the struggling space station as a setting, but I didn't really care to read about these immortal corporate executives there. And Rex was okay to follow as a character but he was just living in a not-particularly-interesting cyberpunk city. I did like the robot nuns though, I wish the author leaned into them a little more. And leaned into the notion of people with Glow having bits of other memories.
I don't know, maybe it was just bad timing for me to try it out. I didn't quite dislike it, I'd probably put it slightly above 'it was okay' and below 'I liked it', so 2.5 feels a fair score. But Goodreads still seems to think half-scores are the devil's work, so I'll round up to three, I guess, as it's a first novel and I usually give them a little leeway. There's enough I like that I might be willing to give the author another shot, though.
February 14, 2024
A mixed bag of cool stuff and some bland stuff.
The concept of the Nova-insanity is definitely relevant in our age and is a cool world building backdrop. In the book the nova insanity is basically humanity progressing towards utopia and then our free nuclear reactor tech which provides infinite energy is open source. The information is free. Everyone can make a nuke in their garden shed, oops.
The somanetic plaque and the somanet concepts hits reasonably well in the last chapters when everything is wrapping up. And it is interesting up to that point as well. I'm a real sucker for consciousness trickery and manipulation and this book have tons of that. Multipel characters inside the same body, conciousness'es learning to consciousness. Absorbing others consciousnesses and having them wreck havoc in your mind.
The somanet, small nanobots healing you, making you immortal, is hacked into the titular drug glow. Glow copies 'you' into its 'drug substrate' so separate copy of you is running inside your own body. Glow is valuable, it is reused and repossessed from the addicts who use it, killing one of their selves in the process, (reminded me of Repo man: the genetic opera, and that is always nice). They of course live on to some extent in the next user. Cool stuff!
2 stars. Probably the character and the story that felt a bit bland. Jett was really interesting at first but lost his charm as his progression felt predictable and slow. Ellayna's storyline was not very fun, not very fun at all. Rex chapters were meandering and lacking of agency.
Stuff feels like filler. I don't know how to describe it, it feels mundane moments when it should not. There are a lot of words but they do not manage to ground me in the world very well. Like when rex is getting his life together, the world just seems unrealistic. I cannot imagine coriolis city as a cohesive place. Melted glass craters from the nova insanity alongside crazy glow addicts, alongside militiamen, alongside dogwalking business, alongside random nice house with a nice lawn.
This is the book I would write as my debut brain child, and it demotivates me.
The concept of the Nova-insanity is definitely relevant in our age and is a cool world building backdrop. In the book the nova insanity is basically humanity progressing towards utopia and then our free nuclear reactor tech which provides infinite energy is open source. The information is free. Everyone can make a nuke in their garden shed, oops.
The somanetic plaque and the somanet concepts hits reasonably well in the last chapters when everything is wrapping up. And it is interesting up to that point as well. I'm a real sucker for consciousness trickery and manipulation and this book have tons of that. Multipel characters inside the same body, conciousness'es learning to consciousness. Absorbing others consciousnesses and having them wreck havoc in your mind.
The somanet, small nanobots healing you, making you immortal, is hacked into the titular drug glow. Glow copies 'you' into its 'drug substrate' so separate copy of you is running inside your own body. Glow is valuable, it is reused and repossessed from the addicts who use it, killing one of their selves in the process, (reminded me of Repo man: the genetic opera, and that is always nice). They of course live on to some extent in the next user. Cool stuff!
2 stars. Probably the character and the story that felt a bit bland. Jett was really interesting at first but lost his charm as his progression felt predictable and slow. Ellayna's storyline was not very fun, not very fun at all. Rex chapters were meandering and lacking of agency.
Stuff feels like filler. I don't know how to describe it, it feels mundane moments when it should not. There are a lot of words but they do not manage to ground me in the world very well. Like when rex is getting his life together, the world just seems unrealistic. I cannot imagine coriolis city as a cohesive place. Melted glass craters from the nova insanity alongside crazy glow addicts, alongside militiamen, alongside dogwalking business, alongside random nice house with a nice lawn.
