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Cyberbooks
A futuristic satire on the fate of the publishing industry after the invention of "cyberbooks", electronic books which eliminate the need for paper, printers, salesmen, distributors and even booksellers.
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1989
4 people are currently reading
194 people want to read
About the author
Ben Bova
691books1,007followersBen Bova was born on November 8, 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1953, while attending Temple University, he married Rosa Cucinotta, they had a son and a daughter. He would later divorce Rosa in 1974. In that same year he married Barbara Berson Rose.
Bova was an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He was an environmentalist, but rejected Luddism.
Bova was a technical writer for Project Vanguard and later for Avco Everett in the 1960s when they did research in lasers and fluid dynamics. It was there that he met Arthur R. Kantrowitz later of the Foresight Institute.
In 1971 he became editor of Analog Science Fiction after John W. Campbell's death. After leaving Analog, he went on to edit Omni during 1978-1982.
In 1974 he wrote the screenplay for an episode of the children's science fiction television series Land of the Lost entitled "The Search".
Bova was the science advisor for the failed television series The Starlost, leaving in disgust after the airing of the first episode. His novel The Starcrossed was loosely based on his experiences and featured a thinly veiled characterization of his friend and colleague Harlan Ellison. He dedicated the novel to "Cordwainer Bird", the pen name Harlan Ellison uses when he does not want to be associated with a television or film project.
Bova was the President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past President of Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
Bova went back to school in the 1980s, earning an M.A. in communications in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1996.
Bova has drawn on these meetings and experiences to create fact and fiction writings rich with references to spaceflight, lasers, artificial hearts, nanotechnology, environmentalism, fencing and martial arts, photography and artists.
Bova was the author of over a hundred and fifteen books, non-fiction as well as science fiction. In 2000, he was the Author Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention (Chicon 2000).
Hollywood has started to take an interest in Bova's works once again, in addition to his wealth of knowledge about science and what the future may look like. In 2007, he was hired as a consultant by both Stuber/Parent Productions to provide insight into what the world is to look like in the near future for their upcoming film "Repossession Mambo" (released as "Repo Men") starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker and by Silver Pictures in which he provided consulting services on the feature adaptation of Richard Morgan's "Altered Carbon".
Bova was an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He was an environmentalist, but rejected Luddism.
Bova was a technical writer for Project Vanguard and later for Avco Everett in the 1960s when they did research in lasers and fluid dynamics. It was there that he met Arthur R. Kantrowitz later of the Foresight Institute.
In 1971 he became editor of Analog Science Fiction after John W. Campbell's death. After leaving Analog, he went on to edit Omni during 1978-1982.
In 1974 he wrote the screenplay for an episode of the children's science fiction television series Land of the Lost entitled "The Search".
Bova was the science advisor for the failed television series The Starlost, leaving in disgust after the airing of the first episode. His novel The Starcrossed was loosely based on his experiences and featured a thinly veiled characterization of his friend and colleague Harlan Ellison. He dedicated the novel to "Cordwainer Bird", the pen name Harlan Ellison uses when he does not want to be associated with a television or film project.
Bova was the President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past President of Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
Bova went back to school in the 1980s, earning an M.A. in communications in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1996.
Bova has drawn on these meetings and experiences to create fact and fiction writings rich with references to spaceflight, lasers, artificial hearts, nanotechnology, environmentalism, fencing and martial arts, photography and artists.
Bova was the author of over a hundred and fifteen books, non-fiction as well as science fiction. In 2000, he was the Author Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention (Chicon 2000).
Hollywood has started to take an interest in Bova's works once again, in addition to his wealth of knowledge about science and what the future may look like. In 2007, he was hired as a consultant by both Stuber/Parent Productions to provide insight into what the world is to look like in the near future for their upcoming film "Repossession Mambo" (released as "Repo Men") starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker and by Silver Pictures in which he provided consulting services on the feature adaptation of Richard Morgan's "Altered Carbon".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
December 3, 2019
When this book was published in 1989, it was clearly a science fiction. Now, in 2013, only 24 years later, it became a widespread reality, with deviation in only tiny details. Rarely a sci-fi novel can boast such a fate, especially when its focus is so far from science. Cyberbooks is a sci-fi satire on the publishing industry, a mockery of every aspect of publishing: from editing to technology to royalties.
Some phrases in the book jump at the reader, demanding a comment, a rebuttal, or an agreement. Or a laugh.
