Rainbows End

{4.5/5} “You-Gotta-Believe Me. That is, mind control. Weak, social forms of YGBM drove all human history. For more than a hundred years, the goal of irresistible persuasion had been a topic of academic study. For thirty years it had been a credible technological goal. And for ten, some version of it had been feasible in well-controlled laboratory settings.”

Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge, published in 2006

Robert Gu is 75 but he’s been cured of several problems including Alzheimer’s. He looks like a teenager but he’s not sure if he can write poetry the way he used to. Juan Orozco is an average high school student who likes playing video games. Then he’s approached by a mysterious person who has an offer of an affiliance. Juan can make money by finding out about the seniors in his class — like Robert Gu. Alfred Vaz is trying to save the world, but to do that he has to put a very complex plan into motion. And he needs the help of a powerful individual who calls himself the Rabbit.

It’s about working together, the advance of technology, and 21st century complexities.

Part of the book deals with library books being shredded and digitized. I don’t mind digitization but the shredding part is horrifying.

If you want to know what the future will be like, read this book.

I previously reviewed Vinge’s novel Marooned in Realtime.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 28th, 2016 at 8:21 pm and is filed under Reviews of books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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