Glasshouse

Charles Stross

Jun 2006 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

“ONE NIGHTMARISH PANOPTICON.” – The New York Times
               
When Robin wakes up in a clinic with most of his memories missing, it doesn’t take him long to discover that someone is trying to kill him. It’s the twenty-seventh century, when interstellar travel is by teleport gate and conflicts are fought by network worms that censor refugees’ personalities—including Robin’s earlier self.
             
On the run from a ruthless pursuer and searching for a place to hide, he volunteers to participate in a unique experimental polity: the Glasshouse, a simulated pre-accelerated culture where participants are assigned anonymized identities. But what looks like the perfect sanctuary turns into a trap, placing Robin at the mercy of the experimenters—and at the mercy of his own unbalanced psyche…

Ratings and reviews

I won't be able to recommend this as I read a lot other books much better than this. I really don't know how readers are giving it a good rating. But many times in the book the writer kept dragging the story without any suspense at all. I think the book should have been finished within 100/120 pages.

I'm not sure how to explain; while this is certainly an OK Stross book, I don't count it a favorite. I'd characterize the milieu of the tale to be a bit too abstract for my taste. It feels odd that the intelligent lobsters of Accelerando seem less abstract :-)

Not quite as fun as his Atrocity Archives series but still interesting and enjoyable. Builds good tension and a satisfactory if somewhat abrupt (typical Stross) ending.

About the author

Charles Stross was born in Leeds, England in 1964. He holds degrees in pharmacy and computer science, and has worked in a variety of jobs including pharmacist, technical author, software engineer, and freelance journalist. He is now a full-time writer.