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Infoquake (Volume 1 of the Jump 225 Trilogy by David Louis Edelman
01/11/2006 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: Prometheus Books. 432 page enlarged paperback. Price: $15.00 (US). ISBN: 1-59102-442-0. Buy Infoquake in the USA - or Buy Infoquake in the UK  check out website: www.pyrsf.com and www.infoquake.net
check out website: www.pyrsf.com and www.infoquake.net
Looking at the title and cover, there was a pause for thought as to just what I was going to read here. As it turns out, 'Infoquake' is practically a cyberpunk novel although unlike the works of William Gibson, author David Louis Edelman actually knows his subject and isn't prone to making errors with understanding programmers aren't drug addicts, cyberspace and nanotechnology.
Well, only if you count not being able to tell who's there in person. It took a little while to get into that but having the history of lead character Natch given in the second section got all this sorted out nicely to fill in the gaps. Edelman has obviously thought everything out and I unconsciously accepted what the terminology was about. When I got to the back of the book, one of the appendixes covered all the terms used and most were substitutes for things known today so if you can see beyond labels this shouldn't be a problem. This is a fully realised reality with none of its fears...mind you, these characters have problems of their own.
Before you get totally carried away that this is a cyberpunk novel, I should point out that this is also at the business end in that we follow how small companies who develop nanotechnology software are formed and the skulduggery involved in rising to the top in the future. Technology is used but not in an intrusive way...well, unless you're hooked up like the rest of the population. Such is the case of Natch who is practically a near anti-hero of the piece who is handed a partnership in a new technology, MultiReal, without really knowing what it is until near the release date. Things aren't helped as towards the day of the demonstration, Natch is kidnapped and infected with a black virus that can be triggered again unless it can be recognised against all the other nanotech in his body but that's for the books to come.
Trying to say too much about this story and there is a tendency to give away too much about the plot itself. Edelman has done an excellent job of bringing characters to life for a new writer. He even made business deals interesting. This is also very high grade Science Fiction, using the trappings and then adding more. One can only hope the other two books in this trilogy maintains this standard.
GF Willmetts
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