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Nexus #2
Crux
Finalist for the 2014 Prometheus Award.Six months have passed since the release of Nexus 5. The world is a different, more dangerous place. In the United States, the terrorists – or freedom fighters – of the Post-Human Liberation Front use Nexus to turn men and women into human time bombs aimed at the President and his allies. In Washington DC, a government scientist, secretly addicted to Nexus, uncovers more than he wants to know about the forces behind the assassinations, and finds himself in a maze with no way out.In Thailand, Samantha Cataranes has found peace and contentment with a group of children born with Nexus in their brains. But when forces threaten to tear her new family apart, Sam will stop at absolutely nothing to protect the ones she holds dear. In Vietnam, Kade and Feng are on the run from bounty hunters seeking the price on Kade’s head, from the CIA, and from forces that want to use the back door Kade has built into Nexus 5. Kade knows he must stop the terrorists misusing Nexus before they ignite a global war between human and posthuman. But to do so, he’ll need to stay alive and ahead of his pursuers. And in Shanghai, a posthuman child named Ling Shu will go to dangerous and explosive lengths to free her uploaded mother from the grip of Chinese authorities. The first blows in the war between human and posthuman have been struck. The world will never be the same.File Under : Science Fiction [ Stage 2 | Terrorist or Freedom Fighter? | Mind Games | Upgrading… ]From the Trade Paperback edition.
512 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
649 people are currently reading
5023 people want to read
About the author
Ramez Naam
22 books1,439 followersRamez Naam was born in Cairo, Egypt, and came to the US at the age of 3. He's a computer scientist who spent 13 years at Microsoft, leading teams working on email, web browsing, search, and artificial intelligence. He holds almost 20 patents in those areas.
Ramez is the winner of the 2005 H.G. Wells Award for his non-fiction book More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement. He's worked as a life guard, has climbed mountains, survived dust storms in the desert, backpacked through remote corners of China, and ridden his bicycle down hundreds of miles of the Vietnam coast. He lives in Seattle, where he writes and speaks full time.
Ramez is the winner of the 2005 H.G. Wells Award for his non-fiction book More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement. He's worked as a life guard, has climbed mountains, survived dust storms in the desert, backpacked through remote corners of China, and ridden his bicycle down hundreds of miles of the Vietnam coast. He lives in Seattle, where he writes and speaks full time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 622 reviews
September 2, 2013
I am slightly ashamed of how much I enjoy Ramez Naam's techno-thrillers. His writing is undoubtedly the clunkiest of any scifi writer I have come across, which is saying a lot given that the genre is beset with good thinkers who often have trouble generating artful prose. As with Nexus, the first in the series, almost every page of Crux is populated with clichés and mind-numbingly simple sentences. It's like reading something written by a 9th grader who happens to be a technology whiz. The characters, despite being woefully one-dimensional, have continued to grow on me; while Naam fails to inject them with much depth or complexity of expression, he does manage to make a few of them dynamic in a way that keeps me engaged and excited to find out what happens next.
I feel like there ought to be a special label for authors like Naam: plot artist. That way I wouldn't have to cringe each time I refer to him at a "writer." And the good news is that, as a plot artist, is he extremely adept. Naam builds a near-future world that feels consistent, containing many layers of coherent internal logic, all of which spring from Naam's imaginings of how the advent of Nexus technology would begin to revolutionize human interactions. While the book lacks linguistic nuance, it is brimming with exciting and terrifying accounts of how transhumanist technologies might shape the future of politics, warfare, personal relationships, and just about every other type of human commerce. Naam goes to great lengths to leave his reader feeling torn between Nexus' staggering potential for the amelioration of human suffering and its horrific potential for the furthering of evil ends. He cleverly constructs situations in which the reader experiences the highest highs and lowest lows of lives that become irrevocably altered by the use of Nexus technology. Naam is also not squeamish about killing off important characters when it makes sense to do so––a quality I very much appreciate.
My one major criticism of Naam's near-future vision is his overly libertarian characterization of government. He portrays a US government that has become increasingly militarized and techno-phobic, almost to the point of satire. This portrait also includes elements of conspiracy thinking that, at least in my view, reflect more libertarian ideology than balanced foresight about how future governments will function. While I certainly won't deny that it's possible that a 2040 US government might look like a kind of radicalized police state, I find such an outlook neither probable nor desirable in this kind of book. I'd prefer a complex and genuinely conflicted governmental body containing individuals with varying ideological approaches to emerging technologies. This approach could provide a platform for spirited and rational debate, using American pragmatism and systems of checks and balances to compromise and seek out middle ground. Instead, Naam seems comfortable perpetuating the notion that anyone with real power will be completely corrupt and unethical, and that any subversion of the system will require bureaucratic underlings to rise up against their masters. And even then, dissidents are more likely to be motivated by coercion than by genuine ethical concern. While the sordid and needlessly secretive nature of our current political climate definitely gives Naam plenty of room to argue his case, I prefer the approach of writers like David Brin, who asserts that speculative fiction ought to operate under the assumption that the structures of civilization can be improved and, in fact, are constantly improving, slowly but surely. Perhaps such notions will creep into Naam's next book. My hope is that he is merely trying to imagine how humanity might deal with the next major explosion of human/machine intelligence, which will almost certainly be messy in at least some of the ways he describes. If he can end the series pointing toward a better, more sensible and optimistic future, that would be great.
Overall, this is a fun and satisfying read. The writing leaves much to be desired, but Naam nevertheless provides the reader with a richly conceived world in which the influence of future technologies is presented with intelligence, compassion, and unbridled enthusiasm.
I feel like there ought to be a special label for authors like Naam: plot artist. That way I wouldn't have to cringe each time I refer to him at a "writer." And the good news is that, as a plot artist, is he extremely adept. Naam builds a near-future world that feels consistent, containing many layers of coherent internal logic, all of which spring from Naam's imaginings of how the advent of Nexus technology would begin to revolutionize human interactions. While the book lacks linguistic nuance, it is brimming with exciting and terrifying accounts of how transhumanist technologies might shape the future of politics, warfare, personal relationships, and just about every other type of human commerce. Naam goes to great lengths to leave his reader feeling torn between Nexus' staggering potential for the amelioration of human suffering and its horrific potential for the furthering of evil ends. He cleverly constructs situations in which the reader experiences the highest highs and lowest lows of lives that become irrevocably altered by the use of Nexus technology. Naam is also not squeamish about killing off important characters when it makes sense to do so––a quality I very much appreciate.
My one major criticism of Naam's near-future vision is his overly libertarian characterization of government. He portrays a US government that has become increasingly militarized and techno-phobic, almost to the point of satire. This portrait also includes elements of conspiracy thinking that, at least in my view, reflect more libertarian ideology than balanced foresight about how future governments will function. While I certainly won't deny that it's possible that a 2040 US government might look like a kind of radicalized police state, I find such an outlook neither probable nor desirable in this kind of book. I'd prefer a complex and genuinely conflicted governmental body containing individuals with varying ideological approaches to emerging technologies. This approach could provide a platform for spirited and rational debate, using American pragmatism and systems of checks and balances to compromise and seek out middle ground. Instead, Naam seems comfortable perpetuating the notion that anyone with real power will be completely corrupt and unethical, and that any subversion of the system will require bureaucratic underlings to rise up against their masters. And even then, dissidents are more likely to be motivated by coercion than by genuine ethical concern. While the sordid and needlessly secretive nature of our current political climate definitely gives Naam plenty of room to argue his case, I prefer the approach of writers like David Brin, who asserts that speculative fiction ought to operate under the assumption that the structures of civilization can be improved and, in fact, are constantly improving, slowly but surely. Perhaps such notions will creep into Naam's next book. My hope is that he is merely trying to imagine how humanity might deal with the next major explosion of human/machine intelligence, which will almost certainly be messy in at least some of the ways he describes. If he can end the series pointing toward a better, more sensible and optimistic future, that would be great.
Overall, this is a fun and satisfying read. The writing leaves much to be desired, but Naam nevertheless provides the reader with a richly conceived world in which the influence of future technologies is presented with intelligence, compassion, and unbridled enthusiasm.
September 18, 2019
ENGLISH
An extrapolation of the possible development of biotechnologies and medicine.
Naam describes both the social and individual consequences of new key technology.
Economics and organized crime will be the fasted early adopters.
Fewer philosophical considerations than in the first part, but more action.
The consequences of these and similar drugs and technologies will have an impact on human coexistence. In combination with permanently invasive body enhancements, heaven and hell can be realized. When you add up the addiction factor of social networks and computer games, it will get interesting.
GERMAN
Eine Extrapolation der möglichen Entwicklung von Biotechnologien und Medizin.
Naam schildert sowohl die gesellschaftlichen als auch die individuellen Folgen einer neuen Schlüsseltechnologie.
Wirtschaft und Kriminalität passen sich am schnellsten den neuen Möglichkeiten an.
Weniger philosophische Betrachtungen als im ersten Teil, dafür mehr Action.
Die Auswirkungen dieser und ähnlicher Drogen und Technologien werden Folgen für das menschliche Zusammenleben haben. In Kombination mit permanent invasiven body enhacements lassen sich Himmel und Hölle realisieren. Wenn man den Suchtfaktor sozialer Netzwerke und von Computerspielen hinzu addiert, tun sich Abgründe auf.
An extrapolation of the possible development of biotechnologies and medicine.
Naam describes both the social and individual consequences of new key technology.
Economics and organized crime will be the fasted early adopters.
Fewer philosophical considerations than in the first part, but more action.
The consequences of these and similar drugs and technologies will have an impact on human coexistence. In combination with permanently invasive body enhancements, heaven and hell can be realized. When you add up the addiction factor of social networks and computer games, it will get interesting.
GERMAN
Eine Extrapolation der möglichen Entwicklung von Biotechnologien und Medizin.
Naam schildert sowohl die gesellschaftlichen als auch die individuellen Folgen einer neuen Schlüsseltechnologie.
Wirtschaft und Kriminalität passen sich am schnellsten den neuen Möglichkeiten an.
Weniger philosophische Betrachtungen als im ersten Teil, dafür mehr Action.
Die Auswirkungen dieser und ähnlicher Drogen und Technologien werden Folgen für das menschliche Zusammenleben haben. In Kombination mit permanent invasiven body enhacements lassen sich Himmel und Hölle realisieren. Wenn man den Suchtfaktor sozialer Netzwerke und von Computerspielen hinzu addiert, tun sich Abgründe auf.
