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Dis-Accord
Jun. 21st, 2012 09:16 amHey,
Sometimes, even in e-books, you get what you pay for. After reading Harmony last week, I realized the author, Keith Brooke, had done an earlier book that I'd been interested in reading, but somehow never got around to purchasing. That book is called The Accord and there's now a cheap e-book copy. So I snagged it.
I think I'm coming to the conclusion that I just don't care for Mr. Brooke as a writer.
The gist of this novel is that there's this guy Noah who is heading up the world-wide effort to create a virtual reality good enough that we can upload our personalities when we die and it'll be like living in the "real" world. His boss is an Elector (some sort of world-body politician) named Jack. Jack has a wife named Priscilla. Noah falls in love with Priscilla and they have a short-lived affair. It's short-lived because Jack finds out and kills Priscilla in a fit of jealous rage and then Noah kills himself so that both Noah and Priscilla wind up in the virtual reality (called The Accord). Jack realized this and vows to get revenge. There follows a long three-way game of cat and mouse (actually two-way since Priscilla is mostly a pawn) through virtual reality.
The problem is that Noah isn't really much of a better person than Jack. What's more problematic is that in the last quarter, the book starts spanning vast amounts of time (everyone is effectively immortal after all), but both Noah and Jack never get past their obsession with Priscilla while she changes quite considerably (although she does get her personality altered a couple of times...and that's problematic, but it also pushes her to change and in some ways she's the best character in the book). In the end, Noah is still pining for this woman and exhibiting a creepy amount of "nice guy" attitude.
I guess maybe the idea that there's a love or a jealousy that really is eternal is a compelling idea, but...nothing really hangs together in this book.
Well, they can't all be winners
Tom
Sometimes, even in e-books, you get what you pay for. After reading Harmony last week, I realized the author, Keith Brooke, had done an earlier book that I'd been interested in reading, but somehow never got around to purchasing. That book is called The Accord and there's now a cheap e-book copy. So I snagged it.
I think I'm coming to the conclusion that I just don't care for Mr. Brooke as a writer.
The gist of this novel is that there's this guy Noah who is heading up the world-wide effort to create a virtual reality good enough that we can upload our personalities when we die and it'll be like living in the "real" world. His boss is an Elector (some sort of world-body politician) named Jack. Jack has a wife named Priscilla. Noah falls in love with Priscilla and they have a short-lived affair. It's short-lived because Jack finds out and kills Priscilla in a fit of jealous rage and then Noah kills himself so that both Noah and Priscilla wind up in the virtual reality (called The Accord). Jack realized this and vows to get revenge. There follows a long three-way game of cat and mouse (actually two-way since Priscilla is mostly a pawn) through virtual reality.
The problem is that Noah isn't really much of a better person than Jack. What's more problematic is that in the last quarter, the book starts spanning vast amounts of time (everyone is effectively immortal after all), but both Noah and Jack never get past their obsession with Priscilla while she changes quite considerably (although she does get her personality altered a couple of times...and that's problematic, but it also pushes her to change and in some ways she's the best character in the book). In the end, Noah is still pining for this woman and exhibiting a creepy amount of "nice guy" attitude.
I guess maybe the idea that there's a love or a jealousy that really is eternal is a compelling idea, but...nothing really hangs together in this book.
Well, they can't all be winners
Tom
