pro libertate net

Knowledge is power. Combining data from different sources generates new knowledge. The ability to manipulate these data can yield a ghastly amount of power. Put that power in the “hand” of a decentralised computer program, a daemon that lurks in the remote corners of our networked society, and you can, we all can, be held hostage.

That seems to be the main idea of the cyber-thriller and social critique Daemon by Daniel Suarez and its sequel Freedom(tm). There is a lot of technology jargon that may put many readers off. Unfortunately, what Suarez is writing is not science fiction. What he is describing is current technology put to use to change the world order: Back from globalized specialization, production, and trade to local, self-contained, and sustainable small economic and geographic units; abolishing the hegemony of international conglomerates, annihilating their economic and political power that renders democracy just an illusion of its original ideals. Getting rid of money. Creating a new currency. Establishing an exchange based on needs and desert.

Suarez shows that we may already live in a post-privacy world. There are no secrets. And not only does our data, the data about us, tell more than we would be able to tell about ourselves, its susceptibility to manipulation may lead to all the bad consequences we european privacy nuts fear. Suarez embraces this post-privacy world. He bases his utopian (or is it dystopian?) new world order on perfect (data) openness, accountability (even for private citizen and their private actions), and institutionalized reputation (for each and every social interaction).

Even then, there is the danger of power concentration, and corrupted leadership. Even this new world order, decentralized with bottom-up decision-making and grassroots citizen engagement needs an all-powerful central authority, a judge and executioner. Who controls this entity? Who guarantees that this benevolent force does not become a spirit that we’ve cited, yet our commands ignores?

It’s the penultimate Wheel of Time book what makes this book number 13, or the second written by Sanderson after Jordan’s death.

Maybe it is the nearing end or the change in authors, the pace definitely took up. In all the different story lines quite a few things are happening. It’s not just moving around any more. This makes reading this series fun (again).

On the other hand, and here I blame the current substitute author, current stereotypes are unnecessarily bleeding through into this fantasy world. There is no reason for any male protagonist to feel like pink should be the last color for a man to wear. This is something current western (adolescent) culture may contain, and it’s a rather recent thing. It was however not something that was introduced in the earlier books, it was not part of the various Wheel of Time cultures. As small as this little detail is, I found it annoying.

Even though I seem to always complain about Kuzneski’s writing style I read on and on. Now, I have read his first, originally self-published, novel The Plantation. This book got him the deal for all the sequels he wrote.

And so far, I have to say, it is his best. OK, there is one appearance of the annoying “little did he know” phrase. Apart from that, the novel has everything I look for when I am interested in a little diversion from my normal work. The plot is quite original. Kuzneski is not pushing the limits too far (as he is in danger to do or is doing with his sequels), the story and characters remain rather credible.

I have the distinct feeling that Kuzneski took a rather long time writing and polishing this novel while he rushed to finish the sequels.

There is never too much of a good thing. And so authors tend to write sequels to their successful works. Better yet, they announce multi-volume sequels, series rather. After all, what is an effective means for generating profits in the film industry should also work in print.

Canavan consequently is writing on her second Black Magician trilogy. The first volume is already in paperback: The Ambassador’s Mission. Now, it is some two decades of the war (Don’t mention the war.) the original cast of the Black Magician trilogy has assumed new roles; still you recognize them very well. Unfortunately this may already hint at a weakness this novel has: You have to recognize the characters, you have to know their history, you have to know a lot about the world, the setting this novel uses. Unless you know all this several things will leave you dumbfounded. For instance, though it is made very clear that a Black Magician is something special, you are not really told why and what all this higher magic is. Central as it is for the story, you have to know this in advance.

Luckily, I did read all the sequels. Thus, I was able to enjoy the novel that while being tied in with the earlier story plots of the previous novels brings a new perspective (oh, the perspectives change quite often) and a plot of its own, several of them actually. Hence, I am waiting for volume two… (the hardcover is already out, I am waiting for the paperback.)

It really seems to become a popular exercise, writing up your research in a format suited for the mass market, writing a popular science book. While the secret to success for science journalists is to cram as many anecdotes as possible in a more or less organized way in between the covers of their book those original researchers that get noticed add a little of a personal touch, some private details to the mix. Or, if they are really successful they add a lot of personal stuff to complement their research results, to enlighten the reader with regard to their motivation and their personal process of doing research.

Sheena Iyengar of jam-sampling fame (PDF) belongs to this last group. Her The Art of Choosing is a remarkable re-telling of her research hand in hand with a telling of her story. Not only is her book, that is the chapters in her book more cast from the same mold as, for instance, Ariely’s The Upside of Irrationality, also her philosophy, her world view, and her conclusions from her research are much more appealing to me. Hence, she tells not just about the Art of Choosing, she tells about seeing choice where others may see only fate, destiny, or a pre-selected path. She writes about “freedom-to” and personal responsibility. Yet, at the same time, she also writes about (optimal) limits to choice, the need to delegate decisions in certain situations, and cultural differences in the benefits of choice.

This book is highly recommended.

Not an ordinary spy novel. Not an unbeatable hero. Not a murder(er) without moral conflict. Olen Steinhauer’s The Tourist is a remarkable addition to a genre that more often than not features unintentional comic scenes due to burlesque adherence to stereotypes.

The Tourist has no super villain. The protagonist is not invincible. Indeed, the protagonist is deeply flawed, aware of his limitations, seriously troubled, fails quite often in his tasks as a professional and a family man, and even is not the best intelligence (wo)men in the novel. This, of course, lends some credibility to this character who first reluctantly yet then with dedication follows the role he was given in a rather messy and convoluted plot. With a plot that offers so many opportunities for drifting off into global conspiracies and describes so many potentials for international conflict it is surprising that most of the novel deals with an internal conflict. Internal to one country, the US, and internal to the protagonist. The Tourist is thus more a character study of an obsolete spy thrown back into action (other characters are however hardly developed beyond their initial introduction) and a critical reflection of the state of the country after 9/11.

The novel stirred my interest. Luckily, it is (only) the first in a trilogy. There is more to read…