June 18, 2017
Crux was a satisfying, roller-coaster ride of a sequel that was intense. Even though there were a bit less action scenes and the plot development a little slower, it was no less engaging than its predecessor.
From the conclusion of the previous book, Nexus went viral.
As expected, the consequences of releasing Nexus onto the world wide web were both good and bad. It was beautiful in its ability to connect people and amazing in enabling accelerated group learning and development, especially in children. And it was absolutely horrifying when employed to coerce and control another human mind and body; it is even worse than rape.
Then what happens when you have someone who has the backdoor or the key to stop these atrocities from happening. That one person who in essence can have absolute control over all who use Nexus or born with it. All altruistic and good intentions aside, should a single entity in the world own such power? Would even a supposed saint turn into a tyrant?
As a wise person once said:
Power is always dangerous. It attracts the worse and corrupts the best.
What I really liked about this series so far was how the messages stick with you well after you have finished reading the book. A notable mention was around the concept of terrorism. All terrorism ever accomplished was to make the oppressors even stronger. War and conflicts in all forms will always end up killing innocents and terrorism is probably the worst form of such. Humanity is at the crux of evolution where overpopulation is probably the reason why calamities are ever on the increase. On top of that, the creation of artificial intelligence may very lead to the advent of post-humans, and eventually dystopia. All frightening thoughts because it doesn't seem so implausible even in this current day and age.
While my review has so far seemed to be focused on the social commentaries, this does not mean the characters were not worth any mention. I am not going to write a blow-by-blow character rundown, but sufficed to say that it was through their experiences, thoughts, motivations and emotional conflicts which felt so real that the underlying messages come across really well. Another great point of note is the racial diversity of the characters, from the white Caucasian to Hispanic, to a variety of Asians ranging from the South, South-East and the Far East. The setting of the story spans the globe from the United States to Thailand, Vietnam, India and China, in a gripping plot as authorities and powers-that-be or want-to-be race to obtain control over Nexus and more importantly, the backdoor to the technology.
The ending was climactic to say the least and it appears that AI hell is finally going to break loose.
This review can also be found at Booknest
From the conclusion of the previous book, Nexus went viral.
Nexus's ability to satisfy widespread human desires, combined with its innocuous perception, suggests that were the technology to ever enter the mainstream, the genie would prove very difficult to put back into the bottle.
As expected, the consequences of releasing Nexus onto the world wide web were both good and bad. It was beautiful in its ability to connect people and amazing in enabling accelerated group learning and development, especially in children. And it was absolutely horrifying when employed to coerce and control another human mind and body; it is even worse than rape.
Are you wiser than all humanity?
Then what happens when you have someone who has the backdoor or the key to stop these atrocities from happening. That one person who in essence can have absolute control over all who use Nexus or born with it. All altruistic and good intentions aside, should a single entity in the world own such power? Would even a supposed saint turn into a tyrant?
As a wise person once said:
Power is always dangerous. It attracts the worse and corrupts the best.
What I really liked about this series so far was how the messages stick with you well after you have finished reading the book. A notable mention was around the concept of terrorism. All terrorism ever accomplished was to make the oppressors even stronger. War and conflicts in all forms will always end up killing innocents and terrorism is probably the worst form of such. Humanity is at the crux of evolution where overpopulation is probably the reason why calamities are ever on the increase. On top of that, the creation of artificial intelligence may very lead to the advent of post-humans, and eventually dystopia. All frightening thoughts because it doesn't seem so implausible even in this current day and age.
While my review has so far seemed to be focused on the social commentaries, this does not mean the characters were not worth any mention. I am not going to write a blow-by-blow character rundown, but sufficed to say that it was through their experiences, thoughts, motivations and emotional conflicts which felt so real that the underlying messages come across really well. Another great point of note is the racial diversity of the characters, from the white Caucasian to Hispanic, to a variety of Asians ranging from the South, South-East and the Far East. The setting of the story spans the globe from the United States to Thailand, Vietnam, India and China, in a gripping plot as authorities and powers-that-be or want-to-be race to obtain control over Nexus and more importantly, the backdoor to the technology.
The ending was climactic to say the least and it appears that AI hell is finally going to break loose.
This review can also be found at Booknest
June 23, 2022
Review courtesy of Plenty of Pages.
I seem to be one of the few people (according to Goodreads, at least) who didn't give this book an overwhelming 5 stars. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the book-- I did. But the niggling dissatisfaction I felt with Nexus was still present in Crux. There was just something off about it-- objectively I could see that it was a good story and pretty well written, but I never really felt it. There were only a few scenes where I found myself actually caring about what happened to the characters, and the ones I cared about were clearly not the ones the author was trying to get me to care about.
I've said it before, I'll say it again: characterization is my weak spot. If I can't get invested in the characters, a book is probably not going to keep my attention. I thought I might start to like Kade more as the series progressed, but I can't bring myself to have much sympathy for him, which makes it hard to get invested in the book. If you're the hero of your story and your clone sidekick is stealing the show, you know you've got problems.
Speaking of, can I just talk about Feng for a second here? I really, really love Feng. A Chinese supersoldier cloned as part of an experiment on hive-minds, he's got the worst best sense of humor ever and a relentlessly cheerful outlook on life that I couldn't help but love. He feels like a real person, which is unfortunately more than I can say for most of the main cast. He's pretty much my favorite character in the series. Also, being in possession of a terrible sense of humor myself, I laughed at most of his bad jokes way harder than I should have.
Naam also gets major points for the diversity of his casting, not only racial but otherwise. Besides a cast of every color and background, he includes not one but two openly queer characters. One is extremely minor and the other relatively so (he has his own POV chapters, but few of them, and let's just say I doubt he'll be returning for the third book in the series), but I was glad to see them. Is it unfortunate that none of the main characters were gay? Kind of. Did I still get a little squee realizing Sam's badass boss and mentor was (openly, textually) gay, or from reading the phrase "her wife" repeatedly in the text? Yeah. Which I guess speaks more to the lack of gay characters in sci-fi than anything else. Still-- props, Mr. Naam. I appreciate the representation.
Besides a lack of characterizational topography, there are some problems with Naam's plot progression. After awhile the entire thing started to feel like one Mass Effect boss fight after another, interrupted by scenes that had no sense of pacing-- some were so fast-moving I had to reread to process what had happened, some felt basically like filler. The Holtzmann plotline was both boring and unnecessary, and I would've really enjoyed more of Breece-- the part where Kade gets caught interfering in the hit man's plans was one of the only scenes that had my pulse racing while I was reading it. And the scene at Shiva's mansion was a hell of a climax, but it felt a bit like the end of Hot Fuzz-- intense and action packed, but with a lot of shooting into the air and going "Aaahh!"
Whether Naam knows he's playing into a lot of action cliches is debatable-- but if I'm being honest, neither that nor any of the other problems kept me from finishing the book, and wouldn't have even if I weren't intending to review it here. The evil government trope scratches a perpetual itch for me (I'm a sucker for conspiracies) and anything with technology that's based on current science trends can always be counted on to catch my interest. In this interview, Naam said of writing the series, "Throughout, my rules were that it had to be a compelling read that was hard to put down, that it had to say something interesting about technology, and the present day." Does he succeed? The latter, absolutely. The former... debatable.
In the same interview Naam says "I don’t really find most villains believable. Most people don’t think of themselves as bad guys and aren’t out to take over the world. People act from convictions that they think are moral." Which is undeniably true, and one of the things I really enjoy about this series is that there's no Good and Bad, just a bunch of people doing fucked-up things because they think they're right. But the way all those people intersect doesn't necessarily make a good story-- or, at least, Naam has some trouble getting past all the slick action tropes to tell it well.
I give Crux three stars, inching toward three and a half. It's not a book that will rock your world-- like I said in my review of Nexus, if you're looking for brain-bending cyberpunk, pick up Gibson's Neuromancer-- but it was quick and interesting and I'm not sorry I read it. If anything, it served to remind me how much I like cyberpunk as a genre, and how good it can be when it's really done well.
(You can read my review of Nexus here.)
I seem to be one of the few people (according to Goodreads, at least) who didn't give this book an overwhelming 5 stars. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the book-- I did. But the niggling dissatisfaction I felt with Nexus was still present in Crux. There was just something off about it-- objectively I could see that it was a good story and pretty well written, but I never really felt it. There were only a few scenes where I found myself actually caring about what happened to the characters, and the ones I cared about were clearly not the ones the author was trying to get me to care about.
I've said it before, I'll say it again: characterization is my weak spot. If I can't get invested in the characters, a book is probably not going to keep my attention. I thought I might start to like Kade more as the series progressed, but I can't bring myself to have much sympathy for him, which makes it hard to get invested in the book. If you're the hero of your story and your clone sidekick is stealing the show, you know you've got problems.
Speaking of, can I just talk about Feng for a second here? I really, really love Feng. A Chinese supersoldier cloned as part of an experiment on hive-minds, he's got the worst best sense of humor ever and a relentlessly cheerful outlook on life that I couldn't help but love. He feels like a real person, which is unfortunately more than I can say for most of the main cast. He's pretty much my favorite character in the series. Also, being in possession of a terrible sense of humor myself, I laughed at most of his bad jokes way harder than I should have.
Naam also gets major points for the diversity of his casting, not only racial but otherwise. Besides a cast of every color and background, he includes not one but two openly queer characters. One is extremely minor and the other relatively so (he has his own POV chapters, but few of them, and let's just say I doubt he'll be returning for the third book in the series), but I was glad to see them. Is it unfortunate that none of the main characters were gay? Kind of. Did I still get a little squee realizing Sam's badass boss and mentor was (openly, textually) gay, or from reading the phrase "her wife" repeatedly in the text? Yeah. Which I guess speaks more to the lack of gay characters in sci-fi than anything else. Still-- props, Mr. Naam. I appreciate the representation.
Besides a lack of characterizational topography, there are some problems with Naam's plot progression. After awhile the entire thing started to feel like one Mass Effect boss fight after another, interrupted by scenes that had no sense of pacing-- some were so fast-moving I had to reread to process what had happened, some felt basically like filler. The Holtzmann plotline was both boring and unnecessary, and I would've really enjoyed more of Breece-- the part where Kade gets caught interfering in the hit man's plans was one of the only scenes that had my pulse racing while I was reading it. And the scene at Shiva's mansion was a hell of a climax, but it felt a bit like the end of Hot Fuzz-- intense and action packed, but with a lot of shooting into the air and going "Aaahh!"