Here a character contemplates the need for human editors vs. a computer:
Not in the real world though, where 24 years later, a publishing revolution arrived willy-nilly, and Carl’s fictional dream became an everyday purchase � a Sony or a Kindle, a Kobo or a Nook. Except that the writer didn’t predict the Internet, the rest is practically the same. He said digital books would be cheap � and it came true. He said the bookstores would die � and it’s coming true, sadly enough. He said nobody would buy a hardcover � I think we’re moving in that direction. He even predicted DRM � his electronic book wafers are protected against copying, damn his clever notions. I think Amazon used Bova’s ideas as a blueprint for their Kindle.
While the concepts behind this book are fascinating, the execution is uninspiring. The plot is banal, and the characters plastic. It would’ve been a pretty forgettable book if not for its sheer prophetic power. I read it and I thought: Oh, yeah!
Some phrases in the book jump at the reader, demanding a comment, a rebuttal, or an agreement. Or a laugh.
Here a character contemplates the need for human editors vs. a computer:
Computers can check a manuscript’s spelling and grammar much more thoroughly than any human being can. What do editors do that computers can’t?Two editors discuss the latest horror novel and its selling potential:
“It’s the same old tripe,� she said� “Blood, devil-worship, blood, supernatural doings, blood, and more blood. It’s awful.�And what do the publishers think of good literature:
“But it sells,� said Ashley Elton.
“No New York publisher would touch it. It’s a thousand manuscript pages long. It’s not category. It’s literature. That’s the kiss of death for a commercial publishing house. They don’t publish literature because literature doesn’t make money.�But thrashing the publishing community is not enough to make a book, at least not a sci-fi book. The author went one step further. His hero, a young engineer Carl, creates a Cyberbook � an eReader � which he claims is the greatest invention since Gutenberg. This electronic gadget the size of a mass market paperback will revolutionize the publishing world. In the following snippet, Carl rhapsodizes about his creation:
“But if it’s so good…�
“That’s got nothing to do with it,� Lori said, almost crying.
“Who would buy a hardcover or a paperback,� Carl retorted, “when an electronic books will cost pennies?�Unfortunately for Carl, his friend Malzone was right. Hardly anyone in the novel wanted a publishing revolution. The printers and the warehouse workers, the truck drivers and the bookstores, the salespeople and the lumber industry � none of them wanted to be eliminated by cyberbooks, so they buried Carl’s invention � in fiction.
Malzone grunted, just as if someone had whacked him in the gut with a pool cue.
“PԲԾ?�
“Sure, the reader—this device, here—is going to cost more than a half-dozen books. But once you own one you can get your books electronically. Over the phone if you like. The most expensive books there are will cost less than a dollar!�
“Now wait a minute. You mean…�
“No paper!� Carl exulted. “You don’t have to chop down trees and make paper and haul tons of the stuff to the printing presses and then haul the printed books to the stores. You move electrons and photons instead of paper! It’s cheap and efficient.�
For a long moment Malzone said nothing. Then he sighed a very heavy sigh. “You’re saying that a publisher won’t need printers, paper, ink, wholesalers, route salesmen, district managers, truck drivers—not even bookstores?�
“The whole thing can be done electronically,� Carl enthused. “Shop for books by TV. Buy them over the phone. Transmit them anywhere on Earth almost instantaneously, straight to the customer.�
Malzone glanced around the shadows of the clean room uneasily. In a near whisper, he told Carl, “Jesus Christ, kid, you’re going to get both of us killed.�
Not in the real world though, where 24 years later, a publishing revolution arrived willy-nilly, and Carl’s fictional dream became an everyday purchase � a Sony or a Kindle, a Kobo or a Nook. Except that the writer didn’t predict the Internet, the rest is practically the same. He said digital books would be cheap � and it came true. He said the bookstores would die � and it’s coming true, sadly enough. He said nobody would buy a hardcover � I think we’re moving in that direction. He even predicted DRM � his electronic book wafers are protected against copying, damn his clever notions. I think Amazon used Bova’s ideas as a blueprint for their Kindle.
While the concepts behind this book are fascinating, the execution is uninspiring. The plot is banal, and the characters plastic. It would’ve been a pretty forgettable book if not for its sheer prophetic power. I read it and I thought: Oh, yeah!
