Anthropocene Rag Paperback – March 31, 2020

I liked this book. I used to it to wash away the bitter aftertaste of the classic dystopian speculative fiction I've been re-reading, more in preparation for what horrors the near future may bring and the comfort of familiar pastures than for entertainment. Not like the world of "Anthropocene Rag" is a happy place by any means, but there's a degree of whimsy in Irvine's dystopia that makes it curiously refreshing. He does not explain the rise of artificial intelligence or the catastrophe ("the Boom") that shape his version of North America except by invoking their aftermath. Constructs, AI avatars hardly distinguishable from human beings, wander the landscape in the form of famous historical figures. Playgrounds and major league ballparks are fused with the memories and thoughts of the people swept up in the Boom and forever lost. The role of nanotechnology likewise goes unexplained but not unevidenced ("plicks" circulate as tools and as currency despite their vulnerability to Boom effects). 'Tis a silly (but also deadly and devastated) place. His characters reckon with this world entertainingly as they accept mysterious invitations to Monument City and undertake cross-country journeys to reach it. By "entertainingly" I mean that I was mad that the story ended and would have paid money to find out what happened next.

First the six, then the seven. Intertwined stories of characters existing within a mythos that simultaneously merges our past with our future. Some may find the journey arduous, some may find it pointless, others may see reflections of themselves or find comfort in seeing nothing at all familiar.This book asks a question on its last page, or rather it asks the reader to ask the right question. At first, I felt like I had been robbed of an ending, I felt empty at a story unfulfilled, but then I remembered my Whitman. I asked the question, and in that question exists an answer more fulfilling than any ending Irvine could have written to their stories.The powerful play moves on.

I thought this might be my cup of tea - a hard take off singularity with humans gathered together by one of the AIs. And it is in spots. Irvine does a pretty good job of drawing characters, but doesn't give them equal time. Some are more like spear carriers than actual characters.And then there's Irvine's favorite characters - Life-7 and Prospector Ed, the AIs that seems to be in charge of this Odyssey. Those more pages than anything else.And then there is the ending... it literally just STOPS. An extra chapter would have gotten it 4 stars. I don't know if Irvine was trying for literary status, just had to finish the thing or his editor had ideas, but it just stops.All in all, it was entertaining but not what I was hoping it would be.Not to my taste and I can't recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley for a providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.This book, that in all honesty I thought was going to turn out to be pretty dumb, had me hooked from the first page in a bizarre adventure that I could not put down. This odd little novel manages to be equal parts Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Westworld, and Welcome to Night Vale while at the same time being a very distinct work.The thing I was most concerned with while reading this was the question of “how can strange this story possibly end?” Some may be dissatisfied with how it does, but I felt that it fit perfectly with both the writing style and the overall narrative.And that is all I will say on any of that, as I feel to go into any detail about the book would harm someone’s enjoyment of it. I recommend if for anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic SF as it is definitely one of the more unique entries into the genre.

This book is a masterpiece of mind bending dystopian sci-fi, Americana, and imaginative prose. Beautifully written and accessible, putting literary perfection in a package that could be appreciated by anyone. I can’t possibly recommend it enough, buy it, read it, try to wrap your head around it, then go back and do it again because you’ll notice things you missed the first time.What are you waiting for?

An interesting landscape of a post America after a sentient AI releases programmable nanoites that can change reality. At least I...think so....and thats the problem with the book. I was dropped into it "midstream" without much context. It describes a quest by six individuals starting at different locales in order to reach avcommon destination - but thats it. Unfortunately, for a story that has no context at its beginning - it also has no closure at its ending. So I was left frustrated with many questions unanswered. 3 stars for imagery - but the truth is imagery is all it has to offer but no real plot

This reads like a first draft produced for the write a novel in a month club. Without giving too much away, it's a roadtrip in nanotech gone crazy land, or rather a series of roadtrips of a set of characters, selected in a "Charlie and Chocolate Factory" kind of lottery to journey to a mystical city. Unfortunately, the different concepts, elements and characters are all just kind of thrown out there, and don't ever come together. In particular, the final couple of chapters just sort of flail into adolescent "what ifness." A good editor and a couple more drafts might have pulled something interesting out this.

From north, east, south and west the 6 oops 7 invitees make their way across a strange transformed America. The author manages to invent strange new concepts such as the Boom, never really explain them directly, yet make them so real that you don’t think twice as you read about them.