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Dancing with Eternity
What would happen if Odysseus met Captain Ahab in the Fortieth Century? Only Captain Ahab is a beautiful woman named Steel who owns her own starship, and Odysseus is an unemployed actor named Mohandas who’s stuck on the backside of a backwater moon because he can't pay his taxes. Everybody—almost everybody—lives forever, and there’s a telepathic Internet that allows the entire population of the galaxy to communicate at will and even experience the world from another person’s perspective.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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September 17, 2011
INTRODUCTION: "A 40th-Century drifter follows a beautiful woman across the galaxy. A funny and thought-provoking novel that challenges our traditional beliefs about love, sex, immortality and spirituality."
When I saw the blurb of Dancing with Eternity which is published by the new Camel Press, I was intrigued so I downloaded the 20% Smashwords sample and I read it and was so impressed that I immediately bought the ebook. The more I progressed through the novel, the more impressive it became and while I will explain some of the reasons later, I will say that Dancing with Eternity turned out to be the first mind blowing 2011 sff novel I did not previously know about.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Dancing with Eternity stands out in three areas; world building which includes both natural philosophy and strange societies, voice and characters.
It is the 40th century and Mo aka Mohandas born on Mars in the 22nd century and named for the famous 20th century Indian leader, has been a lucky man. Born on the cusp of the great revolutions that transformed humanity for ever - the understanding of mind which led to the "net of human minds" and then to effective immortality and ftl by harnessing the power of minds traveling near light speed - he became a relatively famous architect, wealthy enough to afford the very expensive immortality treatments and weather the three centuries of turmoil when humanity adapted to this radical change.
Led by the amoral but efficient multinational corporation known today as "syndicates", the human race's ruthless expansion into the universe created enough wealth to afford everyone's "rebooting" - as the immortality treatments came to be known - at a price though. And Mo has not passed unscathed through the turmoil, so despite becoming even wealthier, from the stabilization of the 25th century on, he started drifting through life, exploring the ever expanding human reach, mostly as a musician or actor with occasional "domestic lifetimes".
Two other major events disrupted the continual expansion: the brutal "gender war" of the 30th century - the millennial anniversary of its cessation has been celebrated some five decades before the start of the novel and was partly the impulse motif of the book's plot - in which the Pleiades worlds tried to secede under the Yin radical feminist movement, expelling all males under the "new gender laws" and creating their own "net". The main human polity, now known as Draco from its stellar position, responded brutally and the ensuing war was terrible ending in a truce under which the Pleiades remained politically independent but repelled the gender discrimination laws and reintegrated into the original "net" - this last being crucial since its effectiveness depends on the number of minds logged on.
Even scarier was humanity's "first contact" with a mysterious alien civilization on what is now named Brainard's Planet in the 35th century. Despite the best efforts of the expedition led by the aforementioned Brainard, humans could not initiate contact with the natives, but instead a mysterious "plague" destroying all Earth originated lifeforms at cellular level - and with rebooting accelerating the destruction, the death is final unless the personality is stored on the net and the body cloned from earlier genetic material, happenings that are not computationally feasible on a large scale - starting to spread with the return of the expedition to human space. Only the brutal quarantine of several planets and the ensuing billions of deaths spared humanity. Today Brainard's planet is under strict quarantine and orbital observation, though nobody is insane to go there anyway, while five hundred years of observations produced some startling results and even more mysteries...
So back to the late 40th century and Mo now an actor with a lizard-like scaly body form gets marooned on a resort planet 350 light years from Earth over a tax dispute with "the system". Not only that but he is kicked off net and has to practice daily to keep up in shape, while providing "physical comfort" to a local shopkeeper for shelter and food.
When a mysterious beautiful woman going by the nickname of Steel makes him an offer to pay his back taxes and take him to space in return for him completing her seven member starship crew and being able to go ftl again, Mo cannot refuse and the adventure starts - as mentioned ftl aka freewheeling happens by the melding of minds at near light speed and each starship has a required minimum crew needed - here there is a little niggle since I would expect that each starship to have an "extra" just in case, the way today's airplanes have copilots, though maybe the all around existence of the "net" made that seem unnecessary.
