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A Stint in the Glasshouse
“GLASSHOUSE (2006) written in the first person, set in a distant future, is fun to read. In places where the plot seems murky be assured it is supposed to be that way. Hang in there. Where did author Stross come up with the Linebarger Cats (the main character's former employer)? The expression stays with me like it's been programmed in. Of Curious Yellow (a computery virus that laces the novel) I think I got that historical reference, it made me smile when I thought I got it. I rate the book at four stars for the fine characterization and the creative treatment of the future of humankind. If there'd been less violence I'd have gone to five stars. I understand the need for the violence in the story but that does not mean I enjoyed it. ”
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-07-22. -
Quirky and Fun
“I haven't read all Charles Stross' novels, but I'm working my way through them. In general, he has an odd outlook on the universe that's strange, insightful and humorous.
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-07-13.
This novel falls into that same category. Its set in a post-human universe where the line between human and software is blurred. In this universe, the period between 1950 and 2050 are a dark age of which little is known. This creates the perfect opportunity to make various and sundry comments about contemporary society.
With this as a background, the story itself is a bit of a spy thriller, a bit of a war novel and a lot of fun. If you're in the mood for something quirky and different, this is a novel to climb into.” -
Gets two thumbs-up
“Several hundred years from now, humanity has just finished the Censorship Wars. Using an electronic virus called Curious Yellow, it targeted the brains of historians as they used teleportation gates (the major method of transportation). Robin has just emerged from a medical clinic with most of his memory wiped. Perhaps he was one of those targeted historians; he does have memories of being in a tank regiment during the war, not as a soldier, but as a tank. He joins a research program to recreate the "dark ages," the late 20th and early 21st centuries, by having volunteers live in an actual, recreated "town." It sounds like a good way to get away from whoever is trying to kill him; whatever he did, or was, before his wipe, it must have been important.
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-05-16.
The participants are given random, anonymous identities (Robin is turned into a woman named Reeve). Along with Sam, her "husband," they are placed into what looks like Smalltown, USA. They are given little, or no, idea as to just what they are supposed to do. All the couples are electronically monitored; during mandatory church services on Sunday, any faults or misdeeds are pointed out to everyone. Reeve is one of the few who begins to realize that something is really wrong. Their contract specifies a minimum amount of time to be in the study, approximately 3 years, but does not specify a maximum amount of time. The town has become a very high-tech panopticon. The women have suddenly become fertile, and several female participants have become pregnant. Perhaps the idea is to create a new race of people who don't know that there is an outside world. Perhaps it has to do with this new race re-infecting the rest of humanity with a new and improved version of Curious Yellow.
Here is a wonderful piece of writing. The best part is the author's look at present-day life. He does not just needle it or poke fun at it, he rips it to pieces and stomps on what is left. The rest of the book is also very much worth reading. This gets two strong thumbs-up.
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An excellent SF adventure
“A thriller set in what seems to be the same future as Accelerando, although there is no direct connection. Robin is in therapy recovering from a major personality erasure and discovers that someone is trying to kill him for reasons he cannot remember. He volunteers to be part of an experiment where a group of people will be isolated from the rest of the universe in a simulated 20th century culture in order to buy himself time, ending up as something like a 1950's housewife, but soon discovers that the administrators of the experiment do not have the subjects best interests in mind.
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-03-31.
This is one of the best science fiction adventure stories I have read recently, and my favorite book of Stross's so far. The standard technology of Robin's time includes teleporters and assemblers that can build full copies of anything including people, so there is effective immortality and no material needs, but people face the risks of being involuntarily changed by stepping through a hacked transporter gate. The contrast with the primitive conditions that Robin is forced to live under in the experiment allows Stross to comment on our society. The story moves at a good pace, with plenty of action and twists. The characters are the most interesting, fully-developed ones I have seen in a Stross novel. My only issue with the story is that it did seem like Robin was coincidentally put into a position where everything needed to start a rebellion was easily available, which allows for a quick resolution of the plot. ” -
No stones to cast at this one
“Back in my high school and college days, I was quite the fan of science fiction and had a pretty good grasp of the genre. Since then, I've moved on to horror, mysteries and lots of non-fiction, leaving sci-fi behind. I haven't abandoned my appreciation of the genre, however, and still read an occasional book in the field; Charles Stross's Glasshouse shows why science fiction is still worth my time.
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-01-26.
A few centuries in the future, mankind has spread throughout the galaxy, aided particularly by wormhole technology that allows almost instantaneous travel. A similar technology allows the reconstruction of humans (and machines), making true death rather unlikely as long as you have a back-up created. Of course, if you are about to die, is it really comforting to know a copy of you exists? For that matter, what if more than one copy is made? Putting these questions aside, however, this new technology does allow people to heal from almost any injury, as well as change form (including gender).
Before the events of Glasshouse, a virus of sorts called Curious Yellow got into the machines, threatening the integrity of the reconstructed people. Robin, the narrator, had participated in conflicts involving Curious Yellow and now has inflicted an amnesia on himself to get rid of some bad memories. Unfortunately, others don't seem to care that his memory has been excised and are out to kill him. An opportunity presents itself with the Glasshouse, a kind of bio-dome where he can hide out and be secure from the outside world.
The Glasshouse not only keeps people out, however, it also keeps people in. A social experiment that has the inhabitants living an early 21st century life, the Glasshouse also has a more sinister agenda that Robin needs to stop and escape from. Placed in the body of a woman, he must rebuild his warrior skills even as old memories come back to haunt him.
Glasshouse is appropriately mind-bending without being overly so. Though very little of it takes place in space, I still think of this as space opera, emphasizing adventure over hard science. It is also a fun read, showing why Stross is one of the up-and-comers in science fiction writing.”