Whether Naam knows he's playing into a lot of action cliches is debatable-- but if I'm being honest, neither that nor any of the other problems kept me from finishing the book, and wouldn't have even if I weren't intending to review it here. The evil government trope scratches a perpetual itch for me (I'm a sucker for conspiracies) and anything with technology that's based on current science trends can always be counted on to catch my interest. In this interview, Naam said of writing the series, "Throughout, my rules were that it had to be a compelling read that was hard to put down, that it had to say something interesting about technology, and the present day." Does he succeed? The latter, absolutely. The former... debatable.
In the same interview Naam says "I don’t really find most villains believable. Most people don’t think of themselves as bad guys and aren’t out to take over the world. People act from convictions that they think are moral." Which is undeniably true, and one of the things I really enjoy about this series is that there's no Good and Bad, just a bunch of people doing fucked-up things because they think they're right. But the way all those people intersect doesn't necessarily make a good story-- or, at least, Naam has some trouble getting past all the slick action tropes to tell it well.
I give Crux three stars, inching toward three and a half. It's not a book that will rock your world-- like I said in my review of Nexus, if you're looking for brain-bending cyberpunk, pick up Gibson's Neuromancer-- but it was quick and interesting and I'm not sorry I read it. If anything, it served to remind me how much I like cyberpunk as a genre, and how good it can be when it's really done well.
(You can read my review of Nexus here.)
May 3, 2015
Executive Summary: Another great entry in this series. Can't wait for Apex!
Audio book: I'm was bummed that Luke Daniels didn't read this one. But that's not meant as a slight against Mikael Naramore. What it really means is that Mr. Naramore had extra work to do in order for me to be happy. I'm pleased to report he does a good job. Fairly early on, I was over the fact of the narrator change.
In fact if he had been the narrator for the first book, I'd have no reason to complain. It's my first time listening to a book read by him. He does a good job with voices and inflection to make the audio book a good option to do this book in my opinion.
Full Review
I wish there were more books like this. I'm not a big sci-fi reader, but this sort of near-future plausible technology books. The only other author I know writing this sort of thing is Daniel Suarez, and his last few books
Much like the first book, for me the large part of my enjoyment stems from thinking about the ideas presented here. It's one of those rare books that I keep thinking about even when I'm not reading it.
This book does a pretty good job further exploring the ideas introduced in the first book and setting the stage for the final book while managing not to suffer from "middle book syndrome".
The characters are once again interesting and conflicted. The ideas presented here are not black and white. That's largely the reason I think this book sticks with you even after you put it down.
I like that despite the fact that there are some pretty scary things that could occur if such a thing were possible, Mr. Naam makes it a point to explore some of the positive as well. That more the feasibility of the technology makes this book feel more realistic. There are good people out there. I'd like to hope more good than bad. People would use this technology for the betterment of humanity just as they would use it as a means to gain power, wealth or any other thing they might desire.
Much like the last book, my main complaint is that the negative side effects of the drug seemed to be mostly ignored in favor of abuses it allows humanity to do to one another. He does explore the addiction aspect a little bit. However that seems to be something that the drug/technology enables you to do, rather than an effect of its use.
Overall this is as enjoyable as the first. I hate to use a term like "more of the same" because that has a negative connotation to it. Personally I'd love a lot more of this type of story and eagerly look forward to reading Apex this week. I'm so eager to read it in fact, that I'll be foregoing my preferred audio format in favor of the eBook due to the complete lack of information on it's release.
Audio book: I'm was bummed that Luke Daniels didn't read this one. But that's not meant as a slight against Mikael Naramore. What it really means is that Mr. Naramore had extra work to do in order for me to be happy. I'm pleased to report he does a good job. Fairly early on, I was over the fact of the narrator change.
In fact if he had been the narrator for the first book, I'd have no reason to complain. It's my first time listening to a book read by him. He does a good job with voices and inflection to make the audio book a good option to do this book in my opinion.
Full Review
I wish there were more books like this. I'm not a big sci-fi reader, but this sort of near-future plausible technology books. The only other author I know writing this sort of thing is Daniel Suarez, and his last few books
Much like the first book, for me the large part of my enjoyment stems from thinking about the ideas presented here. It's one of those rare books that I keep thinking about even when I'm not reading it.
This book does a pretty good job further exploring the ideas introduced in the first book and setting the stage for the final book while managing not to suffer from "middle book syndrome".
The characters are once again interesting and conflicted. The ideas presented here are not black and white. That's largely the reason I think this book sticks with you even after you put it down.
I like that despite the fact that there are some pretty scary things that could occur if such a thing were possible, Mr. Naam makes it a point to explore some of the positive as well. That more the feasibility of the technology makes this book feel more realistic. There are good people out there. I'd like to hope more good than bad. People would use this technology for the betterment of humanity just as they would use it as a means to gain power, wealth or any other thing they might desire.
Much like the last book, my main complaint is that the negative side effects of the drug seemed to be mostly ignored in favor of abuses it allows humanity to do to one another. He does explore the addiction aspect a little bit. However that seems to be something that the drug/technology enables you to do, rather than an effect of its use.
Overall this is as enjoyable as the first. I hate to use a term like "more of the same" because that has a negative connotation to it. Personally I'd love a lot more of this type of story and eagerly look forward to reading Apex this week. I'm so eager to read it in fact, that I'll be foregoing my preferred audio format in favor of the eBook due to the complete lack of information on it's release.
September 21, 2017
Phenomenal second book of Naam's sci-fi trilogy.
What makes this trilogy so readable is its underlying theme of humans' deep communication needs. I especially commend Naam for writing an antagonist who is just a hair/policy decision away from his protagonist. Stellar.
Could do without the Houston & Texas bashing and caricatures that seem so prevalent in commercial fiction.
Otherwise, great action, characters, pacing, and suspense. Well worth readers' time--for those who like thrillers and mysteries as well as sci-fi readers.
What makes this trilogy so readable is its underlying theme of humans' deep communication needs. I especially commend Naam for writing an antagonist who is just a hair/policy decision away from his protagonist. Stellar.
Could do without the Houston & Texas bashing and caricatures that seem so prevalent in commercial fiction.
Otherwise, great action, characters, pacing, and suspense. Well worth readers' time--for those who like thrillers and mysteries as well as sci-fi readers.
March 29, 2016
This is the second in a trilogy.
A brilliant, amazing book. I was torn between not wanting to put it down, and being unable to continue reading because I was so anxious about what the characters were going to do and what was going to happen to them.
This insane cocktail of emotions made for a nerve-wracking reading experience.
I can't describe the book at all without giving away so many spoilers, but I will just say if you read my review of Nexus:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
...and have ANY interest at all in the book, this trilogy is wonderful, gripping, and well worth your time.
But if you know it's not your thing, skip it. :)
P.S. In both this book and book 1: Nexus, I really appreciate Naam's messages about consent. He does a lot of work and moral questioning on the subjects of free will, slavery, and rape, and I love the conclusions he comes to and his reasoning for getting there. Great job, Ramez Naam.
A brilliant, amazing book. I was torn between not wanting to put it down, and being unable to continue reading because I was so anxious about what the characters were going to do and what was going to happen to them.
This insane cocktail of emotions made for a nerve-wracking reading experience.
I can't describe the book at all without giving away so many spoilers, but I will just say if you read my review of Nexus:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
...and have ANY interest at all in the book, this trilogy is wonderful, gripping, and well worth your time.
But if you know it's not your thing, skip it. :)
P.S. In both this book and book 1: Nexus, I really appreciate Naam's messages about consent. He does a lot of work and moral questioning on the subjects of free will, slavery, and rape, and I love the conclusions he comes to and his reasoning for getting there. Great job, Ramez Naam.
September 14, 2019
Continuing the Nexus storyline from the first book in the series, Naam weaves old and new characters together as he continues to explore the positive and negative ramifications of ingestible nanotech. Like the first book, the near-future technothriller plot is designed for maximum fun and readability while also giving the reader some hefty moral and ethical dilemmas to ponder. The ending is typical for the middle book in a trilogy, sacrificing a satisfying conclusion in order to set the stage for the final installment.
June 18, 2015
I have to say that after the amazing ride of book one, I did feel this one sagged quite a bit. I really think we went away from technology and advancement and spent way to much time of personal stories. at one stage it just felt like a big long chase scene that really felt like it was a mode to get to the end story.
A few days after reading it, I am trying to explain to a friend all about the story and to be honest, everything I am spouting is in book 1. There isn't much that I think advanced the story enough to discuss as highlights.
Don't get me wrong, I still gave it 4 stars, albeit in a 3.5 kind of way. But it is definitely suffering from the brilliance of book one.
A few days after reading it, I am trying to explain to a friend all about the story and to be honest, everything I am spouting is in book 1. There isn't much that I think advanced the story enough to discuss as highlights.
Don't get me wrong, I still gave it 4 stars, albeit in a 3.5 kind of way. But it is definitely suffering from the brilliance of book one.
December 26, 2018
Another book that took me forever to finish - but I fully blame work and other audios.
Crux was a really interesting book. It's the second installment of the Nexus series. I kind of wish it had either more or the same amount of action like the first book did - however, it didn't. Which means I did find myself being bored a little here and there.
The Nexus world is so freaking interesting and entertaining. I love getting to know more about the pros and cons of it all. I also really hope that this NEVER becomes a thing in real life. I'd probably freak out. Now of course with smart technology, I feel like anyone always thinks about the cons of it. For example, a car that drives itself.. you might be like..
"Could someone hack into my smart car and take over it??"
Although, it could just be me - which is why I would never own one. If you do think about this possibility though - it sort of happens in this book. Someone hacks into Nexus and ends up controlling anyone that has it. It was insane and again, freaked me out.
Overall, I liked the book but thought that things could have been a bit more dramatic? Or I just really wanted more action. Either way, I feel like something was missing and that's why I was a bit disappointed with this book. Still enjoyed it though and can't wait to dive into the next book.
Crux was a really interesting book. It's the second installment of the Nexus series. I kind of wish it had either more or the same amount of action like the first book did - however, it didn't. Which means I did find myself being bored a little here and there.
The Nexus world is so freaking interesting and entertaining. I love getting to know more about the pros and cons of it all. I also really hope that this NEVER becomes a thing in real life. I'd probably freak out. Now of course with smart technology, I feel like anyone always thinks about the cons of it. For example, a car that drives itself.. you might be like..
"Could someone hack into my smart car and take over it??"
