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Julio Genao's Reviews > The Prince and the Program
The Prince and the Program (The Mordred Saga, #1)
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this book is crazy-go-nutz amazing.
a software engineer's love-letter to alan turing, arthurian legend, and... zombie death-majicks?
best sci-fi/fantasy book i've read in a decade—and the most recklessly inventive homo spec fic i have ever come across.
it's actually more like proto-arthurian. wayback arthurian.
somewhat before colin morgan's oh-so-toothsome rendition, y'see.
mixed with microserfs?
and a tribute to alan turing like a conflagration of love and admiration.
so, so good.
pretty sure i didn't get some of the more obscure necromancy references, and the story plays with ancient, aaancient tropes whose details i never learned or have forgotten...
...but i swear there's a terrific zombie joke in it.
i haven't had this much fun being confused in forever.
very simply: mercer is legit.
go forth, my friends. get thee some mordred; that ye may be excitingly bewildered also.
it is a singularly agreeable experience.
a software engineer's love-letter to alan turing, arthurian legend, and... zombie death-majicks?
best sci-fi/fantasy book i've read in a decade—and the most recklessly inventive homo spec fic i have ever come across.
it's actually more like proto-arthurian. wayback arthurian.
somewhat before colin morgan's oh-so-toothsome rendition, y'see.
mixed with microserfs?
and a tribute to alan turing like a conflagration of love and admiration.
so, so good.
pretty sure i didn't get some of the more obscure necromancy references, and the story plays with ancient, aaancient tropes whose details i never learned or have forgotten...
...but i swear there's a terrific zombie joke in it.
i haven't had this much fun being confused in forever.
very simply: mercer is legit.
go forth, my friends. get thee some mordred; that ye may be excitingly bewildered also.
it is a singularly agreeable experience.
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The Prince and the Program.
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Quotes Julio Liked
“He laughed, a sinister sound that made some of the people outside the restaurant shudder without knowing why.”
― The Prince and the Program
― The Prince and the Program
“And does Alan have a last name?" I asked.
"Probably," said Curtis, "but we have a 'if you have to ask, you don't need to know because I don't want to friend you on Facebook' policy.”
― The Prince and the Program
"Probably," said Curtis, "but we have a 'if you have to ask, you don't need to know because I don't want to friend you on Facebook' policy.”
― The Prince and the Program
“That's the tragedy of creatures," I agreed. Mine too, if it comes to that. "We spend so long looking for our 'soulmates' or becoming 'one with our higher self'. But all this time the one true love has already happened. We don't remember because there was no mechanism to form a memory in the before-time, but we are its product."
(Mordred)”
― The Prince and the Program
(Mordred)”
― The Prince and the Program
“Your perspective makes me weak," I said.
"Reason always does," he replied.”
― The Prince and the Program
"Reason always does," he replied.”
― The Prince and the Program
“Gravity set the path of the Sun at the moment this Universe was born. The moon was set to spin the day it was cleaved from the Earth. Once divisions are made, they cannot be summed. The sea is not a courtesan, to be fascinated by false magnetism. Mountains had names long before men dared to climb them. All power flows as a river, even, close-held, the power within people.”
― The Prince and the Program
― The Prince and the Program
“There is no Demon addiction, no lie, no distance between you and I here. And I am telling you, I will spend the rest of eternity looking for you, and I will find you, wherever you are reborn."
(Mordred)”
― The Prince and the Program
(Mordred)”
― The Prince and the Program
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Sep 27, 2013 11:33AM
How is this? It sounds really imaginative.
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It's the cleverest book I've read in years. I didn't understand all of it at once—had to read parts of it twice—and one bit thrice—but I loved the whole thing. Gagging for book two.
ooh, I like the sound of clever.
It's Arthurian legend mixed with Microserfs and the single most imaginative tribute to Alan Turing I have ever read.I'm pretty sure I didn't get some of the more obscure necromancy references, and the story plays with ancient, ancient tropes whose details I never learned or have forgotten, but I swear there's a terrific zombie joke in it.
I haven't had this much fun being confused in ages.
No sex, unless you count the kind enjoyed by two brains connected by a chat interface.
I really, really loved it.
This sounds interesting, and really different.
