Book Review - The Execution Channel by Ken Macleod
Category Book Review
Normally, a near-future sci-fi novel with government propaganda and disinformation is a recipe for success with me. But in The Execution Channel by Ken Macleod, someone must have left out a critical item to make it all come together. The two major questions I kept asking were "what's going on" and "why do I care"...
I'm not even sure I can do a decent plot recap. What seems to be a nuclear explosion occurs at an air force base in England. This is followed by a number of other terrorist acts which are being spun as a full-fledged attack on the country. A group that was watching the base for signs of illegal activity is being blamed for the explosion. But no one is quite sure *who* is to blame, as all the governments are involved in actively feeding "leaks" to bloggers in order to cover up the truth and fuel UFO and conspiracy theories. Members of the observation group are trying to cut through the media spin and confirm the truth.
That's a weak recap, but it's the best I can do. The characters seem to be a continuation of some other story, and I was never quite sure who was who in terms of plot and allegiances. The whole "Execution Channel" just dies on the vine in the story. For something that is the title of the book, it ultimately never comes into play (as best I can tell). And the ending is just plain weird... The term "cop-out" comes to mind.
This could have been a great setting. The concept of governments driving public opinion using media and internet sites isn't hard to imagine. The color and settings also seemed to work well. But unfortunately, the plot was either too sophisticated for me to understand, or it was just plain muddled...
Normally, a near-future sci-fi novel with government propaganda and disinformation is a recipe for success with me. But in The Execution Channel by Ken Macleod, someone must have left out a critical item to make it all come together. The two major questions I kept asking were "what's going on" and "why do I care"...
I'm not even sure I can do a decent plot recap. What seems to be a nuclear explosion occurs at an air force base in England. This is followed by a number of other terrorist acts which are being spun as a full-fledged attack on the country. A group that was watching the base for signs of illegal activity is being blamed for the explosion. But no one is quite sure *who* is to blame, as all the governments are involved in actively feeding "leaks" to bloggers in order to cover up the truth and fuel UFO and conspiracy theories. Members of the observation group are trying to cut through the media spin and confirm the truth.
That's a weak recap, but it's the best I can do. The characters seem to be a continuation of some other story, and I was never quite sure who was who in terms of plot and allegiances. The whole "Execution Channel" just dies on the vine in the story. For something that is the title of the book, it ultimately never comes into play (as best I can tell). And the ending is just plain weird... The term "cop-out" comes to mind.
This could have been a great setting. The concept of governments driving public opinion using media and internet sites isn't hard to imagine. The color and settings also seemed to work well. But unfortunately, the plot was either too sophisticated for me to understand, or it was just plain muddled...