August 3, 2019
I found an old copy of this book in a second hand store, and after the first few pages, was a little disappointed. I persevered, and as I continued I realized that it was a classic example of the brilliance of Bova. The book was written in the eighties, before eBook readers existed, and prophesy's the creation of the first eBook reader, and the problems it might create when introduced.
Unlike most of Bova's work, this book has a strong comedy element, and should be read as such. It is a tongue in cheek, satirical dig at the traditional publishing industry. It is easy to see this going right over the head of some readers, but once you get it, the story takes on a life of it's own. Once I got into it I couldn't put it down.
The story centers around Carl Lewis, the inventor of the first ever E-reader. He finds himself embroiled in the machinations of two rival traditional publishers, a handful of suitably Machiavellian characters, and a court case brought on by various interest groups who cannot see beyond their own self interest. There are even a number of murders - I won't say any more there so as not to spoil.
Even though this book is now thirty years old, and has been overtaken by the technology of publishing (which has proven it's prophecy mostly right) it is still worth reading, just to look into traditional publishing, and for the entertainment value. I can't help wondering how many of Bova's hilarious views on that industry are (or were) actually based on fact.
If I found anything to criticize, it would be that I did not think the rational behind the murders was well explained, but that was not enough to reduce my enjoyment of the story.
Unlike most of Bova's work, this book has a strong comedy element, and should be read as such. It is a tongue in cheek, satirical dig at the traditional publishing industry. It is easy to see this going right over the head of some readers, but once you get it, the story takes on a life of it's own. Once I got into it I couldn't put it down.
The story centers around Carl Lewis, the inventor of the first ever E-reader. He finds himself embroiled in the machinations of two rival traditional publishers, a handful of suitably Machiavellian characters, and a court case brought on by various interest groups who cannot see beyond their own self interest. There are even a number of murders - I won't say any more there so as not to spoil.
Even though this book is now thirty years old, and has been overtaken by the technology of publishing (which has proven it's prophecy mostly right) it is still worth reading, just to look into traditional publishing, and for the entertainment value. I can't help wondering how many of Bova's hilarious views on that industry are (or were) actually based on fact.
If I found anything to criticize, it would be that I did not think the rational behind the murders was well explained, but that was not enough to reduce my enjoyment of the story.
July 13, 2018
My most charitable interpretation is that this book was intentionally written to be terrible so that by virtue of being published it would exist as proof of the dysfunction of the publishing industry it seems to want to indict.
Avoid reading; I can't name a single thing that makes it worthwhile.
Avoid reading; I can't name a single thing that makes it worthwhile.
February 10, 2024
You can probably guess from the title but it's about ebooks (surprise!). The parts about digital books being sold on digital readers is the best part, and you can get that from the cover. The funniest part about it is the zeerust of using a phone to call a human to order your digital book which arrives via mail at the book store, naturally. Guess the internet really did come out of nowhere for almost everybody, go figure.
But oh boy, was this one rough. Pulling back some, this is clearly the author grinding his axe about the state of the publishing industry in the last quarter of the 20th century. Lots of discussion about editors holding on for dear life as they try to get something, anything, out the door that isn't a rehash of the last thing that sold well. Plenty of inside baseball chatter about the book industry and publishing practices. It's almost a period piece, while also being speculative fiction.
The 'comedy' parts read as if you were trying to describe a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon via the medium of telegraph. There are several uncritical uses of, what are now, old-fashioned ethnic slurs (though they aren't used in a positive way) and a woman who is described as 'exotic' without any hint of irony. The resolution is a bit of a shaggy dog story, but at least it ties off the loose ends.
There's also a 'funny' portion where an aging publishing magnate gets rejuvenated via medical science and goes into a sex frenzy with his wife. It is somehow both less graphic and too graphic at the same time.
It's worth reading over the tech bits, those are interesting enough. I'd gloss over the comedy bits.
But oh boy, was this one rough. Pulling back some, this is clearly the author grinding his axe about the state of the publishing industry in the last quarter of the 20th century. Lots of discussion about editors holding on for dear life as they try to get something, anything, out the door that isn't a rehash of the last thing that sold well. Plenty of inside baseball chatter about the book industry and publishing practices. It's almost a period piece, while also being speculative fiction.
The 'comedy' parts read as if you were trying to describe a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon via the medium of telegraph. There are several uncritical uses of, what are now, old-fashioned ethnic slurs (though they aren't used in a positive way) and a woman who is described as 'exotic' without any hint of irony. The resolution is a bit of a shaggy dog story, but at least it ties off the loose ends.
