Nexus by Ramez Naam

Nexus by Ramez Naam is a science fiction book which takes place in the near future, where technology has been created to link human minds, and possibly control them. Naam inspects different social impacts of these technologies ranging from the most profound and inspirational uses (such as building new levels of empath and human connection) to the most disturbing and dark abuses (such as making it trivial to coerce people). The technology seems and feels plausible throughout the novel, besides towards the end where a few flimsy cyberpunk-esque plot devices are used to move the story forward. I also enjoyed the inspection of the technology through different lenses, such as, a Buddhist perspective in addition to a Silicon Valley hot shot perspective.

On the downside I found some of the writing to be bland, the characters to be flat, and the plot to be uninspiring; however, the book makes you think about a new technology in a very deep way. This is it’s redeeming factor and is what makes it into a great sci-fi book. I would recommend it if you are interested in the idea of human brains being linked through networks of nanobots. I would especially recommend this book if you liked the Drummers side-plot of The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson