Customer Reviews

Silicon Karma

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

 

 

"Silicon Karma" is Tom Easton's take on what happens when people can live inside a computer. "Silicon Karma" moves right along. Characters and dialog ring true (barring the odd clunk) but it's basically a novel of ideas.

"Silicon Karma" is Tom Easton's take on what happens when people can
live inside a computer. The time is the fairly near-future. A non-
destructive brain scan has been commercialized. Wealthy people can
achieve electronic immortality of a sort in a number of competing
"heavens". The eworld of "Silicon Karma" is, by choice, close to upper-
middle class norms outside. A new citizen of "Virtual City" (clunk) gets
the basics of elife with his price of admission, but luxuries must be
earned - or stolen.

Albert Pillock is a retired cop. He's been recruited by the AI that runs
Virtual City to track down mysterious drains on its resources and
missing persons, and is promptly killed. Fortunately, he'd backed up
three days earlier. It doesn't take Albert long to find Lisa, a sexy predator
who taps her lovers' accounts & sucks them dry. But the host computer
has strong civil rights written into its basic code. And Lisa has an outside
line to a disgruntled employee of the parent company...

"Silicon Karma" moves right along. Characters and dialog ring true
(barring the odd clunk) but it's basically a novel of ideas. Good ideas,
well-thought-out ideas, a steady stream of ideas. Easton works out the
details of daily life inside a host computer, including competition (fair
& foul) for the limited resources of the host. Artificial-life ecologies are a
hot topic in computational science, and Easton's biology background
allows some fresh insights.

Dr. Easton, a biology professor at Thomas College in Maine, is Analog's
long-time book reviewer. His previous "Organic Future" novels were
interesting but (IMO) marred by implausibilities and excessive cuteness
(eg "roachsters" for cars). "Silicon Karma" is a step up for Easton as a
novelist, and I hope he returns to this future.

Review copyright 1999 Peter D. Tillman

Like so many good books Silicon Karma becomes a state of mind. At one moment it is a techno-thriller, the next a fantasy and overall a great science fiction yarn. The characterization is solid and the story line a joy to follow. The world created by Mr. Easton is intelligent and believable. This is the first cyber novel I have read in large part due to my impression (mistaken or not) that many of them are too nihilistic to be something I honestly would enjoy reading. Silicon Karma was enjoyable to the point of distraction. So if you really must balance that checkbook, do it before you pick up this book.