There's also a 'funny' portion where an aging publishing magnate gets rejuvenated via medical science and goes into a sex frenzy with his wife. It is somehow both less graphic and too graphic at the same time.
It's worth reading over the tech bits, those are interesting enough. I'd gloss over the comedy bits.
July 19, 2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
Really enjoyed this black comedy as it skewers the publishing, fashion industries all while making fun of corporate downsizing, authors, NYC, the justice system and gunmakers.
No more chopping down forests to make paper. No more ignorance and poverty. The price for information will go down to the point where everyone on Earth can obtain all the knowledge they need. They won't even have to know how to read; the next improvement on my invention will be the talking book. The singing book. The device that speaks to you just like the village story teller or your own mother.
Really enjoyed this black comedy as it skewers the publishing, fashion industries all while making fun of corporate downsizing, authors, NYC, the justice system and gunmakers.
May 16, 2018
It's amazing this book came out in 1989 and to see that many of the concerns and enthusiasms on both sides of the ebook debate are still going strong, years later. In Cyberbooks the rejection and objection to the ebook concept comes not from the authors but the marketing department and distributors. The question copyright and IP control don't even enter the question. The book may have been meant as a commentary on the publishing business circa the 1980s and so it suffers from jokes falling flat and a whiff of "quaintness" that often dogs older science fiction.
November 13, 2019
I had the advantage of reading this before the internet era and living in East London a knowledge of the area mentioned re the satellite communication dishes.
SPOILER ALERT
I absolutely loved the idea of an alien being being beamed back to earth to a DNA computer. Would hate for it to actually happen of course.
The book may be dated now but at the time it was a great example of near future sci fi.
Deserves a higher rating than it gets
SPOILER ALERT
I absolutely loved the idea of an alien being being beamed back to earth to a DNA computer. Would hate for it to actually happen of course.
The book may be dated now but at the time it was a great example of near future sci fi.
Deserves a higher rating than it gets
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 20, 2023
Classic, problematic, near future fear-mongering from the recent past. Bova managed to make some thoughtful predictions about how automation would impact the future of work while parading his racism and perverse obsession with whether or not his characters were attractive. It was fun to see the author's vision of the future from his vantage point in the late 1980's.
June 19, 2018
Darkly humorous with a fair amount of literary references as well as jibes at the publishing industry, the characterization is good, action fun and never boring.
December 3, 2020
Brilliant foresight for its time but the humour is weak.
January 18, 2021
Great story about electronic books.
September 8, 2022
Long and hard to read. Interesting take on e-books before they were actually invented. Fiction becomes reality!
February 25, 2024
Hilarious
November 5, 2013
Now that we exist in a world where electronic books (and the devices to read them) have become widely available and used, it is interesting to look back at what the reaction of the publishing industry might have been to the very idea of paperless books. The e-book (as we’ve come to call them) has lived up to its promise of reducing the costs of books and expanding the selection of titles available, as projected in the novel. But it is easy to see how e-readers and the internet have cut into the sales of physical books and even more deeply into the sales of newspapers and magazines. So the opposition of those whose jobs depend on the distribution of such paper books to the very idea of virtual books is entirely understandable and predictable, as happens in the book.
But this book is *SO* much more than an prediction regarding the impact of electronic books and the reactions to them. It is a biting parody of the entire publishing industry, taking serious stabs at the editorial decision making that allows mediocre writers to become (and remain) best sellers, while beautifully written books never get published. It portrays the publishing world almost like an alternate reality, with rules that seem to defy conventional logic, and where books succeed or fail not because they are good or bad, but because they are expected to succeed or fail.
Combine all of that with a series of mysterious murders and a desperate writer who will stop at nothing to see his book published, and you end up with a climactic scene that is almost crazy enough to have been written by Monty Python!
As science-fiction, this ‘near-future� story is a little hit-or-miss, providing some plausible projections, but completely missing in other areas (for example, magnetic levitation trains have not become widely adopted, and don’t look likely to be anytime soon). But in many ways, the projections here are less about trying to predict the future as they seem to be about providing social commentary, and in that sense they work well, lampooning society and culture right along with the publishing industry. There wasn’t a lot of deep content here, but it was a satisfyingly entertaining diversion.
