Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The quite bearable lightness of the Singularity, June 25, 2002
This review is from: Transcension (Hardcover)
Many readers with an interest in transhumanist ideas such as the technological Singularity will already be familiar with Mr. Broderick's non-fiction book, The Spike. That was a book of big ideas about our possible future aimed at a general audience willing to do some serious reading. Unfortunately, the audience for serious reading is much smaller than the audience for "fun" reading, which is to say for fiction reading, where a good story with interesting characters will hold the reader's attention. Those characters and their story can then carry a large load of big ideas, which the fiction audience might otherwise refuse to read. I am happy to report that Broderick's novel Transcension succeeds in carrying lightly some very heavy ideas, indeed. At its core, Transcension is a love story. Employing the classic model-boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl (and vice versa, of course)-Broderick tells his tale with humor, excitement and poignancy. Some really big ideas underlie the action: ubiquitous computing, cryonics, extreme life extension, microchip implants, Artificial Intelligence, and mind uploading, as well as the social idea of enclaves in which various levels of technology are either allowed or forbidden. But these ideas seem, for the most part, to be simply a background that many readers may ignore until very late in the book. Charmed by the story and having grown attached to the main characters, these readers will simply keeping turning pages to find out what happens next. Astute readers, however, will not ignore the subtle signs dropped along the way like breadcrumbs leading through a forest of distracting events to a most wonderful conclusion. Three-Body Problem Ignoring those breadcrumbs for the moment, we turn to the three major characters in this novel: Amanda Kolby-McAlister, a bright, bored "pender," (that is, a neotonous pre-adult, eagerly anticipating her coming legal maturity at age 30 in the high-tech metropolis of Van Gogh); Mathewmark Fischer, a curious but stifled young man who hauls goods by mule-drawn cart in the anti-tech enclave of the Valley of the God of your Choice; and finally, Magistrate Mohammed Kasim Abdel-Malek, a computer scientist turned lawyer and then judge in Van Gogh, whose background contains more than a little mystery. Fine Structure Constant The structure of the book consists of individual chapters titled with 1) a number and 2) the name of the character speaking in the first person in that chapter. The chapters are grouped into several sections. Each section begins with an epigraph from such notables as Bill Joy (whose epigraph includes an internal quotation from Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber), Eliezer Yudkowsky, and Eugen Leitl. The three major characters do most of the talking. For the most part, we see the story unfold through their eyes. Late in the book, we begin to see some of the story through the eyes of a host of minor characters. But there is one big exception: the very first chapter is written from the point of view of "the Aleph," a self-described "machine mentality" who introduces verself and then virtually disappears for quite a few pages. Original Sim Let's look for that trail of breadcrumbs again. Among all those book chapters titled with the names of the characters through whose eyes we see the story events, there is a discontinuous series of anomalous chapters. These numbered chapters, titled "Seed Origin," seem quite mysterious and out-of-place at first. Astute readers should not ignore these clues, however, for they are the keys that open up to a wonderful finale. Up, Down, Strange and Charmed Readers who expect a straight line to transcenion for the characters in Broderick's novel will be surprised by the many ups and downs, and the several strange events in this thoroughly charming story. Compared to Broderick's The Spike, this is truly a quark of a different color. Readers will get so wrapped up in caring about the characters that when the transcension events finally take place, we are almost startled by them. Welcome to the Machine I recommend Transcension as a thumping good read for anyone who enjoys science fiction. It's "hard SF" yet without the coldness of character that too often keeps readers away from some really good books. Transcension is especially appropriate for people who only want deep ideas if those ideas are first fished up, cleaned, cooked and then served on a steaming platter with savories. If you know anyone like that, tell them about this book. It could save you much time and breath explaining transhumanist ideas to them. Let Transcension do that for you with humor and charm.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Stylistically annoying, September 27, 2007
Well, I seem to be in the minority, but this one just didn't do it for me, and not just because the plot appears to be recycled Arthur C. Clarke. Nor do I have any particular objection to godlike AIs (although this one seems to be just about omnipotent).
Rather, the problems lie in the style.
In the first place, the story is told pretty much in the first person, switching protagonist as events demand. These switches are clearly labelled, but often the story switches to third person as well, a mechanism I found clumsy.
Most irritating, though, is that the narrative of Amanda (one of the two main characters) is told almost entirely in her deferred-teenage slang, the salient feature of which is the omission of virtually all articles and prepositions, so that it resembles a sort of literally-translated Russian, only worse. I found it very, very wearing to read. Neither did I find Amanda herself a convincing character; it takes more to portray a musician and her concerns than listing a bunch of violin concertos accurately.
More interesting was the religious enclave that has voluntarily renounced technology, rather like the Amish; although they're referred to in the book, rather inaccurately, as Luddites (the original Luddites didn't have anything against technology per se, they just didn't want to be put out of work). A nice touch is that they don't realise that a lot of their environment is technologically altered anyway (like the obviously genetically engineered mule Ebeeneezer, who for me is the most sympathetic character in the book). I rather liked Matthewmark, as well.
But on balance, I can't recommend this. Don't take my word for it, read the other reviews.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Readable Hard Science Fiction, July 5, 2002
This review is from: Transcension (Hardcover)
Damien Broderick must be loaded with lots of witticisms and just plain tons of good old common sense because this novel is loaded with these things. And when I say 'common sense', this is not the type your typical good ole boy down the street has, but is instead a 'sense' of what is intrinsically true or false, not what the average person believes. Yeah, of course someday, perhaps 100-200 years from now, the ideas portrayed in this book will be widely accepted, but not yet, but this, to many people, is what science fiction is all about, to allow gifted and intelligent writers to let us see some of the possibilities in store for our future, good and bad, in an entertaining format. This novel does very well in terms of the above, giving us a glimpse of the future, perhaps unsettling to some with their conservative world-views. Broderick writes here of a medium term future where an enclave of religious believers (who live in a primitive state and distrust technology) exist in a world that is largely secular. Science has indefinitely extended life spans and for the most part eliminated the barbarity of death, and mind uploading and biostasis has been used succesfully, along with many other things. Amanda of the modern world, who is just becoming an adult, Mathewmark of the religious encalve, and Abdel-Malek, a magistrate in the modern world, are the principle characters. How they interact with each other, considering their backgrounds, makes excellent reading, as plot and character development are first rate. In this novel Broderick shows us how a very advanced artificial intelligence could manipulate us, possibly for our own good, and he also includes a paradigm shift brought about by the advent of a 'singularity' of rapid technological advancement, and parts of a culture transformed almost totally, but with others clinging to the old ways. TRANSCENSION is full of future possibilities, with an abundance of rational imagination and humor, had me laughing many times, it is worth 10 stars. Check out THE SPIKE by this same writer if you are interested in non-fiction speculation of a technological 'singularity'.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