I hope the above tidbits about the superb world building of the author intrigued you to try the sample at least, but I want to discuss the characters starting with the narrator himself. Mo's voice is very distinctive and sounds pitch perfect within the universe of the novel and as one of the oldest humans around, his experience and store of odd knowledge comes in handy on occasion also. Here he is at a party "celebrating" a local woman who goes to pay for her needed "reboot" the usual way:
"Everybody started somewhere. Most of them were between six and ten ’boots old, products of the Great Expansion of the early thirties. They’d all been hatched by the corps or syndicates to be used as labor to hew habitable worlds out of the raw material of creation. And for most of them that’s what they’d done every other life. It’s what they would do.
...
Somebody said, “How many verses?” and I replied, “Nineteen.” A kind of ripple went through the crowd and I looked around to see if I could find Steel or Yuri or Marcus. I spotted them; they were all in one of the gazebos. They’d evidently been following the action, or they’d heard the crowd hush. They were all looking at me, looking for the groove, trying to match my energy. I realized that, even though I hadn’t said anything yet, I’d already started. My silence was the
beginning of my first verse. I saw Matessa smiling at me and I didn’t want her to be lonely before she left simply because I wasn’t in the habit of letting people know who I was. Even so, it
was hard to start. What do I tell them, I thought, who are so much younger, who had not experienced the world before the net, before re-booting, before freewheeling, before...
“I wasn’t started. I was born—”"
Of the other seven members of the crew, Steel aka Estelle the mysterious rich captain starts being the focus, but slowly we meet the other three main characters: Archie of the Yin, the Pleiades doctor/life scientist, Yuri, the tech/hard science wizard with a continual teenager like personality of the geek/genius that hides a painful secret from his early life in the terrible war of a 1000 years ago and Steel's protege, Alice who seems to be very young or to have had a very traumatic last reboot since she seems to be aware only of very recent events. And since for more than a thousand years, humans have not been born anymore, only being artificially brought up by the syndicates when/where labor was needed with the promise of the second life and capital in return for the first life of labor - one of the hard prices humanity is still paying for eternal life - Alice is indeed a mystery for us and for Mo.
Dancing with Eternity flows very well on the page and both the universe and the characters are revealed slowly with moments of tension, adventure, desperate situations and escapes, while twists and turns abound. The novel so impressed me that I had to reread it immediately after finishing it and then I appreciated even better the little tidbits from whose full import the reader won;t realize until much later.
Overall Dancing with Eternity (A++, top 10 novel of 2011) is a stellar debut that shows why science fiction is still the most interesting genre of today.
When I saw the blurb of Dancing with Eternity which is published by the new Camel Press, I was intrigued so I downloaded the 20% Smashwords sample and I read it and was so impressed that I immediately bought the ebook. The more I progressed through the novel, the more impressive it became and while I will explain some of the reasons later, I will say that Dancing with Eternity turned out to be the first mind blowing 2011 sff novel I did not previously know about.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Dancing with Eternity stands out in three areas; world building which includes both natural philosophy and strange societies, voice and characters.
It is the 40th century and Mo aka Mohandas born on Mars in the 22nd century and named for the famous 20th century Indian leader, has been a lucky man. Born on the cusp of the great revolutions that transformed humanity for ever - the understanding of mind which led to the "net of human minds" and then to effective immortality and ftl by harnessing the power of minds traveling near light speed - he became a relatively famous architect, wealthy enough to afford the very expensive immortality treatments and weather the three centuries of turmoil when humanity adapted to this radical change.
Led by the amoral but efficient multinational corporation known today as "syndicates", the human race's ruthless expansion into the universe created enough wealth to afford everyone's "rebooting" - as the immortality treatments came to be known - at a price though. And Mo has not passed unscathed through the turmoil, so despite becoming even wealthier, from the stabilization of the 25th century on, he started drifting through life, exploring the ever expanding human reach, mostly as a musician or actor with occasional "domestic lifetimes".