Although, it could just be me - which is why I would never own one. If you do think about this possibility though - it sort of happens in this book. Someone hacks into Nexus and ends up controlling anyone that has it. It was insane and again, freaked me out.
Overall, I liked the book but thought that things could have been a bit more dramatic? Or I just really wanted more action. Either way, I feel like something was missing and that's why I was a bit disappointed with this book. Still enjoyed it though and can't wait to dive into the next book.
October 29, 2021
Crux takes off three months after the events of Nexus . The story continued to be very fast-paced and was highly engaging. We meet a few new interesting POVs adding some fresh perspective to the story-arch. Overall, I enjoyed this one as much as the first instalment, though this time, I’ll round down because again, I just couldn’t identify with this urge to become . All, the rest was pretty awesome and sometimes frankly terrifying! Here a few more thoughts and highlights (in spoiler tags; in case you haven’t read the first one yet):
April 18, 2017
Reading Crux was like looking at a stained glass window slowly moving away from you. At first there were all these pretty colors and shapes, simple, interesting yet fractured and confusing. As the window moves away, some of the shapes start forming patterns and your brain takes note. Once the window is a sufficient distance away the whole beautiful pattern emerges.
Ok the reading experience was sort of like that. It is tough to call this book beautiful but it was suspenseful and exciting. The first half was a bit of a tedious mess for me and I wasn't really engaged. Too many story lines that I didn't see the potential in. The second half really delivered on the first's setup. I was fully engaged with everyone. I felt some sympathy for Holzman, I was rooting for all of the kids, I felt Sam's pain many times over. Most of all however, I wanted to repeatedly slap Kade in the head. I get the fact that he is essentially a kid like Rangan but seriously... some of his decisions killed me.
Solid 4 stars, there is one huge plot hole that kept bugging me throughout the entire book and detracted from the great story and vastly improved writing
Great book, I was on the edge of my seat for the last 100 pages.
Ok the reading experience was sort of like that. It is tough to call this book beautiful but it was suspenseful and exciting. The first half was a bit of a tedious mess for me and I wasn't really engaged. Too many story lines that I didn't see the potential in. The second half really delivered on the first's setup. I was fully engaged with everyone. I felt some sympathy for Holzman, I was rooting for all of the kids, I felt Sam's pain many times over. Most of all however, I wanted to repeatedly slap Kade in the head. I get the fact that he is essentially a kid like Rangan but seriously... some of his decisions killed me.
Solid 4 stars, there is one huge plot hole that kept bugging me throughout the entire book and detracted from the great story and vastly improved writing
Great book, I was on the edge of my seat for the last 100 pages.
June 26, 2014
Nexus 5, a drug that enables humans to enhance their brains and become networked with other users has been out there for six months now. As the numbers of users increases the USA sees this as its greatest threat, especially as the Post Human Liberation Front is taking over the minds of users ands sending them on assignation attempts to kill the president
As people start to use the drug for good and bad, Kade, the architect of Nexus, starts to avenge those that have enslaved others through the back doors that he put into the code. Kade is on the run too. He is being hunted by the CIA, black ops and others who want to use that power for their own ends. In America, one man close to the president starts to see that what they are doing to stop the spread of Nexus is morally abhorrent, in particular the way that they purge the substance from adults and children. The plot builds to a thrilling ending
I really enjoyed this sequel. It is a really fast paced sci-fi thriller, set 25 years into the future, with plausible technology and that little extra that takes it over the edge. If I had one gripe, I thought that the characters were a little two dimensional, as more effort had been put into the multi threaded plot, but that is a small thing really.
As people start to use the drug for good and bad, Kade, the architect of Nexus, starts to avenge those that have enslaved others through the back doors that he put into the code. Kade is on the run too. He is being hunted by the CIA, black ops and others who want to use that power for their own ends. In America, one man close to the president starts to see that what they are doing to stop the spread of Nexus is morally abhorrent, in particular the way that they purge the substance from adults and children. The plot builds to a thrilling ending
I really enjoyed this sequel. It is a really fast paced sci-fi thriller, set 25 years into the future, with plausible technology and that little extra that takes it over the edge. If I had one gripe, I thought that the characters were a little two dimensional, as more effort had been put into the multi threaded plot, but that is a small thing really.
June 4, 2015
I took this one at a leisurely pace because the children deserved it. All of the children, the post human, the autistic, and the abandoned needed a little bit of love to see them through this dystopian near-future. The call was just as strong for me as it was for Sam.
I haven't lost any of my deep desire to be a part of the emerging consciousness of Nexus, despite the abuses or the moral quandaries. Indeed, I love its promise as much as Kade.
I suppose this means the novel did its job, whether or not I'm going to eventually classify it as a novel of great ideas or as a novel of great writing. Something about it didn't quite match my hopeful expectations. It didn't have the same pace as the first novel, but there was certainly better action and higher stakes, so I suppose things balance out nicely. Holtzman was at first an annoying detractor to the story, but by the end he served the story's needs awesomely, propelling yet more conflict into the future with his death. Thank god.
All things being equal, I really enjoyed it. On to the next in the trilogy!
I haven't lost any of my deep desire to be a part of the emerging consciousness of Nexus, despite the abuses or the moral quandaries. Indeed, I love its promise as much as Kade.
I suppose this means the novel did its job, whether or not I'm going to eventually classify it as a novel of great ideas or as a novel of great writing. Something about it didn't quite match my hopeful expectations. It didn't have the same pace as the first novel, but there was certainly better action and higher stakes, so I suppose things balance out nicely. Holtzman was at first an annoying detractor to the story, but by the end he served the story's needs awesomely, propelling yet more conflict into the future with his death. Thank god.
All things being equal, I really enjoyed it. On to the next in the trilogy!
December 8, 2015
Great story. Poor editing.
February 9, 2015
I have a slight obsession with post-humans. Novels and short stories about this topic have rapidly become one of my favorite sub-genres of science fiction. I previously read and enjoyed Nexus by Ramez Naam, and the author continues that story after the Nexus 5 drug is released worldwide. This book focuses more on the implications of a drug like nexus, that allows for brain expansion but also manipulation of others, depending on how it is used.
The author is a scientist first, and he bases these concepts on solid and hypothetical concepts. I appreciate the explanation at the end of the book of where the ideas come from, and what has been done so far. Even his use of a hurricane hitting the eastern seaboard was pre-Sandy but based on the science of what could occur.
I read an ARC of this book so I can't speak to the writing - there were a few awkward bits and quite a few typos - but I believe the editing process would have taken care of those. I enjoyed the fast pace and multiple story lines, and the many characters who have done different things with the drug. I still remain fascinated by the possibilities of expanding our brain power and usage - increased group learning, distance communication without a device, etc. I have a former student worker who can check his e-mail and listen to his iTunes through his cochlear implant, so I don't think any of this is that far off. I tried Google glass a few weeks ago, and felt what it would be like to have a steady stream of information that I can participate in. What if my brain were using that data to learn or process, or was contributing to it? While Google Glass is exterior, how far would the jump really have to be? It seems within grasp. I hope I live to see it.
Ramez Naam is one of the nominees for the John W. Campbell Award this year, and he is one of the two I would hope win the prize, but the only one of those two in his final year of eligibility. That's why I wanted to make sure and read this book that has been sitting on my shelf for a year!
This was also discussed on Episode 009 of the Reading Envy Podcast.
The author is a scientist first, and he bases these concepts on solid and hypothetical concepts. I appreciate the explanation at the end of the book of where the ideas come from, and what has been done so far. Even his use of a hurricane hitting the eastern seaboard was pre-Sandy but based on the science of what could occur.
I read an ARC of this book so I can't speak to the writing - there were a few awkward bits and quite a few typos - but I believe the editing process would have taken care of those. I enjoyed the fast pace and multiple story lines, and the many characters who have done different things with the drug. I still remain fascinated by the possibilities of expanding our brain power and usage - increased group learning, distance communication without a device, etc. I have a former student worker who can check his e-mail and listen to his iTunes through his cochlear implant, so I don't think any of this is that far off. I tried Google glass a few weeks ago, and felt what it would be like to have a steady stream of information that I can participate in. What if my brain were using that data to learn or process, or was contributing to it? While Google Glass is exterior, how far would the jump really have to be? It seems within grasp. I hope I live to see it.
Ramez Naam is one of the nominees for the John W. Campbell Award this year, and he is one of the two I would hope win the prize, but the only one of those two in his final year of eligibility. That's why I wanted to make sure and read this book that has been sitting on my shelf for a year!
This was also discussed on Episode 009 of the Reading Envy Podcast.
June 5, 2017
This is the second book in the trilogy that started with Nexus. I won’t talk about the plot, because doing so would spoil the story from the first book. I’ll just say that the story picks up about three months after the end of the first book and progresses more or less along the lines you might expect.
I think I enjoyed this as much as, if not slightly more than, the first book. It felt more consistently fast-paced. One thing that helped is that, while there’s still quite a bit of moral ambiguity, the characters don’t debate it as much. The format was also somewhat different with shorter chapters, a larger cast of point-of-view characters, and rapid changes between characters. I know some people don’t like books that have a lot of characters, but for me it depends on how distinctive those characters are and how interesting their stories are. In the case of this book, each character’s story was interesting to me. The characters were also distinctive enough that I never mixed them up, although I can’t say the same for the author.
I was surprised to see several editing issues, because I don’t remember any glaring errors in the first book. There were large sections that seemed perfectly fine, but then I’d start noticing several errors. Poor Claire, a minor character, had a particularly rough time. Not only did her name get misspelled, but she had to stand in for another guy’s wife at one point. They were in bed at the time, so I’m sure that was awkward. (No, it definitely wasn’t intended to be that way in the story.) I enjoyed the story too much to be terribly annoyed about the errors, but they were a little distracting so I hope there are fewer in the third book.
I find myself really on the fence in regard to what I think about where things are going in the story, even in terms of potential consequences that the good guys seem to consider a good thing. The bad things are really, really bad, but the “good things” are a bit horrifying to me also, or maybe it’s just that they’re portrayed idealistically and I think the reality would be very different. I’m going to reserve judgment until I finish the trilogy and then I might discuss it more within spoiler tags, depending on what I think by the time I make it to the end. Either way, I’m pretty absorbed by the story and I look forward to seeing how the author concludes it.
