Silicon Valley be damned: 'Exadelic' embarks on an experience worthy of 'Ready Player One'!

A science fiction novel set in Silicon Valley

We don't often review books on Toukiela, let alone fiction, but occasionally a work comes along that is so perfectly suited to the ecosystem we cover that it warrants a quick article. And so we have "Exadelic", a sci-fi novel by former TC contributor Jon Evans, which does its best to rival "Ready Player One's" density of references in the San Francisco Bay Area tech community, but thankfully aims a little higher than that.

Let's face it, this comparison isn't entirely complimentary. Ernest Cline's smash hit was rich in references but deficient in many other respects, although perhaps its biggest problem was its most ardent supporters, who couldn't perceive how closely the book was tailored to their life experience and how this could make the experience hollow for others.

So, if "Ready Player One but in Silicon Valley" seems like nightmare upon nightmare, that's understandable - and in a way, accurate. But while "Exadelic" is certainly generous with references and nostalgia, beyond the simple framework of the story, the plot quickly outgrows its initial reliance on internal winks.

Without giving away more than you'd find on the cover, imagine that you and your group of friends find yourselves at the center of a technological conspiracy based on artificial intelligence that could define the fate of the planet. It's not the most original scenario, but believe me when I say that the scope of the story expands continuously and unexpectedly.

The opening chapters unfold like a breathless techno-thriller - a technology executive must survive on his limited intelligence after being targeted by a rogue AI - and I was afraid it would continue like that. Fortunately, the plot begins to take twists and turns quickly and never really stops, allowing Evans to exercise his imagination much more effectively.

To say more would deprive the potential reader of the pleasures of a twisty book deeply rooted in today's technological and ethical zeitgeist. Uncontrollable AI, unscrupulous VCs and questions about the nature of reality guide the plot - in other words, the same concepts you'd find in any Toukiela article. There's even a touch of the occult!

(It's worth mentioning that a sexual assault is central to part of the book, which in retrospect didn't have to be that way, even if it is a reference to ecstasy-philosophy).

And while I think "Exadelic" is an excellent book to take with you on a trip or to the beach, I think where it sins is in its over-reliance on the zeitgeist of Silicon Valley at its peak. This is also a merit - it's based on Evans' obvious familiarity with the world of startups, technology and investment, not to mention San Francisco at the turn of the century, things that many readers will recognize and appreciate.

But there's a certain solipsism inherent in the process of extrapolating such a vast history from what amounts to a single moment and a single perspective. Like a work of 60s science fiction that imagines a future extrapolated from tube televisions and analog computing, the vision seems limited by today's technology and attitudes. Imagine a computer in the year 3000 dependent on a mouse and keyboard - it's a far cry from the imagination elsewhere.

Of course, many sci-fi classics transcend this, but "Exadelic" seems content to be a product of its time, finding value in the imaginative mixing and matching of these concepts to form an original permutation, if not an original combination. If you can tolerate a little nostalgia and a rather insipid main character (his companions are far more interesting), "Exadelic" is a good time.