I'm about two-thirds of the way through Use of Weapons and it's great. I started with Player of Games, and then read Transition, not realizing it wasn't a Culture novel.
Hugh Howey's Shift was boring, unfortunately.
Use of Weapons is incredible, and rewards multiple reads.
I've never been able to re-read Use of Weapons.
That ending. A hell of a punch in the gut.
Shut up, Mr. Burton! You were not brought upon this world to get it!
So, The Name of the Wind... is the kinda ridiculous Mary Sue-ness supposed to be, like, an ironic unreliable narrator thing?
My read is that at least in part, yes.
A couple times during the Inn scenes, which are not narrated by Kvothe, he says he will absolutely lie to make a better story. It is probably best to believe him on that point since literally everything else is a story he is telling.
At the same time a whole string of things that seem like they'd be super hard to lie about happen to him.
So, The Name of the Wind... is the kinda ridiculous Mary Sue-ness supposed to be, like, an ironic unreliable narrator thing?
Kvothe is a bullshitter, and teenage Kvothe in particular was colossally obtuse about some things (including not being as clever as he though he was) especially when it comes to being manipulated.
I finished Children of Time and I liked the ending!
Finished it yesterday, liked it a lot. Pondering possibly giving it a 5/5 rating.
Sure seemed to head straight for mutually assured destruction there for a while.
did you feel it was predictable and how did that relate to your enjoyment?
During a browse of Waterstones today, I discovered I’m quoted in the front matter of the Children of Time paperback. This makes me very happy. Unsurprisingly I didn’t find it predictable - I felt there were several routes away from the conclusion, but couldn’t tell which was going to happen until it did...
So, The Name of the Wind... is the kinda ridiculous Mary Sue-ness supposed to be, like, an ironic unreliable narrator thing?
Kinda.
Kvothe is absolutely a self-aggrandizing unreliable narrator. But at the same time this is supposed to be the story of a guy who is like really really great. Which isn't really a problem imo.
shryke on
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webguy20I spend too much time on the InternetRegistered Userregular
I always felt the balance in the name of the wind is that Kvothe, while pumping himself up, also gets the shit beat out of him on a pretty consistent basis. Like his is a story I would not like to live through, unlike some other books I've read.
Just finished Look At The Harlequins!, written when Nabokov was 75. It is an extraordinarily self-indulgent book, sort of a distorted version of Speak, Memory, about the life of the mirror version of the author (Vadim Vadimych, natch). Every sentence is deliciously well-crafted, and the book rewards Nabokov fandom; it's chock-full of references to and resonances with his other works (that semester-long class on Nabokov 9 years ago is paying off...although there are plenty of open references that don't require a deep familiarity with his ouvre). It also rewards bilingualism as Russian is sprinkled liberally throughout and not always well-translated--although I'm not fluent enough to grasp all the wordplay.
I kept having to put it down and shake my fist and read particularly egregiously self-indulgent and/or amazingly well-written passages out loud. It was really quite a read, and I feel like you could write a lot about it, although I'm not sure if you'd manage to uncover the substance or if you'd get caught up in a wordplay hall of mirrors (distorted reflections, magic lantern projections, etc); however I think I'd next like to take a bit of a break and read something that isn't a massively onanistic work about the author's shadow self. Let's see, what do I have queued up...oh...a Nathan Zuckerman book...?
...
...
Steam, LoL: credeiki
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SummaryJudgmentGrab the hottest iron you can find, stride in the Tower’s front doorRegistered Userregular
I'm about two-thirds of the way through Use of Weapons and it's great. I started with Player of Games, and then read Transition, not realizing it wasn't a Culture novel.
I'll need to read Surface Detail before I give a final judgment but
I stayed up all night to finish it, and then just kind of went "meh"
Bruce Willis is a ghost Cheradinine is Elethiomel! Ooooooohhhhh, he's the Chairmaker! He built a chair out of his adopted sister's bones! The Culture knew about it and yet continued to employ him!
Who cares?
At some point between the survivors escaping the Staberinde and Zakalwe he...develops a guilt complex about doing so, and an aversion to chairs?
