Book: Counting Heads by David Marusek

Another book I finished lately is Counting Heads by David Marusek, which was named as one of twelve finalists for the John W. Campbell Award.

Counting Heads is chock full of new concepts (as are all my favorite books) and presents a sharp commentary on the post-9/11 world that we've created for ourselves -- you know, the one that sacrifices freedom and the pursuit of happiness on the altar of so-called-security.

Cory Doctorow posted a nice description and review of the book, which I assure you, does not exaggerate:

It's hard to summarize this book because again and again, the plot hinges on wonderful, original inventions, and just describing the storyline would spoil too many of David's delightful surprises. I haven't felt as buffeted by a book since Gibson's Neuromancer -- haven't felt more like I was reading something truly radical, new and exciting.

When David was writing short stories, he was an exciting writer. Now that he's onto novels, he's practically a force of nature.

BTW, while some of the less-than-positive customer reviews on Amazon make some valid points, I think that they may have been looking for a nice, formulaic plot structure (not the hallmark of a good book IMHO) which kept them from seeing the gloriously rich landscape and the fascinating characters inhabiting it.

Via Boing Boing.