This is the book I would write as my debut brain child, and it demotivates me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2021
This was a random pick-up at my local Barnes and Noble. I've never heard of the author or the publisher before and it definitely gave me small publisher/self-publisher vibes. Which wasn't a bad thing! I loved just grabbing something that caught my eye. And it ended up being an excellent choice.
While I loved the story and the various characters - some more than others (Rex <3) - I did find that it jumped around a little too much and left a little too much either unexplained or explained in a way that I just should have known what happened. I would have liked a little more history (a flashback chapter or prologue) to explain the Alliance and their deal with the GFC and then maybe a little more about the general lives of people on Coriolis City. In the end, when the war is happening, it felt a little more like (and serious air quotes here) "a war was going on." There was some action with Jet (also <3) but you only saw the action during his moments and not much beyond that. It was a little trippy.
Speaking of Jet - his character and personality were so interesting and chilling. Being a non-human you could have easily gone with robotic and have no growth. But there is a constant change that Jet goes through, making him all the more creepy and fascinating.
There were a few moments in the book where Jet is dealing with people and then kills them. Except he doesn't just stab them or shot them in the head - he either extends his body into slithering tendrils and pierces the flesh of a person OR he folds them. Yep. FOLDS.
I would certainly recommend this book for anyone who likes science fiction and space rings and inhabitants still on Earth. I loved the concept of longevity nanotechnology being used as a drug. This was something I wish we explored a little more between those on Coriolis and upon the ring where it seemed the people who developed this tech resided (?). There was some mention towards the end - "oh, they are using it as a drug? What? Let's look into that." And then nothing...
BUT it was a fun ride. I think I'd like to see more of this world or anything else that Jordan puts out.
While I loved the story and the various characters - some more than others (Rex <3) - I did find that it jumped around a little too much and left a little too much either unexplained or explained in a way that I just should have known what happened. I would have liked a little more history (a flashback chapter or prologue) to explain the Alliance and their deal with the GFC and then maybe a little more about the general lives of people on Coriolis City. In the end, when the war is happening, it felt a little more like (and serious air quotes here) "a war was going on." There was some action with Jet (also <3) but you only saw the action during his moments and not much beyond that. It was a little trippy.
Speaking of Jet - his character and personality were so interesting and chilling. Being a non-human you could have easily gone with robotic and have no growth. But there is a constant change that Jet goes through, making him all the more creepy and fascinating.
There were a few moments in the book where Jet is dealing with people and then kills them. Except he doesn't just stab them or shot them in the head - he either extends his body into slithering tendrils and pierces the flesh of a person OR he folds them. Yep. FOLDS.
I would certainly recommend this book for anyone who likes science fiction and space rings and inhabitants still on Earth. I loved the concept of longevity nanotechnology being used as a drug. This was something I wish we explored a little more between those on Coriolis and upon the ring where it seemed the people who developed this tech resided (?). There was some mention towards the end - "oh, they are using it as a drug? What? Let's look into that." And then nothing...
BUT it was a fun ride. I think I'd like to see more of this world or anything else that Jordan puts out.
July 18, 2023
I rarely give books this low a rating, so I feel that I should justify the rating. Please note, I send no hate or misgivings to the author. He wrote a long book with a heady and complex plot - the story didn't resonate with me, but it might for others. Okay, so the critiques. I'd like to start out by saying none of the three primary characters held my attention or sympathy (except for Rex at the latter end of the book.) Two of the characters, Ellayana and Rex/Dell are capitalists. I don't feel sorry for them as they were the ones to ruin the world for everyone else. As an anticapitalist when Ellayana almost died most of the time, I would be fine if she did. The revelation that Rex is Dell fell too far at the end of the plot for me to really care. Then there's Jett. I thought he would be my favorite character, but he's not human and doesn't try and act like it at all. He turns out to be a brutal monster, and the descriptions of blood and body parts associated with his every mood bummed me out. Though I did feel sorry for him when he did finally die. The narrative as a whole is from these three characters' POVS and it can make reading the text very confusing at times as the POV shifts mid-chapter between characters on earth and those off-earth. The story tried to be a big mystery, and the concept is not a bad one, but for the first 250 pages, I was really lost. If there had been some bigger hints or more explanation earlier on I would have been more invested. This just took a long time to read and I hope you can understand why I gave it the score I did. If you have also read this book and enjoyed it, tell me what you found appealing about it, I'd like to know.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2022
I picked this book up based on the synopsis: It was similar to one I would pose for a book I pleasure write and will most likely never publish. So, I was curious. How similar is my story versus this work?
