This is the first Sci-fi I have read that take on the decline on the US though the “entertainment”/connectivity development we see now. It is also a good example on how people see China as the "threat" that are beyond the control of anything the US can do, as US is not really bringing anything of value anymore. The part where US wants to impress the visiting person (the head of China's Central Bank and "probably the most powerful person on the planet") by showing that the US can still innovate is brilliant.In many ways this is for me the Bukowski version of Daemon (the brilliant book by Daniel Suarez that everyone interesting in technology should read). The need to stay connected and the focus on instant gratification is not very sophisticated but therefore also very effective. Letting all (almost) key characters be outside the main events in society is and efficient way to create the feeling of lost control that seem to drive many today into situations where they work without much reflection or thought about any broader consequences of their actions. His main character is such a sad person that it is hard not to see him as the perfect caricature of a US "intellectual" today.
Sometimes it feels a little to much focus on sex/nudity, but then you relies that this is where we are heading if media/PR/TV continue on the path we are on today and have been since mass marketing begun. I hope people doing advertising, developing apps and are innovative in the use of new media read this and think a little about where things are heading… Maybe even take the time to read Simmel, The Philosophy of Money.
