Reviews of Infoquake

“David Louis Edelman’s debut novel — the first installment of his Jump 225 Trilogy — is equal parts corporate thriller, technophilic cautionary tale, and breathtakingly visionary science fiction adventure. Donald Trump meets Vernor Vinge.” … “Brilliantly blending the cutthroat intrigues of the high-tech business world with revolutionary world building, Edelman could quite possibly be the love child of Donald Trump and Vernor Vinge. Infoquake is one of the most impressive science fiction debuts to come along in years — highly recommended.”
Barnes & Noble Explorations

“Slick high-finance melodrama and dizzying technical speculation lift Edelman’s SF debut, the first of a trilogy… Natch’s being a borderline sociopath makes him extremely creative in business tactics and personal manipulation (and thus fascinating to read about). The world in which he operates is also fascinating, with awesome personal powers being sold on a frantic open market. Edelman, who has a background in Web programming and marketing, gives his bizarre notions a convincing gloss of detail. Bursting with invention and panache, this novel will hook readers for the story’s next installment.”
Publishers Weekly

“In web designer and programmer Edelman’s first novel, he moves quickly from scene to scene, building suspense with believable characters and in-the-know technical expertise. This series opener belongs in most SF collections.”
Library Journal

“A thought-provoking and terribly imaginative book… Infoquake is one of those books that hooks you into the story and makes you never want to put the book down. But once you have decided that you must get some sleep before work the next day, you put the book down and find yourself unable to stop thinking about the questions raised by the story.”
L.A. Splash

“(5 Stars) Libraries strong in speculative fiction will relish Infoquake… A fast-paced, engrossing saga of social change.” (Full Review)
Midwest Book Review

“The manner in which people who experienced Dune upon its publication speak about Herbert’s opus is not dissimilar to the feeling Infoquake elicits — the genre might not be quite the same after this book... Infoquake is a stunning debut novel by a lucid, precise, and talented new voice in the genre... This may be THE science fiction book of the year.”
SFFWorld

“A high-speed, high-spirited tale of high-powered and low-minded capitalist skullduggery, corporate and media warfare, and virtual reality manipulation. It’s the sort of thing that would make a perfect serial for Wired magazine... Edelman seems to have convincing and convincingly detailed knowledge of the physiology and biochemistry of the human nervous system down to the molecular level. And cares about making his fictional combination of molecular biology and nanotech credible.”
Norman Spinrad, Asimov’s

“Infoquake is a triumph of speculation. Edelman has foreseen a nanotech future of warring corporations and stock markets of personal enhancement in which both the good and the bad of the present day are reflected with an even hand and startling clarity... it’s Wall Street meets Neuromancer.” (Full Review) “Infoquake is a tech-heavy exercise in scientific speculation that combines economics, high technology and business mechanics into an all-too-human story of greed, loss and redemption.” (Full Article)
Bookgasm

“Edelman has one hell of a hoot taking high-tech marketing out to draw and quarter it with style and panache. Infoquake is a very funny and insightful novel of modern economics through a futuristic funhouse mirror... It’s the kind of book that deserves to be passed quietly from cubicle to cubicle in tech companies around the nation and indeed around the world. And it’s the kind of novel that you want to be passing, the kind of novel you want to be reading.” (Full Review) “Edelman, [Cory] Doctorow and [Charles] Stross are, like all great science fiction writers, not really writing about the future. They’re responding to the present... Edelman’s vision in this regard is particularly sharp and particularly on-point. There’s a certain amount of satire going on here, but Edelman is quite serious about his world, which makes it all the easier to invest in his characters and settings.” (Full Article)
The Agony Column

“If all novels were as chockfull of ideas as Infoquake is, then science fiction would never have to worry about a shortage of sense of wonder... Edelman is like a more accessible [Charles] Stross; whereas Stross’s fiction is about as dense as it can get and still be readable, Edelman’s style is more inviting, and, to me, more appealing... Few first novelists manage as assured a debut as Infoquake; almost all new authors stumble around a bit in their first novel, but Edelman comes off as a seasoned professional.” (Full Review)
Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show