The synopsis of this book is terribly misleading. Rex is not the only point of view this book covers, which is both an asset and a detriment in my opinion. Rex, Jett, Ellayna, Mira, Yellow, Del, Felix. Some of these voices inhabit the same body but at the end of the book I was confused. Who was who? Who survived? Did anyone survive?
Why was Ellayna’s story even included? To explain Del’s story further? I felt at times it wasn’t even that important, and felt VERY grossed out by the relationship she has with another character (37 year difference I believe the text points out). The only relevant plot points that are revealed are towards the end and by that point I felt as though a lot of her story could have been cut out. Or told from a different perspective. Or not at all. Del can explain all of this easily from his perspective.
I found myself struggling to even continue reading this, and I’m glad to know now that my silly story has NO overlaps with this one. But was the read worth it? I’m left confused as to what the struggles of the characters were truly about and why I should care. Maybe someday I’ll reread it and find answers but for now I am relieved of this tiring read.
The synopsis of this book is terribly misleading. Rex is not the only point of view this book covers, which is both an asset and a detriment in my opinion. Rex, Jett, Ellayna, Mira, Yellow, Del, Felix. Some of these voices inhabit the same body but at the end of the book I was confused. Who was who? Who survived? Did anyone survive?
Why was Ellayna’s story even included? To explain Del’s story further? I felt at times it wasn’t even that important, and felt VERY grossed out by the relationship she has with another character (37 year difference I believe the text points out). The only relevant plot points that are revealed are towards the end and by that point I felt as though a lot of her story could have been cut out. Or told from a different perspective. Or not at all. Del can explain all of this easily from his perspective.
I found myself struggling to even continue reading this, and I’m glad to know now that my silly story has NO overlaps with this one. But was the read worth it? I’m left confused as to what the struggles of the characters were truly about and why I should care. Maybe someday I’ll reread it and find answers but for now I am relieved of this tiring read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2024
Very unique read I absolutely loved it. At first the flowery almost poetic language of certain descriptions turned me off but the hook was there and this amazing world came alive and I read on, I'm so glad I did!
A devastated world full of technology unlike we've ever seen. Technology that is integrating with humanity and humanity with it. It's so striking even disturbing and yet so normal for the people of this world.
Later the reason for the way ideas are described made sense. We are going into the mind of these characters that are like us but have now added dimensions almost impossible to describe. But the author does!!. (spoilers so I won't describe further).
What is humanity? What makes you human? If your memories could be copied and edited and molded and mixed with other minds, transferred, who would you be, what would you be? These are some of the questions that run through my mind as I read glow, especially the second book.
The action pieces are great, descriptions of virtual reality and unique , almost unimaginable mental spaces are described so that I understand and grasp the ideas of what's happening within these mindscapes. They come alive in my mind.
What a ride! I couldn't stop reading. Don't want to say much more without spoiling but I wish there was a third book. I'm sad it's over!
A devastated world full of technology unlike we've ever seen. Technology that is integrating with humanity and humanity with it. It's so striking even disturbing and yet so normal for the people of this world.
Later the reason for the way ideas are described made sense. We are going into the mind of these characters that are like us but have now added dimensions almost impossible to describe. But the author does!!. (spoilers so I won't describe further).
What is humanity? What makes you human? If your memories could be copied and edited and molded and mixed with other minds, transferred, who would you be, what would you be? These are some of the questions that run through my mind as I read glow, especially the second book.
The action pieces are great, descriptions of virtual reality and unique , almost unimaginable mental spaces are described so that I understand and grasp the ideas of what's happening within these mindscapes. They come alive in my mind.
What a ride! I couldn't stop reading. Don't want to say much more without spoiling but I wish there was a third book. I'm sad it's over!
