Earthweb

by Marc Stiegler

Twenty years ago, "Shiva I" swept aside Earth's defenses and rained down destruction until a suicide squad boarded it and blew it to smithereens. Now "Shiva V" has entered the Solar System and there's only one way to defeat it: get inside and kill it. "An intriguing look at what the world wide web may become".--Vernor Vinge.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067157809X
• ISBN13: 9780671578091
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Baen Books
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.1" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave.

The future never looked so clear....This story brings a lot of pioneering elements just now starting to show up in society and the world wide web together into a plot that seems very plausible. The palmtops that everyone seems to have in their possession are reminiscent of the PALM PILOT handhelds and their clones...The ATMs of today are replaced by these palmtops with e-cash being the norm in transactions. No greenbacks around in this scenario...Sky Cars rule transportation while land cars are antiques to be collected. The Windows OS is hinted at being gone, but the future's OS name is unknown, no endorsements here...Upwards of two billion people are supposedly avid 'net users with sports bars replaced by web-cast bars...This is brought about in haste by an alien attack that comes in five year cycles. The aliens known as the SHIVA, are just robots in a ship-(who sends them to attack Earth is unknown). The fifth attack is underway so its been twenty five years since the first one. The people of earth, and I mean literally billions of people, team up to fight the SHIVA through strategy sessions on internet sites that try to come up with the most plausible defensive/offensive moves for the navy seals of the future known as Angels to use.I like the fact that past events are hinted at as to what may have happened in our very near future, which doesn't seem good. With our near future being in past tense though, the story presents a future where society becomes reliant on individuals that use computer/information technology and less reliant on government. In fact, the reliant government in essence has recruited the whole world into the role of gamblers that try to put money on the strategies that will best work in defense of earth. People can suggest a way to fight and others will either improve on it and/or place money on it. They put their money where their mouth is so to speak...If you're a 'Net Addict then this book is impossible to put down. If not, then EARTHWEB is a very good book to read over the course of a week.

Thought-provoking

I saw a mention of this book on Slashdot a week ago. When both Vernor Vinge and David Friedman recommend a book, it is a pretty safe bet that it is a good story and well thought out. I wasn't disappointed.The origin and purpose of the Shivas practically demands another novel. While I am not a big fan of series that never die, I'll be looking for that one. I hope that once again, the ideas are the best part.

The Future of the World Wide Web in one book.

Earthweb is a book that contains interesting characters. It also has an exciting alien attack. Those two elements would make this a good book. The element that makes this a great book is the way the author makes the future of the web come alive for every reader. We learn about Capablilty-Based Security, Idea Futures and Bidirectional links. These are real technologies that are being developed right now. In this book we see how these technologies may change the face of the internet forever. Please Mr. Marc Stiegler, give us more!

Action Thriller Shows How Future Web Integrates Knowledge

The action and characters-you-care-about keep you turning those pages, but each page also makes you think.Against a foreground of gripping Sci-Fi save-the-world action adventure, Stiegler shows how a future web, enhanced by cryptographic markets, makes possible cooperative efforts at a scale breathtaking by current standards. We see how the Earthweb, by being a superconductor for both bits and prices, enables knowledge dispersed across humanity to be quickly integrated into useful results.A hopeful look at where all this web technology may go. As a programmer, I felt "I want to build this future!". I hope we do.

People-oriented military sci-fi, and a parrot!

This is the first book of a new trilogy. Although it starts a bit slowly--it has to, to set the scene--by the time you get to Chapter 4 you can't put it down! It's about a group of people (most of whom never meet each other)who unite using the World Wide Web to devise strategies to defeat a starship trying to destroy Earth. It takes all kinds of people and skills to accomplish this aim, and this book has them. Earthweb is different from Mr. Stiegler's earlier works, which were more oriented towards the process than the people. The treatment of his characters made Earthweb more interesting to me (although I enjoyed David's Sling, Valentina and The Gentle Seduction) but for his loyal fans who have been waiting ten years for a new novel in his old style, don't despair--the innovative ideas and interesting uses of technology are still there!The book has many funny as well as tense moments. A great read! I can't wait for the second book in this trilogy!