canuckotter

All computer geeks should read this book..., Nov 23 2004

The book starts with classic Pratchett humour, the laughs coming fast and hard with the idiosyncracies of Vetinari playing particularly well off the character of Moist. It's terribly funny, but for the first hundred or so pages it doesn't really get beyond that.

Then, it turns out, the book isn't about Moist at all, it's about the Railroad robber barons, it's about the vulture -- sorry, venture -- capitalists of Silicon Valley, and most particularly it's about the engineers who fuelled both eras. Pratchett must have some close friends who are engineers to capture the enthusiasm, dedication, mania, and gullibility of those fine folks so well. From the character of Pony to the Smoking… Read more