Spin State By Chris Moriarty Discussed January 2004 Buy Spin State

Questions

1. Did you enjoy Spin State? Why, or why not?
2. Spin State makes use of a lot of "techno jargon" - especially in the early stages of the book. How did the use of this jargon affect your reading? Was the book *too* technical?
3. Action takes place in both the real world and in a complex and "realistic" virtual world. What did you think of Moriarty's "virtual world"? Were the lines between real and virtual clear? How did that affect your reading?
4. Spin State is most definitely *science* fiction, with significant focus on advances in science and technology. Did Moriarty successfully explore the social implications of these scientific advances?
5. Cohen, the primary AI we encounter in Spin State, wields a vast amount of power and is, at times, almost ominpotent. How well did Moriarty handle having a character with such vast power? Did "his" omnipotence affect your enjoyment of the story?
6. One of the cultures we encounter is "post-human". Did Moriarty successfully provide a vision of these "post-humans" having a different psychology/way of thinking about the universe? Were they just "aliens who think and act like us" or were they truly alien?
7. The action in Spin State cycles around key "movers and shakers" in Moriarty's universe. Did we get enough of a glimpse of the plight of the "common person" to form a picture of the culture as a whole?
8. Racial differences seem to have disappeared - humans all seem to be of the same completely mixed stock - in Spin State. Have human prejudices disappeared with the concept of race? How about class strata?
9. Is sexuality an "issue" in the universe of Spin State? Gender?