But this book is *SO* much more than an prediction regarding the impact of electronic books and the reactions to them. It is a biting parody of the entire publishing industry, taking serious stabs at the editorial decision making that allows mediocre writers to become (and remain) best sellers, while beautifully written books never get published. It portrays the publishing world almost like an alternate reality, with rules that seem to defy conventional logic, and where books succeed or fail not because they are good or bad, but because they are expected to succeed or fail.
Combine all of that with a series of mysterious murders and a desperate writer who will stop at nothing to see his book published, and you end up with a climactic scene that is almost crazy enough to have been written by Monty Python!
As science-fiction, this ‘near-future� story is a little hit-or-miss, providing some plausible projections, but completely missing in other areas (for example, magnetic levitation trains have not become widely adopted, and don’t look likely to be anytime soon). But in many ways, the projections here are less about trying to predict the future as they seem to be about providing social commentary, and in that sense they work well, lampooning society and culture right along with the publishing industry. There wasn’t a lot of deep content here, but it was a satisfyingly entertaining diversion.
December 28, 2011
I picked up this book for free a week before Christmas and low and behold on Christmas Day, my partner and I receive a Kindle as a joint present. It’s a little less like the bulky cyberbook which looks reminiscent of a 1990’s cassette player and requires miniature wafers but in essence it’s the same. Of course the Kindle hasn’t brought the downfall of the publishing industry...yet!
This is classic sci-fi pulp. The characters are one dimensional and the plot is by the numbers but it is unexpectedly a fun read. Bova uses his experiences as a writer to satirise editors, publishers and the media. He doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the future of publishing and one does not have to look far in today’s Bestseller’s Charts to see such great works of literature like Santa Baby by Jordan...and Clare Corbett.
Despite the clichéd dialogue and even cheesier romance, the novel does explore the more serious issues of digital publishing. Bova does raise the issues of environmental benefits of using less paper and of job loss due to cutting out the middle men. Who needs agents, editors, publishers, sales people and bookshops when you can reach your readers directly? However, as my partner and I found out, buying and reading an e-book can no way replace browsing a bookshop’s shelves before buying a new book and opening up those fresh, white pages.
This is classic sci-fi pulp. The characters are one dimensional and the plot is by the numbers but it is unexpectedly a fun read. Bova uses his experiences as a writer to satirise editors, publishers and the media. He doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the future of publishing and one does not have to look far in today’s Bestseller’s Charts to see such great works of literature like Santa Baby by Jordan...and Clare Corbett.
Despite the clichéd dialogue and even cheesier romance, the novel does explore the more serious issues of digital publishing. Bova does raise the issues of environmental benefits of using less paper and of job loss due to cutting out the middle men. Who needs agents, editors, publishers, sales people and bookshops when you can reach your readers directly? However, as my partner and I found out, buying and reading an e-book can no way replace browsing a bookshop’s shelves before buying a new book and opening up those fresh, white pages.
July 28, 2016
Ben Bova is one of my favorite authors and I usually enjoy his books. You can definitely tell that this was one of his early works. Usually, his characters are engaging and you can really tell a lot about them and what's going on. In his early stuff, however, the characters are flat and there really isn't much development.
The story is still good, but it's a lot like eating a sandwich that's mostly stale bread. You know that the good stuff is there, but you have to deal with the blandness to taste it. Cyberbooks had a good story, but there wasn't really much to tie it all together. You're left wondering "What is the point of this character? Why is this storyline happening?" Most of the people could have been the same person, with few exceptions.
I think if he'd written it today, the book would have been one that you couldn't put down. As it was, I really only finished it because I wanted to see how it ended. (The ending was predictable, sadly enough, though I was happy that one of my favorite characters wasn't killed off.) I gave the book three stars because it WAS a good story, but there could have been more to it. Would I recommend it? Maybe. If you're a fan of Bova's work, I'd read this just to get a glimpse of how he was in the beginning of his career. Everyone has room to grow, right?
The story is still good, but it's a lot like eating a sandwich that's mostly stale bread. You know that the good stuff is there, but you have to deal with the blandness to taste it. Cyberbooks had a good story, but there wasn't really much to tie it all together. You're left wondering "What is the point of this character? Why is this storyline happening?" Most of the people could have been the same person, with few exceptions.
I think if he'd written it today, the book would have been one that you couldn't put down. As it was, I really only finished it because I wanted to see how it ended. (The ending was predictable, sadly enough, though I was happy that one of my favorite characters wasn't killed off.) I gave the book three stars because it WAS a good story, but there could have been more to it. Would I recommend it? Maybe. If you're a fan of Bova's work, I'd read this just to get a glimpse of how he was in the beginning of his career. Everyone has room to grow, right?