I think I enjoyed this as much as, if not slightly more than, the first book. It felt more consistently fast-paced. One thing that helped is that, while there’s still quite a bit of moral ambiguity, the characters don’t debate it as much. The format was also somewhat different with shorter chapters, a larger cast of point-of-view characters, and rapid changes between characters. I know some people don’t like books that have a lot of characters, but for me it depends on how distinctive those characters are and how interesting their stories are. In the case of this book, each character’s story was interesting to me. The characters were also distinctive enough that I never mixed them up, although I can’t say the same for the author.
I was surprised to see several editing issues, because I don’t remember any glaring errors in the first book. There were large sections that seemed perfectly fine, but then I’d start noticing several errors. Poor Claire, a minor character, had a particularly rough time. Not only did her name get misspelled, but she had to stand in for another guy’s wife at one point. They were in bed at the time, so I’m sure that was awkward. (No, it definitely wasn’t intended to be that way in the story.) I enjoyed the story too much to be terribly annoyed about the errors, but they were a little distracting so I hope there are fewer in the third book.
I find myself really on the fence in regard to what I think about where things are going in the story, even in terms of potential consequences that the good guys seem to consider a good thing. The bad things are really, really bad, but the “good things” are a bit horrifying to me also, or maybe it’s just that they’re portrayed idealistically and I think the reality would be very different. I’m going to reserve judgment until I finish the trilogy and then I might discuss it more within spoiler tags, depending on what I think by the time I make it to the end. Either way, I’m pretty absorbed by the story and I look forward to seeing how the author concludes it.
May 19, 2014
Though the story arc is that of a direct sequel to the first book, Nexus, this has a different vibe. Author Ramez Naam drops the geeky cast and expands the roster of characters considerably, also increasing the number of threads, to tell a tale much larger in scope with more profound pretensions about the future. Whereas book 1 was simply about a wonder nanodrug cum neuro-interface cum software called nexus, Crux extrapolates the effects of nexus into an emerging conflict between humans and post-humans.
I applaud the effort and the ambition from the author. The narrative also fed my adrenaline-seeking heart with many action sequences and battle scenes involving high-tech armaments.
About two-thirds of the way in, I hit a reader's wall and almost did not finish the book. At the time I thought it was just mental fatigue from the relentless action. In hindsight, it had more to do with the nature and ever-expanding attributes of nexus. In addition to the already broad range of applications and effects defined in the first book, this volume adds: the capability to heal neurological illnesses such as autism, passing on nexus features to children of users who then do not need the drug, remote takeover of minds and bodies (through the future internet, ostensibly), expand a person's mental abilities by increasing processing and storage capacity, recreate the effects of opioid painkillers at the user's will. Finally, the presence of nexus in a person defined the difference between a regular human and a post-human.
I guess there was just too much placed on the back of nexus, the drug/software/comm device, to keep me engaged. However, this should not detract from the overall effort which was stellar, and taken together with the first book, deserves consideration for a genre award.
I would definitely read the author's next effort that is not based on nexus.
I applaud the effort and the ambition from the author. The narrative also fed my adrenaline-seeking heart with many action sequences and battle scenes involving high-tech armaments.
About two-thirds of the way in, I hit a reader's wall and almost did not finish the book. At the time I thought it was just mental fatigue from the relentless action. In hindsight, it had more to do with the nature and ever-expanding attributes of nexus. In addition to the already broad range of applications and effects defined in the first book, this volume adds: the capability to heal neurological illnesses such as autism, passing on nexus features to children of users who then do not need the drug, remote takeover of minds and bodies (through the future internet, ostensibly), expand a person's mental abilities by increasing processing and storage capacity, recreate the effects of opioid painkillers at the user's will. Finally, the presence of nexus in a person defined the difference between a regular human and a post-human.
I guess there was just too much placed on the back of nexus, the drug/software/comm device, to keep me engaged. However, this should not detract from the overall effort which was stellar, and taken together with the first book, deserves consideration for a genre award.
I would definitely read the author's next effort that is not based on nexus.
December 14, 2015
4.5 Stars
Crux, book two in the Nexus series by Ramez Naam takes everything from the fantastic first book and elevates it to another level. This science fiction thriller series works because of the characters. It is awesome because of the cool cyberpunk setting and themes.
The Nexus series is simply a fantastic piece of near future science fiction. This is a new cyberpunk classic. The story is fast paced and filled with action and cyber geek wonder. There is plenty of action to keep things moving along. The characters are likable but ultimately they are second rate when compared to the science, the nanotechnology, and the high concepts within.
I enjoyed this one more than the first and was drawn deep into many of the scenes and situations. I love the whole concept behind this series and want more out of Post-Human speculation.
I absolutely loved the following scene.
I could hear this happening to a modern kick ass electronic house trance track.
It speaks so much about the series:
"So Kate went. He went out onto the floor of a club that reminded him so very much of the parties the he and Rangan and Ilya used to throw. And he danced. He moved slowly, at first. He kept his eyes on the floor, or closed. He felt those around him, let them feel him, but made no motion to interact. He danced for Ilya. He danced for Rangan. He danced for himself, to clear his head, to fill his spirit back up, and to give him the strength to make it through all the perils that were sure to be ahead!"
This is a fantastic middle book in a great cyber series.
Crux, book two in the Nexus series by Ramez Naam takes everything from the fantastic first book and elevates it to another level. This science fiction thriller series works because of the characters. It is awesome because of the cool cyberpunk setting and themes.
The Nexus series is simply a fantastic piece of near future science fiction. This is a new cyberpunk classic. The story is fast paced and filled with action and cyber geek wonder. There is plenty of action to keep things moving along. The characters are likable but ultimately they are second rate when compared to the science, the nanotechnology, and the high concepts within.
I enjoyed this one more than the first and was drawn deep into many of the scenes and situations. I love the whole concept behind this series and want more out of Post-Human speculation.
I absolutely loved the following scene.
I could hear this happening to a modern kick ass electronic house trance track.
It speaks so much about the series:
"So Kate went. He went out onto the floor of a club that reminded him so very much of the parties the he and Rangan and Ilya used to throw. And he danced. He moved slowly, at first. He kept his eyes on the floor, or closed. He felt those around him, let them feel him, but made no motion to interact. He danced for Ilya. He danced for Rangan. He danced for himself, to clear his head, to fill his spirit back up, and to give him the strength to make it through all the perils that were sure to be ahead!"
This is a fantastic middle book in a great cyber series.
February 12, 2014
3.5 stars. Crux was as fast paced and eventful as Nexus. The good impression that Nexus made on me was a bit spoiled but the multitude of POVs, which wouldn't have been a bad thing if the POV characters were more likable. There were too many flawed humans and too much depressing happenings for my taste. Otherwise the ending managed to tie all the story lines neatly, while still leaving enough for the next book.
I'll definitely be reading book #3.
I listened to this and I thought the audio narrator was decent though nothing special.
I'll definitely be reading book #3.
I listened to this and I thought the audio narrator was decent though nothing special.
April 5, 2015
Another page-turning instalment in the Nexus trilogy. Naam does a great job of wrapping up books so you don't feel cheated while also ending with plenty of forward momentum for the next one.
July 6, 2013
REVIEW SUMMARY: Frighteningly plausible cyberpunk.
MY RATING: 5 stars
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Following the events of the first book, Kaden Lane is on the run with bounty hunters in hot pursuit. Sam, having gone rogue, has finally found inner peace in the presence of special children born with Nexus connection. The Post-Human Liberation Front has found a way to weaponize Nexus in a frightening way and the United States government is taking drastic steps to fight such emerging risks.
MY REVIEW
PROS: Expands on the foundation of the original in a big way, continued character development, lots of character diversity, super-cool tech, moral ambiguity, intense action, lays the groundwork for future entries without coming across as filler.
CONS: A lessened presence of the Buddhism I found so cool and interesting in the first novel.
BOTTOM LINE: A worthy sequel that reads like a mash-up of Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy, Naam's cyberpunk thriller is even better than the original.
I loved Ramez Naam's Nexus, an amazing science fiction novel that bombards the senses with espionage, philosophy, action, and a frighteningly plausible future. It's a novel that got me considering the implications of trans/post-humanism in a way I never have before. Fortunately for me, I did not have to wait a second to get started on the sequel, Crux, because I missed reading Nexus at its 2012 release. I started into Crux with a level of apprehension I reserve for sequels of books that I love. Would Naam be able to deliver a novel as exceptional as the first or would he fail to rise to the challenge? I need not have worried, as Crux is every bit as compelling as its predecessor and then some. Nexus has all the right ingredients for a classic Hollywood blockbuster and audiences would be fortunate to be presented with such an intelligent thriller. Crux, on the other hand, goes too deep and too wide to be contained in a major motion picture. If Nexus is a blockbuster, Crux is a big budget spin-off television series that builds on all the things people loved about the original. I couldn't help but compare Nexus to movies like The Matrix, Limitless, and The Terminator, as well as video games such as Deus Ex and the upcoming Watchdogs - though I think it far surpasses each of these. Crux, on the other hand, shares similarities with all these but I'd like to include the hit television series starring Kiefer Sutherland, 24 and The Bourne Identity, starring Matt Damon.
Crux picks up months after the end of Nexus. Kaden and Feng are on the run, hiding from ruthless men eager for the $10 million bounty set by the Emerging Risks Directorate of the United States Department of Homeland Security. Because of Kade, Nexus 5 is available to the world. The ERD, looking for new ways to combat technological abuses, wants to capture Kade and coerce the program's "back door" out of him. Meanwhile, Sam has finally found a home and happiness among the special Nexus-born children of a remote village. Here Sam has begun to put the past behind her - but when men come looking for the children she will be thrust back into the role she hoped to have left behind: killer. Crux expands the list of POV's from the first book - this time featuring the perspectives of Doctor Holtzman of the ERD, Kade's friend Rangan Shankari, the Post-Human Liberation Front terrorist Breece, Sam's mentor Kevin Nakamura, Su-Yong Shu and her post-human daughter Ling, and more.
Each character serves to broaden the scope of the novel and further complicate the already murky moral waters. Kaden and Sam both continue to progress as characters. In the wake of the Nexus 5 release Kaden has taken on the mantle of trans-human vigilante - working furiously to prevent abuses of his program. As the only person alive with the "back door" codes Kaden is burdened with a tremendous responsibility and he is forced to acknowledge that perhaps no one should have such power. Likewise, Sam has moved on past her fear of technology and embraced Nexus 5 and its users. Both characters are tested mentally as well as physically, as Naam puts each through the ringer to see just how far they will go to stand by their beliefs. Rangan Shankari was an unexpected favorite of mine reading Crux. I love his transformation-arc, from carefree party boy to selfless activist is encouraging. I found Holtzman less likeable but his story was no less important. I would have liked to experience more of Kevin Nakamura's spycraft, as he was one of the few characters not running Nexus 5. It was also interesting to watch Su-Yong Shu's mental stability to deteriorate. Reading Crux was one of the rare occasions that I enjoyed each and every POV, as all the characters served to broaden the scope of the conflict.