Two other major events disrupted the continual expansion: the brutal "gender war" of the 30th century - the millennial anniversary of its cessation has been celebrated some five decades before the start of the novel and was partly the impulse motif of the book's plot - in which the Pleiades worlds tried to secede under the Yin radical feminist movement, expelling all males under the "new gender laws" and creating their own "net". The main human polity, now known as Draco from its stellar position, responded brutally and the ensuing war was terrible ending in a truce under which the Pleiades remained politically independent but repelled the gender discrimination laws and reintegrated into the original "net" - this last being crucial since its effectiveness depends on the number of minds logged on.
Even scarier was humanity's "first contact" with a mysterious alien civilization on what is now named Brainard's Planet in the 35th century. Despite the best efforts of the expedition led by the aforementioned Brainard, humans could not initiate contact with the natives, but instead a mysterious "plague" destroying all Earth originated lifeforms at cellular level - and with rebooting accelerating the destruction, the death is final unless the personality is stored on the net and the body cloned from earlier genetic material, happenings that are not computationally feasible on a large scale - starting to spread with the return of the expedition to human space. Only the brutal quarantine of several planets and the ensuing billions of deaths spared humanity. Today Brainard's planet is under strict quarantine and orbital observation, though nobody is insane to go there anyway, while five hundred years of observations produced some startling results and even more mysteries...
So back to the late 40th century and Mo now an actor with a lizard-like scaly body form gets marooned on a resort planet 350 light years from Earth over a tax dispute with "the system". Not only that but he is kicked off net and has to practice daily to keep up in shape, while providing "physical comfort" to a local shopkeeper for shelter and food.
When a mysterious beautiful woman going by the nickname of Steel makes him an offer to pay his back taxes and take him to space in return for him completing her seven member starship crew and being able to go ftl again, Mo cannot refuse and the adventure starts - as mentioned ftl aka freewheeling happens by the melding of minds at near light speed and each starship has a required minimum crew needed - here there is a little niggle since I would expect that each starship to have an "extra" just in case, the way today's airplanes have copilots, though maybe the all around existence of the "net" made that seem unnecessary.
I hope the above tidbits about the superb world building of the author intrigued you to try the sample at least, but I want to discuss the characters starting with the narrator himself. Mo's voice is very distinctive and sounds pitch perfect within the universe of the novel and as one of the oldest humans around, his experience and store of odd knowledge comes in handy on occasion also. Here he is at a party "celebrating" a local woman who goes to pay for her needed "reboot" the usual way:
"Everybody started somewhere. Most of them were between six and ten ’boots old, products of the Great Expansion of the early thirties. They’d all been hatched by the corps or syndicates to be used as labor to hew habitable worlds out of the raw material of creation. And for most of them that’s what they’d done every other life. It’s what they would do.
...
Somebody said, “How many verses?” and I replied, “Nineteen.” A kind of ripple went through the crowd and I looked around to see if I could find Steel or Yuri or Marcus. I spotted them; they were all in one of the gazebos. They’d evidently been following the action, or they’d heard the crowd hush. They were all looking at me, looking for the groove, trying to match my energy. I realized that, even though I hadn’t said anything yet, I’d already started. My silence was the
beginning of my first verse. I saw Matessa smiling at me and I didn’t want her to be lonely before she left simply because I wasn’t in the habit of letting people know who I was. Even so, it
was hard to start. What do I tell them, I thought, who are so much younger, who had not experienced the world before the net, before re-booting, before freewheeling, before...
“I wasn’t started. I was born—”"
Of the other seven members of the crew, Steel aka Estelle the mysterious rich captain starts being the focus, but slowly we meet the other three main characters: Archie of the Yin, the Pleiades doctor/life scientist, Yuri, the tech/hard science wizard with a continual teenager like personality of the geek/genius that hides a painful secret from his early life in the terrible war of a 1000 years ago and Steel's protege, Alice who seems to be very young or to have had a very traumatic last reboot since she seems to be aware only of very recent events. And since for more than a thousand years, humans have not been born anymore, only being artificially brought up by the syndicates when/where labor was needed with the promise of the second life and capital in return for the first life of labor - one of the hard prices humanity is still paying for eternal life - Alice is indeed a mystery for us and for Mo.
