On the fictional island of Patusan, the Korean conglomerate LK is constructing an elevator into Earth's orbit. Up in space, holding the elevator's "spider cable" taut, is a mass of space junk known as the counterweight. And stashed within that junk is a trove of crucial data: a memory fragment left by LK's former CEO, the control of which will determine the company's--and humanity's--future.
An efficient, fast-paced cyberpunk story ... While never as deeply mired in paranoia as the vertiginously indeterminate fictions of Philip K. Dick, this is a world where agency and identity are always in doubt ... The plot hinges on questions of inheritance, of whether it’s possible to pass on through a corporation something more than culture, some kind of personal essence.
A tremendously propulsive thrill ride ... Hur’s translation is zippy and often quite funny as the cinematic plot unfolds, packing in both twisty cyberespionage and deep questions about legacies, AI, and the price worth paying to do something truly great.