August 17, 2023
DNF, I found it incredibly boring, and by page 144 I still had no clear idea of where the book was going.
The writing was fine.
Over half of the concepts were lost on me but that could be due to the fact that I started reading this book close to a year ago and only picked it back up about three weeks ago.
I really, really tried to like it.
It bounces around 3 POVs: Rex, a glow addict, Jett, an assassin (the only character I was truly interested in beside Gale), and Ellayna (this spelling of the name caused me to read it as Ellyana for long enough that it irritated me, might be dyslexic) she’s a council member for something, not too sure what it is.
The way each POV was done felt unnatural and choppy. It was as if the author wrote them separately, in the wrong order, reordered them and called it good at that. It’s not clear how it all connected. Slow burn is likely but slow burn is also painful and can become boring if not done correctly.
Good concept, a couple of cool characters, he barely played around with the technology (which the potential sci-fi tech has is the point of sci-fi for me personally) and I just couldn’t bring myself to commit.
If it takes you almost a year to get 144 pages in, there’s probably a reason.
The writing was fine.
Over half of the concepts were lost on me but that could be due to the fact that I started reading this book close to a year ago and only picked it back up about three weeks ago.
I really, really tried to like it.
It bounces around 3 POVs: Rex, a glow addict, Jett, an assassin (the only character I was truly interested in beside Gale), and Ellayna (this spelling of the name caused me to read it as Ellyana for long enough that it irritated me, might be dyslexic) she’s a council member for something, not too sure what it is.
The way each POV was done felt unnatural and choppy. It was as if the author wrote them separately, in the wrong order, reordered them and called it good at that. It’s not clear how it all connected. Slow burn is likely but slow burn is also painful and can become boring if not done correctly.
Good concept, a couple of cool characters, he barely played around with the technology (which the potential sci-fi tech has is the point of sci-fi for me personally) and I just couldn’t bring myself to commit.
If it takes you almost a year to get 144 pages in, there’s probably a reason.
August 25, 2024
It had such potential!
The pros for this book are an interesting and unique plot, an engaging and intriguing futuristic sci-fi world, and a couple of characters you really want to root for. The cons for this book are that half the dialogue feels stilted, the way the book is outlined is confounding and a lot of important, plot relevant pieces in the novel are never fully explained. Not to mention the near constant use of bodily fluids to put the reader ill at ease. The book is equally engaging and it is confusing. I read someone else's review where they deemed this book to be written using the "everything but the kitchen sink" method, and I tend to agree. I absolutely loved the over-arching plot but found the book itself to be a bit of a slog to read. There's about 1 likeable character, you don't really root for anyone else. That character is the only one that develops any meaningful connection with another character. Even then, they don't really know one another or fully trust each other. Everyone else is basically an island unto themselves surrounded by a sea of enemies and backstabbers. I almost gave this book 3 stars, but I just can't get past how mired in the cyclical minutia I felt throughout the entire book. So, two stars it is.
The pros for this book are an interesting and unique plot, an engaging and intriguing futuristic sci-fi world, and a couple of characters you really want to root for. The cons for this book are that half the dialogue feels stilted, the way the book is outlined is confounding and a lot of important, plot relevant pieces in the novel are never fully explained. Not to mention the near constant use of bodily fluids to put the reader ill at ease. The book is equally engaging and it is confusing. I read someone else's review where they deemed this book to be written using the "everything but the kitchen sink" method, and I tend to agree. I absolutely loved the over-arching plot but found the book itself to be a bit of a slog to read. There's about 1 likeable character, you don't really root for anyone else. That character is the only one that develops any meaningful connection with another character. Even then, they don't really know one another or fully trust each other. Everyone else is basically an island unto themselves surrounded by a sea of enemies and backstabbers. I almost gave this book 3 stars, but I just can't get past how mired in the cyclical minutia I felt throughout the entire book. So, two stars it is.