Dancing with Eternity flows very well on the page and both the universe and the characters are revealed slowly with moments of tension, adventure, desperate situations and escapes, while twists and turns abound. The novel so impressed me that I had to reread it immediately after finishing it and then I appreciated even better the little tidbits from whose full import the reader won;t realize until much later.
Overall Dancing with Eternity (A++, top 10 novel of 2011) is a stellar debut that shows why science fiction is still the most interesting genre of today.
January 22, 2012
5 Stars
“Stasis is death. Change is the most sublime aspect of the universe.”
Whoa, I am wiped out after finally making it through this incredible journey penned by first time Author John Lowrie. This is simply a fantastically original piece of science fiction that grabbed me right from the beginning and had my head spinning all the way to its end.
This is a profound novel that takes place in the far future, 2000+years from now. A great deal of this book hinges on the deeply philosophical subjects that propel this story forward. The book is a novel about existentialism, about what it means to be human, and it skates around with the larger questions of life and religion. A mysterious outlawed planet called Brainard is the center of the story. This planet is the origin of a terrible plague that killed billions of people and wiped out entire regions of space. It is a time period where everything is done on the “net”. And communication between people is done instantly, no matter how far away the other one is.
The setup is: a down on his luck actor, who happens to be more than 1000 years old and also, happens to have scales grafted on him to make him appear more unique, and intern hopefully desirable meets a woman with a job and a proposition for him:
“She was over two meters tall, long limbed and slender, and covered from head to toe in sleek silver fur that lengthened into a thick mane on the top and back of her head. Her eyes were large, almond-shaped and the color of emeralds—no cornea visible, just these two liquid pools of green fire split by black cat-pupils.”
Much of this book is spent with the main protagonist Mo while he has internal monologues, and external conversations about the way the world works at their present time. About the way they live, and a lot about how it used to be. Many great conversations between Mo and Steele really gave the book its feel. Lowrie writes in an often flowery prose. He paints each of his subjects and ideas with extra details often using a greater level of vocabulary and style. He as an author is as guilty as Archie was in her discussion with Mo about the word “stuff”:
“But ‘stuff’ is such an unscientific word, don’t you think? I much prefer words like ‘enzyme’ and ‘lysosome.’ When I make up a scientific theory I hardly ever use the word ‘stuff.’ Polysyllables obfuscate a preponderant ignorance with so much more style and panache.”
There is some good ole sci-fi humor and wit too:
“At these speeds you’re not worried about anything as prosaic as a meteor punching a hole in the hull. Anything that hits you completely annihilates equal parts of you and itself, proton by proton, creating showers of muons, gluons, who-the-heck-are-youons and lots and lots of energy. This can be very inconvenient.”
Even though the subject matter is deep, Lowrie treats them with a light hand, in a matter of fact way. I feel that one of the greatest achievements of this novel is not in what is said or what is written, but rather in what it makes you feel and think about. Lowrie treats perspective in a way that is right up my alley and belief system, and I loved it.
At around the 75% mark of the story, when our heroes arrive at Brainanrds planet, the story devolves into a delicious, really well written, exciting adventure that really changes the overall pace and feel of this book. I loved the descent, the fauna, and the details about the slugs in their environment. I loved the thoughts that this evoked for me:
“How had it happened? How could an ecosystem achieve such an incredibly delicate balance that nothing died? Was this simply another possible scenario in an infinitely diverse creation? Could it have happened this way on Earth? Did we just miss out on the evolutionary jackpot and so have to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune? Or did the Brainardites happen to pray to the right god, or somehow just avoid falling from grace?”
