girl in greenwood

Glasshouse
by Charles Stross

Very clever sci-fi book that deals with issues of information, privacy, and gender. In the 27th century, people live primarily as information and can modify their bodies in nearly limitless ways (e.g. the character who chooses to live as a fluffy pony). Backups of one's consciousness can be made, as well, effectively creating multiple identities for any given person.

The main character is Robin, a man who wakes up in a memory erasure clinic with very little memory of his previous life. He volunteers to live in an experimental community, the "Glasshouse", based on 1950's-era Earth. He is placed into the Glasshouse as a woman, and struggles with the experience of living as a suburban housewife. As the story unfolds, Robin wonders if his/her enemies have created the Glasshouse as a prison or a distraction, or worse.

This novel kept me guessing the entire time, and also made me laugh with its dry humor, especially regarding "meaningless ancient customs" like wearing pantyhose. Hee.

By the way, I didn't realize when I read this book that it was a sequel to a book called Accelerando. I definitely plan to read that one next, although I wonder if I might have been less confused if I'd read Accelerando first.

Labels: book reports