Rating: 
Summary: Hits on all cylinders
Review: There is so little to add to the praise from the other reviewers, all of it accurate and well said. One warning, those with rightish-leaning politics will probably no like the ending. That said this book is timeless and works on every level. Wonderfully written in a stylistic sense. A great story as well, and as usual for Brunner just a masterful job of world building. As far as I am concerned Brunner needn't have created his plots in this book as well as Zanzibar and Sheep. The sheer joy of seeing the worlds he makes is enough for a 5 star review. Above and beyond that however a quarter century later the book still displays relevancy in speaking both of technology and societal change. Both have been discussed by other reviewers. I will just add that this is one of the books that will stay with you your whole life, and upon each re-reading at every stage of your life it will give more to you.
Rating:
Summary: You think Y2K is a problem?
Review: There is so much to be said about The Shockwave Rider, that it can leave one speechless. I read it for school, and 90 pages in, was ready to throw it across the room. If you are reading it, I urge you not to (throw it, that is). It is a wonderfull, well-composed plot that is simply unclear at first. It pulls all together at the end, so don't give up! Nick is an extremely complex character, and from the people he sleeps with, I gather Brunner wanted to make a statement about the lack of emotional attachment he saw being a result of the computer based world. Kate is an excellently written character, and the novel is a pleasure, once you've figured out what is happening, even though Freeman - bith in name and in character - is a little cliche. Still, he makes you feel good. Excellent Book!
Rating:
Summary: The book that turned me into a computer nerd
Review: There's not much to add to the reviews above... Brunner foresaw so many things so long ago, one wonders how he did it. How many of the current crop of cyber-SF (or any SF) books will still be so on-target 20 years from now? If you haven't read this book, you've missed something good. Fix that now. I wonder where I would be now, if the 70's high school student that I was hadn't been overwhelmed by the urge to be Nick Halflinger...
Rating:
Summary: A very nearly prophetic book--a sign of our modern times
Review: This book is one of the most daring efforts to put the social economic views presented by Alvin Toffler in _Future Shock_ into a real human perspective. The most incredible view was that of the "gang" culture and that of the psycho-pharmaceutical business going through the ceiling as a necessity due to the stressors of the culture moving as such a rapid rate. This book captures the essence of a person who finds life on the edge a thrilling adventure, an escape, while yet still being carefully observed by his benefactors. This is very nearly a prophetic work. This book that is a must read for the Y2K event.
Rating:
Summary: Foresight into the Future!
Review: This is a great great book! It was first published in 1975 with was a year before the first personal computer! Before the internet! But it forsaw all of these things and more. This book is also rumored to the inspiration for the first computer "worm" written by Robert Morris. It is in my opinion one of the greatest sci-fi books ever written. And equal to Neuromancer in terms of cyber genera books in greatness.
Rating:
Summary: Foresight into the Future!
Review: This is a great great book! It was first published in 1975 with was a year before the first personal computer! Before the internet! But it forsaw all of these things and more. This book is also rumored to the inspiration for the first computer "worm" written by Robert Morris. It is in my opinion one of the greatest sci-fi books ever written. And equal to Neuromancer in terms of cyber genera books in greatness.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a must read for people into dark future SF.
Review: 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. Where science runs rampant and human contact is shunned in favot of the data network. This book is a must read for anyone who enjoys dark future gritty worlds.
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