Douglas Huxley

Edge3 is the name of a plague/malicious computer virus that has infected most of the workers on the planet. The technology is glossed over and is unimportant; this novel is more of a mashup of space opera/fantasy/cyberpunk/zombie story than it is a hard science thriller. It is a sign of the times that the technology referenced in Edge3 is just not that far off form what is possible, and the description of the spread of the technology followed the now familiar spread of any technological fad: Sony Walkmen, ipods, iphones, FaceBook, what have you.

This short novel can be read in an evening and follows a familiar plot of an ordinary man who becomes involved in extraordinary events. He must choose resistance to the plague. The infected are not sick but rather obedient to a network of the infected. In choosing to be free, William ends up losing everything. For me one of the enjoyable aspects of the novel is how it took so many familiar things -- suburban sub divisions, office parks, homeless pan handlers, bike trails, ad so on -- and made them part of a menacing and somewhat strange world.

The scenes are brief. Huxley gets in and gets out page after page and I found myself remembering a much longer more elaborate novel. In retrospect I admire the brevity displayed here. At the time I was reading it, however, I found myself surprised to find the scenes over and on to the next one. I am reminded in this aspect of the novel of the very short songs by the Minutemen (named after the militia men but the name could have applied to their song length.)… (más)