Harmony

This is truly an amazing book. It's a full book, plenty of action, great characters, and a unique style. It's written as though you're experiencing it from a computer in that it is full of HTML and it uses that to its advantage. The reader is given emotions and insight through the tags and this helps to really bring the book to life. I'm sorry I put it off on my TBR pile for so long.In more ways than one, this book makes a lot of valid points about our society and where its potential lies. It is not hard to see the potential of the WHO of Tuan's world coming to a reality in our not so distant future. I feel I would be like Tuan and break out of society's mold, putting myself out there into potentially dangerous situations for the possibility of securing alcohol or tobacco, vices we take for granted today, just to feel different.But there is also a part of me that desires what the WHO offers, a way to maintain your existence without having to make all the decisions yourself. The computers tell you what to eat, monitor your vitals, never getting sick, and while that can be good for a while, I wonder if people could really exist like that for any long term period of time. Perhaps if, as Tuan's predecessors experienced, something extremely horrible happens and it is the way found to prevent it happening again.I suggest you pick this up if you enjoy a good dystopian novel. It is truly amazing and I was looking forward to reading more of the author's work when I finished. Alas, when I read the small blurb at the end about the author, I learned that he passed away a few years ago, and that this was the only book. If nothing else it is a book to read and savor as there will be no more to come. And if that's not enough of a selling point for you, it has received rave reviews and won a number of awards. It's just that good.Review originally published on my review site: UrbanBachelorette.com

One of the best science fiction novels I've read recently. The best thing I could say about it is that it was exactly the right length, with the characters given all the space to put together a fascinating story without a paragraph ever seeming extraneous or tedious.I'm a huge fan of cyberpunk. I would not really lump this in the same genre as the 90's cyberpunk I grew up with, but it feels very much like the right kind of story for today. The story is based on networked nano-technology and biohacking that seems credible and relevant without feeling like a faddish attempt to cash in on pop science headlines. More importantly, it never felt like a "Twilight Zone" episode where the technology is the antagonist. It was very much a character driven story that pushes the reader to challenge the relationships between the self, the body, and their society.A character name-drops Foucault about two-thirds of the way in but you can see that influence from the very beginning. It is probably the best example where good post-modern, academic philosophy informed a good science fiction novel. Grad students rejoice!The XML throughout the book was an interesting idea, although I didn't think it was particularly necessary. I think you could ignore it if you find it distracting or confusing. One neat touch I didn't actually notice until the end is that there are two character encoding tags, one for japanese and one for english, with the japanese tag commented out. A nice touch from Haika Soru, they have been an amazing translation house and I will snap up anything they publish (although I would like them to try branching out and publishing a few Korean SF works.)

Satoshi Ito (Project Itoh) did what most writers hopeto do: he wrote a story that resonates and will likely flourish within the science fiction canon. Harmony is a complex novel--a dystopic analysis of the nanny state in which life is so sacred that it's almost cheap.The premise is well rendered: most of the world subscribes to a mental adaptation system controlled by the Admedistration. Everything, from nutrition to exercise to emotion and excitement, is regulated and watched by a network of agencies whose goal is to ensure harmony (read: homogeneity).Itoh's tale surely shines in the first third. Tuan is a protagonist one can relate to. She's smart but flawed; sentimental but cold. The beauty of the story is that we are also drawn to our antagonist, Miach, whose recollections of previous cultures, and her love of history, are simply fantastic. These sections make the narrative work.WatchMe is the software. Tuan and Miach are the unwilling pawns in its wake. This is a story that hits home on a lot of levels. What would life be like without subversion? How would it be if we were all aware of our situations, 100% of the time?The third act was satisfying, but it was a little underwhelming after such a strong approach to exposition and characterization. Still, it's one of the best books I've read in recent years and I can see it having a far-reaching impact on specultive fiction.Ito passed away before he could appreciate the results of this novel. I think this is the rock, thrown into the pond, that leaves waves crashing on the shore. If you are into science fiction, you owe it yourself to read this book.

