''Everyone in Silico'' is a 2002

post-cyberpunk Since the advent of the cyberpunk genre, a number of derivatives of cyberpunk have become recognized in their own right as distinct subgenres in speculative fiction, especially in science fiction. Rather than necessarily sharing the digitally and ...

novel written by

Jim Munroe Jim Munroe is a Canadian science fiction author, who publishes his works independently under the imprint ''No Media Kings''."Author dumps publisher". ''Peterborough Examiner'', May 6, 2000. Munroe was managing editor at the magazine ''Adbusters' ...

. It was promoted partly by Munroe's attempt to invoice corporations mentioned in the novel for

product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...

. The title is an intentional reference to an advertising campaign previously run by clothing retailer Gap, one of the companies Munroe sent invoices to. The novel was published by Munroe's own publishing company,

No Media Kings Jim Munroe is a Canadian science fiction author, who publishes his works independently under the imprint ''No Media Kings''."Author dumps publisher". ''Peterborough Examiner'', May 6, 2000. Munroe was managing editor at the magazine ''Adbusters' ...

, and an e-book version is available under a

Creative Commons Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...

license.

Plot

The story is set in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, 2036. San Francisco was struck by an earthquake and a company called Self, which is somehow related to Microsoft, set up an AI system to replace the city, with a virtual environment called ''Frisco''. The story follows several people, both in Vancouver as well as in Frisco.

Reception

Reactions to ''Everyone in Silico'' were generally positive, with reviews comparing the work favourably to those of

Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...

Douglas Coupland Douglas Coupland (born 30 December 1961) is a Canadian novelist, designer, and visual artist. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller '' Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture'', popularized the terms ''Generation X'' and ''McJ ...

and

Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his l ...

. Other reviewers were impressed with the humour and the level of detail presented of life in the novel's futuristic world, although some comment that the complexity of the plot made for a confusing read.

References

External links

* {{cite web , url=http://jimmunroe.net/writing/free_ebook_released.html , title=Free E-book Released , last=Munroe , first=Jim , author-link=Jim Munroe , date=31 March 2004 , website=JimMunroe.net , publisher=Jim Munroe 2002 Canadian novels Novels about consumerism Novels by Jim Munroe Creative Commons-licensed novels Novels set in Vancouver Fiction set in 2036