This was quite a remarkable book. The writing style is unsophisticated, but not clunky. I found it quite easy to read and got through the nearly 500 pages in very good time. The characters were well enough drawn. I did not necessarily like any of them, but that is not the point. Indeed, on a certain level I found Mae quite annoying and would question some of her decisions.
The book is really all about a concept - the Circle. It is a very logical extension of social networking as it stands today. I guess that the story is set in the near future - maybe 2020 - as none of the technology is far fetched. Oddly, I cannot decide whether the story is dystopian or utopian - the open future that is envisaged has some great attractions, but, at the same time, I am not sure how comfortable I would be to live in this world.
The book is thought provoking, making one consider the real status of data/information and how privacy [if there is such a thing] jars with human nature. I have often joked that people who complain that there are too many CCTV cameras should be arrested as a preventative measure, as they are clearly planning to commit a crime. In this story that is almost exactly what occurs.
Occasionally, parts of the story are predictable - like the fate of Mercer. But other events - like the revelation of the true identity of Kalden - caught me on the hop. I felt that the ending was a little weak. I was expecting something dramatic, but felt somewhat as if the author had become bored and wanted to move on to something else.
I will now be interested to see the film.
The book is really all about a concept - the Circle. It is a very logical extension of social networking as it stands today. I guess that the story is set in the near future - maybe 2020 - as none of the technology is far fetched. Oddly, I cannot decide whether the story is dystopian or utopian - the open future that is envisaged has some great attractions, but, at the same time, I am not sure how comfortable I would be to live in this world.
The book is thought provoking, making one consider the real status of data/information and how privacy [if there is such a thing] jars with human nature. I have often joked that people who complain that there are too many CCTV cameras should be arrested as a preventative measure, as they are clearly planning to commit a crime. In this story that is almost exactly what occurs.
Occasionally, parts of the story are predictable - like the fate of Mercer. But other events - like the revelation of the true identity of Kalden - caught me on the hop. I felt that the ending was a little weak. I was expecting something dramatic, but felt somewhat as if the author had become bored and wanted to move on to something else.
I will now be interested to see the film.
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