The third instalment in the Hardwired Series.

A super good story and certainly no complaints on that aspect of the book, but the telling of it leaves a bit to be desired.   As in Hardwired, we are told a tale without any explanation as to the background, only for that to be revealed later on.

At 6% i found myself suddenly realising what’s happening in this vagueness that i’d been reading which left me with no choice but to go back to the very beginning and begin again.   Why Walter can’t just tell you what you need to know before you read it instead of sometime afterwards i have no idea. There’s a few other places in the book that i was left feeling like i’m going back and forward in time and feeling like i’m not quite sure where i am any more.

It is rather annoying because he is certainly a great crafter of story, with great characters and world building, but then goes and lets it all down by writing things out of sequence and all over the place.

But, it is worth putting up with this downside to enjoy a really good story.

And this officially ends the trilogy, although i believe that Aristoi is kind of set in the same universe with a fair few references to Nero, one of our favourite characters from Solip:System: so i may just have to dive into that in the not too distant future.

Walter’s Page

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I believe this novella was written as an afterthought to attempt to bridge a gap between Hardwired and Voice of the Whirlwind, thus creating a trilogy once a few things got ironed out in Voice of the Whirlwind.

Which i think is a bit bad because this book is a very much needed sequel to Hardwired whether or not there was another book to follow.

I’m definitely pleased it was written as it does finish off Hardwired and Nero’s escapades as Roon rather nicely.

Brilliant novella, and now i dive straight into Voice of the Whirlwind.

Walter’s Page

#scifi #cyberpunk #walterjonwilliams

This is one of those books with lots of jargon that isn’t explained in advance, and so you wander through a world with nomenclature and terminoloy that means nothing to you until, in the case of the term “thatch” for example, you get over 60% of the way into the story before someone explains what the word means. I would suggest that it’s definitely well worth reading the bit at the back named “Panzerboy” before you begin as that helps a little settling in.

Other than the nomenclature/terminology issue, which i suggest you just deal with it and accept it for what it is, it’s a super good story that became a very much couldn’t-put-downer towards the end — which is kinda once i’ve figured out all the nomenclature/terminology — and i found myself diving straight into Solip:System without a pause.

It’s certainly got me wanting to re-read the series again in a few years time now i know what things mean before i begin.

So yes, indeedy, it’s certainly rather good cyberpunk and worthy of it’s praises as a classic of the genre.

Walter’s Page

#scifi #cyberpunk #walterjonwilliams