Rating: 
Summary: Great potential...poor execution
Review: This book was a challenge for me to read, it took me three weeks (and I normally average ~800 pages/week.) The idea of a future catastrophically altered by nano piqued my intrest, but it never came to fruition. There were constant references to nano-plagues and the "Information War" that made the world what it was but these things were never explained. It is hard to accept a background of zero substance. The writing style bothered me also. I found myself reminded of Falkners "The Sound and the Fury" with the mid-sentence change in perspective from human to bee and back again. Most of the characters were either discussed in exquisit detail and later turned out to have no real bearing on the out come of the story, or were hardly developed but played a crutial role in the unfolding of the story. So if you want a post-nano-apocolyptic tale I would suggers looking elsewhere, unless you enjoy confusion, tedium and jaunted reading.
Rating:
Summary: A Slog
Review: This book [is bad]. Tedious, and nothing happens.
Rating: 
Summary: Kirkus review has it part right: it's "Fuzzy, overlong"
Review: This novel was quite disappointing. The scientific justification for the rise of nanotech was unecessary and implausible. The history of the rise of nanotech was sparse and implausible. The story of what happened once nanotech arrived was uninteresting and implausible. The plot (what there was of it) was simply boring.
Rating: 
Summary: Cutting edge science fiction!
Review: This review is for both QUEEN CITY JAZZ and the sequel MISSISSIPPI BLUES, as I just read both back to back. Although both novels may to some people be too long, after having read them both I found them to contain excellent character development and also a great story. Both books center on nanotechnology, in the medium term future, and it's effects on the characters, and the country as a whole, very well done. Of course, if this doesn't appeal to you, read one of Arthur C. Clarke's outdated space operas. These two books are first class science fiction, with hard science thrown in, you won't find any fantasy here. I especially liked the morality and down to earth world views of the characters. Now we need another sequel. One final note, if you like hard science fiction, also read THE FIRST IMMORTAL by James Halperin, a very good book, also with nanotechnology thrown in.
Rating:
Summary: Cutting edge science fiction!
Review: This review is for both QUEEN CITY JAZZ and the sequel MISSISSIPPI BLUES, as I just read both back to back. Although both novels may to some people be too long, after having read them both I found them to contain excellent character development and also a great story. Both books center on nanotechnology, in the medium term future, and it's effects on the characters, and the country as a whole, very well done. Of course, if this doesn't appeal to you, read one of Arthur C. Clarke's outdated space operas. These two books are first class science fiction, with hard science thrown in, you won't find any fantasy here. I especially liked the morality and down to earth world views of the characters. Now we need another sequel. One final note, if you like hard science fiction, also read THE FIRST IMMORTAL by James Halperin, a very good book, also with nanotechnology thrown in.
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