How did Cheradinine and Elethiomel wind up on different sides? How about a longer discussion on why Zakalwe didn't wind up attempting the Decapitation strike, even if it was futile. How does Zakalwe's reputation with the Culture stand, now? How does Diziet Sma feel about the Culture having known and kept Zakalwe's identity from her? What about that scientist macguffin Zakalwe was sent to get?
I just wasn't interested what the book wound up addressing, and I don't really care for the tweeeeest when it's not really germane to macro-level plot raised by the book and it's not really consistent with what else we know about Zakalwe. How does he go from rival step-sibling, to chairmaking sadist, to weirdly guilty about it?
SummaryJudgment on
Some days Blue wonders why anyone ever bothered making numbers so small; other days she supposes even infinity needs to start somewhere.
I'm about two-thirds of the way through Use of Weapons and it's great. I started with Player of Games, and then read Transition, not realizing it wasn't a Culture novel.
I'll need to read Surface Detail before I give a final judgment but
I stayed up all night to finish it, and then just kind of went "meh"
Bruce Willis is a ghost Cheradinine is Elethiomel! Ooooooohhhhh, he's the Chairmaker! He built a chair out of his adopted sister's bones! The Culture knew about it and yet continued to employ him!
Who cares?
At some point between the survivors escaping the Staberinde and Zakalwe he...develops a guilt complex about doing so, and an aversion to chairs?
How did Cheradinine and Elethiomel wind up on different sides? How about a longer discussion on why Zakalwe didn't wind up attempting the Decapitation strike, even if it was futile. How does Zakalwe's reputation with the Culture stand, now? How does Diziet Sma feel about the Culture having known and kept Zakalwe's identity from her? What about that scientist macguffin Zakalwe was sent to get?
I just wasn't interested what the book wound up addressing, and I don't really care for the tweeeeest when it's not really germane to macro-level plot raised by the book and it's not really consistent with what else we know about Zakalwe. How does he go from rival step-sibling, to chairmaking sadist, to weirdly guilty about it?
"And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you". Zakalwe was used as a weapon by the Culture, but he was also used by the weapon of his sociopathic nature. The guilt - and the sequentially recounted inept attempts at poetry, romance, responsibility and atonement, even the flippant carbon-based bigotry - are his futile attempts to transcend his limitations and become some kind of semblance of what his idea of a normal person should be, But a normal person is not what he is, and Sma's (& Skaffen's) failure to realise this is the defining characteristic of their relationship. She knows she loathes him, but she's not clear exactly why. He's a weapon to be used, and every attempt by Zakalwe or anyone else to deal with him as anything else only ends in misery
Gonna take a trip through the Vonnegut bibliography and finally read the 3 novels I haven't read yet- Player Piano, Deadeye Dick, and Jailbird. Player Piano, his first novel, is pretty good so far. He hasn't quite found his signature style yet, but you can definitely detect early traces of it. And the premise is still remarkably relevant, what with all the talk of job automation nowadays, though I think I have a decent sense of where this is going and doubt I will agree with Vonnegut's typically cranky Luddite stance. Regardless, for a debut novel, this is really polished and has some real character to it.
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daveNYCWhy universe hate Waspinator?Registered Userregular
I came down with a cold, so I plowed through the three books of The Broken Earth trilogy. It wasn't bad. Generally unlikable people, but something something a metaphor for abuse perpetuating itself through the generations on that front. The ending didn't feel exactly earned though. It didn't come out of nowhere exactly, but it was a bit abrupt. The characters were all flavors of LGBTQPoC-ness, so if that's something you're digging then it's got that going for it.
The third book was the weakest, and the weakest part of that was covering the backstory for the setting. No nuance, they're a straight up eeeeevilllll not-metaphor for colonialism or something.
Shut up, Mr. Burton! You were not brought upon this world to get it!
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
I've powered through to the final volume of Moustaches and Muskets. It's all fine fantasy fluff and I'm sort of carrying on just because it's rare to have a decent gender split of characters in this type of work. Everything just feels wafer thin now.
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
Finished reading The Traitor Baru Cormorant again. Reminded what a nuanced portrayal of love, politics, gender and colonialism it is. Where the 10% of brutal battles is backed by 90% economic warfare, where fiat currency is a deadly weapon. Where the colonisers bring inoculations and hygiene, but also mengele-esque theories of heredity, power and control.
