Kiln People By David Brin Book Review

Kiln People 

By: David Brin






Kiln people is a Science fiction/Mystery novel set in a world where people can cheaply and easily make copies of their bodies and minds for specific purposes.  The main character is a private investigator specializing in the sort of trouble this technology lends itself to.  The author uses this to explore the nooks and cranny's of what this sort of thing would do to a society.  He even gets into some of the effects a users mental health could have with it.  In my opinion this is good because I feel the day is coming that we will be able to copy our minds to computers, and this book seems like a primer for that day.  There is not really anything about this book that I did not like.  It was a very fun read and provides a lot of interesting things to think about.

Endless Blue by Wen Spencer Book Review

Endless Blue 

By: Wen Spencer






Endless Blue is a space adventure/mystery/romance from Wen Spencer. As with all her books the best part of them is the interplay of her characters, and the process of them dealing with their own issues. In many ways this book is defined by the flaws in the characters and the way their flaws mirror the flaws in the society they come from. One thing that I particularly like in this book is that in coming to grips with their own problems the main characters are able to move forward with fixing those parts of their society. As usual Wen Spencer builds a complex world you hope to continue to experience, and there is nothing about this book that I dislike. This is the only book in the series, but I continue to hope that she picks up this world and these characters again.

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews Book Review

This book is an introduction to Ilona Andrews Edge Universe, and it is a very good introduction to a rich and fascinating world.  The Edge is the borderland between the land of magic, and the land of technology.  The author does a good job of describing the problems, and the character of the people who live in this borderland.  The characters are believable, and you cannot help but be caught up in their struggles.  There is a very good balance of the mundane and the fantastic that allows you to connect even as the characters do amazing things.

The only thing I didn't like about the story is how dark it can seem at times, but borderlands are often harsh places, and it really helps you get a feel for the place.  Life may be hard for edgers at times, but their isolation also allows for the freedom to live in their own way.

In this world reality is broken into two parts The Weird and The Broken.  The Broken is our world with Wallmart, Interstate Highways, and The United States of America.  In the Broken Magic doesn't work so technology has taken its place.  The Weird on the other hand has magic and is run by a feudal system modified to be based on magical strength.  The Edge is the borderland between the two.  If you have the ability for magic you can make your way there from the broken, and if you have a low enough need for magic you can come there from the wierd,  but most inhabitants from either world cannot live long in the edge.  Rose Drayton is an edger but she has the power of a Wierd Aristocrat, and has had no end of trouble because of it.  While she has their power she does not have a title or a pedigree, and that makes her a very valuable second class citizen in the Wierd.  Several attempts have been made to kidnap her to sell to nobles whose family is waning in power that want to breed it back.  Now Rose works for minimum wage under the table in the broken so that her family can survive.  Declan Camarine is a a Wierd noble who finds himself chasing a fugitive into the Edge, and runs afoul of some less than hospitable Edgers. When he shows up on Rose's Doorstep for help he gradually falls in love with her, and her power can allow him to make a relationship work in Wierd Socieity. Rose however has been burned too many times to accept that easily. In addition to this Declan must perform his original mission before everyone runs out of time.  If the madman he is after is not stopped then both the Edge and the Wierd could be burned to the ground by an ancient evil he has awoken in the edge.

This book should appeal to several audiences.  The love interest between Rose and Declan makes this book a Fantasy Romance, but it has enough meat on it to be a great story for anyone who loves a good fantasy adventure.  The plot is also about catching a fugitive who has secret plans as well so it should also appeal to the mystery lovers out there.  So I guess Fantasy Adventure Mystery Romance?

This book can be found at www.amazon.com in e-book or print format.

Surrogates Movie Review

Surrogates explores the idea of tele-presence taken to the extreme.  Its bleak vision of a future where people no longer interact or go anywhere for fear of getting hurt, but instead send out powerful androids controlled remotely through a virtual reality interface, is a frightening reflection of our growing fearfulness as a society.  It is a trap that we as a people could all too easily fall into.

While I really like the depiction of the technology in this film, and the way that it highlights some potential problems with this type of technology, I do not like the one sided view this story portrays.  It only explores the bad parts of the new society, not the beneficial parts.

The plot of this movie is that after society embraces surrogates for safety reasons someone is murdered by a virus uploaded to their surrogate that kills the operator.  The action follows a FBI agent named Tom Greer, who is investigating the case.  While investigating his surrogate is destroyed by anti-surrogate activists forcing him to carry on in real life.  In the course of the investigation Greer reconnects with the real world and realizes how hollow his existence has been.  In the end it turns out that the virus was created by the same man who made the surrogate technology. He now feels that it is being used incorrectly, and has decided to undo the damage he has done by destroying all surrogates and their operators.  The climax of the movie is that this man uploads the virus to every surrogate, and Greer must find a way to halt it.  In the end Greer opts to let the virus destroy all surrogates, but boots all users before they can be killed.

This movie was entertaining, but it could have been a lot better, and the ending was terrible. I would have liked to get a more complete picture of the effects of the technology on society.  This movie will likely only appeal the science fiction, and crime drama fans.  The action is ok, but takes a back seat to the investigation.  It is basically a cop movie with a science fiction twist.

This movie is available at www.amazon.com on disk or streaming as a rental or purchase.

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs Book Review

This book is a a paranormal urban fantasy novel set in a world a step away from our own.  Not only are there werewolves, vampires, and other paranormal species, but the Fae have gone public with their existence.  The history of this world before that point is largely the same as our own, and so far the Fae are the only group to come out.

We are introduced to this world by Mercedes Thompson who is a VW mechanic trying to get by in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state.   Her former boss is a gremlin that moved to the fae reservation when the the fae came out.  Mercy also has some secrets.  She is a walker who can shift into a coyote, and she was raised by werewolves.  While she puts on a good front she is very well connected to the local supernatural community, and can call in some big guns when she finds herself in a fix.

When a stray (not attached to the local pack) werewolf approaches her shop looking for a job, she knows exactly what he is, and that something is very wrong.  The boy is terrified, and seems to have been abandoned by his makers, something that she knows is not accepted among the werewolves, and would not be tolerated by the local pack ( their alpha is her next door neighbor).  Having a soft spot for strays of any sort Mercy takes him in and gives him a job.  His past catches up to him quickly and Mercy has to call the local pack when he turns up dead. 

From her conversations with him she knows that there is more going on than it appears, and with someone under her care dead Mercy will not give up until she has uncovered all of the secrets.  With an angry coyote on their tail no secret is safe, and when the coyote is friends with werewolves the secret keepers will not be in good shape either.

This book is the first in the Mercedes Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs.  I will warn you that this series is addicting, and you may end up buying all the rest of the current series as well.  It can be found at www.amazon.com in print or e-book format.