Islands in the Net
Islands in the Net – Bruce Sterling
My cover image — 1988 First Edition.
Wow, not available on Amazon.
Islands in the Net – Bruce Sterling
1988, the fax was the thing. Dated tech, but pause, I own both a nice, hardback first edition, lovingly “discovered” new in a bookstore, around 1988, and a more legible, less valuable digital copy, I’m rereading.
Remember 1988? To be honest, I don’t — too young. I was in AZ, think that was when there was still a Science Fiction bookstore, close to the campus. It’s a guess, but probably where that copy originated. Best way to date material, which bookstore was closest at the time.
“Genetics, Laura thought. You pass them on to the next generation. Then they relax and start to crumble on you. They do it anyway. You just have to pay a little extra for using the copyright.” Page 14.
Love novelist’s eye at work. My expression? “Genetics are a crap-shoot.”
“The erotic power of the Goddess can destroy evil.” Page 15.
Accurately presages the rising goddess movements.
The tech is sorely dated, but still, the concepts proved correct, just wrong about the technology. Close, but not quite. Still, as an alternative, it’s easy to see this is the way we could’ve been, and then? Elements that are here albeit in different guises.
Also accurately presages Steampunk. That author was one-half of the origin of that, just as a minor note.
“You’re modern people, you and David,” her mother said. “In a way you seem very innocent to us, oh, premillennium decadents.” She smiled wryly. “So free of doubts.” Page 44.
As an artifact, the book is priceless. In part, it is about the author thinks. But in part, it was valid extrapolation of what the Fire we are living in, what we thought it would look like. First point, you know, bandwidth does cost, just got exponentially cheaper than thought.
