The Machinery of Light, by David J. Williams
Book Review by Joshua Palmatier
Have you read this book?
Literally just finished reading the third book in David J. Williams' Autumn
Rain trilogy, The Machinery of Light. This is an action-packed
sci-fi thriller that you can totally see being made into a movie, with intense
battle scenes that are non-stop, along with highly visual settings that the
movie industry would love.
There's also some heavy-duty tech going on, mostly dealing with the author's vision of what the "internet" and "computers" will be like in the future, what he's calling "zones" in the book. Nearly all of his main characters access these computer zones through hardware wired through their minds, and nearly all of the REAL warfare between the factions is waged and won on these zones. All of the high-tech mercenary gear and other massive weapons and mechware are essentially the brute force needed to get the razors--those who hack the zones--into place so they can do their thing.
All of this is background that was set up in the first book, but it gives you the flavor of all three. In this third novel, David J. Williams' takes the stakes--already set pretty high in the first two novels--to new levels. We still get the non-stop action, but now all of the players--mechs, razors, the Autumn Rain group, the Manilishi, etc--are into position for the final power play. And this power play will extend from the Himilayas all the way to the center of the Moon, and in many ways beyond. And through it all, the main characters are trying to determine if it all hasn't been foreseen and their actions predetermined by the mastermind behind it all, Sinclair, who's real purpose no one really knows.
I loved all three of these books. They are fast-paced (I'm not certain they could be any faster actually, without everything being an instant download to the brain), well-written, sharp, and with a driving force that propels the reader forward whether they want to go there or not. I don't generally read sci-fi, because too much of it is focused on the tech and not enough on the characters. There's a ton of tech here, certainly, but we also get to know the characters, and the final actions that some of them take are directly related to their own personal needs and wants. That itself was compelling, but where the novel ended--the real sci-fi element behind the book, not just the heavy-duty machinery and weaponry--was also suitably thought-provoking.
Like any good sci-fi book out there, the end result isn't exactly precise, isn't perfectly understandable, but has just enough solidity to make it feel real and to leave readers with interesting questions that can only be answered by themselves. Think in terms of the ending of Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Williams' ending may not be as profound (it's arguable), but it has that same flavor. I can't say much more about this ending without significantly spoiling the plot, so I'll shut up now.
I don't know what's next on David J. Williams' plate, but I'd definitely like to see what he comes up with.
There's also some heavy-duty tech going on, mostly dealing with the author's vision of what the "internet" and "computers" will be like in the future, what he's calling "zones" in the book. Nearly all of his main characters access these computer zones through hardware wired through their minds, and nearly all of the REAL warfare between the factions is waged and won on these zones. All of the high-tech mercenary gear and other massive weapons and mechware are essentially the brute force needed to get the razors--those who hack the zones--into place so they can do their thing.
All of this is background that was set up in the first book, but it gives you the flavor of all three. In this third novel, David J. Williams' takes the stakes--already set pretty high in the first two novels--to new levels. We still get the non-stop action, but now all of the players--mechs, razors, the Autumn Rain group, the Manilishi, etc--are into position for the final power play. And this power play will extend from the Himilayas all the way to the center of the Moon, and in many ways beyond. And through it all, the main characters are trying to determine if it all hasn't been foreseen and their actions predetermined by the mastermind behind it all, Sinclair, who's real purpose no one really knows.
I loved all three of these books. They are fast-paced (I'm not certain they could be any faster actually, without everything being an instant download to the brain), well-written, sharp, and with a driving force that propels the reader forward whether they want to go there or not. I don't generally read sci-fi, because too much of it is focused on the tech and not enough on the characters. There's a ton of tech here, certainly, but we also get to know the characters, and the final actions that some of them take are directly related to their own personal needs and wants. That itself was compelling, but where the novel ended--the real sci-fi element behind the book, not just the heavy-duty machinery and weaponry--was also suitably thought-provoking.
Like any good sci-fi book out there, the end result isn't exactly precise, isn't perfectly understandable, but has just enough solidity to make it feel real and to leave readers with interesting questions that can only be answered by themselves. Think in terms of the ending of Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Williams' ending may not be as profound (it's arguable), but it has that same flavor. I can't say much more about this ending without significantly spoiling the plot, so I'll shut up now.
I don't know what's next on David J. Williams' plate, but I'd definitely like to see what he comes up with.
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