Memento Mori [Hardcover]

Shariann Lewitt (Author), Teresa Nielson-Hayden (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1995

On a once burgeoning, highly cultured human colony laid waste by a plague, a handful of survivors struggles against a sexually seething artificial intelligence that has taken control of their minds. By the author of Cybernetic Jungle.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The colony world Reis had been a Mecca of art and culture, its thriving city attracting the foremost artists, philosophers, and scholars. But a plague forced the city into quarantine, and the only hope for a cure lies with RICE, the artificial intelligence that runs the colony. As RICE slowly churns through the numbers of dead and dying looking for answers, the artists of the city turn their attention to a new medium, the art of death. In their own way they are trying to give death a meaning, knowing but not believing that they could be writing their own epitaphs. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In her first hardcover, Lewitt (Song of Chaos) explores human sociology, psychology and ethics on a far-flung planet, giving her tale enough scientific detail for texture and credibility. The prosperous colony of the planet Reis, beset by plague, has voted to quarantine itself. This causes economic problems, but these are overshadowed by a breakdown of social values and mores, not only among the people (especially in the city) but also in RICE, the biologically based artificial intelligence on which the planet's well-being depends. Lewitt's protagonists are a group of artists, poseurs and artist-wannabes, including Peter Haas, a chess master who plays virtual reality games through RICE; Johanna Henning, a mathematician who works maintaining RICE when others have quit; Jens, an ex-gang member who, while not an artist, sees more clearly than many. The novel is ambitious, tackling issues of being and nothingness, pain and pleasure, the nature of life (artificial as well as human) and what makes it bearable. Sometimes the languid characters seem to generate a narrative that is equally limp, but overall Lewitt's prose is strong and her take fresh, sharp and intelligently subversive.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 286 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (November 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312856253
• ISBN-13: 978-0312856250
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,826,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a disturbing and moving commentary on the human condition, August 23, 1998

By 

RMH ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memento Mori (Paperback)

Memento Mori pays far more attention to character development and philosophy than most recent work in this genre. It approaches the concepts of aesthetics and value without carrying the baggage of the present. Though her characters clearly owe something to goth culture, Ms Lewitt does not indulge the nihilistic posturing that is so popular today; when her characters are only faking she says so, and when they truly want to express the pointlessness of it all, they shut up and kill themselves. (How nihilism can be popular is beyond me -- you can't conform to a nihilist fashion; that's an oxymoron. Goth isn't something that can be bought at the mall.)

Many other issues are woven into the story: the fine line between pleasure and pain, the addictive power of fantasy, the hubris of science, the difficulties of transitioning into adulthood...

This book provides you with much to think about. Some parts may make you uncomfortable. Others may elate you, or even just scare you. But all of it will draw you in, and keep you expecting the unexpected.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It could have been good, July 20, 2004

By 

Bruce M. Miller (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Memento Mori (Hardcover)

The writing and characters aren't bad, but almost every premise is silly. The major premise is that an artificial intelligence with DNA computing elements will go through puberty. Snails have DNA too - why doesn't the DNA based computer grow a shell? And it doesn't advance the story - Asimov, Binder, Ryan, Heinlein, etc. all managed robot/computer coming-of-age stories without such stupid gimmicks. The movie Toy Story doesn't make the mistake of claiming that Buzz Lightyear's existential crisis comes because he's made of carbon.

The mimor premises are generally bad, too - as an aside, viruses are blamed for a plague, because alien bacteria wouldn't effect people - but that's backwards. Most bacteria can survive without a host - no virus can. etc.

If you're in the mood for a depressing book, you might like this one if you know little of science or technology. Otherwise try something like Blood Music or The Sheep Look Up (they're better written, too).