Finished reading The Traitor Baru Cormorant again. Reminded what a nuanced portrayal of love, politics, gender and colonialism it is. Where the 10% of brutal battles is backed by 90% economic warfare, where fiat currency is a deadly weapon. Where the colonisers bring inoculations and hygiene, but also mengele-esque theories of heredity, power and control.
So good!
Not sure what’s next though.
Has he written anything else yet? I'm totally impatient for whatever he produces next.
Finished reading The Traitor Baru Cormorant again. Reminded what a nuanced portrayal of love, politics, gender and colonialism it is. Where the 10% of brutal battles is backed by 90% economic warfare, where fiat currency is a deadly weapon. Where the colonisers bring inoculations and hygiene, but also mengele-esque theories of heredity, power and control.
So good!
Not sure what’s next though.
Has he written anything else yet? I'm totally impatient for whatever he produces next.
Finished reading The Traitor Baru Cormorant again. Reminded what a nuanced portrayal of love, politics, gender and colonialism it is. Where the 10% of brutal battles is backed by 90% economic warfare, where fiat currency is a deadly weapon. Where the colonisers bring inoculations and hygiene, but also mengele-esque theories of heredity, power and control.
So good!
Not sure what’s next though.
Has he written anything else yet? I'm totally impatient for whatever he produces next.
I finished A Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. I liked it a good deal better than Consider Phlebas. Even if the ending was a bit of a let down. I think I'll probably continue on with another Culture novel. I think there were several recommendations for Use of Weapons a couple pages back. Any other recommendations?
The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
I finished A Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. I liked it a good deal better than Consider Phlebas. Even if the ending was a bit of a let down...
The what now? How much more climactic do you even want your endings?
Well, I guess my issue was
it was mostly predictable? The execution was good, but I mean, here we set up this planet that has a bizarre dangerous quirk, that people usually don't die to if everything goes well, but its timed to happen just after the ultimate game where the alien is threatening the Azad's way of life? I mean, what could go wrong? I didn't predict the suicidal part of it though, that was surprising.
The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
I finished A Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. I liked it a good deal better than Consider Phlebas. Even if the ending was a bit of a let down...
The what now? How much more climactic do you even want your endings?
Well, I guess my issue was
it was mostly predictable? The execution was good, but I mean, here we set up this planet that has a bizarre dangerous quirk, that people usually don't die to if everything goes well, but its timed to happen just after the ultimate game where the alien is threatening the Azad's way of life? I mean, what could go wrong? I didn't predict the suicidal part of it though, that was surprising.
I don't think you've completely thought through the ironic juxtaposition of the intended symbology and the actual outcome.
I finished A Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. I liked it a good deal better than Consider Phlebas. Even if the ending was a bit of a let down...
The what now? How much more climactic do you even want your endings?
Well, I guess my issue was
it was mostly predictable? The execution was good, but I mean, here we set up this planet that has a bizarre dangerous quirk, that people usually don't die to if everything goes well, but its timed to happen just after the ultimate game where the alien is threatening the Azad's way of life? I mean, what could go wrong? I didn't predict the suicidal part of it though, that was surprising.
I don't think you've completely thought through the ironic juxtaposition of the intended symbology and the actual outcome.
having just finished it myself, i'm worried i missed something or i'm over analyzing it now that you make this statement
there are a lot of key things that happen at the end of the story:
the burning of the planet (fire started by the emperor), the emperor dying to the mirror shield, the rebellion by Zo, the game ending because the emperor tried to do something radical instead of just finishing the azad way, that Gurgeh was set up from the very beginning of the story by the robot offering to help him cheat, i'm sure something else
which are you referring to regarding the actual outcome?
I finished A Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. I liked it a good deal better than Consider Phlebas. Even if the ending was a bit of a let down. I think I'll probably continue on with another Culture novel. I think there were several recommendations for Use of Weapons a couple pages back. Any other recommendations?
I'm finishing Surface Detail right now and i think i like it better than Use of Weapons
i get the impression that this is leading to an ending I'll be more satisfied with
Some days Blue wonders why anyone ever bothered making numbers so small; other days she supposes even infinity needs to start somewhere.
