Its been a strange month. Seems like every time I find something new
at the book store, its already a year or two old. This month, I'm reviewing
Circuit of Heaven by Dennis Danvers which has been out since 1998.
Gonna have to find a better book store.
Then, too, I was diverted from reading newer stuff towards the end of the
month. Sheryl had her gall bladder taken out. Then, one night she decided to
watch the movie "Schindler's List" on PBS. I've been reading
Heinlein ever since trying to restore my faith in humanity.
I did, however, fine a new book by Alan Dean Foster called Interlopers,
and one by David Feintuch named Children of Hope. That means I'll
probably have something to write about next month.
There was just something about this book that I really liked. It wasn't
the basic premise - storing human personalities in computers and letting them
live in a virtual world. After all, Fred Pohl did that one years ago in the last
of the Heechee books. In fact, I find the idea rather repellant.
No, I guess I'd have to say that it was the characters which fascinated me -
both the flesh-and-blood ones and the electronic ones.
Nemo's parents had abandoned him years before to join the numberless millions
in "the bin." These electronic personalities live in a virtual world
where hunger, disease, crime, and all the other human woes have been eliminated.
They can still (virtually) perform all the tasks they used to when they had bodies:
cook, garden, play music, make love. Some of them even prefer to work or hold
political office. Even the Pope has gone into "the bin."
Nemo, understandably hates the bin. He hates the fact that his parents abandoned
him and he really hates going to visit them. To visit them, he take the train
to the Pentagon, then gets off, gets into a machine, and basically goes into suspended
animation (bodily) while his mind is off among the electrons interfacing with other
human personalities.
This time when Nemo visits, he meets a fascinating young woman who lives in
the bin. Inevitably, they fall in love. But how can they be together if he won't
go in and she can't get out?
At the back of this book is an excerpt from a forthcoming sequel. I have to
say, Mr. Danvers really captured my imagination with this one. Wonder if the
sequel will be as good . . .
You can use this link to purchase from Barnes & Nobel.
