Nanotime [Hardcover]

Bart Kosko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1997

John Grant has patented a revolutionary new molecule that can split water and produce an almost limitless supply of cheap fuel hydrogen. But those who don't want this retaliate, and Grant finds that he must defend himself from a disembodied place far beyond the confine of space and time . . . in nanotime.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Kosko, an expert in fuzzy logic (Fuzzy Thinking, Hyperion, 1993), plunges into the limitless world of neural networks in his first novel. The world in 2030 is on the verge of war, with oil reserves almost depleted and chips so cheap that smart cruise missiles are stockpiled everywhere. John Grant has patented a molecule that will eliminate oil dependency by tapping hydrogen. Tabriz, an Islamic cleric and neural networks genius, is planting chips and explosives in human brains, creating suicide bombers who detonate in the Saudi oil fields. Tabriz turns Grant's fiancee into a "chiphead" before Grant is kidnapped and made one himself by Israeli intelligence. Missiles start flying around the Middle East, the United States bans gasoline, and World War III erupts. The novel has a strong, suspenseful start, then becomes tedious as Grant explores his new neural network with a chip-enhanced brain?a disappointing finish for such a promising story. Suggested for sf collections.?Robert C. Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals, N. Billerica, Mass.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Debut novel from the guru of fuzzy logic (the nonfiction Fuzzy Thinking, 1993). By 2030 the world's oil is running out, leading to conflict in the Middle East. Backed by Israel, John Grant has invented a ``smart'' molecule that splits water into hydrogen fuel and oxygen, and has a pilot plant up and running at Eilat. Then Sufi mystic, genius mathematician, and terrorist Hamid Tabriz destroys Eilat before grabbing Denise Cheng, John's lover and financial backer, in order to replace her brain with a super- microchip controlled by Tabriz. John is forced to kill Denise, though the unnamed US agencies that are keeping tabs on him seem curiously reluctant to get involved in the action. Later, the Israelis implant a chip in John's brain, so now his mind works at nanospeeds, while the Israelis control him via the chip--and use him as bait to tempt Tabriz out of hiding. But John's secret ally, Jism, an artificial intelligence he's created using the template of Victorian genius John Stuart Mill, can help him handle his new superfast intellect, evade the Israeli mindblocks, and zap Tabriz. Meanwhile, the Middle East conflict rapidly accelerates towards WW III. A brash, confused, and, well, fuzzy yarn that, with its relentlessly amoral inhabitants and doings, leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 311 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (T); 1st edition (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380974665
• ISBN-13: 978-0380974665
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,252,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice Try, But Get a Better Editor Next Time, June 9, 2000

By 

T. Traub (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nanotime (Mass Market Paperback)

Some scientists can "cross over" and become brilliant authors of fiction, and others... well... let's just say that Bart Kosko may get there eventually with the help of a good editor. The first thing that greets your eyes in this book is the map of the Middle East, Turkey, and south Europe. There is a body of water labeled "Capsian Sea". Come on, Avon--has none of your editors heard of the Caspian Sea? Off to a questionable start, we soldier bravely on, stuck on a plane flight with nothing else to read. Suspension of disbelief kicks in quickly--backing up someone's entire brain to a chip; a highly implausible Saudi missile attack on Israel (which has 300 nuclear missiles ready to launch); dialogue that ranges from passably believable to stilted and forced, in the best pulp tradition.

Then there is the matter of our protagonist, John, whose wife gets her brain swapped out for a super chip. When he notices the obvious surgical scars on her scalp while making love, she immediately attacks him (Curses! He's uncovered our evil plot!) and he is forced to kill her in self-defense, a gruesome act which is over with very quickly. Lucky thing this naked nano-tech scientist happens to have the killing instincts of a trained assassin. Oh, and was there any remorse? Any tears? None that we notice. This is a pulp hero straight out of the 1920s: a Doc Savage type who never displays any emotion except for anger at traffic cops. Well, we could go on, but you get the picture.

Despite the utter lack of characterization and the halfway plausible plot line, we give this book 3 stars because bad as the fiction is, the science is top-rate. Kosko knows his stuff when it comes to computers, and clearly he's thought a lot about what the world may be like forty years hence. Keep it up, Dr. Kosko, and here's hoping you find a better editor to help you polish your next book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Woulda, Coulda, November 20, 2006

By 

W. Boyd (Down South) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nanotime (Mass Market Paperback)

I wanted to like this book because the concept sounded really interesting, but the story itself was very lacking in depth. Nanotime read more like a detailed story layout rather than an actual story. None of the characters were very interesting, mainly because most of them never lasted more than a chapter or two, and those that did were less than two dimensional. The reader was given some insight into the main character, but not really enough to make him seem like a main (or likeable) character.
The story needed more substance.
The prominent characters needed more development.
The short, choppy chapters needed better flow.
The story climax and ending was weak.
From what I've read, this was Kosko's first novel, and while there was potential, it did not inspire me to seek out more of his work.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An interesting but shallow read, October 16, 2000

By 

Kevin Spoering (Buffalo, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nanotime (Hardcover)

It is the year 2030 in this novel, and oil has become much scarcer and more expensive. John Grant may have come up with a solution to the energy crises, and he is a part of a complicated plot that skips around a lot and is hard to follow at times. There is war in the Middle East (what's new!), and this war does spread, a picture of a not rosy future.

I found that Bart Kosko did not do very well in character development and also did poorly in describing places and scenery. It seems this novel should have been longer to flesh it out.

In this book you will read about mind transfers to computer chips, artificial wombs, nanotechnology, and other technology about thirty years down the road, and all of this was done in a satisfactory way, but there is a lot more better science fiction out there to read, unless of course the subject matter of this book should interest you.