Reviews of MultiReal

"A brilliant imagining of a near-future that not only extrapolates convincingly from current technology and culture but fills in the gaps with world-building so detailed as to verge on the tedious... Others have imagined a future in which nano-machines have colonized the human body, and indeed every other nook and cranny of the physical world... but few have done so as convincingly as Edelman does in these books. His portrayal of that world is richly evocative... I've never encountered an SF writer whose focus is so relentlessly on the nuts and bolts of the entrepreneurial world, from the boardroom to the factory to the sales office, and who — pontification aside — can make the minutiae of that world seem as exciting and dangerous as a military operation."
Paul Witcover, Locus Magazine

"(Grade: A) Readers of this distinctive and well-conceived series are sure to spot resonances with past classics of the genre... [Edelman] brings all the intellectual firepower and verisimilitude of the digerati like Sterling, Stross and Doctorow to his text. And the ontological twists and implications of MultiReal would do honor to Greg Egan. But the strongest overall vibe I get is that of Alfred Bester... Bester is much admired verbally, but very few authors really try to emulate him in print — he set the bar so high — and Edelman's success is commensurate with his ambitions... Once you realize that Natch is less Neo than he is Steve Jobs, you're in for a swell ride."
Paul Di Filippo, SCI FI Weekly

"A welcome cure to the Fringe/Eleventh Hour science-bashing... The other thing that makes the trilogy (so far) a really addictive read is the depth of Edelman's world-building and characterization... I'm in it for the long haul, because it feels like Edelman is writing about real people and real issues, in a thrilling, engaging way. And that's rarer than it should be." (Full Review) "An amazing hard scifi tale, this is the second in an action-packed series from Edelman." (Full Article listing MultiReal as one of the Best Science Fiction Books of 2008) "David Louis Edelman's future-business saga MultiReal was one of the books that blew us away the most in 2008." (Full Article)
Charlie Jane Anders, io9

"(Rating: 8 out of 10) This is one sequel that delivers! No middle book syndrome for David Louis Edelman... The politicking is particularly well-done, and it adds another dimension to a series that continues to impress me on several levels... As was the case with Infoquake, MultiReal is a superior read. Moreover, if the final installment lives up to the expectations generated by its predecessors, this series could well be the best thing ever published by Pyr... The Jump 225 trilogy remains one of the very best ongoing science fiction series on the market." (Full Review)
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist

"The Matrix meets Boston Legal... A true page-turner that I could not put down, and when the final page came I was sad since I really wanted more... The combination of extraordinary world building, compelling characters that grow on you in Jara and Natch, legal intrigue, political maneuverings and fast action made MultiReal an even more entertaining book for me than Infoquake, which I loved too. Better pacing and a more compact time frame make MultiReal technically more accomplished too, and I really have the highest hopes for Geosynchron. Highly, highly recommended." (Full Review)
Fantasy Book Critic

"Cyberpunk after it grew up and graduated from business school. It features an incredibly detailed complex background, interesting (and not always likable) characters, and the grand scope and feel of the best science fiction. This is in many ways a stronger book than the first, Infoquake, a rarity among second volumes in trilogies... Edelman has clearly put a lot of thought into his universe, and is able to show this in ways that do not overwhelm the reader... This is modern-day science fiction the way it ought to be written. Very highly recommended." (Full Review)
SFRevu

"MultiReal is on par with the previous volume for Edelman's ability to change the game a bit and still maintain what made Infoquake such a great novel; his growth as a writer is most evident in the characters themselves. If anything, MultiReal may be a bolder novel... MultiReal is also not a 'treading water middle book' of a trilogy... it really drives home much of what Edelman was setting up in the first volume and leaves the reader eager for the next volume. David Louis Edelman has crafted another winner with MultiReal... I for one can't wait to see where Edelman takes the conclusion of this [thus far] spectacular trilogy." (Full Review)
Rob Bedford, SFFWorld

"[MultiReal is] a story of ideas. So many, in fact, that Edelman has provided several appendices and his website includes more than 30,000 words of supplemental material... Overall, the book is an entertaining read that explores some startling implications of biological programming, and sets the scene nicely for volume three." (Full Review)
Futurismic

