Silver Screen [Paperback]

Justina Robson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2005

"Silver Screen" presents an enjoyably different, subversive slant on the science fiction themes of AI and cyberspace. Insecure and overweight heroine Anjuli O'Connell is one of a group of friends who have been hot-housed from an early age to perform in genius-level jobs. But, Anjuli worries that her eidetic memory and her friendship with genuine smart boy Roy Croft has been her ticket to success, rather than any real intelligence of her own. She's put to the test when Roy kills himself in an experiment to upload his mind into cyberspace, seeking that SF dream of bodiless immortality, which doesn't work as expected. At the same time, her boyfriend's research has led to him harnessing himself to dubious biomechanoid technologies, which pull the user into mental symbiosis, creating hybrid consciousness - a new 'I', continuous with the old, but different. 'Where does life end and the machine begin?' Meanwhile, Anjuli's grasping multinational employer, OptiNet, the owner of global communications AI, 901, is locked into an increasingly bitter war with the Machine-Greens, who preach AI liberation. As the case for 901's humanity, or otherwise, comes up before the Strasbourg Court, expert witness Anjuli is targeted by assassins and entangled in the hunt for an algorithm which is the key to machine consciousness, and which may even be the master-code of life itself. This story explores many interfaces between humans and their technologies, between the promises of science and the explanations of faith. It is written in a first-person style that mingles elements of detective story and confessional. Alongside its SF content, the book delves into the complexities of friendship, loyalty, love, and betrayal from an intimate human perspective.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Where does the life end and the machine begin?" asks one of the cyberscientists in Robson's 1999 UK debut, now making its overdue American appearance after the critically acclaimed Natural History (2004). Yes, it's the same old AI question framed in Matrix-style allure, and many readers are likely to find the whole idea a little too familiar. Nonetheless, while Natural History is a superior read with a tighter plot, this messier treatment is also thought-provoking SF. When Anjuli O'Connell, an "AI psych" and self-described "human file server," discovers the body of fellow OptiNet employee and friend, Roy Croft, after he's uploaded his essence into 901, OptiNet's giant AI, Anjuli becomes involved in a deadly game. Is Roy, an anarchist and machine liberation advocate who interfaces with others through projected holographs of silver screen legends, dead or part of 901? Anjuli must find Roy's old diary, the "Source," and the key to the mystery. Roy's zealot father and Anjuli's testimony in an important trial further complicate the quest. Sometimes, the confessional style-narrative slows to a snail's pace, while Anjuli mulls over the puzzle pieces and takes a brief detour into a goofy subplot with her cyborg boyfriend. Still, this is a fascinating peek into the development of one of SF's brightest new stars.
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About the Author

Justina Robson is an author from Leeds in Yorkshire, England. She has been writing since she was a child in the 1970s and her first novel, Silver Screen, was published in August 1999. Her short stories have appeared in various magazines in the UK and the USA. Silver Screen was shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award 1999 and the British Science Fiction Association Best Novel Award. Her second novel, Mappa Mundi, together with Silver Screen won the Amazon.co.uk Writer’s Bursary 2000 and was also shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award 2001. Natural History, a far future novel, was published on April 18th 2003. The novel placed second in the 2004 John W Campbell award and was shortlisted for the Best Novel of 2003 in the British Science Fiction Association Awards. It was recently published in the USA by Bantam Dell in January 2005.

Product Details

• Paperback: 383 pages
• Publisher: Pyr (October 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591023386
• ISBN-13: 978-1591023388
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #953,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Justina Robson is the author of Keeping It Real, Selling Out, Going Under, and Chasing the Dragon (Books 1-4 of the Quantum Gravity series). Her first novel, Silver Screen, published in August 1999 in the UK and in 2005 by Pyr, was short-listed for the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the BSFA Award, and is currently nominated for the Philip K. Dick award. Her second novel, Mappa Mundi, together with Silver Screen, won the Amazon.co.uk Writer's Bursary 2000 and was also short-listed for the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2001. A third novel, Natural History, a far future novel, placed second in the 2004 John W. Campbell Award and was short-listed for the Best Novel of 2003 in the British Science Fiction Association Awards and the Philip K. Dick Award. A fourth novel, Living Next Door to the God of Love, was a finalist for the BSFA Award. Visit Justina Robson's website at www.justinarobson.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quite pleasant, January 4, 2006

By 

JHA (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silver Screen (Paperback)

It's true that this book doesn't present any really new ideas, but it handles the ones it's taken on with a strong writing style and a good story. This is not a great book, but it's a good read. If you don't like or relate to Anjuli after the first chapter, give up, this is not the book for you. Otherwise, take it with you on your next long flight -- it's about that level. Not quite fluff, but nothing too taxing either.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Silver Screen - my opinion, March 20, 2009

By 

dorje51 "dorje" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Silver Screen (Paperback)

I am not much of a review writer. I will say I picked this book up several years ago and did not get very far before putting it down.

This time it was more interesting at the beginning and ever more interesting as the story developed. The end was a surprise to me although some of you may see it coming. I found myself wanting to email the author and ask her if I got it right.

If you have read her most recent series you will find this book slower moving. Nonetheless I think it is worth the time to read it.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A retread of some familiar ideas, February 1, 2002

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Silver Screen (Paperback)

When Roy Croft kills himself, O'Connell is forced to remember the strange half-friendship that she had most of her life with the crazed genius. However, his death never allows for any closure, because Roy seems to have started something that will pull her in before he died...

The book features the standard sci fi plots-- anarchist hackers, AI rights, strange mental abilities, and questions about the boundary of being human.

It was not bad, this book. However, I found very little about it that really stood out. It seemed as if Robson did a very good survey of the Cyberpunk and speculative fiction and turned out a book to formula. Uninspired, but readable.