Monsters of Men
This book, really this whole trilogy, was stressful. I'm glad I made it through, but it was definitely rough going. I almost put the book down and walked away from it entirely, though I'm glad I didn't. But that's not the author's fault. It's just that reading a book about fighting a fascist despot hit a bit too close to home in the current political climate.
It didn't help that the metaphor was a bit too perfect. Information flows free on this planet in a way that's overwhelming. And the mayor/president is better at controlling it than anyone else. At using it for his own ends. He's ultimately able to directly control other people, which raises the uncomfortable question of just how responsible Todd is for his actions.
The thing is that Todd does some really despicable things. The enemy singles him out as the worst of all humans because he knew that what he was doing was wrong but he did it anyway. But he was coerced. And the question remains open as to just how coerced he was. How much control did he really have. And how does that affect his redemption.
Because that's the other thing this book is really about. In addition to the flood of information and the way it corrupts and subsumes people, this is a book that asks who deserves redemption. Is there a line beyond which you can't come back and where is it? How many bad things do you have to do before you can no longer call yourself a good person?
This book asked some hard questions, and I'm not entirely sure I agree with where it landed on everything. I think Todd should have been held a bit more accountable. I think The Land's grievances were never properly redressed. I think the solution of embracing the information overload is not entirely correct.
But it was an interesting and fast-paced series. This book's pace was not quite as break-neck as the previous two books, which made it a little easier to swallow. And there was finally some understanding of physical limitations. Sort of. I'm glad I finally read it, though I may have gotten more out of it had I been a bit younger.
It didn't help that the metaphor was a bit too perfect. Information flows free on this planet in a way that's overwhelming. And the mayor/president is better at controlling it than anyone else. At using it for his own ends. He's ultimately able to directly control other people, which raises the uncomfortable question of just how responsible Todd is for his actions.
The thing is that Todd does some really despicable things. The enemy singles him out as the worst of all humans because he knew that what he was doing was wrong but he did it anyway. But he was coerced. And the question remains open as to just how coerced he was. How much control did he really have. And how does that affect his redemption.
Because that's the other thing this book is really about. In addition to the flood of information and the way it corrupts and subsumes people, this is a book that asks who deserves redemption. Is there a line beyond which you can't come back and where is it? How many bad things do you have to do before you can no longer call yourself a good person?
This book asked some hard questions, and I'm not entirely sure I agree with where it landed on everything. I think Todd should have been held a bit more accountable. I think The Land's grievances were never properly redressed. I think the solution of embracing the information overload is not entirely correct.
But it was an interesting and fast-paced series. This book's pace was not quite as break-neck as the previous two books, which made it a little easier to swallow. And there was finally some understanding of physical limitations. Sort of. I'm glad I finally read it, though I may have gotten more out of it had I been a bit younger.
Comments
Post a Comment