Probably the coolest thing about this series is, fittingly, Nexus 5. The creation of this software/hardware/drug is probably the greatest invention since humanity first discovered the wheel. It is an invention that holds endless potential, both good and bad. Nexus 5 can be used to connect people in a way never before possible - it can also be used to enslave, steal information, and create undetectable assassins. The Emerging Risk Directorate's campaign against Nexus 5, and similar technology, resembles the War on Drugs in many ways. Many innocents are caught in the crossfire, and the violence continues to escalate as mankind crawls closer to enlightenment or extinction. Plenty of moral questions arise regarding Nexus 5 and its applications and through this lens Crux is highly socially relevant. Like the best of Michael Crichton's work, it forces readers to sit and consider the risks and rewards of technology.
Sure, there's some introspection, but there's also a lot of fun to be had. Crux is filled with bounty hunters, terrorists, hired guns, enhanced special agents, and more. It's always a joy to read about Sam applying her trans-human attributes to wet work. Feng, the Confucian Fist, and Kevin Nakamura of the CIA are also hardcore brawlers as evidenced by two pretty high-octane action sequences nearing the end of the novel. If Naam carries on Crichton's tradition when it comes to theoretical science, he also channels Tom Clancy to considerable effect when it comes to action. Action sequences are clean and precise and saturated with cool tech and collateral damage. Both Nexus and Crux heavily feature action but the finale of Crux suggests that the human/post-human war is yet to come - and it will be apocalyptic. Crux thrusts readers into a variety of colorful settings, from Shanghai to Burma and Vietnam. Naam did a wonderful job bringing Ho Chi Minh City to life as a vibrant and strange destination.
I consider the variety Naam displays to be a major selling point for this series. Not only are the locations unique, but Crux offers multiple beliefs, lifestyles, and backgrounds. This is not some whitewashed, homogeneous thriller. Heterosexuals and homosexuals, technophiles and luddites, Americans and Chinese and Indian, there's a wide array of diversity represented.
Crux is a model sequel, a novel that builds off of the success of the original rather than trying to imitate it. Naam is writing one of the most exciting thrillers I have ever encountered - crafting a near future that holds as much promise as it does menace. This could usher in a new wave of cyberpunk, a socially relevant shot to the frontal lobe. I hope the overlords of Angry Robot Books are smart enough to lock this series down for the long run, because I need more.
Nick Sharps
SF Signal
MY RATING: 5 stars
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Following the events of the first book, Kaden Lane is on the run with bounty hunters in hot pursuit. Sam, having gone rogue, has finally found inner peace in the presence of special children born with Nexus connection. The Post-Human Liberation Front has found a way to weaponize Nexus in a frightening way and the United States government is taking drastic steps to fight such emerging risks.
MY REVIEW
PROS: Expands on the foundation of the original in a big way, continued character development, lots of character diversity, super-cool tech, moral ambiguity, intense action, lays the groundwork for future entries without coming across as filler.
CONS: A lessened presence of the Buddhism I found so cool and interesting in the first novel.
BOTTOM LINE: A worthy sequel that reads like a mash-up of Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy, Naam's cyberpunk thriller is even better than the original.
I loved Ramez Naam's Nexus, an amazing science fiction novel that bombards the senses with espionage, philosophy, action, and a frighteningly plausible future. It's a novel that got me considering the implications of trans/post-humanism in a way I never have before. Fortunately for me, I did not have to wait a second to get started on the sequel, Crux, because I missed reading Nexus at its 2012 release. I started into Crux with a level of apprehension I reserve for sequels of books that I love. Would Naam be able to deliver a novel as exceptional as the first or would he fail to rise to the challenge? I need not have worried, as Crux is every bit as compelling as its predecessor and then some. Nexus has all the right ingredients for a classic Hollywood blockbuster and audiences would be fortunate to be presented with such an intelligent thriller. Crux, on the other hand, goes too deep and too wide to be contained in a major motion picture. If Nexus is a blockbuster, Crux is a big budget spin-off television series that builds on all the things people loved about the original. I couldn't help but compare Nexus to movies like The Matrix, Limitless, and The Terminator, as well as video games such as Deus Ex and the upcoming Watchdogs - though I think it far surpasses each of these. Crux, on the other hand, shares similarities with all these but I'd like to include the hit television series starring Kiefer Sutherland, 24 and The Bourne Identity, starring Matt Damon.
Crux picks up months after the end of Nexus. Kaden and Feng are on the run, hiding from ruthless men eager for the $10 million bounty set by the Emerging Risks Directorate of the United States Department of Homeland Security. Because of Kade, Nexus 5 is available to the world. The ERD, looking for new ways to combat technological abuses, wants to capture Kade and coerce the program's "back door" out of him. Meanwhile, Sam has finally found a home and happiness among the special Nexus-born children of a remote village. Here Sam has begun to put the past behind her - but when men come looking for the children she will be thrust back into the role she hoped to have left behind: killer. Crux expands the list of POV's from the first book - this time featuring the perspectives of Doctor Holtzman of the ERD, Kade's friend Rangan Shankari, the Post-Human Liberation Front terrorist Breece, Sam's mentor Kevin Nakamura, Su-Yong Shu and her post-human daughter Ling, and more.
Each character serves to broaden the scope of the novel and further complicate the already murky moral waters. Kaden and Sam both continue to progress as characters. In the wake of the Nexus 5 release Kaden has taken on the mantle of trans-human vigilante - working furiously to prevent abuses of his program. As the only person alive with the "back door" codes Kaden is burdened with a tremendous responsibility and he is forced to acknowledge that perhaps no one should have such power. Likewise, Sam has moved on past her fear of technology and embraced Nexus 5 and its users. Both characters are tested mentally as well as physically, as Naam puts each through the ringer to see just how far they will go to stand by their beliefs. Rangan Shankari was an unexpected favorite of mine reading Crux. I love his transformation-arc, from carefree party boy to selfless activist is encouraging. I found Holtzman less likeable but his story was no less important. I would have liked to experience more of Kevin Nakamura's spycraft, as he was one of the few characters not running Nexus 5. It was also interesting to watch Su-Yong Shu's mental stability to deteriorate. Reading Crux was one of the rare occasions that I enjoyed each and every POV, as all the characters served to broaden the scope of the conflict.
Probably the coolest thing about this series is, fittingly, Nexus 5. The creation of this software/hardware/drug is probably the greatest invention since humanity first discovered the wheel. It is an invention that holds endless potential, both good and bad. Nexus 5 can be used to connect people in a way never before possible - it can also be used to enslave, steal information, and create undetectable assassins. The Emerging Risk Directorate's campaign against Nexus 5, and similar technology, resembles the War on Drugs in many ways. Many innocents are caught in the crossfire, and the violence continues to escalate as mankind crawls closer to enlightenment or extinction. Plenty of moral questions arise regarding Nexus 5 and its applications and through this lens Crux is highly socially relevant. Like the best of Michael Crichton's work, it forces readers to sit and consider the risks and rewards of technology.
Sure, there's some introspection, but there's also a lot of fun to be had. Crux is filled with bounty hunters, terrorists, hired guns, enhanced special agents, and more. It's always a joy to read about Sam applying her trans-human attributes to wet work. Feng, the Confucian Fist, and Kevin Nakamura of the CIA are also hardcore brawlers as evidenced by two pretty high-octane action sequences nearing the end of the novel. If Naam carries on Crichton's tradition when it comes to theoretical science, he also channels Tom Clancy to considerable effect when it comes to action. Action sequences are clean and precise and saturated with cool tech and collateral damage. Both Nexus and Crux heavily feature action but the finale of Crux suggests that the human/post-human war is yet to come - and it will be apocalyptic. Crux thrusts readers into a variety of colorful settings, from Shanghai to Burma and Vietnam. Naam did a wonderful job bringing Ho Chi Minh City to life as a vibrant and strange destination.
I consider the variety Naam displays to be a major selling point for this series. Not only are the locations unique, but Crux offers multiple beliefs, lifestyles, and backgrounds. This is not some whitewashed, homogeneous thriller. Heterosexuals and homosexuals, technophiles and luddites, Americans and Chinese and Indian, there's a wide array of diversity represented.
Crux is a model sequel, a novel that builds off of the success of the original rather than trying to imitate it. Naam is writing one of the most exciting thrillers I have ever encountered - crafting a near future that holds as much promise as it does menace. This could usher in a new wave of cyberpunk, a socially relevant shot to the frontal lobe. I hope the overlords of Angry Robot Books are smart enough to lock this series down for the long run, because I need more.
Nick Sharps
SF Signal
May 6, 2018
This is the 2nd book of the Nexus series. It took me awhile to read it, partly because of my awful work schedule and partly because this book isn’t as action-packed or surprising as its predecessor. It is still an exceptional (and frighteningly possible) world that has been crafted. I fully intend to finish the series.
July 30, 2018
Crux picks up 6 months after the events of Nexus. Ramez Naam doesn't miss a beat. Events are explosive from the word go.
Naam does a great job of making each character feel like a real person. Characters make good choices and bad choices, they all have good and bad intentions but each character is a hero in their own eyes. Naam invokes George R.R. Martin in that he makes you sympathize for each character.
I love the setting. Crux takes place mainly in Southeast Asia. We hop from Saigon to Phuket to Burma to Shanghai. It's such a refreshing change of pace. I'm tired of America and pseudo-European Medieval books. More like this, please!
Nexus and Crux each have enough story to fill a single book but also feel like they comprise of one long tale. Apex won't be released until May 2015 but it feels like each book is one piece of a larger story.
I had a few issues with Crux, mainly that it felt like there was too much running and not enough plot advancement. Also, the book is lacking in women. Sam has a much smaller storyline this time around.
B+
Naam does a great job of making each character feel like a real person. Characters make good choices and bad choices, they all have good and bad intentions but each character is a hero in their own eyes. Naam invokes George R.R. Martin in that he makes you sympathize for each character.
