This book is a near future technology dystopia, and though the story mentions issues like privacy, autonomy, fake news, it is about the society and the effects a society has in presence and absence of such a technology. And what’s more, the technology here is the internet that has been plugged out by an act of cyber-terrorism, and the pre-internet world gets resuscitated that is filled with anxiety and have characters who eke out living in the unwired age.

The detailed review at: https://anups.net/2020/08/24/book-review-infinite-detail-by-tim-maughan/

Imagining a world without the Internet is difficult to do, but Infinite Detail gives a believable scenario for how our world would react to a life taken suddenly and completely offline. I especially enjoyed the concept of a city building a small capsule network after the fact, and the stories of those trying to find information or answers in an offline world.

I had a hard time following the story, you don't even know what the main characters are doing until more than halfway through. Their motivations are opaque before that, so it makes it hard to care about them.

A remarkable first novel that only Tim Maughan, the reporter behind some of the most fascinating articles on the global supply chain, Bristol-born lover of techno culture and anthropologist of 20th and 21st century street style, could write. Full review at Skiffy and Fanty.

As you can see from my record here on NetGalley, I am ordinarily very, very consistent in reading and writing reviews of the books I am privileged to get early access to. But with Infinite Detail, my consistency takes a dip. I tried on three separate occasions, and just couldn't get into the book's groove. And I know why: style. It doesn't suit me (but certainly could others). My main hang up is that Maughan is attempting a very heavy, weighty style that attempts to get two, sometimes three levels of meaning from each sentence, clause after clause tagged on to accomplish this. And it becomes a slog at times - at least it was for me through the first few chapters. Again, I'm sure there are others who can appreciate the style, and I hope this book finds an audience with them as the premise is very intriguing. But for me, I'm giving up. Best of luck, and thank you for the ARC. Much appreciated. (For whatever reason, NetGalley does not allow the submission of a "review" without a star rating, hence the rating I gave, which should be taken as neutral.)

I wanted to like this one more than I did. There's some good ideas here - what does society look like when we're a little too connected to the internet? Who does that hurt? What happens to us if that collapses? - but the book seems to be trying to do a little too much on top of that.

Infinite Detail is a reminder of what it means to be human without the distractions of technology or the constant advertisements swirling around our lives at any given time. It’s a before and after tale, detailing the lives of multiple characters who want to see the end of a hyper-surveillance world, but don’t understand the consequences. Written with a technical know-how and a keen eye for what’s important in the greater scheme of things, Infinite Detail is a must-read for those who wonder what our connected world would be like if the signals blacked out.

Full review to be published on 3/5/19: https://reviewsandrobots.com/2019/03/05/infinite-detail-book-review

I usually like dystopian futures book but somehow couldn't get into this one. I've read about 55% and the realized that I can't focus my attention on what's actually happening and that actually I don't care so I gave up.

Infinite Detail es una novela contada a través de dos líneas temporales una antes y otras después del colapso de las redes de comunicación. En parte es una novela postapocalíptica si consideramos el fin de la civilización tal y como la conocemos como un apocalipsis, pero aunque las condiciones de vida son duras y los fascismos resurgen, no es que la humanidad corra peligro de extinguirse.

Aunque el comienzo de la novela es un tanto místico, con peregrinaciones para visitar a una artista que es capaz de recrear los últimos instantes de los fallecidos, en realidad nos encontramos ante una historia de futuro cercano, tan cercano como nos podamos imaginar. Es una crítica despiadada contra la falta de intimidad y la utilización de los datos de usuarios para alimentar los algoritmos de las Smart Cities. En algunas ocasiones Tim Maughan roza el adoctrinamiento pero estos bordes afilados se pueden esquivar si nos tomamos el libro como un aviso de la situación actual.
Es un escenario terrorífico por lo verosímil que resulta, ya que ahora mismo la economía mundial depende en gran medida de las redes de telecomunicaciones.
El estilo de Maughan es bastante seco y directo, probablemente influido por su labor periodística. Lo que no consigue es que logremos empatizar con los personajes, que parece estar colocados cuasi aleatoriamente para tener los encuentros oportunos que le permitan ir avanzando la trama.
Estamos ante una novela con mensaje, pero que no está acompañada por una narración agradable que haga llegar este mensaje con más facilidad o con unos personajes que nos lleguen a importar que consigan el mismo objetivo. Se acerca más a un ensayo que a una novela, pero no acaba de decidirse por ninguno de los dos caminos y por ello se resiente. Se podría comparar con algunas obras de Cory Doctorow así que si te gusta ese palo, probablemente disfrutes este Infinite Detail.