April 8, 2015
Cyberbooks (1989) 283 pages by Ben Bova.
The premise of the story is the creation of a device to read books electronically. Not too much of a stretch from reality. What is a stretch is how his world reacts to the reader, and the assumptions of what it would do. Somehow the invention would immediately replace what exists, causing massive unemployment.
Carl Lewis, a professor in Boston, invents the electronic book reader and comes to a New York publishing firm to sell his device. He knows an editor, Lori, a former classmate, and has gotten an interview with Bunker Books. Along the way Bova mentions many things that have not [yet] come to pass, more sophisticated robots and software, pheromones, portable x-ray devices, etc. The device sounds great, but then the sales people at Bunker rebel at the idea and a debate ensues. Webb publishing is also interested in getting the device, and isn't beyond industrial espionage. Add in some personal story lines and the novel gets more interesting.
Other than the logical flow of events bothering me, it was a good romp of a book. There was some humor, and the story flowed well, the characters were likable. There are a lot of other books by Bova, the Orion series, Voyager, etc., that I would recommend over this one.
The premise of the story is the creation of a device to read books electronically. Not too much of a stretch from reality. What is a stretch is how his world reacts to the reader, and the assumptions of what it would do. Somehow the invention would immediately replace what exists, causing massive unemployment.
Carl Lewis, a professor in Boston, invents the electronic book reader and comes to a New York publishing firm to sell his device. He knows an editor, Lori, a former classmate, and has gotten an interview with Bunker Books. Along the way Bova mentions many things that have not [yet] come to pass, more sophisticated robots and software, pheromones, portable x-ray devices, etc. The device sounds great, but then the sales people at Bunker rebel at the idea and a debate ensues. Webb publishing is also interested in getting the device, and isn't beyond industrial espionage. Add in some personal story lines and the novel gets more interesting.
Other than the logical flow of events bothering me, it was a good romp of a book. There was some humor, and the story flowed well, the characters were likable. There are a lot of other books by Bova, the Orion series, Voyager, etc., that I would recommend over this one.
October 9, 2008
a funny look at the publishing industry...
short plot desciption: Carl Lewis has while working at MIT developed an invention that will revolutionize the publishing industry. His "Cyberbooks"-device will reduce costs and time, save trees and bring knowledge to the masses...or so he thinks before he tries to sell his invention to the publisher Bunker Books...
my thoughts: quite visionary for the time it was written (1989) Bova predicts more or less accurate why we still at the time I'm writing these sentences (2008) have paper books (Kindle, Libre etc. not withstanding). Funny and sometimes nasty in places Bova describes the world of publishing and the forces in play, probably drawing on his own experiences though (I hope) exaggarating them. Don't expect much in the way of plot or characters, it's mostly by the numbers and predictable.
my advice: an amusing light read, something for the beach.
short plot desciption: Carl Lewis has while working at MIT developed an invention that will revolutionize the publishing industry. His "Cyberbooks"-device will reduce costs and time, save trees and bring knowledge to the masses...or so he thinks before he tries to sell his invention to the publisher Bunker Books...
my thoughts: quite visionary for the time it was written (1989) Bova predicts more or less accurate why we still at the time I'm writing these sentences (2008) have paper books (Kindle, Libre etc. not withstanding). Funny and sometimes nasty in places Bova describes the world of publishing and the forces in play, probably drawing on his own experiences though (I hope) exaggarating them. Don't expect much in the way of plot or characters, it's mostly by the numbers and predictable.
my advice: an amusing light read, something for the beach.
June 19, 2014
3.5 stars, definitely. This is a very light, breezy, somewhat darkly comic look at the near future as forecast by the author in 1989. Oh, it also does a pretty good job of predicting electronic books and their effect on the market/economy/society, etc. Some casually racist and sexist attitudes linger within the late-80s-written pages, but I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun "no space-ships or aliens" kind of sic-fi story.
Oh, I should mention: I bought my copy of this book at a surely-soon-to-be-gone used book store. When I was cashing out, I made a comment to the owner of the place that it was pretty ironic for me to be buying a paper copy of a book that foretold the coming of e-books. They didn't laugh at my super funny observation.
