The Diamond Age
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summary
In a future world where neo-Victorians have rebuilt society, John Percival Hackworth is a nanotechnologist who breaks moral code to create a remarkable interactive device, "A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer." Designed to educate a girl capable of thinking for herself, Hackworth smuggles an illicit copy of the device to his own daughter but it falls into the hands of Nell and her brother Harv, members of the poor, tribeless class. The Primer has a profound effect on Nell and she begins an odyssey of her own, aided by the Primer and the enigmatic Alchemist. As Hackworth faces the consequences of his actions, their paths converge and they are drawn into a subversive information network that holds the key to the future of humanity. Visionary, epic and stunningly prophetic, 'The Diamond Age' is a novel that immerses you in an intricately crafted world of technology, ethics, culture and rebellion.