Snow Crash

Snow Crash was my first experience reading anything in the cyberpunk genre and it exemplified the style and definition of the genre itself. You have technology being for the elite. This is shown in the metaverse. You have the different styles of avatar for different types of people. You have to be wealthy or smart (good at hacking) to have a good avatar. The novel even mentions the bargain store types of avatars you are able to have.  The way you get to the metaverse is through your  private “home” or if you can't afford it or don't have the skill there are public domain type of entries into it. This again shows a class distinction. This class distinction though does not translate into the real world. Hiro Protagonist (love the name) is living in an old U-Store-It in the real world and has his own mansion in the metaverse. It is no wonder that people take more worth out of the metaverse and spend more time there in this type of future. I did enjoy the humoristic elements in the novel. Such as the idea that one of the things American still does best in the world is delivering pizza. Also I noticed hat often these genres we are studying take an idea to its extreme. This is shown with the freedom in America being taken to its height.  I really enjoyed the double narrative from Y.T and Hiro, I thought that allowed for a nice difference in view points and it kept the story fresh. It is definitely a high velocity plot. There are a lot of anime elements to the style of cyber punk and this is reiterated with out protagonist in not only his heritage but also his use of weapons and in the fight scenes of the novel. Over all I am really enjoying reading Neal Stephenson’s work.

Cyber Punk

·      1980s

·      Definition:  technology is elite, everyone controlled by technology, post human, sub realities, virtual realm/ internet

·      William Gibson- “noir prophet” of the cyberpunk- cyber cowboys and adventure elements- data becomes more important than anything

·      Post Human- humanist construction of the world changes into the human just being a part of the system// a movement away from humanist preoccupation

·       Post human vs. fundamentalism (idea that there is an absolute and a truth as we know it)

·      Cyber punk as a style

o   Hackers

o   Dystopian view

o   Corporations rule

o   Money

o   Retro

o   Film noir

o   Cyber punk heroine – influenced by 70’s feminism- “ still has babe powers”

·      Donna Haraway- Cyborg Manifesto 

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Cat's Cradle is a dark comedy at it's very core with Sci-Fi themes layering over it. This novel deals with science and religion in an end of the world scenario. There is extreme foreshadowing through out the novel so the reader already knows that doom approaches. Yet the fresh wit of the narrative keep the story lively.  There are riddles and interweaving story lines that connect the dots of destruction, as it were, so that we clearly see how the narrator reached his fate. The rapture is a growing popular theme in science fiction and connects to the religious elements of the novel. Martyrdom as well reinforces this theme. It is very well written and a captivating read. It also presents the idea of accepting the end of the world and in what way different people handle it. It presents a dark reality with the concept of Ice 9 and the possibility of man's self districting nature. Great read but be warned, do something happy after you read it.

Narratives from the Multiverse

Notes

·      Interested in the development of humans

·      Dune film directed by David Lynch

·      Odd tone to the movie- melodramatic

·      Bedouin references

·      Genetic “death clocks” biochemical clocks

·      Life extension qualities and what it takes

·      60s and 70s Sci-Fi deals with life extension and mind expansion

·      Fiction of ideas vs. fiction of technology

·      Paranoia

·      Women Writing Space Opera

·      C.L. Moore- original space opera writers //30s and 40s// focuses more on the internal lives of her characters, psychology, intuition, emotion

·      Esp is very big for fantasy heroines

·      Leigh Brackett- The Big Sleep

·      Lois McMaster Bujold- Aral Vorkosigan and Cordelia Maismith- family sagas

·      Catherine Asaro- combines the romance novel with the conventions of science fiction- heavy science

Aye and Gomorrah by Samuel Delaney

This short story does a wonderful job at captivating its audience right away. It is shown through a very interesting viewpoint, that of a spacer.  “He” is a spacer, a genitally mutilated astronaut of sorts. I like that this story didn’t out right explain anything to the reader. It just starts off and through the events the narrator goes through we are able to understand the world he lives in, to an extent. I was thoroughly surprised at the subject matter in the work but that is also why it was so fascinating.  The characters, no matter how briefly they are mentioned, all seem unique and interesting. The interaction between the girl” Frelk”, in Istanbul is a very interesting interaction because it really allows us to see how our narrator thinks and understand a little more about him.  This is definitely a look at the development of humans both mentally and sexually. Body modification is a casual subject matter here as well as our protagonist seems at peace with his becoming essentially an androgynous a-sexual character. The issue of population control also arises for a moment in the story to help justify what has happened to parts of society.  By the end of it nothing is resolved but it definitely gives the reader something to think about.