Spaceland (2002)

I love Rudy Rucker, I really do. But as I've started reading his fiction again recently, I'm finding that it's his non-fiction works that really draw me in. This book, while entertaining, just didn't quite do it for me. ( )

I was disappointed by this book. I felt it was not up to Rudy Rucker's usual standard. The story goes through all the usual plot devices and twists, but the characters are flat and uninteresting. In fact the plot was boring and even predictable.

The highlight of the book was the attempts to describe the 4th dimension and my (failed) attempts to visualise it. ( )

An easy read. Light sci-fi, tecno-fantasy. The best part of this book for me were the drawings and descriptions relating to the main character, Joe Cube, thinking about Flatland (the two-dimensional world) as he tries to make sense of All (the four-dimensional world). Joe Cube's character was not terribly compelling and his wife, Jena Bonk, never really seemed to congeal into anything more than an annoying stereotype - so the "relationship" twists to the plot rather distracted from the rest of the story since I found it hard to see why anyone would want to be with either of them (or for that matter with the other two main characters - who were equally two-dimensional). A quick read and probably modestly enjoyable for those who, like me, enjoy the mental gymnastics of attempting to visualize the various-dimensional spaces. ( )

Meet Joe Cube, a Silicon Valley would-be hotshot. It's New Year's Eve 1999, and the Y2K scare is in full force. In an attempt to heat up the rapidly cooling relationship with his wife, Jena Bonk, our Joe borrows the prototype of a 3-D television project he's been managing. The results are negligible vis-a-vis his married bliss, but the 3-D TV attracts an unwanted houseguest

Meet MOMO, a Klupper from the 4th Dimension(the ALL),for whom our 3-D world(Spaceland) is but a barrier between the Klupper's archenemies, the Dronners. MOMO has a business proposition for Joe Cube, and with a little "augmentation" of his corpus that allows him to slip in and out of the ALL,(including a bit of super strength,subtle vision, and a 3rd eye) the deal is all but done...but there is a Catch.

See Joe Cube endure extreme mental and physical torture, boring business meetings, his wife's infidelity; Wacles and grolly and Venture Capitalists, oh my!

this was a wild ride of a book-kept me laughing nonstop for the first 50 pages. the ending was rather mushy but hey, after you save the world from Destruction-by-Cellphone, a guy is entitled to a break. even if it is to write a book ( )

Rucker is not the best writer, but he has some great ideas. Maybe next time he should team up with someone who knows how to write. ( )