Pros: fascinating world, interesting characters, thought-provoking

Cons: open ended

It’s the year 2036 and the world is run by corporations that advertise non-stop and have polluted the planet. More and more people are leaving Vancouver for the virtual reality city of Frisco, manufactured by Self. But not everyone can afford to go, like Doug, who’s age is putting him out of touch in his coolhunting job. And not everyone wants to go, like Nicky, who lucked out and got a lab full of genetics equipment when her school scrapped their program. While others can’t wait to get there, like Eileen’s twelve year old ‘grandson’, who goes without permission, leaving her frantic to find out what’s happened to his body. Because Self is a very private company, a company Paul - who brings these characters together - wants to crack open.

Published in - and extrapolated from - 2002, the world-building is fascinating. While the author gets some things wrong, others are more true today than they were when the book came out. The idea of corporations bringing down governments that hinder their commercial efforts, even if those efforts are meant to protect the populace, is scarily relevant today.

The characters all have goals and complications in their lives. Through their day to day lives they comment on how things have changed, and how some things, like discrimination based on race and class distinctions, stay the same. There are some short but graphic sexual scenes, and not all the pairings are heterosexual.

Most of the book takes place in the real world, though you do get to see Frisco from time to time and more completely towards the end of the book

While I enjoyed how Doug’s story ended, on the whole I found the ending a bit unsatisfying as it left things more open ended than I would have liked.

It was a quick, interesting read that raised some thought-provoking ideas. ( )

This is a book that doesn't know what it wants to be. Its initially has a very heavy anti-consumerism message. It had an interesting, likable enough characters, that I continued on. Then towards the end, the message softened as secrets were revealed, leaving behind a story that was much easier to read

There are problems with the book Namely, I had a hard time following which character was narrating the chapter - the book had 3 or 4 narrators, with similar voices.

The book almost feels as if it was written as an exercise in writing. But, outside of all its fault, there is a great story in it. At no point did I loose interest nor did I have to push myself to finish it. The ending is quite wonderful as the author brings together a couple of story lines to create something truly unique. If the story and characters were a bit stronger, this would be a very good book.

Also, I want a rat-dog. Or maybe one of those vegetarian bobcats. ( )

"I'll have a tequila sunrise," declared a fresh-faced cartoon kid, looking around at the people in the bar with bright-eyed pride. He hopped up on a bar stool beside Paul.
The kid was your classic Fresh Off The Boat - the cartoon body favored by people getting to choose a body other than their own for the first time, corn-colored tufts of hair above freckles and a gargantuan grin. "Can't believe it! All looks so real," the kid said, sliding his hands over the bar.

It's the middle of the 21st century and the streets of Vancouver are emptying as more and more people decide to take up residence in Frisco, a virtual reality world based on San Francisco, run by a company called Self. But what happens to the bodies of those who have moved there. They are supposed to be stored in a secret location in case anybody decides to leave Frisco and return to the real world, but nobody really knows if they are.
The trickle of people signing up for Self's bronze, silver, gold and platinum packages has become a flood, schools and workplaces are moving into Frisco and closing down in the real world, and soon only the poor and disenfranchised will be left. But the resistance movement known as the Infiltrators is growing in both worlds, and the main characters in the book are drawn into it by the mysterious Paul.

What is it with cyberpunk novels and weak endings? The story fizzled to a halt as if the author was just bored with it, leaving me with a vague idea of Paul's plans, but no closure. ( )

cool story. cyberpunkish. entertaining and adventuresome, near-future earth extrapolated from current realities, nothing too far out except, of course, for the main premise! ( )