Also, some of it didn't make sense. - Edit 1
Before modification by Vivien at 12/04/2011 05:52:55 PM
It was worth reading, and I read the sequel too. There were certainly good parts. My problem with both books is that it seems to me like there were so many missed opportunities. I kept wanting the books to focus on the interesting stuff and it didn't happen. It's really frustrating when the world is set up, and the really interesting stuff is just beyond the horizon, and the author just doesn't go there. (I don't mean just geographically.)
The crux of Moriarty's universe is that the poorest people are the farthest away from earth. Since water and oxygen are the most precious resources and still mostly come from earth, how is that cost effective?
The syndicates- the syndicates were the genetically modified humans who chose to break away from the rest of humanity because they were sick on being treated like second class citizens and disposable. Then the society that they construct for themselves is akin to Brave New World, with an extremely rigid class structure. More than that, they treat themselves as disposable. Their children go through many rounds of culling to make sure that everyone fits the mold. The lower classes are practically slaves and they are contracted out as work gangs for the humans. How is this progress?