Bloom

Rating:
Summary: Reminiscent of BLOOD MUSIC and the themes of CHILDHOOD'S END
Review: One of McCarthy's better efforts. Great ideas, rather poor character development, a GREAT horrific scene, and a good mind blowing ending (although, I suppose, not entirely unexpected). Obviously owes a lot to BLOOD MUSIC, but I was also reminded of CHILDHOOD'S END in overall feel and the Amnion, strangely enough, of Donaldson's GAP series.

Rating:
Summary: Dry Reading
Review: Sometime in the mid-twenty-first century, a nanotechnology accident of unknown origin devours Earth and then the moon. The end result, the Mycosystem, is a growing rot feeding on any organic and inorganic material it encounters. Like its fungal namesake, it spreads by spores.

Riding on the solar wind, these spores cause "blooms" when they enter the human habitats inside Ganymede, Callisto and assorted asteroids. For twenty years, man has survived by developing elaborate "immune systems" to fight the blooms. However, recent blooms show an alarming sophistication and ability to skirt these countermeasures. Armored against "technogenic life", the spaceship Louis Pasteur departs for the depths of the Mycosystem, Earth and Mars. Its mission is to determine whether the Mycosystem has developed the ability to inhabit new niches in the Solar System.

Documenting the mission is John Strasheim, a former cobbler given the chance to practice his talents as an amateur journalist. But, shortly after the mission is underway, evidence comes forth that humans still exist in the Mycosystem -- and that someone wants the mission to fail.

This book has a lot to like. McCarthy tells a taut, hard science story. His nanotechnology is not magic. Indeed, he shows various ways -- ph balances, chemicals, too much and too little energy -- the "gray goo" type of nanotechnology accident could be contained. He also delves into ideas of complex systems, their emergent properties, and the implications of using evolutionary design to combat the Mycosystem and understand it.

McCarthy also does a very good job with the characterization of narrator Strasheim as he learns new truths about the Mycosystem and confronts the possibility of a violent death. The captain of the Louis Pasteur is also a memorable character, a man so lacking in a sense of humor that he literally has one surgically implanted. My only complaint with the novel is that McCarthy doesn't bring to life the other crew members of the Pasteur except for Renata Baucum, a Mycosystem specialist antagonistic to Strasheim.

McCarthy keeps his scientific and political mystery brief and fast moving. While the revelations of the Mycosystem's nature are not totally unexpected, McCarthy brings in enough interesting detail and ambiguity to make it interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Detailed Nanotechnology and Strong Characterization
Review: Sometime in the mid-twenty-first century, a nanotechnology accident of unknown origin devours Earth and then the moon. The end result, the Mycosystem, is a growing rot feeding on any organic and inorganic material it encounters. Like its fungal namesake, it spreads by spores.

Riding on the solar wind, these spores cause "blooms" when they enter the human habitats inside Ganymede, Callisto and assorted asteroids. For twenty years, man has survived by developing elaborate "immune systems" to fight the blooms. However, recent blooms show an alarming sophistication and ability to skirt these countermeasures. Armored against "technogenic life", the spaceship Louis Pasteur departs for the depths of the Mycosystem, Earth and Mars. Its mission is to determine whether the Mycosystem has developed the ability to inhabit new niches in the Solar System.

Documenting the mission is John Strasheim, a former cobbler given the chance to practice his talents as an amateur journalist. But, shortly after the mission is underway, evidence comes forth that humans still exist in the Mycosystem -- and that someone wants the mission to fail.

This book has a lot to like. McCarthy tells a taut, hard science story. His nanotechnology is not magic. Indeed, he shows various ways -- ph balances, chemicals, too much and too little energy -- the "gray goo" type of nanotechnology accident could be contained. He also delves into ideas of complex systems, their emergent properties, and the implications of using evolutionary design to combat the Mycosystem and understand it.

McCarthy also does a very good job with the characterization of narrator Strasheim as he learns new truths about the Mycosystem and confronts the possibility of a violent death. The captain of the Louis Pasteur is also a memorable character, a man so lacking in a sense of humor that he literally has one surgically implanted. My only complaint with the novel is that McCarthy doesn't bring to life the other crew members of the Pasteur except for Renata Baucum, a Mycosystem specialist antagonistic to Strasheim.