"What is increasingly interesting then about David Louis Edelman’s Jump 225 trilogy... is how it is becoming less a work that addresses the present indirectly, through such speculation, and more a work that seeks to directly capture the zeitgeist, the feeling and the texture of the present... Edelman has embedded an impressive assemblage of futuristic ideas and technologies into the Jump 225 trilogy; all but the most buffered of futuristas will have their sensawunda cache filled." (Full Review)
Bookspotcentral

"Edelman is an up-and-comer, he delivers on characterization and he certainly has delivered a rich and detailed alternate future... Cyberpunkistas will absolutely revel in the Possibilities; anyone who enjoys watching a rising new star develop will be rewarded. If you want to see the future of where the SF novel is going, pick up this series."
Ray Gun Revival

"(Rating: 8/10) When I read the first book in the Jump 225 Trilogy, Infoquake, I was blown away... A great sequel even though it was not as strong as the first installment but I am definitely hanging on for the final chapter." (Full Review)
Speculative Book Review

"A mix of cyberpunk and The Wall Street Journal... Where Edelman does excel, and the true focus of the book, is exploring the economics and political powers behind new technologies, their development and routes to market and the social and moral implications of such advancements."
Death Ray Magazine

"[MultiReal] has the same excitement, tension, and intrigue as the first volume... While the plot revolves around a program, this book is definitely character-driven, with the motivations and desires of the people at its heart. The slightly familiar but always fascinating world that wraps around the cast only makes the book more compelling... If you have read the first volume, you will want to get MultiReal today and continue the exploration of this dark, complex and fascinating work." (Full Review)
Fast Forward TV

"Everything... serves to tear down the certainties and break apart the alliances of the previous volume. To the extent that we are left, at the end of the volume, wondering whether our heroes can get it together enough to fight back, and indeed whether there is anything worth fighting for, the novel does its job very efficiently... David Louis Edelman remains an interesting writer, and he can do breathless action very well indeed when he wants." (Full Review)
SFSite

"This is the second volume of the Jump 225 Trilogy and is not to be missed. Edelman has some interesting ideas and a look at an extreme future that could become more real than we could expect."
Baryon

"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

“Just when we thought cyberpunk was dead, David Louis Edelman bursts on the scene with defibrillator paddles and shouts, ‘Clear!’ If there’s any web more tangled than the World Wide one, it’s the Byzantine networks of high finance; Edelman intermeshes them in a complex, compelling series. This DOES compute!”
Robert J. Sawyer

“A thoroughly-successful hybrid of Neuromancer and Wall Street, MultiReal is the kind of thought-experiment we need more of around here: rigorously backgrounded, tightly plotted, and built around one of the most intriguing neurotech conceits I’ve encountered in years. William Gibson once observed that the street finds its own uses for things. David Louis Edelman reminds us that both boardroom and back room do as well — and the people who lurk in those places are a lot scarier…”
Peter Watts

"As much as I loved Infoquake, MultiReal is better. It's The West Wing, in the world of big business, in the future, all last second deals and human emotion finding desperate chances and tense negotiations, but this time with added sex and violence... This world, almost uniquely in modern SF, isn’t just a commentary on the modern scene, but might also come to pass... I'm saying not just Campbell next year but come on, let's say it out loud, Best Novel." (Full Article) "This will get my Hugo vote for Best Novel. Edelman is pushing forward a new sort of SF here, one based not in the myths and magic of the Singularity... but in the continual, ongoing process of history, culture, and, yes, capitalism... I eagerly await the end of the trilogy, and want this to win stuff now." (Full Article: Best of the Year 2008)
Paul Cornell

"What I found most interesting about the book is its ability to reintroduce strangeness into the science fiction experience... Edelman's world feels distinctly odd in the best possible way... It's a possible world of the imagination, not a probable world of near-future extrapolation. Combined with its originality, this makes Edelman's future very interesting." (Full Article)
Tom Doyle

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