SFF

The Rapture of the Nerds

by Charles Stross
Docotorow, Cory & . Tor. Sept. 2012. c.352p. ISBN 9780765329103. $24.99. SF
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This collaboration between two renowned sf authors exemplifies what is best in post-cyberpunk fiction, in all of its barely controlled chaos. Huw, a human throwback in a mostly post-human world, wakes up hungover in a friend's bathtub with a new roaming biohazard tattoo. Familiar with such complications on a now-toxic planet, Huw signs up for what should be a routine tech juror assignment, only to find himself chosen as the human host of an alien ambassador. The plot tangles exponentially from there, involving frequent gender reassignments, a crash landing in the Neverglades, reality show judges, fundamentalist post-Rapture Americans, and genies who are wizards at financial trading.
VERDICT While the cultural references fly fast and furious and the doublespeak is not for the uninitiated, the creativity, hilarity, and sheer verve of the comic conundrums will win over the staunchest technophobe. Consider this adventure of multiple dimensions a backdoor into a post-technological singularity world, which will appeal to Doctorow's (Little Brother) and Stross's (Singularity Sky) many fans.
Reviewed by Cathy Lantz, Morton Coll. Lib., Cicero, IL , Aug 01, 2012
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