The Shockwave Rider: Amazon.co.uk: John Brunner: Books

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13 Reviews

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4 star:		(1)
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4.3 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tell me it's not true!, 14 Jun 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shockwave Rider (Mass Market Paperback)

The late Mr. Brunner predated the cyberpunk genre in this and it's two companion volumes (The Sheep Look Up and Stand On Zanzibar). Unfortunately for the cyberpunks, John Brunner was a far better writer than any of them, and his vision more far-reaching. The plots of all three of these books almost have to be absorbed rather than analyzed to get the full effect (show, don't tell), and each has at least one character that really stands out, in this case Nicky Halflinger. I still have the hardcover copy that I stole from the library, so I wouldn't have to keep buying it like I did Stand On Zanzibar, which was on its second go-round with me. Buy it, steal it, get it at the library, whatever. Just read it.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Protean cyberpunk from an author tragically ahead of his time., 6 Sep 2006

By	Anthony Alexander (London, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although shorter than the epic Stand on Zanzibar, and similar in some ways to the mighty Sheep Look Up, Shockwave Rider is an overlooked classic of sci-fi. Like much genre fiction it suffers from weak characterisation, but draws comparison with Huxley's Brave New World, other 70s new wave, and of course the later cyber sci-fi of the 80s. That we are all riding the shockwave of technological change is now more obvious than then, and Alvin Toffler's non-fiction 'Futureshock', mentioned in the preface, is the most important context to understand this book. Predicting in the early 70s a worldwide web of information accessed via phonelines is prescient. But as an unstoppable force for freedom of information and human rights, the book's conclusion captures the radicalism inherent in the internet. The brief visit to an ecologically sustainable community, in contrast to the technocratic mainstream society, is another factor of a 1970s perspective that has a strong reflection in present day thinking. Although these locations are not developed in enough detail to be hugely informative. If anything, Brunner's shocking pronouncements of a technolgical society going wrong are now so common-place in the news today as to seem glib. Brunner also suffered from trying to create futuristic idioms of language that date his work as badly as science fiction from the 1940s. Nonetheless when I read this aged 15, I thought it was pretty cool. To pick a single Brunner it has to be Zanzibar, and today I'd say Ken Macleod's Sky Road is a better value read, but in the history of sci-fi this is not insignificant.

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating ideas, but poor plot and characters, 3 Jan 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Shockwave Rider (Mass Market Paperback)

Brunner has tried to pack to much into a short novel. Written in the mid-70s his vision of a 'datanet' which can be accessed from any phone is remarkable. However, there are to many lengthy political asides and the characters are to flimsy to sustain interest. By the end I was skimming rapidly to finish the book - the ending by the way is particularly poor.

Brunner can do much better than this - if you have the stamina for it try Stand on Zanzibar, a much better novel.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Future Shock class
The book describes a surreal and frightening future world with an omnipresent internet, and an all-powerful government which oversees the movement of all its citizens. Read more

Published on 27 Jun 2003 by Vishal B

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly precient book. The writing style is very 70's.
This book is one of several John Brunner books that are frighteningly good predictions of today and the future.

The writing style may put some people off. Read more

Published on 17 Mar 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Fuure Shock brought to life.
"Future Shock" was way ahead of its time but heavy going. This is ahead of its time and very readable. Read more

Published on 7 Feb 2000

1.0 out of 5 stars May well be the WORST book I've ever read
Although Brunner foresees the influence of a national "datanet" and the book sports a sort of hacker/phreaker hero, you can tell the author quickly made the story up as... Read more

Published on 22 May 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I have ever read
Shockwave Rider tells a fantastic story of a none-too-distant future, where the internet can be accessed from a normal public phone, but has become the main instrument of social... Read more

Published on 13 Oct 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal.
I think I was 10 years old when I first read this book. Every summer after that, I would search for it in the library again. Read more

Published on 10 Jul 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a must read for people into dark future SF.
This was an excellent read, Brunner created a world much like our own could be. A world where the rich are rich and the poor fight for what food they can get. Read more

Published on 29 Jun 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars The book that turned me into a computer nerd
There's not much to add to the reviews above... Brunner foresaw so many things so long ago, one wonders how he did it. Read more

Published on 14 Jan 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Cyberspace fiction
Shockwave Rider is a book before its time - written in the early 1970s but still providing a vision for the future of computer networks today. Read more

Published on 27 Nov 1997

5.0 out of 5 stars This is what Science Fiction should be like
John Brunner's Shockwave Rider is a compelling novel successfully combining a stunning vision of a/the/our future society and a meticulously crafted plot that never lets you leave... Read more

Published on 28 Oct 1997

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	86% buy the item featured on this page: The Shockwave Rider 4.3 out of 5 stars (13) �11.58
	14% buy Stand On Zanzibar 4.4 out of 5 stars (18) �6.99