“The hyperbole surrounding this novel seems justified — drawing on cyberpunk and singularitarian themes, it boldly places a banner for what is arguably a new sub-genre of science fiction... As an engaging fictional mirror of the modern world, written from an angle rarely used, this novel definitely marks Edelman as a writer to keep an eye on.” (Full Review)
Futurismic

“A brisk, well-told science fiction adventure set in the normally unadventurous world of business... Edelman handles it all with considerable narrative drive... A simple old-fashioned story, where incident crowds onto incident, where jeopardy makes us hold our breath, and rabbits are pulled from the hat only at the very last moment.” (Full Review)
New York Review of Science Fiction

“There’s always the risk that a complicated setting will overwhelm character and story, but Edelman avoids this pitfall, evoking a surprising amount of empathy for the amoral yet oddly charming Natch, and injecting a tremendous amount of suspense into what is essentially a saga of corporate politics... The novel also addresses weighty themes: the destructive price of greed, the unchanging relentlessness of the human drive to innovate and to compete... An entertaining and intelligent debut that should leave readers eager for more.”
Fantasy Magazine

"(4 stars) Edelman casts the necessary deep hooks with effortless style. The surprising twist comes with the realisation that he reels in an infectious page turner without recourse to all-out Hollywood action... The breakneck scramble through the concluding pages only fuels your hunger for more. Edelman's sequel simply can't get here fast enough."
Death Ray Magazine

“(4 1/2 stars) A very strong debut novel mixing a historically detailed timeline with an intriguing technological future. David Louis Edelman makes reading about corporate shenanigans fun... Infoquake should appeal to just about any SF reader, but if you like Herbert’s Dune or any of [Charles] Stross’s work, you should really enjoy this book.” (Full Review)
SFSignal

“With his debut novel Infoquake, David Louis Edelman constructs a believable yet highly imaginative vision of the future... Edelman has taken several societal trends and extrapolated them to their logical conclusions in constructing his vision of the future, and from this he comes up with something that is pretty unique... Infoquake definitely hooks in the reader, and I for one can’t wait to get my grubby wee paws on the second installment.”
Meme Therapy

“(Rating: 9 out of 10) This book was superb. I simply cannot believe that this is a debut novel, it reads so much more like the work of a seasoned writer... This book however is anything but boring — it grips you from the start and leaves you at the end of the book wishing you had book two at hand.”
The Eternal Night

"(Rating: 10 out of 10) Edelman has found a way to keep you reading way into the wee hours of the morning drinking coffee like a computer programmer behind on his product launch. A fascinating piece of literary work that is bound to be considered a classic of science fiction. One, if not the top read of the year. A must have for any reader of science fiction. Could not recommend higher." (Full Review)
Speculative Book Review

“Infoquake is practically a cyberpunk novel, although unlike the works of William Gibson, author David Louis Edelman actually knows his subject and isn’t prone to making errors... Edelman has done an excellent job of bringing characters to life for a new writer. He even made business deals interesting. This is also very high grade science fiction, using the trappings and then adding more.”
SF Crowsnest

"This is a well-wrought, propulsive, and consistently readable book... Infoquake emerges as a well-told, entertaining, and thought-provoking first novel. A solid start. Edelman's just might be a name to watch."
Andromeda Spaceways

"One of my favorite novels in recent years... [Edelman is] one of the up-and-coming authors in the science fiction field." (Full Podcast and Interview) (MP3, 31.3 MB)
Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing

"As a debut novel, Edelman has done some good work here. His characters grow over the course of the story, the mark of a good writer... it does provide an interesting take on where the SF of the '30s is going... We can definitely expect to see more from Mr. Edelman."
Ray Gun Revival

“An intense futuristic tale of business, intrigue, revenge and technology... This has the potential to be a terrific series filled with innovative concepts and enough double-dealing to keep the reader guessing.”
Monsters and Critics

“Edelman has managed to capture the mania and obsession of Internet moguls nicely... I found Infoquake interesting, and genuinely wanted to find out what happened next. The characters in the book are quite like people I’ve known in the world of international entrepreneurship.” (Full Review)
SFRevu