Oh, I should mention: I bought my copy of this book at a surely-soon-to-be-gone used book store. When I was cashing out, I made a comment to the owner of the place that it was pretty ironic for me to be buying a paper copy of a book that foretold the coming of e-books. They didn't laugh at my super funny observation.
November 30, 2014
A noir tale of the publishing industry the intention here clearly to feel retro. And yet, as dated as some of the technology is here, quite prescient.
I kept thinking "got that wrong", and "that tech is obsolete". And yet in these pages written so very long ago we can also see why eBooks had to be adopted, and why they have swept the industry recently (after a too-long delay).
Oh, and there's a serial-murder mystery woven throughout. Classic Noir, and yet puts you on the edge of your seat 'till the end.
No spoilers here. Just take the time to get all the way to the end of the story yourself for the payoff.
I kept thinking "got that wrong", and "that tech is obsolete". And yet in these pages written so very long ago we can also see why eBooks had to be adopted, and why they have swept the industry recently (after a too-long delay).
Oh, and there's a serial-murder mystery woven throughout. Classic Noir, and yet puts you on the edge of your seat 'till the end.
No spoilers here. Just take the time to get all the way to the end of the story yourself for the payoff.
March 29, 2010
An interesting book, kind of funny to read considering how the electronic reading device featured at the centre of the plot does now exist, but I see no sign of a collapse of the publishing industry yet.
This book had murder, intreague, romance, and a bit of science. There were lots of characters to keep track of which was confusing at times, but I would recommend it. Not quite your normal sci-fi book.
This book had murder, intreague, romance, and a bit of science. There were lots of characters to keep track of which was confusing at times, but I would recommend it. Not quite your normal sci-fi book.
February 12, 2012
I am giving this 5 stars purely because it was so clearly prophetic and accurate. The writing was good, and the satire was fun, but I'm sure most people think it has a pretty mundane style.
I read this in the early 90s, and I agreed with it then, and I bought a Kindle as soon as the initial bugs were fixed (never buy V1.0). The same argument has been made about online music and movie downloads, and they are all wrong. There is profit in progress.
I read this in the early 90s, and I agreed with it then, and I bought a Kindle as soon as the initial bugs were fixed (never buy V1.0). The same argument has been made about online music and movie downloads, and they are all wrong. There is profit in progress.
April 12, 2010
Funny that this isn't available as an eBook!
I've been using the Kindle since it came out and have seen the turmoil it's created between readers, publishers and authors. With all that, reading this book was so funny! The publishers are all evil and eccentric.
Humor, murder, espionage and a love interest make this very readable.
I've been using the Kindle since it came out and have seen the turmoil it's created between readers, publishers and authors. With all that, reading this book was so funny! The publishers are all evil and eccentric.
Humor, murder, espionage and a love interest make this very readable.
February 19, 2010
Lots of fun, showing the craziness inside the publishing houses.
I agree it seems likely that mainstream publishers will be *dragged* into ebooks, rather than jumping on-board happily.
One critique: a little too much chemical DeusExMachine going on, between pheromones and psychotropic book-glue...
I agree it seems likely that mainstream publishers will be *dragged* into ebooks, rather than jumping on-board happily.
One critique: a little too much chemical DeusExMachine going on, between pheromones and psychotropic book-glue...
July 2, 2012
I tried, I really did; it's a great, forward-thinking concept--electronic book readers FTW, 20 years before they actually appeared on the market. But...the dialogue and plot are way too formulaic-SF and since that's not really my cuppa, I gave up about 50 pages in. This gets two stars mainly because of the concept.
May 4, 2016
It was fascinating to read what people thought e-readers would be like back in the 1990s. The predictions on fashion and culture were amusing too. It reads similar to a pulp fiction but I thought the author was clever in how he handled potential reactions to e-readers. Thankfully nothing as sensational actually happened when the Nook and Kindle came out.
October 18, 2011
Can't decide whether I wish I had read this before writing my own 'Bibliotek,' or whether it is better having found my own way to the punchline (though appearing boorishly ill-read to those who'd beat me to it)?
Over all, fine book, a little bit too silly for my tastes. ... did I just say that?!
Over all, fine book, a little bit too silly for my tastes. ... did I just say that?!
April 14, 2008
Science Fiction
February 23, 2009
A wry, slightly absurd book about the invention of the e-book. A terrific satire on modern life, especially publishing though no one is spared: media, courts, police, modern transportation and so on.
April 13, 2009
Invention of an electronic book threatens the book industry but makes a great toy!
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