January 24, 2021
I was sent a ebook copy of Glow by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Glow is the debut novel from Tim Jordan and tells the story of Rex, a man battling his addiction to Glow against the backdrop of a world ravaged by the Nova-Insanity. There’s a corporation who ‘live’ in space, robots and nano-tech seems common place and there seems to be a drug for everything. Oh, and since people can live ‘forever’ so do the dogs 😍
I really enjoyed the world building - the book takes a while to get going, but the world is very complex so I felt I needed that amount of time to get to grips with what was going on. Rex is an interesting character and I thought the slow revealing of what Glow is and it’s effects was very well done.
There is a lot going on in the book and, as much as I felt everything was written well, I did think some parts, like the religious aspects, didn’t add anything to the story.
Overall, this is a very well written debut novel. I give it a solid 3 ⭐️. Definitely check this one out if you’re looking for solid world building and some interesting ideas!
Glow is the debut novel from Tim Jordan and tells the story of Rex, a man battling his addiction to Glow against the backdrop of a world ravaged by the Nova-Insanity. There’s a corporation who ‘live’ in space, robots and nano-tech seems common place and there seems to be a drug for everything. Oh, and since people can live ‘forever’ so do the dogs 😍
I really enjoyed the world building - the book takes a while to get going, but the world is very complex so I felt I needed that amount of time to get to grips with what was going on. Rex is an interesting character and I thought the slow revealing of what Glow is and it’s effects was very well done.
There is a lot going on in the book and, as much as I felt everything was written well, I did think some parts, like the religious aspects, didn’t add anything to the story.
Overall, this is a very well written debut novel. I give it a solid 3 ⭐️. Definitely check this one out if you’re looking for solid world building and some interesting ideas!
March 30, 2022
This book went from 0-60 in about 10 pages! Really fascinating read. One of the things I enjoyed about it was that the author didn't over-explain how everything worked and he let the readers fill that in or just ignore it altogether as it wasn't an important plot point. For example, some characters stay immersed in virtual reality for extended periods. How do their muscles not atrophy? How do they go to the bathroom? How do they eat? Etc. Not important to the actual story and I didn't need an entire exposition chapter on how that all worked. It was refreshing.
The only thing I didn't like was the last few chapters were a bit hazy on what was going. The essence of the story was chaotic anyway, but I felt the author jumped around in his descriptions and I couldn't keep track of who was where and what they were doing and where they were going, etc.
Otherwise, I thought it was a great sci-fi read. I'm not typically a sci-fi fan, but I enjoyed this. It was a really fast read because of the non-stop action!
The only thing I didn't like was the last few chapters were a bit hazy on what was going. The essence of the story was chaotic anyway, but I felt the author jumped around in his descriptions and I couldn't keep track of who was where and what they were doing and where they were going, etc.
Otherwise, I thought it was a great sci-fi read. I'm not typically a sci-fi fan, but I enjoyed this. It was a really fast read because of the non-stop action!
May 5, 2021
Humanity was given an inexpensive, 3d printable fusion reactor. They quickly figured out how to make it explode. Which soon led to chaos as cities were flattened and the orbital stations were cut off from the ground.
There are three main characters;: Rex, who is hooked on Glow and just trying to survive the dystopian hell left behind by the Nova Insanity. Ellyana, who is one of the founders of GFC (the corporation that makes the life extending Simmorta) lives on an orbital station and is fighting her own paranoia. And my favorite, Jett. Jett is an assassin with a robotic body and nanotech that can change his shape and abilities on the fly.
Each of these characters has to face up to what their life means and what, exactly, life is.
I highly recommend Glow to those who like sci fi. I was surprised to find out this is a debut novel. The world building is well done and the characters interesting and believable.
There are three main characters;: Rex, who is hooked on Glow and just trying to survive the dystopian hell left behind by the Nova Insanity. Ellyana, who is one of the founders of GFC (the corporation that makes the life extending Simmorta) lives on an orbital station and is fighting her own paranoia. And my favorite, Jett. Jett is an assassin with a robotic body and nanotech that can change his shape and abilities on the fly.
Each of these characters has to face up to what their life means and what, exactly, life is.
I highly recommend Glow to those who like sci fi. I was surprised to find out this is a debut novel. The world building is well done and the characters interesting and believable.
