Review Detail

I haven’t read good technologically oriented science fiction novel lately, but Sean Williams satisfied all my geeky and tech cravings with Twinmaker. I can only say: now this is how the future should be envisioned!
- Built-in contact lenses that sound like better and improved cousin of Google Glass.
- Instant teleportation around the world with d-mat booths.
- Wireless energy transferred via satellites to all electronic devices.
- You can create anything (except humans) with fabbers – so lack of food or money are problems in distant past.

I loved all the tech stuff that Sean Williams predicts waits for us. And I liked the moral and philosophical dilemmas he implies using them will make: from the problem of do clones have souls to overflow of meaningless information.
"Buried in the Air under a mountain of irrelevant information, as all important things are. Nothing is hidden, and everything is ignored. The surveillance state doesn’t need violence to perpetrate injustice. All it needs is our indifference."

Story of Twinmaker is told from the perspective of Clair. It was very interesting reading about how young adults have fun in the future. From Lucky jump via teleportation (instead of Google’s Get Lucky button) to impromptu parties. Even ridiculous inspirational chain letters still exist in the future. You know the kind: wish very hard and forward to x number of friends (I always hated them). So imagine Clair’s surprise when it works for her friend Libby .

Clair’s inquisitive mind and worry for Libby force her to investigate the issue and the more her search lasts the deeper problems it reveals until the very foundations of the society are shaken. The chase was very intense in the beginning, but there was a time near the end when it went a little bit boring for me, maybe because the book is pretty long.

With the surprising finish everything became captivating again. There is no big cliffhanger but with a lot of secrets out I am intrigued to find out which direction will society and government choose. And we have a sequel coming up in 2014 to answer those question. :)

IN THE END…
Twinmaker will be a treat for all gadget fans who love to read about moral dilemmas created by depending on technology too much. Or if you liked the fighting against the government in Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, then you should definitely check out Twinmaker.

Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a honest review.