McCarthy keeps his scientific and political mystery brief and fast moving. While the revelations of the Mycosystem's nature are not totally unexpected, McCarthy brings in enough interesting detail and ambiguity to make it interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully crafted, compact , technologically fascinating .
Review: The game of life was described in Scientific American, maybe in the '70'S. I fooled with it on graph paper at that time, learning a little about how it works in turtle-time. Now, after decades of not even reading a new sci-fi novel, here it is again! I was immediately captured by this little book, and it never let me go. I have rarely seen better craft. Check out the throwaway devices - the fear doll (horrors!) and the tickle implant are brilliant little creations, presents from the author to the reader that I appreciate and envy. The tone of the novel is dark and claustrophobic, yet the end... Fantasy fans and non-tech types will not enjoy this. I REALLY liked it.

Rating:
Summary: Scared the heck out of me.
Review: The main idea brought forth in this book scared the heck out of me. The idea is that wandering nanotech could drift for ages, then suddenly "bloom", eating all matter in the vicinty, thus creating terrible destruction. The book would translate to film very well.

Sure, some of the characterization is weak, but that's not why we read hard-SF like this. The science and the ideas are key here, and Wil McCarthy delivers on both.

Rating:
Summary: Scared the heck out of me.
Review: The main idea brought forth in this book scared the heck out of me. The idea is that wandering nanotech could drift for ages, then suddenly "bloom", eating all matter in the vicinty, thus creating terrible destruction. The book would translate to film very well.

Sure, some of the characterization is weak, but that's not why we read hard-SF like this. The science and the ideas are key here, and Wil McCarthy delivers on both.

Rating:
Summary: A good view on how technology can go unchecked.
Review: The mycora a nanoscale biological/technological device created in the mid twentieth century has gotten completely out of control. endlessly mutating, endlessly evolving, and endlessly ravenous the have taken over the entire inner solar system from mercury to Mars. Humanity (the less than 2 million that escaped earth) is now forced to inhabit the asteriod belt (Gladholds) and the Jovian moons in the area of space known as the Immunity where they have created macrophages capable of digesting the myvora. Blooms or a group of mycora that have gotten into the habitable moons are frequent and kill nearly twenty people a month. On a mission the explore the mycosystem (inner solar system) a group a scientists aboard the Loius Pasteur are sent to earth and mars to place detectors to tell the Jovian moons when the mysore have adapted to the the cold of the outer system. This mission is wrought with sabotage and disaster. A good book from one of the great science fiction writers. It illustrates how unknown biological technology can quickly become dangerous and out of control. If you like nanotechnology this is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: A good view on how technology can go unchecked.
Review: The mycora a nanoscale biological/technological device created in the mid twentieth century has gotten completely out of control. endlessly mutating, endlessly evolving, and endlessly ravenous the have taken over the entire inner solar system from mercury to Mars. Humanity (the less than 2 million that escaped earth) is now forced to inhabit the asteriod belt (Gladholds) and the Jovian moons in the area of space known as the Immunity where they have created macrophages capable of digesting the myvora. Blooms or a group of mycora that have gotten into the habitable moons are frequent and kill nearly twenty people a month. On a mission the explore the mycosystem (inner solar system) a group a scientists aboard the Loius Pasteur are sent to earth and mars to place detectors to tell the Jovian moons when the mysore have adapted to the the cold of the outer system. This mission is wrought with sabotage and disaster. A good book from one of the great science fiction writers. It illustrates how unknown biological technology can quickly become dangerous and out of control. If you like nanotechnology this is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Dry Reading
Review: The portions of the book that I read were very dry. His use of Calculus integrals in the text is a turn off for the average sci-fi reader.

Rating:
Summary: Agree with "shrug"
Review: There is a review in the list titled "shrug". I agree with this person. I saw the book advertised in "the Scientist" an excellent bi-monthly science magazine (which I read from cover to cover) and it gave me a "must have" feel. I was disappointed with the style, content and the end. In all not what I expected. barely two stars.