I love the setting. Crux takes place mainly in Southeast Asia. We hop from Saigon to Phuket to Burma to Shanghai. It's such a refreshing change of pace. I'm tired of America and pseudo-European Medieval books. More like this, please!
Nexus and Crux each have enough story to fill a single book but also feel like they comprise of one long tale. Apex won't be released until May 2015 but it feels like each book is one piece of a larger story.
I had a few issues with Crux, mainly that it felt like there was too much running and not enough plot advancement. Also, the book is lacking in women. Sam has a much smaller storyline this time around.
B+
December 4, 2015
As middle-of-a-trilogy books go, this one was amazing. It follows several story lines - some of which come together at the end. It was exciting, intelligent, fun, full of action and left me craving the next book (which I already have, YAY).
I seriously have a hard time reviewing the middle book. You won't understand a thing unless I describe what happened through the first. The basics are that a new drug is making it's way around the globe. This drug interfaces with your brain and allows you to connect online and mentally to others who have also taken it. Kade is the creator of the latest version of the drug, Nexus 5. Sam is the operative who was to bring him in but she switched to Kade's side in book 1. This book continues their story and expands on it. It also goes into the ramifications of releasing a drug like this out into the world.
Of all the very awesome sci-fi inventions out there, this drug is number 1 on my list of most plausible, possibly inevitable, 'hope it happens in my lifetime' coolest things ever. Naam is even working out all the possible bugs in the system via this story. If you like science fiction, this series is a must read!!
I seriously have a hard time reviewing the middle book. You won't understand a thing unless I describe what happened through the first. The basics are that a new drug is making it's way around the globe. This drug interfaces with your brain and allows you to connect online and mentally to others who have also taken it. Kade is the creator of the latest version of the drug, Nexus 5. Sam is the operative who was to bring him in but she switched to Kade's side in book 1. This book continues their story and expands on it. It also goes into the ramifications of releasing a drug like this out into the world.
Of all the very awesome sci-fi inventions out there, this drug is number 1 on my list of most plausible, possibly inevitable, 'hope it happens in my lifetime' coolest things ever. Naam is even working out all the possible bugs in the system via this story. If you like science fiction, this series is a must read!!
August 11, 2013
Every so often you read a piece of fiction or find a author whose fictional reality is so incredible that you wish it would be true. Mr. Naam not only writes top notch thrillers that crackle with energy, like another sci fi writer, William Gibson, the thrilling thing about Mr. Naam's work is that more likely than not, it won't be fiction for very long.
This is a exciting time we live in, the world of Nexus and Crux (yes, read them both) will come to pass, so do yourself a favor. go read them.
Thanks to Angry Robot and their awesomeness for the ARC :)
This is a exciting time we live in, the world of Nexus and Crux (yes, read them both) will come to pass, so do yourself a favor. go read them.
Thanks to Angry Robot and their awesomeness for the ARC :)
March 19, 2018
Crux (Nexus Trilogy #2) by Namez Raam
@@@@@ (5 out of 5)
There are a lot of moving parts to this novel. We enter the thoughts of ten principal characters, by my count. The action unfolds in tiny chapters, switching from one character to another; few of these chapters are more than a handful of pages long. The print edition runs to more than 600 pages, and not a single one is dull.
A science-based sci-fi novel
Yet what is most exciting of all about this novel is the science on which it is based. As the author, Ramez Naam, notes in a postscript ("The Science of Crux"), every seemingly unlikely or impossible superhuman ability described in the book is well within the bounds of possibility. He cites current research that strongly supports his contention. Thus, a reader unfamiliar with the devices and techniques of science fiction might find this story unbelievable or even silly. But it is nothing of the sort. Naam is painting a picture of what the future might well hold for us by the middle of this century. Unless you closely follow developments in neuroscience, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence, you will be amazed.
Is immortality possible?
For example, many researchers believe is possible that within decades we will have the ability to upload consciousness onto a computer. As one of Naam's characters muses, "What mattered was pattern, not substrate. A physical brain was an information processor and nothing more. A mind was the information being processed, not the physical brain that did the processing. A digital brain, with digital neurons and digital synapses and digital signals passing through it, could process that information just the same, could give rise to a mind just as well." In other words, a form of immortality may be possible someday by transferring our minds to cybernetic bodies.
As Naam writes in his postscript, "it appears that a super-computer capable of simulating an entire human brain and do[ing] so as fast as a human brain should be on the market by roughly 2035-2040. And of course, from that point on, speedups in computing should speed up the simulation of the brain, allowing it to run faster than a biological human's."
Previously, in the trilogy's first book . . .
Crux is the second book in Naam's Nexus trilogy. In Nexus, the first entry in the series, a trio of young scientists have created a much-improved version of a popular street drug that permits users to link with each other telepathically. ("You could experience anything now, touch another's mind and see the world how they saw it, feel their experiences, their adventures . . .") It's called Nexus 5. Because their work is illegal, they are being hunted by the Emerging Risks Directorate (ERD) of the Department of Homeland Security. Hysteria has mounted in the United States about the superhuman (actually, transhuman) abilities of those who take Nexus 5. Right-wing politicians have converted this hysteria into legislation and power for themselves, undertaking a campaign to destroy those they now consider "non-human."
The three young scientists are captured in an ERD raid on a Nexus 5 party they've organized. With threats to his colleagues and all those who attended the party, ERD forces the central figure, Kaden (Kade) Lane, to go undercover for them to ensnare a prominent Chinese neuroscientist who may even have surpassed the accomplishments of Kade's team. The setting then moves from the USA to Bangkok. The ensuing action is nonstop and beautifully executed. Nexus ends with Kade on the run and all his colleagues and friends locked up in a black site.
A thrilling, action-packed story
As Crux opens, Kade is hiding out in a series of monasteries in Thailand and vicinity, pursued both by the ERD and by bounty-hunters seeking the $10 million reward for turning him in alive. He is under the protection of a Chinese super-soldier named Feng whose former boss and patron, the Chinese neuroscientist, has died in a fiery attack by the ERD or the CIA. Meanwhile, Samantha (Sam) Cataranes, the ERD agent who had been sent to capture him, is on the run herself. In a climactic scene at the conclusion of Nexus, she had witnessed her employers ruthlessly murdering dozens of her friends. For Sam, this was a conversion experience. Following separate paths in the same Southeast Asian region, Sam and Kade dash from one temporary haven to another, frequently escaping capture or death with little time to spare. Eventually, they are pursued not just by the ERD and bounty-hunters but the CIA, Chinese hardliners, and a megalomaniacal Indian billionaire.
Although they don't think of themselves as freedom fighters, that is exactly what they are: they're fighting for the freedom to become better human beings—and in the process to become posthuman. But there is nothing abstract and intellectual about Kade's goals. His overriding concern is the survival of the human race. "Humanity was failing," he believes. "It could not solve the problems it now faced. But those millions of Nexus-augmented minds could. They could become a single post-human intelligence of epic scale. A god forced out of humanity, finally able to manage the planet through its Anthropocene calamities."
Please note again: though this story may sound overly complex and unlikely in its details, the possibilities that come to light in this novel are real. There is even a peer-reviewed Journal of Posthuman Studies that was established at Pennsylvania State University in 2017.
About the author
According to the biography on his site, Ramez Naam "holds 19 patents related to search engines, information retrieval, web browsing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning." He spent 13 years in senior positions leading teams at Microsoft and founded his own successful technology company.
@@@@@ (5 out of 5)
There are a lot of moving parts to this novel. We enter the thoughts of ten principal characters, by my count. The action unfolds in tiny chapters, switching from one character to another; few of these chapters are more than a handful of pages long. The print edition runs to more than 600 pages, and not a single one is dull.
A science-based sci-fi novel
Yet what is most exciting of all about this novel is the science on which it is based. As the author, Ramez Naam, notes in a postscript ("The Science of Crux"), every seemingly unlikely or impossible superhuman ability described in the book is well within the bounds of possibility. He cites current research that strongly supports his contention. Thus, a reader unfamiliar with the devices and techniques of science fiction might find this story unbelievable or even silly. But it is nothing of the sort. Naam is painting a picture of what the future might well hold for us by the middle of this century. Unless you closely follow developments in neuroscience, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence, you will be amazed.
Is immortality possible?
For example, many researchers believe is possible that within decades we will have the ability to upload consciousness onto a computer. As one of Naam's characters muses, "What mattered was pattern, not substrate. A physical brain was an information processor and nothing more. A mind was the information being processed, not the physical brain that did the processing. A digital brain, with digital neurons and digital synapses and digital signals passing through it, could process that information just the same, could give rise to a mind just as well." In other words, a form of immortality may be possible someday by transferring our minds to cybernetic bodies.
As Naam writes in his postscript, "it appears that a super-computer capable of simulating an entire human brain and do[ing] so as fast as a human brain should be on the market by roughly 2035-2040. And of course, from that point on, speedups in computing should speed up the simulation of the brain, allowing it to run faster than a biological human's."
Previously, in the trilogy's first book . . .
Crux is the second book in Naam's Nexus trilogy. In Nexus, the first entry in the series, a trio of young scientists have created a much-improved version of a popular street drug that permits users to link with each other telepathically. ("You could experience anything now, touch another's mind and see the world how they saw it, feel their experiences, their adventures . . .") It's called Nexus 5. Because their work is illegal, they are being hunted by the Emerging Risks Directorate (ERD) of the Department of Homeland Security. Hysteria has mounted in the United States about the superhuman (actually, transhuman) abilities of those who take Nexus 5. Right-wing politicians have converted this hysteria into legislation and power for themselves, undertaking a campaign to destroy those they now consider "non-human."
The three young scientists are captured in an ERD raid on a Nexus 5 party they've organized. With threats to his colleagues and all those who attended the party, ERD forces the central figure, Kaden (Kade) Lane, to go undercover for them to ensnare a prominent Chinese neuroscientist who may even have surpassed the accomplishments of Kade's team. The setting then moves from the USA to Bangkok. The ensuing action is nonstop and beautifully executed. Nexus ends with Kade on the run and all his colleagues and friends locked up in a black site.
A thrilling, action-packed story
As Crux opens, Kade is hiding out in a series of monasteries in Thailand and vicinity, pursued both by the ERD and by bounty-hunters seeking the $10 million reward for turning him in alive. He is under the protection of a Chinese super-soldier named Feng whose former boss and patron, the Chinese neuroscientist, has died in a fiery attack by the ERD or the CIA. Meanwhile, Samantha (Sam) Cataranes, the ERD agent who had been sent to capture him, is on the run herself. In a climactic scene at the conclusion of Nexus, she had witnessed her employers ruthlessly murdering dozens of her friends. For Sam, this was a conversion experience. Following separate paths in the same Southeast Asian region, Sam and Kade dash from one temporary haven to another, frequently escaping capture or death with little time to spare. Eventually, they are pursued not just by the ERD and bounty-hunters but the CIA, Chinese hardliners, and a megalomaniacal Indian billionaire.
