Air - Geoff Ryman Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!

Other books by
author Geoff Ryman

"Air"
Message Board

Review Summaries

" St. Martin's Dec 2003, 13.95, 400 pp. ISBN: 0312261217 In 2020, impoverished Karzistan keeps the same culture that has existed in this mountains Asian country for centuries. The central government feels forcing everyone to enter the information age by bringing modern day technologically to the populace will improve things though the villagers are more interested in food and shelter. Karzistan, along with the rest of the globe, is going on line when Air, the global networking system, is launched. No one bothered to ask villagers of places like Kizuldah whether they wanted to join the international community, because individual rights mean nothing in the Information Age. The connection will reside in everyone's head regardless of feelings. The first implementation of Air leads to some deaths amidst the villagers. Fashion expert Chung Mae, who provides cosmetics services and sells dresses to the farmers' wives of Kizuldah had been considered the link to the rest of the world before Air was launched. Since Air was fostered on everyone, Mae has the memories of a dead woman co-occupying her head. Meanwhile the government concludes that the test was a success and round two will begin next year so Mae tries to teach Internet 101 to everyone. Geoff Ryman provides readers with an interesting look at the future with the merging of leaders, bureaucrats and technocrats to trample individual rights. The vivid description of the impacts of the Air imprint on the cerebellum is ingenious. Though the tale at times ironically fails to interconnect its cautionary theme that everyone will be part of the Information Age even if cultures die in the process of enforced adaptation, this is an engaging work of speculative fiction. Harriet Klausner

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout. "
Harriet Klausner, Resident Geoff Ryman Scholar

Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!

Overall Review

Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.

Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Repressive because: - controls your mind - strict rationing of freedoms/goods
Kind of alteration: - Under control of microchip in brain
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's a slave/repressed? - humans are slaves of other humans

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - homemaker
Age: - 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Earth setting: - current (early 21st century)

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

Most similar books by Gordonator ranking
The Prisoner by Thomas M. Disch
Cybernetica by Michael J. Cavallaro
Anthem by Ayn Rand
The Penultimate Truth by Philip K. Dick
Starship by Kevin D. Randle

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Book search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed book search
(click here) or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion

Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!

Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!

Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game

Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 8/27/2008 6:32:04 PM

Alien Hunter : Alien Hunter 8/27/2008 3:15:14 AM

Charmed: What's wrong with Rose McGowan's chin? 8/26/2008 8:21:36 AM

Charmed: What kind of name is Piper for a girl? 8/20/2008 5:34:24 PM

Blade Runner: Blade Runner 8/14/2008 11:21:07 PM

The Mask: The Mask 8/14/2008 11:06:36 PM

Young Frankenstein: Young Frankenstein 8/10/2008 12:10:26 AM

Doctor Who: Who was the best companion? 8/8/2008 6:19:08 AM

Xena: How could anyone like Joxer? 8/7/2008 3:37:46 AM

Space 1999: Silliest Episode 7/30/2008 2:49:34 PM

Newest slaves:
Heather Locklear (Melrose Place) 12:11:50 AM
Lao Mama Jr. 12:11:20 AM
Clone Trooper 12:11:11 AM
Nikita (Peta Wilson) 12:10:06 AM
Adria 12:10:03 AM
General Grievous (Grevious) 12:08:41 AM
Heather Graham 12:08:04 AM
Willow (Alyson Hannigan) 12:07:50 AM
Christina Aguilera 12:07:46 AM
Cameron Diaz 12:07:42 AM
All slaves
(click here)

Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)