January 30, 2023
2.5 stars. Took me quite awhile to slog through this meandering, disjointed novel that presents some interesting concepts (thus the .5 star addition), but can't really place them in a meaningful, cogent story. Most of the time I don't know what's motivating anyone. Lots of references to entities (Alliance, GFC, voidians, etc) without really going into any background. The most interesting character was the most unlikable (Jett), while the protagonist (Rex) thought he was a dog much of the time due to Glow. Which means someone gave Glow to a dog at one point in its path through carriers? The novel just feels like random scenes strung together (with a bunch of action at the end) to hit 400 pages. I have the sequel but it's on the reading backburner for now. Overall I'd call Glow "missed potential" because this concept is right up my ally, which is why I gave it a shot.
August 27, 2025
The world building in this is really interesting. The way that humans managed to twist the longevity tech into a way to basically destroy themselves via drugs is just masterful. Seeing how Glow and the other drugs of this universe affected people helped to understand what was going on on the space stations. That Inner-I tech was trippy to read about when it
I did find that it seemed a little preachy at times (). I just felt like the book was talking at me rather than to me. It was an intriguing read to be sure; it was interesting to see how the idea of humanity was played with and how humans are and aren't as simple as some would think.
I did find that it seemed a little preachy at times (). I just felt like the book was talking at me rather than to me. It was an intriguing read to be sure; it was interesting to see how the idea of humanity was played with and how humans are and aren't as simple as some would think.
December 19, 2020
Sorry, but I didn't make it to the end of this one. Someone once told me that life is too short to be wasted on mediocre books. The story is told through several different perspectives, and unfortunately all are odd and not easy to follow or tell what exactly is going on. The synopsis has an interesting plot and the writing is good and well written. The story falls where there is so much half hatched far fetched ideas trying to take place and meld into one coherent story. I ultimately gave up for that reason. I was halfway through (and struggling to get there) and didn't actually know what was going on and understand half of it, and know or care where the book was going. Hopefully this works for other people because I don't think the author is a bad writer this was just a bad story.
March 19, 2021
This story takes place in the future after a nuclear holocaust called the "Nova-insanity" destroyed Earth's civilization. The culprit is an advanced bio-technology called "glow." The corporation that created the advanced technology is holding on to power as an Earth-alliance is looking to overthrow it. There is a lot of action and the end is probably my favorite part of this book.
Tim Jordan writes at a very technical level and this is a high concept book but it was a little hard for me to get through. The plot is a little confusing and I skimmed through the middle of the book. I do give the author credit for his creativity but I was never invested in the characters. The cover is amazing.
Tim Jordan writes at a very technical level and this is a high concept book but it was a little hard for me to get through. The plot is a little confusing and I skimmed through the middle of the book. I do give the author credit for his creativity but I was never invested in the characters. The cover is amazing.
November 11, 2022
I don't know what to think if this one.
I chose this book by impuls and it happend to be signed by the author as well which is pretty cool.
It's not like it was bad but rather confusing in most parts.
Sometimes I felt like things were not described well, I had no idea how certain things looked like or how they functioned.
But otherwise there were some nice parts as well, such as the character 'growth' of Jett, you really notice how he changes over time, by influence of humans.
I think the overall concept of the story is really interesting, a lot was going on, but eventually there was this connection between all parts.
I chose this book by impuls and it happend to be signed by the author as well which is pretty cool.
It's not like it was bad but rather confusing in most parts.
Sometimes I felt like things were not described well, I had no idea how certain things looked like or how they functioned.
But otherwise there were some nice parts as well, such as the character 'growth' of Jett, you really notice how he changes over time, by influence of humans.
I think the overall concept of the story is really interesting, a lot was going on, but eventually there was this connection between all parts.
November 1, 2025
Glow explores a future, dystopian Earth where human civilization recovers from a global calamity and where longevity drugs serve as a major currency. Glow explores this world through the first-hand account of several characters, who exist within factions that sometimes compete to achieve varying visions for the future of Earth-life. Throughout the book, certain themes (e.g., the end-state of the universe is optimization!) appear unnecessarily. Moreover, the characters' voices sometimes feel too similar, allowing the author's general voice to bleed through. Despite this, the book is a fun ride that blasts through intriguing concepts about the future. I definitely recommend giving it a read.
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