I finished A Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. I liked it a good deal better than Consider Phlebas. Even if the ending was a bit of a let down...
The what now? How much more climactic do you even want your endings?
Well, I guess my issue was
it was mostly predictable? The execution was good, but I mean, here we set up this planet that has a bizarre dangerous quirk, that people usually don't die to if everything goes well, but its timed to happen just after the ultimate game where the alien is threatening the Azad's way of life? I mean, what could go wrong? I didn't predict the suicidal part of it though, that was surprising.
I don't think you've completely thought through the ironic juxtaposition of the intended symbology and the actual outcome.
having just finished it myself, i'm worried i missed something or i'm over analyzing it now that you make this statement
there are a lot of key things that happen at the end of the story:
the burning of the planet (fire started by the emperor), the emperor dying to the mirror shield, the rebellion by Zo, the game ending because the emperor tried to do something radical instead of just finishing the azad way, that Gurgeh was set up from the very beginning of the story by the robot offering to help him cheat, i'm sure something else
which are you referring to regarding the actual outcome?
More A Player of Games ending spoilers:
I thought the fire was naturally occuring? I thought that was just something unique to the planet (I thought there was a line about how, even to the Culture, its a unique feature of the planet.)
The Emporer was a sore loser, instead of giving up the empire like he had agreed to, if he lost the game, he decided that he was just gonna kill everyone instead. I guess that was "radical", but I think desperate would be a better descriptor.
Also, while seeing the slums of Azad seemed to shock Gurgeh into action at one point against the Naval officer, it seems a bit weird that after that game, he kind of just gets lost back in the game again.
chrono_traveller on
The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
I finished A Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. I liked it a good deal better than Consider Phlebas. Even if the ending was a bit of a let down...
The what now? How much more climactic do you even want your endings?
Well, I guess my issue was
it was mostly predictable? The execution was good, but I mean, here we set up this planet that has a bizarre dangerous quirk, that people usually don't die to if everything goes well, but its timed to happen just after the ultimate game where the alien is threatening the Azad's way of life? I mean, what could go wrong? I didn't predict the suicidal part of it though, that was surprising.
I don't think you've completely thought through the ironic juxtaposition of the intended symbology and the actual outcome.
having just finished it myself, i'm worried i missed something or i'm over analyzing it now that you make this statement
there are a lot of key things that happen at the end of the story:
the burning of the planet (fire started by the emperor), the emperor dying to the mirror shield, the rebellion by Zo, the game ending because the emperor tried to do something radical instead of just finishing the azad way, that Gurgeh was set up from the very beginning of the story by the robot offering to help him cheat, i'm sure something else
which are you referring to regarding the actual outcome?
The narrator explicitly states that the Empire timed things so that "whenever possible" the winning new/reseated emperor emerged from the blaze of the Oxygen Season. And the winner did emerge... before Gurgeh woke up.
the emperor started a new one closer which prevented the ship from getting there in time to save Gurgeeeeeee. the other fire was coming but it was far enough away that Gurgalilly would have escaped if the emperor hadn't gone crazy.
the emperor started a new one closer which prevented the ship from getting there in time to save Gurgeeeeeee. the other fire was coming but it was far enough away that Gurgalilly would have escaped if the emperor hadn't gone crazy.
the emperor started a new one closer which prevented the ship from getting there in time to save Gurgeeeeeee. the other fire was coming but it was far enough away that Gurgalilly would have escaped if the emperor hadn't gone crazy.
V1m are you saying
that the robot was the winner? you can be direct with me here as i'm obviously missing something.
Who was the player and what was the game? :P
uhh... the Minds that run The Culture? Even the drone was just playing a part.
the emperor started a new one closer which prevented the ship from getting there in time to save Gurgeeeeeee. the other fire was coming but it was far enough away that Gurgalilly would have escaped if the emperor hadn't gone crazy.
V1m are you saying
that the robot was the winner? you can be direct with me here as i'm obviously missing something.
Who was the player and what was the game? :P
uhh... the Minds that run The Culture? Even the drone was just playing a part.
I think the implication is that Special Circumstances had manipulated pretty much the entire course of events in the book, including a whole bunch of things starting well before Gurgeh knew they were interested in him.
