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Bruce Sterling: Islands in the Net 3 stars

Islands in the Net is a 1988 science fiction novel by American writer Bruce Sterling. …

Review of 'Islands in the Net' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This book predicts a lot (data havens, digital currency, smart watches) with a forgettable plot.

I'm sure I read this in the 90s, but barely remember any of it. A great description I read elsewhere is "cyberpunk from the corporate side", and that seems a good fit. Sterling spends a lot of pages describing various near-future tech, though this tech often fails to advance the plot in any way. Just over half way through it becomes a suspenseful thriller, and finishes with observations on government.

The author definitely had a good feel for the near future.