If it were not for my friend Liviu here at Goodreads, I would have never even heard of this book, nor would I have ever sought it out. This is a book that requires a great deal of processing and thinking in order to fully appreciate it, but it is worth the investment. An awesome read, that will require a second run through in order for me to really put this one in perspective…Awesome!
“Stasis is death. Change is the most sublime aspect of the universe.”
Whoa, I am wiped out after finally making it through this incredible journey penned by first time Author John Lowrie. This is simply a fantastically original piece of science fiction that grabbed me right from the beginning and had my head spinning all the way to its end.
This is a profound novel that takes place in the far future, 2000+years from now. A great deal of this book hinges on the deeply philosophical subjects that propel this story forward. The book is a novel about existentialism, about what it means to be human, and it skates around with the larger questions of life and religion. A mysterious outlawed planet called Brainard is the center of the story. This planet is the origin of a terrible plague that killed billions of people and wiped out entire regions of space. It is a time period where everything is done on the “net”. And communication between people is done instantly, no matter how far away the other one is.
The setup is: a down on his luck actor, who happens to be more than 1000 years old and also, happens to have scales grafted on him to make him appear more unique, and intern hopefully desirable meets a woman with a job and a proposition for him:
“She was over two meters tall, long limbed and slender, and covered from head to toe in sleek silver fur that lengthened into a thick mane on the top and back of her head. Her eyes were large, almond-shaped and the color of emeralds—no cornea visible, just these two liquid pools of green fire split by black cat-pupils.”
Much of this book is spent with the main protagonist Mo while he has internal monologues, and external conversations about the way the world works at their present time. About the way they live, and a lot about how it used to be. Many great conversations between Mo and Steele really gave the book its feel. Lowrie writes in an often flowery prose. He paints each of his subjects and ideas with extra details often using a greater level of vocabulary and style. He as an author is as guilty as Archie was in her discussion with Mo about the word “stuff”:
“But ‘stuff’ is such an unscientific word, don’t you think? I much prefer words like ‘enzyme’ and ‘lysosome.’ When I make up a scientific theory I hardly ever use the word ‘stuff.’ Polysyllables obfuscate a preponderant ignorance with so much more style and panache.”
There is some good ole sci-fi humor and wit too:
“At these speeds you’re not worried about anything as prosaic as a meteor punching a hole in the hull. Anything that hits you completely annihilates equal parts of you and itself, proton by proton, creating showers of muons, gluons, who-the-heck-are-youons and lots and lots of energy. This can be very inconvenient.”
Even though the subject matter is deep, Lowrie treats them with a light hand, in a matter of fact way. I feel that one of the greatest achievements of this novel is not in what is said or what is written, but rather in what it makes you feel and think about. Lowrie treats perspective in a way that is right up my alley and belief system, and I loved it.
At around the 75% mark of the story, when our heroes arrive at Brainanrds planet, the story devolves into a delicious, really well written, exciting adventure that really changes the overall pace and feel of this book. I loved the descent, the fauna, and the details about the slugs in their environment. I loved the thoughts that this evoked for me:
“How had it happened? How could an ecosystem achieve such an incredibly delicate balance that nothing died? Was this simply another possible scenario in an infinitely diverse creation? Could it have happened this way on Earth? Did we just miss out on the evolutionary jackpot and so have to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune? Or did the Brainardites happen to pray to the right god, or somehow just avoid falling from grace?”
If it were not for my friend Liviu here at Goodreads, I would have never even heard of this book, nor would I have ever sought it out. This is a book that requires a great deal of processing and thinking in order to fully appreciate it, but it is worth the investment. An awesome read, that will require a second run through in order for me to really put this one in perspective…Awesome!
May 24, 2012
[9/10]
Dancing With Eternity is an appropriate title for this tome, considering the main theme is the way humanity will deal with the quasi-immortality granted by technological breakthroughs, some 2000 years into the future. When it becomes possible to upload a person completely (memories, brain structure, genetic code) into the future version of the world wide web in order to rejuvenate him/her, most of the institutions and social structures we are familiar with will be replaced. Lowrie explores this future world in detail, transitioning from industrial settings, financial/corporatist oligarchy, political structures, the military aftermath of a disturbing galactic war, societies still trying to live according to ancient religious precepts, and as a final destination - contact with an alien civilization.
