Customer Reviews

Transhuman

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

 

 

Transhuman (2008) is a theme SF anthology, focusing on the forthcoming Singularity. It contains an Introduction by the editor, eleven short stories, and an description of the authors.

The Introduction by Mark L. Van Name tells of the genesis and development of this anthology.

Firewall by David D. Levine is about a paranoid individual who finds his worse fears becoming real.

Reunion by Mark L. Van Name concerns a man who believes that his memories have been implanted within his brain. He attends reunions to establish a semblance of normality.

The Guardian by Paul Chafe conveys the thoughts of a dead man whose mind was transferred into a computer to monitor a public surveillance system.

Being Human by Wen Spencer presents the thinking of an avatar who goes to visit his mother's virtual home for Thanksgiving.

In Command by John Lambshead recounts the battles of an interstellar cruiser and its master against a powerful enemy.

G@vin45 by Daniel M. Hoyt constructs a future where many people hide from the real world behind their cybernetic masks.

Home for the Holidays by Ester M. Friesner illustrates the power of Christmas in one woman's life.

Soul Printer by Wil McCarthy divulges the secrets of a rich man who creates a new and threatening artform.

Whom the Gods Love by Sarah A. Hoyt concerns the people left behind -- actually reconstructed -- after the Singularity.

Wetware 2.0 by Dave Freer confronts a whiskey-guzzling, anachronistic man with a very risky situation and a doubting woman.

Escape by James P. Hogan discloses the results of an experiment with destructive loading of a human mind into a humanoid robot.

About the Contributors gives brief autobiographical data on the various contributors.

This anthology was tedious reading at first. The characters seemed either too commonplace or too good to be true. Then I got to the Friesner story and the characters became more human throughout the rest of the book. I strongly agree with Freer that the human factor is likely to remain much the same for a very long time, despite the great changes in technology.

IMHO, the most realistic cultural novel within SF has been LeGuin's The Dispossessed. Even in a socialist utopia, there were still selfish people who hoarded the better things in life. Solution of world hunger would probably still leave many individuals who are dissatisfied.

Suggested for those who are interested in the accelerating rate of change in computer, biological and other sciences.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I was quite pleasantly surprised with this anthology. I suspected it might be a little ordinary, but for an original anthology that is certainly not the case. It weighs in with a 3.55 average. Certainly a few stories are just your generic 3's, but in this case, tend to the better end of average, I think. This is balanced by two excellent stories, and a couple of good, so a higher percentage of this book is at the upper range.

A good range of types of story to be found here from outright silly, to space opera, to creepy.

The first three stories are also online, and include a couple of the better ones.

Van Name's introduction points out, talking of the stories "all share two traits: they are entertaining stories, something we of course required of all submissions, and they are fundamentally optimistic, something we did not demand but were quite pleased to discover."

That is not to say everything is nice and tea and bikkies rosy in all of these by the remotest stretch, though, and on the whole, not too much different to the content of other anthologies, in general.

Transhuman : FIREWALL - David D. Levine
Transhuman : REUNION - Mark L. Van Name
Transhuman : THE GUARDIAN - Paul Chafe
Transhuman : BEING HUMAN - Wen Spencer
Transhuman : IN COMMAND - John Lambshead
Transhuman : G@vin45 - Daniel M. Hoyt
Transhuman : HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS - Ester M. Friesner
Transhuman : SOUL PRINTER - Wil McCarthy
Transhuman : WHOM THE GODS LOVE - Sarah A. Hoyt
Transhuman : WETWARE 2.0 - David Freer
Transhuman : ESCAPE - James P. Hogan

Lunar network Lockdown AI conjunction operation.

4 out of 5


"Download Anxiety Syndrome".

3 out of 5


Software routine investigation run upgrade surprise.

4 out of 5


Digital women difference.

3 out of 5


Goblin Night fight.

3.5 out of 5


Past Blankety-Blank time.

3 out of 5


Security xmas theatre contest.

3 out of 5


Dangerous art keepsake trirotica academic revolution.

4.5 out of 5


Keeping out of the pot, at length.

3.5 out of 5


Barknet matrix takedown teamup. With Laphroaig chaser.

4.5 out of 5


Condemned erasure Adonis implanting.

3 out of 5




3.5 out of 5

I'm more familiar with the idea of transhumanism as opposed to the variety that might be reflected in literature; having said that, this was a very good collection of stories about various aspects of a transhuman event (or lifestyle). The technologies presented really took a backseat to the character's drives as to determine what humanity means to each, which was what I was hoping to get out of such a read.
I will say that the stories didn't have much in the way of "action" (no cyborgs beating down robots or the like), so if that's what you're looking for you would best look elsewhere so you won't be disappointed. However, if you are looking for interpretations on how technology will impact humanity's relation not only to itself but any created intelligences, this is a great read.

For several years, noted SF writer and computer scientist Vernor Vinge has been promoting the fictional concept of an impending Singularity. Where advances in science and technology led to the rise of true, sentient artificial intelligences. An asymptote point, after which Transcendence arises. Some people might say this sounds like the techno equivalent of the Christians waiting for the Second Coming.

Well, in any event, this book explores the approach to that posited Singularity. How might this happen, and how would humans react? The short stories tend to be of recent vintage. Naturally, they revolve around high technology, especially computing. Truly a book of the new century. The writing quality is high; van Name has chosen well of stories that are not just of this theme, but cogently and interestingly expressed.

Cyberpunk would be another good description of this book.

Only pity is that Vinge doesn't have a story in this collection.

What it means to be human is changing as technological development explodes - and this changing nature is revealed in TRANSHUMAN, a survey from leading science fiction writers who explore questions of how humanity is changing. TRANSHUMAN covers everything from extraordinary individuals and lives to everyday people facing challenges to their humanity. It's packed with twists, turns and intriguing tales perfect for any science fiction library or reader.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

These stories about transhumans and the Singularity have fallen out of step with the times, and would have made more sense published back in the early 1990's. I read ones with pretty much the same themes -- runaway AI's, mind uploading, nanotech enhancements, virtual reality, emergent superintelligences, etc. -- about 20 years ago. Google Marc Stiegler's story "The Gentle Seduction" and Ted Chiang's "Understand" to see what I mean. In the real but underperforming 21st Century we've arrived at, we don't seem any closer to a "technological singularity" now than we did circa 1990.