I just finished reading Accelerando by Charles Stross today. My two word mini review is: Wow, damn. Slightly longer: I'd have to rank this up there with Sterling's Schismatrix, Stephenson's Snow Crash, Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep, and Egan's Diaspora as far mind-bending idea-saturation goes. This is a depiction of a post-singularity/post-human future thoroughly informed by contemporary experience with internet and related technologies. Stross also demonstrates quite a bit of familiarity with philosophy of mind, especially Dennett's (the Dennettian notions of zimboes and Cartesian theaters get put to work). (There's quite a bit of Clark/Chalmers extended mind stuff, too.)
It will take me a while to fully digest all of Stross's ideas relevant to the Alternate Minds project, (e.g. his treatment of group minds and virtual minds) but I'm especially impressed right now with his depiction of transcendent intelligences and the threat they pose to the enhanced-but-still-human post-humans (and the development of what Stross calls "cognitive anti-bodies" and what I call "anti-minds").
I like Stross's short stories, but I haven't liked his full-length novels all that much thus far. Accelerando was originally a series of short stories I think.
ReplyDeleteStross's "A Colder War" is one of my all-time favorite short stories:
"There is life eternal within the eater of souls. Nobody is ever forgotten or allowed to rest in peace. They populate the simulation spaces of its mind, exploring all the possible alternative endings to their life. There is a fate worse than death, you know."
On "anti-minds", have you read any of Alastair Reynolds's "Revelation Space" series, with the Inhibitors?
Hey Rex, thanks for the reccomendations. I haven't read any of that stuff, but will definitely check it out.
ReplyDeleteAmassing cool recommendations is one of the main purposes of this blog. Thanks for the comment.
Crystal Nights. Another good story from Greg Egan.
ReplyDeleteOops, use this link instead!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of Sturgeon's story and look forward to its Eganiozation.