valhecka's review
2.0
Westerfeld seems so pleased about being a geek that he forgets that it's important to get science right.
1) "The word 'nano' means 'a billionth'" - no, the word "nano" in today's culture probably means someone's iPod; the PREFIX 'nano' totally means a billionth, and yes, this is nitpicking, but it is actually really crucial to get it correct
2) "Current superconducting materials have to be kept, like, a hundred degrees below zero" - this sentence is scientifically useless without saying which temperature scale you're using, and even then it's not correct: "high-temperature superconductors" operate at around 90K, which is -183 deg C, which is nearly -300 deg F. (Recent HTS operate at, oh, -18 deg C. But those were only developed in 2009, after the publication of this book.)
3) "The proteins in your body, like DNA, are basically nanoscale machines." This is the worst. The writing is ambiguous to the point of incoherence: either he's saying that DNA is a nanoscale machine, which I might agree with, or he's saying that DNA is a protein, which oh my god it isn't. And yes, there's a good chance he meant the first option. However, his job is writing; he's supposed to be good at this crap.
4) "You can think of the hole in the wall as a kind of three-dimensional printer...in Tally's world you can 'print' things in three dimensions" - Yeah okay this was published in 2008, which is the same year that I had a research project in a lab that had had multiple 3D printers for years. The technology has been around since 1984.
5) "I stole [the term ping] from corporate slang for an email that reminds you to do something" - The term 'ping' has been used since 1983 as part of IP troubleshooting; furthermore, there's about a hundred people I know from college who use it to greet people online, by email or instant messaging, as a check to see if their potential conversational partner is currently available. This is just etymology fail.
6) "Tricks are very important in the world of Uglies" and also prostitutes lol
Yes, he's writing for young adults; no, he's not scientifically trained (although I read that he was a software designer, which is cool!); yes, it's great that he's writing science fiction at all; no, I don't expect everyone to get everything right all the time...
But if you're going to informally teach kids about science as part of a guide to the worldbuilding of a popular dystopian sci-fi series, and this is the only way some of them are going to get access to this information, please, please, PLEASE do your research.
Anyway, this is a problem I've had with Westerfeld a lot - the mythology of Midnighters doesn't hold up at all when you look at it, and it seems he goes for Rule of Cool a lot more than accuracy and realistic extrapolation, and overall he's just way more nerd-fandomy than actually nerdy. Which makes me sad.
1) "The word 'nano' means 'a billionth'" - no, the word "nano" in today's culture probably means someone's iPod; the PREFIX 'nano' totally means a billionth, and yes, this is nitpicking, but it is actually really crucial to get it correct
2) "Current superconducting materials have to be kept, like, a hundred degrees below zero" - this sentence is scientifically useless without saying which temperature scale you're using, and even then it's not correct: "high-temperature superconductors" operate at around 90K, which is -183 deg C, which is nearly -300 deg F. (Recent HTS operate at, oh, -18 deg C. But those were only developed in 2009, after the publication of this book.)
3) "The proteins in your body, like DNA, are basically nanoscale machines." This is the worst. The writing is ambiguous to the point of incoherence: either he's saying that DNA is a nanoscale machine, which I might agree with, or he's saying that DNA is a protein, which oh my god it isn't. And yes, there's a good chance he meant the first option. However, his job is writing; he's supposed to be good at this crap.
4) "You can think of the hole in the wall as a kind of three-dimensional printer...in Tally's world you can 'print' things in three dimensions" - Yeah okay this was published in 2008, which is the same year that I had a research project in a lab that had had multiple 3D printers for years. The technology has been around since 1984.
5) "I stole [the term ping] from corporate slang for an email that reminds you to do something" - The term 'ping' has been used since 1983 as part of IP troubleshooting; furthermore, there's about a hundred people I know from college who use it to greet people online, by email or instant messaging, as a check to see if their potential conversational partner is currently available. This is just etymology fail.
