Nightmare in Silicon

By Colette Phair

Fiction. "A toxic-shock torrent of bad energy and beautiful language, Colette Phair's 'Nightmare in Silicon' is recklessly brave and driven writing, brimming with fluorescent style and startling... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0978549996
• ISBN13: 9780978549992
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Chiasmus Press
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.2" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

If It Ain't Broke...

Nightmare in Silicon is the tale of one woman's struggle to shake off her gender-identity while running away from reality by drowning herself in sex and drugs and like-minded individuals. But she betrays her body and her body returns the favor; instead of taking the route of oblivion (the only true way to run away from yourself), she chooses immortality. Told in very plain, yet crushing, language, NiS is a cult classic story that doesn't try and force your mind around philosophical or metaphorical questions or postulations, and instead, invites you to understand Ymo (the protagonist) through her own language and actions. Well written, vibrant, and scary, NiS (and I hate to use cliched terms like it) is a page-turner.

Reminded me that Cyberpunk can still be great!

Colette Phair has done something remarkable in this relatively brief work - she has instilled in me a new sense of hope for this genre (sub-genre?). After a decade or more of re-hashed cyberpunk novels from some dreadful writers, Ms. Phair has given us a story we only think we have heard before. It is clear from the beginning that we are not dealing simply with a dystopian future of corporate rule and virtual life, but rather a young woman faced with a frightening situation and who is offered a seemingly miraculous solution. This book has the question of gender in its heart and what it means to be human in its head. Nightmare in Silicon is not your typical cyberpunk novel - it is a brilliant debut by an author I will be closely watching for years to come.

Don't belive the tripe

This is the future of science fiction. While Dick is dead and Gibson is busy writing about the present, Phair is there for you in the impending apocalypse. If you don't find something to love about Ymo's story, then something may be lacking in your taste. Words are weaved masterfully, telling a beautiful & mysterious tale of sex, dreams and death. This nightmare will haunt your dreams and keep you coming back to it like a pernicious prostitute. Check it out if you like Lynch and cyberpunk stories and revel in the glory of "A Nightmare in Silicon."