His whole adoption of the alien views and acceptance of their barbaric culture was planned and allowed to happen because it was required for him to win and to bring about the benevolent change of the alien culture. The enlightened Culture stripped away every piece of his autonomy because they had goals they wanted to achieve and didn't care about the price.
the emperor started a new one closer which prevented the ship from getting there in time to save Gurgeeeeeee. the other fire was coming but it was far enough away that Gurgalilly would have escaped if the emperor hadn't gone crazy.
V1m are you saying
that the robot was the winner? you can be direct with me here as i'm obviously missing something.
Who was the player and what was the game? :P
uhh... the Minds that run The Culture? Even the drone was just playing a part.
I think the implication is that Special Circumstances had manipulated pretty much the entire course of events in the book, including a whole bunch of things starting well before Gurgeh knew they were interested in him.
His whole adoption of the alien views and acceptance of their barbaric culture was planned and allowed to happen because it was required for him to win and to bring about the benevolent change of the alien culture. The enlightened Culture stripped away every piece of his autonomy because they had goals they wanted to achieve and didn't care about the price.
i can see that. i think there are hints that they do care though, maybe.
i don't think the culture predicted the emperor would go crazy and unless the robot was flat out lying, the outcome of Gurgeh winning or losing was going to be the same, overthrow of Ae. So why did the little robot start speaking Marain again? Yes there was clearly manipulation but i think the robot at least cared about Gurgeh as it was evaluating his mental health and his ability. Maybe it was only to complete the mission but i get the impression that it wasn't soulless, that it did care for Gurgeh and wanted him to be healthy and if possible happy.
@Dynagrip like a decade ago you recommend some sci fi book to me that was maybe short stories dealing with like the earth getting into space and humanity becoming transhuman.
@Dynagrip like a decade ago you recommend some sci fi book to me that was maybe short stories dealing with like the earth getting into space and humanity becoming transhuman.
somethingmatrix?
Schizmatrix Plus by Bruce Sterling. Novel + 4 related short stories. Outstanding book IMO.
the emperor started a new one closer which prevented the ship from getting there in time to save Gurgeeeeeee. the other fire was coming but it was far enough away that Gurgalilly would have escaped if the emperor hadn't gone crazy.
V1m are you saying
that the robot was the winner? you can be direct with me here as i'm obviously missing something.
Who was the player and what was the game? :P
uhh... the Minds that run The Culture? Even the drone was just playing a part.
I think the implication is that Special Circumstances had manipulated pretty much the entire course of events in the book, including a whole bunch of things starting well before Gurgeh knew they were interested in him.
His whole adoption of the alien views and acceptance of their barbaric culture was planned and allowed to happen because it was required for him to win and to bring about the benevolent change of the alien culture. The enlightened Culture stripped away every piece of his autonomy because they had goals they wanted to achieve and didn't care about the price.
i can see that. i think there are hints that they do care though, maybe.
i don't think the culture predicted the emperor would go crazy and unless the robot was flat out lying, the outcome of Gurgeh winning or losing was going to be the same, overthrow of Ae. So why did the little robot start speaking Marain again? Yes there was clearly manipulation but i think the robot at least cared about Gurgeh as it was evaluating his mental health and his ability. Maybe it was only to complete the mission but i get the impression that it wasn't soulless, that it did care for Gurgeh and wanted him to be healthy and if possible happy.
there's a lot of talk throughout the books that Contact and SC do think and care about the repurcusions of their actions. They just think they are right and the risks they take are worth it.
as much as SC is lionized for their exciting exploits, they are sort of thing most of the culture is sort of ashamed of.
even if they all died that's 2 human equivalent intelligences and 1 ship mind to risk, against liberating a society from oppression and ensuring their AI are respected.
Posts
did you feel it was predictable and how did that relate to your enjoyment?
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
I've never been able to re-read Use of Weapons.
My read is that at least in part, yes.
At the same time a whole string of things that seem like they'd be super hard to lie about happen to him.
Kvothe is a bullshitter, and teenage Kvothe in particular was colossally obtuse about some things (including not being as clever as he though he was) especially when it comes to being manipulated.
