I finished reading Dead Lines by Greg Bear. I saw Greg talk about this book a couple of weeks ago when he visited Microsoft Research. Dead Lines is a ghost story -- about a new communications technology ("Trans") that inadvertently allows "spirits from beyond the grave" to project themselves back onto our plane of existence (sort of).
I'll be honest: I didn't like this book. The main character, Peter Russell, used to direct skin-flicks in the 1970's before the hard-core XXX revolution -- and Bear uses that to sprinkle explicit sexual references throughout the book. Most of them serve no purpose, and I'm not sure why Bear went that way with the character development (perhaps he's trying to emulate Neal Stephenson?) Also, the "Trans" technology requires significant hand-waving and mumbo-jumbo, and every time Bear tries to progressively disclose more information about it so we can understand how it affects ghosts, it just becomes less and less plausible. So altogether it's "Nightmare on Elm Street" with cell phones. Not my cup of tea.
Bear is a smart guy and good writer, and I like much of what he's written. Just not this one.
Next up: Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast Pillow Book.
10:54:34 PM  ; ;
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