Customer Reviews

In The Company of Mind

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book has it all. It has great character development emotional depth. Even if your a girl who rarely reads science fiction, (like me) you still love this book. But it's not all mushy stuff. It has all the blood and gore you can possibly want, and an incredibly exciting, twisted plot. The sci-fi futuristic technology is developed in depth, and worked into the story flawlessly. It's definitely a book you'll want to read over and over again. Get it!

I am very disappointed that this is a first novel. Normally when I see something of this quality I can rush out and buy a bunch of excellent stuff that the author has published earlier. Now I am going to have to wait.

I ordered a copy of "In The Company ..." on the basis of reading a sample chapter at Baen's web site. I finished the book one day after it arrived and have already started recomending it to freinds ! Mr Piziks has created a reaistic near future world with characters you can care about. The multiple personality slant is handled in a very original manner and in such a way that the reader's perception of what is going on in Lance's head varies from chapter to chapter. Coupled with the 'split chronology' of the book, constantly dipping back into the Blackstone's past, this makes for a highly compelling read.

Stven Piziks just made it onto my favourite authors list !

"In the Company of Mind" is the type of book I wish more s/f books would emulate. It takes a psychological premise, adds technology, and gets a knock-your-socks-off action/adventure/thriller/romance. :)

J. Lance Blackstone seems to have everything, but he really doesn't. His father is incredibly, viciously abusive, and his mother is powerless to stop it. In addition, his father is an extremely powerful and wealthy man, on the order of a Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, or maybe even like one of the Saudi oil sheikhs. Because of this, it's very hard for his mother to get him away . . . but she eventually does.

However, because of the longterm stresses Lance has endured, his personality has separated out into 47 personalities, including one woman (Jessica), a homicidal maniac (Patrick), a "big brother" type (Garth), the grandfather Lance wished he had (Grandpa Jack), and many others. These don't make it easier for Lance, but he comes up with a novel solution; he'll use his extra personalities effectively as an aid to commerce, forming his own security "company" -- what others don't know is that it's effectively a company of one.

Aided by Robin, an AI inside his own mind, Lance can effectively talk with his alter egos, and uses their knowledge to help others. But there's a problem . . . his father still wants him back, and as Lance and his mother have went their own separate ways after she managed to divorce his father (by an effective bit of blackmail), the only way to bait Lance is to use his girlfriend, Delia, as bait in a most elaborate trap . . . .

The rest is for you to read. :) But I think you'll want to read it; it's an exceptionally interesting book, one filled with a great deal of research, some humor despite the grim situation(s), and a rather sweet romance between the overburdened and overstressed, mentally handicapped (via MPD) Lance and the overstressed, physically handicapped Delia.

Five stars, highly recommended.

Barb Caffrey

P.S. Two other books you might enjoy if you liked this one are Lois McMaster Bujold's "Mirror Dance," and Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's "Scout's Progress." Both deal with people who were badly abused making their way, and doing it with flair despite their emotional damage, and are well worth the read. :)

I recomend this book. "In the Company of Mind" is one of those novels that draws strongly on it's genre without becoming a rehash or cheap knock-off. Some of the best theams in Science Fiction from the past 10 years are present, but they are handled smoothly, so as not to distract from a first rate story and an original premise.

I read this book in one sitting. It is a bit disturbing, and no doubt will take some fire for a few scenes, but it is a great book.

Steven has developed a world with the gritty feel and strong characterizations one has come to expect from authors such as C.J. Cherryh, Lois McMaster Bujold, Joan Vinge, and Sarah Zettel. In The Company of Mind has some very strong themes, but those themes are necessary for the appreciation of what goes into the creation of Multiple Personality Disorder. While the content may be harsh for some readers, it is tempered by the innate goodness of the main character Lance and even the most violent of his personalities. The lushness and fullness of each of the main characters, as told in current plot and flashbacks, draws the reader further and further in Mr. Piziks world. As each chapter unfolds we are introduced to more of what makes Lance (and Jessica, Garth, Patrick, Andy, et al.) work. We also get a startling view of the hazards of AI and the harsh cascades of life within an abusive family. We also get the view of what one person can do when they eventually decide to live their life as they wish. Even if the person has a few extra friends along for the ride. I feel this novel has definite Award possibilities.

In the old days of science fiction (Heinlen, Clarke, Asimov) the heros were brave, handsome and strong. In this story, the hero doesn't have to face BEMs but his own father. he would've been average in looks except for some unwanted "bodysculpting". He probably would've been above average in the brains department but now he's got a computer in his head. He has multiple personalities as a defence mechanism and turns it into a sometimes reliable asset

I've learned a few interesting things about multiple personality disorder from this book. But the book was rather light on the sci-fi side (technology, social changes, attitude changes, etc). Not a really bad book but not a sci-fi either.