During a browse of Waterstones today, I discovered I’m quoted in the front matter of the Children of Time paperback. This makes me very happy. Unsurprisingly I didn’t find it predictable - I felt there were several routes away from the conclusion, but couldn’t tell which was going to happen until it did...
Goodreads
SF&F Reviews blog
After some days between that post and now, I can say I did like the movie better. Still gonna read the other two books.
Kinda.
Kvothe is absolutely a self-aggrandizing unreliable narrator. But at the same time this is supposed to be the story of a guy who is like really really great. Which isn't really a problem imo.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
I kept having to put it down and shake my fist and read particularly egregiously self-indulgent and/or amazingly well-written passages out loud. It was really quite a read, and I feel like you could write a lot about it, although I'm not sure if you'd manage to uncover the substance or if you'd get caught up in a wordplay hall of mirrors (distorted reflections, magic lantern projections, etc); however I think I'd next like to take a bit of a break and read something that isn't a massively onanistic work about the author's shadow self. Let's see, what do I have queued up...oh...a Nathan Zuckerman book...?
...
...
@nexuscrawler
I'll need to read Surface Detail before I give a final judgment but
I stayed up all night to finish it, and then just kind of went "meh"
Who cares?
At some point between the survivors escaping the Staberinde and Zakalwe he...develops a guilt complex about doing so, and an aversion to chairs?
How did Cheradinine and Elethiomel wind up on different sides? How about a longer discussion on why Zakalwe didn't wind up attempting the Decapitation strike, even if it was futile. How does Zakalwe's reputation with the Culture stand, now? How does Diziet Sma feel about the Culture having known and kept Zakalwe's identity from her? What about that scientist macguffin Zakalwe was sent to get?
I just wasn't interested what the book wound up addressing, and I don't really care for the tweeeeest when it's not really germane to macro-level plot raised by the book and it's not really consistent with what else we know about Zakalwe. How does he go from rival step-sibling, to chairmaking sadist, to weirdly guilty about it?
It built a rather compelling set of characters and an interesting planet and then
The third book was the weakest, and the weakest part of that was covering the backstory for the setting. No nuance, they're a straight up eeeeevilllll not-metaphor for colonialism or something.
So good!
Not sure what’s next though.
Goodreads
SF&F Reviews blog
Has he written anything else yet? I'm totally impatient for whatever he produces next.
I need it yesterday
The sequel's coming out in October.
The what now? How much more climactic do you even want your endings?
Choose Your Own Chat 1 Choose Your Own Chat 2 Choose Your Own Chat 3
Well, I guess my issue was
I don't think you've completely thought through the ironic juxtaposition of the intended symbology and the actual outcome.
having just finished it myself, i'm worried i missed something or i'm over analyzing it now that you make this statement
the burning of the planet (fire started by the emperor), the emperor dying to the mirror shield, the rebellion by Zo, the game ending because the emperor tried to do something radical instead of just finishing the azad way, that Gurgeh was set up from the very beginning of the story by the robot offering to help him cheat, i'm sure something else
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
I'm finishing Surface Detail right now and i think i like it better than Use of Weapons
i get the impression that this is leading to an ending I'll be more satisfied with
More A Player of Games ending spoilers:
The Emporer was a sore loser, instead of giving up the empire like he had agreed to, if he lost the game, he decided that he was just gonna kill everyone instead. I guess that was "radical", but I think desperate would be a better descriptor.
Also, while seeing the slums of Azad seemed to shock Gurgeh into action at one point against the Naval officer, it seems a bit weird that after that game, he kind of just gets lost back in the game again.
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
Who was the player and what was the game? :P
His whole adoption of the alien views and acceptance of their barbaric culture was planned and allowed to happen because it was required for him to win and to bring about the benevolent change of the alien culture. The enlightened Culture stripped away every piece of his autonomy because they had goals they wanted to achieve and didn't care about the price.
i can see that. i think there are hints that they do care though, maybe.
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
somethingmatrix?
Schizmatrix Plus by Bruce Sterling. Novel + 4 related short stories. Outstanding book IMO.
there's a lot of talk throughout the books that Contact and SC do think and care about the repurcusions of their actions. They just think they are right and the risks they take are worth it.
as much as SC is lionized for their exciting exploits, they are sort of thing most of the culture is sort of ashamed of.