Novel by Kathleen Ann Goonan. Published in paperback on the 13 April 2000 by Millennium Books (ISBN: 1857988884).
Synopsis (from Amazon.co.uk):
"The world of "Crescent City Rhapsody" is a world that is being changed by the day by advances in nanotechnology, a world where radio has died, a world of vastly increased lifespans, and a world where extra-terrestrials play a pivotal role in everyone's life."
An excellent book, one that I have just finished reading. Goonan's continuing obsession with bees and bionan systems, and how they would affect a society, add a rich background to this tale of intrigue and extra-terrestrial shenanigans. Goonan has used this formula before, in Queen City Jazz and its sequel Mississippi Blues, and as always, it has worked. The concept of huge bee-like hive cities is interesting, and in realms of nanotech, not completely farfetched. However, it would only really be useful in the situation, the Silence, that Goonan describes.
Heavily researched and fascinating, Goonan has been described as the next Stephenson, and after reading this and her earlier works, I have to agree. In some areas, such as plot, she even surpasses the great Neal. |