Although they don't think of themselves as freedom fighters, that is exactly what they are: they're fighting for the freedom to become better human beings—and in the process to become posthuman. But there is nothing abstract and intellectual about Kade's goals. His overriding concern is the survival of the human race. "Humanity was failing," he believes. "It could not solve the problems it now faced. But those millions of Nexus-augmented minds could. They could become a single post-human intelligence of epic scale. A god forced out of humanity, finally able to manage the planet through its Anthropocene calamities."
Please note again: though this story may sound overly complex and unlikely in its details, the possibilities that come to light in this novel are real. There is even a peer-reviewed Journal of Posthuman Studies that was established at Pennsylvania State University in 2017.
About the author
According to the biography on his site, Ramez Naam "holds 19 patents related to search engines, information retrieval, web browsing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning." He spent 13 years in senior positions leading teams at Microsoft and founded his own successful technology company.
August 27, 2013
You may also read the review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2013/08/...
And the prince married the princess and they lived happily ever after. Or the hero enters cryogenic suspension after killing the alien and destroying the ship.
What happened after Cinderella married the prince? Her evil step mother and step sisters were still around to plan; others who felt they could have secured a profitable alliance remain; Cinderella has no knowledge of how to operate in that realm. But all these issues are wrapped up in “happily ever after”. Ripley defeated the Alien and comes home after destroying billions of dollars of business equipment. We got a small test of those after effects in the start of Aliens but I imagine her return was rather “interesting” as that old proverb says.
These questions have always fascinated me, how do the events of a book pay out after the final page is turned. And usually you never find out or at best get some small details mentioned in later installments. There are examples of the effects of the first book/series being shown as they unfold and such is the case of Crux, the follow up to Nexus by Ramez Naam.
When, Nexus finished , Kade had released Nexus (the titular named drug) onto the world and the forces that be can no longer do anything to completely stop it. At this point we would reach the “happily ever after” moment and we would have to believe everything worked out for the best. Ramez Naam doesn’t take the easy way out. Instead Crux picks up pretty much immediately where Nexus left off.
Yes, Nexus has been released to the world and that genie can never be rebottled but that doesn’t mean that the forces in power will not sit idly by and we get to see the steps they take to bottle Nexus up. Or maybe those self-same forces will try to use Nexus for their own ends.
And what about Kade’s friends who were involved in the mess from the beginning? We get to follow their paths and how they handle(or don’t) the world they had a hand in creating. We follow the exploits of our hero who evaded capture to end Nexus still evading a government who wants nothing more than to grab him so they can have access to those elusive backdoors that they know exist but can’t open.
And this only speaks of a few characters from the first book. Everyone is here in the second installment working in the after effects of the release of Nexus. The reader gets to see the world transformed as new paradigms exert themselves and the old ways struggle for their very existence.
Ramez Naam spins an exciting tale following about 12 different plot lines over incredibly complex terrain but the reader is never left trying to remember who that character was and what they had to do with things. I found myself tearing through the pages as chapters flew by from different characters’ perspectives until the final pieces fall into place. If you enjoyed Nexus you will absolutely love Crux. I eagerly await the next book in the series.
And the prince married the princess and they lived happily ever after. Or the hero enters cryogenic suspension after killing the alien and destroying the ship.
What happened after Cinderella married the prince? Her evil step mother and step sisters were still around to plan; others who felt they could have secured a profitable alliance remain; Cinderella has no knowledge of how to operate in that realm. But all these issues are wrapped up in “happily ever after”. Ripley defeated the Alien and comes home after destroying billions of dollars of business equipment. We got a small test of those after effects in the start of Aliens but I imagine her return was rather “interesting” as that old proverb says.
These questions have always fascinated me, how do the events of a book pay out after the final page is turned. And usually you never find out or at best get some small details mentioned in later installments. There are examples of the effects of the first book/series being shown as they unfold and such is the case of Crux, the follow up to Nexus by Ramez Naam.
When, Nexus finished , Kade had released Nexus (the titular named drug) onto the world and the forces that be can no longer do anything to completely stop it. At this point we would reach the “happily ever after” moment and we would have to believe everything worked out for the best. Ramez Naam doesn’t take the easy way out. Instead Crux picks up pretty much immediately where Nexus left off.
Yes, Nexus has been released to the world and that genie can never be rebottled but that doesn’t mean that the forces in power will not sit idly by and we get to see the steps they take to bottle Nexus up. Or maybe those self-same forces will try to use Nexus for their own ends.
And what about Kade’s friends who were involved in the mess from the beginning? We get to follow their paths and how they handle(or don’t) the world they had a hand in creating. We follow the exploits of our hero who evaded capture to end Nexus still evading a government who wants nothing more than to grab him so they can have access to those elusive backdoors that they know exist but can’t open.
And this only speaks of a few characters from the first book. Everyone is here in the second installment working in the after effects of the release of Nexus. The reader gets to see the world transformed as new paradigms exert themselves and the old ways struggle for their very existence.
Ramez Naam spins an exciting tale following about 12 different plot lines over incredibly complex terrain but the reader is never left trying to remember who that character was and what they had to do with things. I found myself tearing through the pages as chapters flew by from different characters’ perspectives until the final pieces fall into place. If you enjoyed Nexus you will absolutely love Crux. I eagerly await the next book in the series.
June 23, 2015
The internet is already filled with many many accurate reviews of this book, so I’ll just quickly add my own two cents:
I loved the action scenes because they are numerous, well paced and visceral.
I loved reading about the plot, its fun twists and turns, though, upon further reflection, it was nothing mind-blowing, and sometimes Naam telegraphs plots twists something fierce.
Speaking of the plot, Crux pulls on every action movie cliche imaginable.
I loved the use and growth of Nexus 5, and I want to read more books by Naam that explore further the benefits and evils of the technology.
I loved the characters, despite the fact that they were all quite two dimensional.
Mustache twirling, James Bond-esque villains, but still fun.
I love books with short chapters. It doesn’t matter how long the book is, if it comes in tiny chapters, I will plow through it.
The heavy dose of modern-day politics was irritating, though, I suppose it’s nearly impossible to write a near future thriller without it, so, I’ll overlook this one.
Way too many scenes take place in a club - seriously, there’s more to Asia than it’s bass-thumping nightlife.
Way too much sex - which is saying a lot coming from a guy. Because the main premise of Nexus is being able to see into others’ minds, every time a main character walks into a club, the reader is given a detailed tour of the sex fantasies going on inside other patrons’ heads (or sometimes just on the floor). Sex, sex, sex, sex. Next page, more sex. Please, move on!
Finally, Naam needs to broaden his writing horizons because at the moment his entire written world can neatly fit into one of several categories: politicians, government agents, scientists, terrorists, sex-addicted party go-ers, or monks. In a book that stretches to 600 pages (not counting the 500 pages from the previous book), I need a bit more diversity in character and locale. Yup, that about sums up every single character and scene in Crux.
Also, I know you’re tossing around a lot of Global Warming-isms, fine, but Namm, really? Most convenient hurricane ever. Just sayin’.
Anywho, I love these books and will soon be reading book three. Ramez Naam, keep writing!
I loved the action scenes because they are numerous, well paced and visceral.
I loved reading about the plot, its fun twists and turns, though, upon further reflection, it was nothing mind-blowing, and sometimes Naam telegraphs plots twists something fierce.
Speaking of the plot, Crux pulls on every action movie cliche imaginable.
I loved the use and growth of Nexus 5, and I want to read more books by Naam that explore further the benefits and evils of the technology.
I loved the characters, despite the fact that they were all quite two dimensional.
Mustache twirling, James Bond-esque villains, but still fun.
I love books with short chapters. It doesn’t matter how long the book is, if it comes in tiny chapters, I will plow through it.
The heavy dose of modern-day politics was irritating, though, I suppose it’s nearly impossible to write a near future thriller without it, so, I’ll overlook this one.
Way too many scenes take place in a club - seriously, there’s more to Asia than it’s bass-thumping nightlife.
Way too much sex - which is saying a lot coming from a guy. Because the main premise of Nexus is being able to see into others’ minds, every time a main character walks into a club, the reader is given a detailed tour of the sex fantasies going on inside other patrons’ heads (or sometimes just on the floor). Sex, sex, sex, sex. Next page, more sex. Please, move on!
Finally, Naam needs to broaden his writing horizons because at the moment his entire written world can neatly fit into one of several categories: politicians, government agents, scientists, terrorists, sex-addicted party go-ers, or monks. In a book that stretches to 600 pages (not counting the 500 pages from the previous book), I need a bit more diversity in character and locale. Yup, that about sums up every single character and scene in Crux.
Also, I know you’re tossing around a lot of Global Warming-isms, fine, but Namm, really? Most convenient hurricane ever. Just sayin’.
Anywho, I love these books and will soon be reading book three. Ramez Naam, keep writing!
December 9, 2022
2022 reread
I stand by most of my previous review. This book feels incomplete, where Nexus was a finished story. I did miss the internal Nexus hacking.
Reading these back to back, I also noticed that the author's writing is better in the second book. Looking forward to reading the third book this time!
2014
The first book ended with a different world. This one ends with the potential of a different world and a major threat. No resolution, another book needed - down one star.
That said, Ramez Naam has an interesting concept which is not far from reality. The writing is fast paced and the scenes thrilling. There is less internal Nexus hacking, but then 3 of the 4 major code writing characters from the first book are out of commission.
I will very likely read the sequel, but hope that it ends this storyline.
I stand by most of my previous review. This book feels incomplete, where Nexus was a finished story. I did miss the internal Nexus hacking.
Reading these back to back, I also noticed that the author's writing is better in the second book. Looking forward to reading the third book this time!
2014
The first book ended with a different world. This one ends with the potential of a different world and a major threat. No resolution, another book needed - down one star.
That said, Ramez Naam has an interesting concept which is not far from reality. The writing is fast paced and the scenes thrilling. There is less internal Nexus hacking, but then 3 of the 4 major code writing characters from the first book are out of commission.
I will very likely read the sequel, but hope that it ends this storyline.
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