"(4 out of 5 stars) What makes Infoquake so compelling is Edelman's skillful rendering of the people he envisions at the very core of this culture. The ways in which people preserve their fundamental humanity in a future where it would be all too easy to let it go completely is something that isn't often explored very convincingly in even the best hard SF. Some writers have tried, but few have done as well as Edelman in asking the basic question of what kind of people would be produced by a world where tech and the body were one... How unfolding events leave their marks on the people caught up in them is where Infoquake is at its most gripping." (Full Review)
SFReviews.net

“A study in drive and power, Infoquake shows the drive and need behind the rise of new corporations... Infoquake remains a raw and fascinating novel, with a fast pace and nifty economic themes.”
Prometheus, the newsletter of the Libertarian Futurist Society

“Edelman has created a fascinating world… The interactions between Natch, Horvil and Jara (who is both attracted to and disturbed by her boss) are volatile, complex and very, very realistic. It is easy to believe in these people, and even feel like maybe this is a future that is not too far away… It would be good to have a few months to ponder Infoquake before plunging into the next work, as I plan to do this summer, exploring more of this utopia/dystopia and enjoying a truly compelling tale.”
Fast Forward TV

"(4 out of 5) Perfectly combines shifting perspectives and timelines to keep you hooked... I have never read anything else with this take on technology or the future... Unlike some future scifi settings where the cool technology feels more like James Bond gizmos designed to add color and flash to the story the technology in Infoquake is the basis for the story." (Full Review)
SciFi-Fantasy Bookshelf

"(4 out of 5 stars) Infoquake reminds me of Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs novels, without quite as much violence... It's one of those novels where the author isn't afraid to ask readers to commit to it and to make the effort to meet him halfway in visualising a very different world from the present one. It's an effort that pays off, thanks to the plucky yet isolated figure of Natch." (Full Review)
Warpcore SF

“This is book one of the Jump 225 Trilogy, and Edelman has started off in an extremely interesting manner.”
Baryon Magazine

“So fresh and good I shamelessly stole an idea from it: the whole premise of a future corporate thriller... Buy Infoquake, read it... Give him the Philip K Dick award.” (Full Article)
Ian McDonald

“Inventive and provocative, with a surprisingly emotional kick. Read this book, and then argue about it.”
Kate Elliott

"David Louis Edelman’s vision of the future is so alive and full of energy the pages are practically buzzing. Wonderfully intricate with smart, satisfying complexity, Infoquake and its sequel MultiReal serve up a world where mindbending technologies promise a freedom nearly as endless as the Machiavellian ambitions of those who would control them."
Nick Sagan

“A fascinating glimpse into an all-too-possible future of business, software, wetware, and over-powerful technocrats.”
Tobias Buckell

"An astonishingly original first novel... The author does a wonderful job of worldbuilding, fashioning a highly detailed history to compliment his complex society... Infoquake achieves in doing something much contemporary sci-fi is hard pressed to do: pull off a fresh and wholly original concept." (Full Review and Discussion)
Joseph Mallozzi

“[Infoquake] stayed with me, kept on impressing me way after I’d finished it… Its setting is something I haven’t seen for a long time, a quite distant future that is nevertheless utterly plausible... I have faith in this Mundane masterpiece.” (Full Article) “My favourite SF novel of the year. A future of business and competition that we can all identify with, which neatly avoids apocalyptic cliché.” (Full Article)
Paul Cornell

“David Louis Edelman’s Infoquake may be a new subgenre unto itself: the science fiction business thriller. Set in a fully realized future world, the narrative is more interested in the economic impact of future technologies than in the technologies themselves. The suspense derives entirely from politics and economics, and the most exciting moments (and they are exciting!) surround new product launches. Edelman doesn’t resort to any of the typical tricks to keep the reader turning pages, but I found that I still couldn’t turn them fast enough.”
Chris Roberson

“Infoquake is a rare beast: a future history that is simultaneously convincing and wondrous. David Louis Edelman takes no short cuts to a destination quite unlike any visited before — and we are richer for it.”
Sean Williams

From Mainstream Critics

From Science Fiction Critics

From Authors