Awesome! I'll probably not get all the references, but i don't mind feeling out-geeked when the ride is good. :D
Difficult. Not MM. But still wildly romantic?—I don't even know where to fucking start
I hope you like it. My face was like (o.O) more or less the entire time
When "Pendragon" and "sysadmin" are mentioned in a single blurb write up, how can one not be intrigued? And then, of course, you push us all over the edge. Do I smell a whiff of *sniff* space odyssey mixed in for good flav? *tosses in her chips* Deal those cards and let's see what we git...
I love the sound of this book, it sounds so different! Can't wait for your review:D
It's crazy-different, and I appreciated it. What. A. Trip.
Hope you like it, Andrea. It's madness. Utter madness.
julio wrote: "It's Arthurian legend mixed with Microserfs and the single most imaginative tribute to Alan Turing I have ever read."Poor Alan Turing. He totally deserves some tributes.
I wrote this review not long after his birthday: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...He really was something, though, wasn't he?
You know, I was a history major. And then I realized that almost everything in history is fucking depressing.
Yeah, tell me about it. Cuz at the end of any given story everyone dies.
(-__-) julio wrote: "Yeah, tell me about it. Cuz at the end of any given story everyone dies."
I'm going to write a story where you are reborn at the end as a Sockeye Salmon. (Before Lewis and Clark). Wouldn't that be the best?
I'm going to write a story where you are reborn at the end as a Sockeye Salmon. (Before Lewis and Clark). Wouldn't that be the best?
Will I have sex with anyone?
(-__-) julio wrote: "Will I have sex with anyone?"
yes, everyone, and they will also be salmon. You will be a very handsome vermillion and olive green, and your flesh will be rich from the cold ocean waters you've been swimming in. And then the adventure begins!
yes, everyone, and they will also be salmon. You will be a very handsome vermillion and olive green, and your flesh will be rich from the cold ocean waters you've been swimming in. And then the adventure begins!
I approve; carry on.
(-__-) julio wrote: "I approve; carry on."
the death-adventure, I mean, because living forever always turns out to be a curse.
Can't wait to read this story! Though I will probably miss everything but the Authur/Alan Turing references.
the death-adventure, I mean, because living forever always turns out to be a curse.
Can't wait to read this story! Though I will probably miss everything but the Authur/Alan Turing references.
It's smart as fuck. Didn't get anywhere close to everything, but enjoyed it to pieces anyway.
This being The Mordred Saga 1, does it have a definite end? I mean no cliffhangers, to-be-continued shit but an ending to this story?
thematically? structurally? yes, it does, but it's not tidy, as with some books, with everything tied up into a bow. you'll want MAS, Y MAS.
julio wrote: "thematically? structurally? yes, it does, but it's not tidy, as with some books, with everything tied up into a bow. you'll want MAS, Y MAS."Good, I don't mind some loose ends, I just didn't want a completely open-ended book. In that case, I would wait for sequel.
julio wrote: "thematically? structurally? yes, it does, but it's not tidy, as with some books, with everything tied up into a bow. you'll want MAS, Y MAS."Siempre quiero mas y mas.
well, when it's this good... me too. :-P
You always find the best words, I don't know how to review it. It was an exquisite 7-course gala dinner for my brain.
was it not?!?!?! i loved it. glad you did too :-)
julio wrote: "was it not?!?!?! i loved it. glad you did too :-)"First I'd read your review, then from AnnaLund, then I gathered my thoughts and after that I wrote mines. ;)
can't go wrong with annalund—she writes nice reviews also. my favorite is, of course, .obviously.
julio wrote: "can't go wrong with annalund—she writes nice reviews also. my favorite is, of course, this one.obviously."
This one is very beautiful, without any hesitation!
Damn I'm glad I follow ur reviews. I've discovered some great stuff because of u. Off to read! :D
Thanks! I think this book really is amazing—hope you like it too :-)
Omg this sounds so good! Checked out the sample on Amazon just now & bought it. Thanks J!
Luis wrote: "You think I'd appreciate this book less without having read Douglas Coupland's Microserfs?"don't think so, no. the microserfs thing was about silicon valley startup culture—and what i liked about it is the same as one of the things i liked about this one: different personalities in a weird office setting where everyone's trying to figure it out as they go along—while millions of dollars are at stake.
good times.
Pam/Peejakers wrote: "Omg this sounds so good! Checked out the sample on Amazon just now & bought it. Thanks J!"cheers! hope you liked it anywhere near as much as i did :-)
