Ok. I finished this book a while ago.
But I didn't wrote a review. Why? Coz I don't like to bash authors.
It's rarely a thing. Usually I analyze how the plot develops, how the characters were created, how they grow thru the book.
This...
This book was terrible.
And I feel bad about it. Don't get me wrong: I love the idea.
The first AI to pass the Turing test, in the middle of the 70s, was created by a private company. And then... How it grows? Love it!
I LOVED the way Mr. Gibson treated it in his Neuromancer trilogy. The way the AIs mingle with each other, on a speed we can not even comprehend...
Here? Not so much.
Hell... Not at all.
It was a piece of shit.
But I didn't wrote a review. Why? Coz I don't like to bash authors.
It's rarely a thing. Usually I analyze how the plot develops, how the characters were created, how they grow thru the book.
This...
This book was terrible.
And I feel bad about it. Don't get me wrong: I love the idea.
The first AI to pass the Turing test, in the middle of the 70s, was created by a private company. And then... How it grows? Love it!
I LOVED the way Mr. Gibson treated it in his Neuromancer trilogy. The way the AIs mingle with each other, on a speed we can not even comprehend...
Here? Not so much.
Hell... Not at all.
It was a piece of shit.
Yeah. I know, I know... It's a precursor to the whole AI idea. Like I said, don't get me wrong: I love sci-fi. In particular short future sci-fi. But this? Ugh...
Ok. Let's address some stuff first.
I read it in Portugal portuguese. I'm fluent in it. And I didn't like it.
Then, I searched and read it in Brazilian portuguese. Maybe it was a bad translation. It was worse.
Then I went and read it in the original. I enjoy reading in the original language whenever possible. After all, so much is lost in translation. And it was even worse.
No. I REALLY dislike the way the author wrote. I searched for other books, more recent works... Damn, I really disliked his style.
I read it in Portugal portuguese. I'm fluent in it. And I didn't like it.
Then, I searched and read it in Brazilian portuguese. Maybe it was a bad translation. It was worse.
Then I went and read it in the original. I enjoy reading in the original language whenever possible. After all, so much is lost in translation. And it was even worse.
No. I REALLY dislike the way the author wrote. I searched for other books, more recent works... Damn, I really disliked his style.
That being addressed, let's begin.
The monotone. Fuck, how bad is the monotone. What? What is monotone? Well... Imagine that every one around you talk the same way, using the same expressions, the same cadence, you got the idea. Yeah. The whole book is like that. Except the AI. At first, it seems like a nice idea, the AI is different from all the others. It makes the book a pain in the ass to read, but hey! Style over quality, right?
No. I hate that idea. And reading other stuff from him, he writes like that.
 |
| Imagine this guy as your main character. Yeah... |
The monotone. Fuck, how bad is the monotone. What? What is monotone? Well... Imagine that every one around you talk the same way, using the same expressions, the same cadence, you got the idea. Yeah. The whole book is like that. Except the AI. At first, it seems like a nice idea, the AI is different from all the others. It makes the book a pain in the ass to read, but hey! Style over quality, right?
No. I hate that idea. And reading other stuff from him, he writes like that.
Other thing that I dislike. When things get dated. Like all those jokes in the "Cat in the hat" with Mike Meyers. This book suffer from that malady. Everyone is smoking pot, which was legalized in this world, like cigarettes. Yeah... It's that kind of writer. Also, the pedantic way everyone talks in this book, ugh... So. Fucking. Pedantic. The whole book has a condescending tone that really got in my nerves.
Another thing that I hated was the exposition. Oh Gods. So much exposition. And in a condescending tone. In a pedantic way. I believe if I have met the author while I was reading the book, I would punch him. Hard.
OK. The cast. We have a retarded pot headed psychologist, which by some random luck get to be the head of the AI development team (you didn't read it wrong: he became the boss by a coin toss. Yeah.) We have the engineer, the sub/co-head of the department.
Then the fuck toy, ops, the romantic interest of the pot head, the AI, and the "enemy": the new president of the company and the financial department. The only developments in the characters is that the pot head got an epiphany (a really shitty one) from having sex with the woman (one fucking time) and realizing that he's in love with her (yeah, for real) and that the AI goes from the emotional state of a preteen to a pretentious teen.
Yeah. That sums it up.
Then the fuck toy, ops, the romantic interest of the pot head, the AI, and the "enemy": the new president of the company and the financial department. The only developments in the characters is that the pot head got an epiphany (a really shitty one) from having sex with the woman (one fucking time) and realizing that he's in love with her (yeah, for real) and that the AI goes from the emotional state of a preteen to a pretentious teen.
Yeah. That sums it up.
Plot. AI is created. Financial department wants to shut it down, because it's a black hole for the assets of the company. The pot head don't want to, because he sees the AI as his son. AI don't want to be shut down/die. Then they came up with a plan to make it make money. AI basically invents a new computer, which proves to be useless for us, but meanwhile he'll try to manipulate information to generate income. Oh, and input the attitude of "stick it to the man" from the hippies and you got your book.
Really, I summarize the whole book. If you read this, don't read the book. Everything is here. If you want a lot of exposition with all the other problems I mentioned before, please go ahead. I can recommend you to a few nice S&M clubs also.
Really, I summarize the whole book. If you read this, don't read the book. Everything is here. If you want a lot of exposition with all the other problems I mentioned before, please go ahead. I can recommend you to a few nice S&M clubs also.
Anyway... It's bad. I know, it's "important" for the genre. But, unless you really live sci-fi, AI and similar, don't waste your time.
It's not worth it.
It's not worth it.
See ya in the desert skies