This is the kind of book we might pick up again in ten years' time only to be devastated by how many of Maughan's predictions of techno-terrorism have come true: Intertwining two alternating timelines - before and after a total internet shutdown that has plunged the world into chaos -, this author thinks through how our growing dependency on network technology and digitalization gives rise to new forms of power battles and warfare. The story centers on "the Croft", a counterculture enclave in Bristol that activists have managed to cut off from big data surveillance by the government and corporations. Enduring pressure from the outside and radicalizing from the inside, the Croft is struggling to find a masterplan for its future - until a group of radical hackers shuts down the internet and global production, supply chains, communication, energy, travel, and security systems collapse. Now the oppressive structures of global surveillance are dead - what now?

Maughan orchestrates a whole cast of edgy characters that roam his dystopian world and slowly unfolds what actually happened the day the internet died. They believe in the archaic power of music, they can re-play the past and navigate the online world with their spex (which are like an advanced version of google glasses) - at least as long as they have network connection - and they realize what's the crux of every revolution: You need a plan regarding what you will do once you won. And is it really a victory if people starve and die?

It's hard to describe the text's style, which is of course a plus because it means it's unusual: I wouldn't say it's steampunk (as some reviewers claim), because the Victorian aspect is utterly missing; rather, Maughan shows a heightened version of now, determined by information overload, advertisements and global consumer culture. Privacy is almost abolished and instead, everything is openly dsiplayed in infinite detail.

This book is a very smart thought experiment that negotiates current tendencies and highlights how global surveillance can become dangerous for everybody, including those gathering the information. I hope some literary judges will be bold enough to include this edgy book in their prize lists, because this is a discussion to be had.

Tim Maughan gives us timely and uncanny portrait of a future world that based upon today's trends is not too farfetched. Worth the read!

This book was pretty fascinating. I feel like there is a lot to unpack with it. The book’s chapters take place either “Before” or “After”. The pivotal moment being an instantaneous catastrophic destruction of the internet. The “Before” takes place a few years into the future from now. People are (unsurprisingly) even more absorbed in tech and the internet. I feel like reading the about the new technology was fascinating and believable, like I was reading about the actual future. Didn’t feel gimmicky like a lot of futuristic tech typically seems. The “After” chapters at first seemed overdone, like would the sudden disappearance of the internet really devolve society this much? But then the more I thought about it the more I was like “oh shit, maybe”. The character Rush was great and intriguing. The other characters, I wish there was more about them, but they also were intriguing. Overall, fun and fascinating read.

Infinite Detail is a story about a dystopian future that is very plausible. We're all connected to phones and tablets and kindles and......imagine having that taken away. This story is narrated through several perspectives of before and after, so we get a good overall look at this situation. It's so plausible it's frightening. This story is relevant. It's a little confusing at times but not so much that you get really lost. I liked this story because of the topic it addressed. What would you do without your electronic devices? Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was really disappointed with this book, I loved the sound of it, that is why I asked to read it.However I struggled with the writing style and just couldn't enjoy it.Afraid it wasn't for me.

Pretty timely story involving cyberterrorism, the Internet, use of power, and global trade. An interesting premise that is not out the realm of possibilities. I enjoyed it, and I appreciate the free advanced copy.

This was a doozy of a book to read on what turned out to be the longest blackout in recent past. Although to be precise this novel isn’t apocalypse by blackout so much as it is apocalypse by disconnect. Yes, the power goes out, but the main paralyzing factor is that a population so cripplingly attached to its gadgets and instant and constant connectivity suddenly finds that dependency taken…nay, ripped away suddenly, brutally and irreversibly. So in a way it’s very much an apocalypse now, a very timely dystopian read for the current generation. The story is told through multiple perspectives and timelines of before and after and as such execution at times got somewhat busy and confusing…or maybe disjointed is a more apt description. But it did work, was considerably compelling and read surprisingly quickly for such a hefty volume. I found it especially clever the way the author utilized the themes of constant barter of convenience for privacy that seems so prevalent in the modern world. Technology descriptions and world building were quite interesting too. And it was seriously eerie to read a book on a day without power, knowing there was no way to look any information up, post a review or even a recharge the kindle the book was on. One of those infinite details we tend to take for granted on daily basis until it suddenly isn’t there. This novel has a lot of clever things to say about the world as we know it, shaped by internet and the world that might follow, without it. Bleak, heavy, alarmingly realistic end of the world. Recommended for discerning dystopian genre fans. Thanks Netgalley.

I appreciated the opportunity to review this book. I found the writing to be a bit difficult to decipher, and had trouble following the plot. The concept was interesting but I think that the author tried a bit too hard.