6) "Tricks are very important in the world of Uglies" and also prostitutes lol
Yes, he's writing for young adults; no, he's not scientifically trained (although I read that he was a software designer, which is cool!); yes, it's great that he's writing science fiction at all; no, I don't expect everyone to get everything right all the time...
But if you're going to informally teach kids about science as part of a guide to the worldbuilding of a popular dystopian sci-fi series, and this is the only way some of them are going to get access to this information, please, please, PLEASE do your research.
Anyway, this is a problem I've had with Westerfeld a lot - the mythology of Midnighters doesn't hold up at all when you look at it, and it seems he goes for Rule of Cool a lot more than accuracy and realistic extrapolation, and overall he's just way more nerd-fandomy than actually nerdy. Which makes me sad.
shinychick's review
2.0
Ehh. I didn't need this, and if it was going to be useful to me, I should have read it in conjunction with the four-book series of Uglies.
larvapuppy's review
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
Gave the "Uglies" series some background that made me appreciate it a little more. Still not my favourite series, but I liked learning about the thought that got put in to writing the books.
Content Warnings
Minor: War, Medical content, and Self harm
It's a guide to a book series, so nothing is described in too much detailblcharly15's review
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
ivydeliz's review
4.0
I really love world-building in dystopia and specially in sci-fi, so when I saw there was a book that explained the history, slang and science in the Uglies series, I just had to read it!
The book is a quick read and the nerd in me loved it. All world-building books should have it. I learned the inspiration that the author used, what's real and what's fiction, how currently there's a lot of technology in development that would seem too futuristic because it's just not mainstream yet, but it exists. And how you can get jewelry implants in your eyeballs in Holland, just like in the books!
The science might not be perfect but this is not hard sci-fi :)
The book is a quick read and the nerd in me loved it. All world-building books should have it. I learned the inspiration that the author used, what's real and what's fiction, how currently there's a lot of technology in development that would seem too futuristic because it's just not mainstream yet, but it exists. And how you can get jewelry implants in your eyeballs in Holland, just like in the books!
The science might not be perfect but this is not hard sci-fi :)
lizasaurr's review
3.0
I read the original Uglies trilogy (and Extras) in high school and I absolutely loved them. It was my introduction into dystopian sci-fi and I was obsessed with hoverboards. This book is a companion book to the series and provides behind the scenes details of the world and how it was created.
I think it was an interesting read but the science is over-simplified. That isn’t a bad thing coming from a teenagers POV but I refuse to believe scientists and government officials are calling everything “bubbly” or “mind-rain.”
This book contains:
A history of the war and The Rusty Crash
A summary of all books including how the city is run
Life phases ( littlies --> crumbliest)
Cliques
Beauty standards
Gadgets/inventions
Pretty names and slang
Science explained
TLDR; Overall, it’s an interesting read but its extremely simple. Maybe it’s because I’m older now but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would’ve. Everything is oversimplified and it’s too easy of a read for me. I found myself skimming the pages. Also, reading the history and downfall of the the pretty system made me realize I would’ve been a special, especially seeing how the New System is wrecking the environment. I just don’t see the justification of the smokies actions if everyone was happy before, even if it was controlled.
I think it was an interesting read but the science is over-simplified. That isn’t a bad thing coming from a teenagers POV but I refuse to believe scientists and government officials are calling everything “bubbly” or “mind-rain.”
This book contains:
A history of the war and The Rusty Crash
A summary of all books including how the city is run
Life phases ( littlies --> crumbliest)
Cliques
Beauty standards
Gadgets/inventions
Pretty names and slang
Science explained
TLDR; Overall, it’s an interesting read but its extremely simple. Maybe it’s because I’m older now but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would’ve. Everything is oversimplified and it’s too easy of a read for me. I found myself skimming the pages. Also, reading the history and downfall of the the pretty system made me realize I would’ve been a special, especially seeing how the New System is wrecking the environment. I just don’t see the justification of the smokies actions if everyone was happy before, even if it was controlled.
lindsey17's review
4.0
I love this series so it was pretty interesting to see what went into the writing process.