Meborn's Reviews > Uncanny Valley

Wiener is a very good writer, and I really liked the original essay that inspired the book. But this felt too much like a long-form essay extended into a book, with little narrative arc. I never felt that invested in the narrator (Weiner), or what would happen in the broader world she's inhabiting. Just when you think a subplot is developing it peters out, or is muted by a lack of elaboration (eg Pizzagate).

The narration felt very distant, like someone who's chipping away at a core truth, but can't quite get at it. For example, almost all the characters are reduced to tech bro archetypes. Everyone thinks they're crushing it, they don't ever think about the consequences. But these are people, too. Why are they this way? Why does the tech ecosystem reinforce such insular behavior? Wiener seems more interested in condemning tech than understanding the underlying psychology.

For a non-fiction book, I wanted more nuance. Instead, this felt to me like watching a Hollywood movie caricaturing Wall Street. That said, Wiener has a sharp wit, with some good turns of phrase.