An excellent science-fiction story by Project Itoh. It is very well written with a nice, well-thought and well-written story that has consistency. It offers an interesting insight and food for thought for a future Orwellian society that is perhaps not so distant from our reality and timeline.The story flows well and has a relatively fast pace. It raises a lot of points and questions about humanity and society that will make you think about them, however, do not expect an analysis as deep and thorough that delves into the depths of human soul as you would expect from a Dostoevsky's book.Overall, it is a contemporary Japanese sci-fi novel so if you are a fan of these type of novels as well as the writing style of contemporary Japanese authors, you will enjoy the story.

I have seen the anime version, the reason why I bought the book.

The only reason why it is 4 stars was the only time I lost immersion was due to neurological terminology being somewhat off. The cerebellum was the word I waited for but seemed to be perpetually overly described like the translator had an intense case of the tip of the tongue syndrome. The novel is otherwise a fantastic and superb critical commentary regarding what it means to be human in an intensely medically neurotic dystopian society.

I really liked it. A profound reflection about across the border line between private and public, the "I" and the others. You can clearly hear Huxley's echo. And never so actual as today.

Ich kann diese Buch nur jeden wärmstens empfehlen, der Sci-Fi-Romane und Dystopien mag. Das geniale an diesem Buch ist, wie eine vermeintlich perfekte Welt (niemand, der sich der dominanten Doktrin unterzieht, lebt in einer gewaltätigen Welt) als schlimmste Dystopie offenbart (in den Augen der Protagonisten, vielleicht auch des Lesers.)Der Roman beschreibt eine Welt, die aus dem Dritten Weltkrieg (Maelstrom genannt) hervorgegangen ist und circa 60 Jahre danach spielt. Die vormals dominanten Regierungen wichen kleineren wissenschafts- und medizindominierten Organisationsformen; die World Health Organisation, deren Einfluss fast die gesamte Welt umspannt. der Maelstrom hat einen großen Teil der Population vernichtet und die menschliche Existenz wird zur wichtigsten Ressource. Alle Bürger der WHO wurden "Medicules" implantiert, die in Echtzeit Feedback über den psysischen und physischen Zustand der Menschen geben und bei Bedarf Enzyme und Medikamente ausschütten. Diese Implantate sind individuell auf die Bürger angepasst und filtern auch sämtliche Reize (Bilder, jegliche Form von Medien etc.), die zu emotionalen Stress führen könnten. Nahrung wird auf den persönlichen Stoffwechsel angepasst. In Restaurants werden die Nährwerte genannt und Gerichte, die man sich leisten kann. (Eine soziale Hirarchie gibt es weiterhin). Auch gibt es einen sozialen Druck sich möglichst musterhaft zu verhalten, denn andere Menschen haben Zugriff auf das soziale Ranking von anderen. Uneigennütziges und ehrenamtliches Verhalten wird nicht nur gefördert sondern erwartet. Das führt dazu, dass es Krankheiten, Gewalt und Hunger nicht mehr gibt. Eine perfekte Welt. Nur zu welchem Preis? Können Menschen nur entmenschlicht friedlich existieren?Eine der Hauptfiguren, ein junges Mädchen, findet Dinge vor den Ereignissen des Maelstrom heraus; sie empfindet diese Welt der Selbstzensur und des Entzugs der persönlichen Freiheit als erdrückend und will sich ihr durch Selbstmord entziehen. Sie glaubt, damit den größte Form des Widerstands leisten zu können. Einer ihrer beiden Freunde, die mit ihr Selbstmord begehen will, verrät sie jedoch. Die Hauptgeschichte spielt 16 Jahre später aus der Sicht einer der Freundinnen, die mittlerweile bei der WHO am Rande des WHO Einflusses arbeitet um andere Nationen von den Vorteilen der WHO zu überzeugen (auch mit Gewalt). Sie nutzt die Vorteile dort aber um selbst geringen Widerstands zu leisten, indem sie verbotene Substanzen wie Alkohol und Tabak konsumiert. Das ist der Ausgangspunkt und mehr würde zu viel vorweg nehmen.Vielleicht noch eine Besonderheit: Der ganze Roman ist von HTML Code durchzogen, dessen Sinn man nur sehr spät versteht, dann ist die Wirkung um so stärker.Wirklich ein ganz besonderes Buch.