I would class this epic as space opera,but not the kind where x-wings battle imperial star destroyers or teenage heroes save the galaxy with lightsabers. There are no major battles in the book, the galactic war happened about 1000 years before the events described here. Conflict is constructed around the dynamics of a small group of explorers: their interactions, their past experiences, their mostly hidden motivations. The epic scope comes from the several different planets the team visits, and from the issues discussed, often dealing with humanity as a whole and with the effects of technology on the individual.
One of the highlights of the novel for me is the richness of the setting Lowrie imagined, the bounty of technological and social speculation, the fantastic vistas of planets and stars. Tension and mystery were also handled well in the plot progression, with some memorable scenes involving leaving the gravity well by an archaic method or descending a 25 km mountain that reaches well into the troposphere. Only the final contact with the aliens was a bit of a let down for me, after all the built up in the preceding chapters.
For all the science part of the book, the fact that Dancing With Eternity was written in 2010 and not in the 1960's is reflected in the fact that the book is much more character driven that Asimov or Clarke, for example. While it's true that some of the plot developments reminded me of daytime soap operas, I think the characters were well rounded up and complex, well integrated into the overall story.
Highly recommended, with the sole warning not to expect Star Wars, but a more introspective look at a possible future for humanity.
November 6, 2011
Epic. Mesmerizing. Poignant. Suspenseful. Thought-provoking.
Mo is stranded in a backwater planet, basically just drinking his way through his 18th lifetime, when he is approached by Steel, a gorgeous woman who offers him the opportunity to join her mysterious mission, and get off this planet. With full medical! Mo agrees, but details about the mission are not immediately forthcoming. They dribble out over the book with such rightness and evenhandedness; Mo learns necessary information when it becomes necessary for both him and the reader. This serves to keep the reader intrigued and guessing Steel's motivations, and what they hope to accomplish. Did I mention this takes place in the 40th century? They have virtual immortality thanks to a procedure called "re-booting", and Faster Than Light travel, which really opens up the possibilities for this narrative, and the author definitely took advantage of them. The journey spans the galaxy and probably about a century, and manages to be both fascinating and fast paced.
I loved it. I kind of want to read it again, now that I know how it ends.
Mo is stranded in a backwater planet, basically just drinking his way through his 18th lifetime, when he is approached by Steel, a gorgeous woman who offers him the opportunity to join her mysterious mission, and get off this planet. With full medical! Mo agrees, but details about the mission are not immediately forthcoming. They dribble out over the book with such rightness and evenhandedness; Mo learns necessary information when it becomes necessary for both him and the reader. This serves to keep the reader intrigued and guessing Steel's motivations, and what they hope to accomplish. Did I mention this takes place in the 40th century? They have virtual immortality thanks to a procedure called "re-booting", and Faster Than Light travel, which really opens up the possibilities for this narrative, and the author definitely took advantage of them. The journey spans the galaxy and probably about a century, and manages to be both fascinating and fast paced.
I loved it. I kind of want to read it again, now that I know how it ends.
January 15, 2012
This is a very accomplished first science fiction novel that could have used some judicious editing. I am not familiar with the Camel Press imprint, but my suspicion is that it may be a gussied-up version of self-publishing. Not that I in any way disdain such enterprises; I believe that the future of publishing is in this realm. I only mention this to say that it would have be wonderful if the author had had the benefit of a professional editor who could be honest with him about some of the book's flaws. Who knows? This may happen yet. This would not be the first book published by a small press picked up by a larger one to be polished and marketed to a larger audience.
The plot of Dancing With Eternity is very clever and to the best of my knowledge, original. Our species has (more or less) solved the problem of death; when one's body dies or if one merely becomes tired of the current model, the solution is to reboot into a new one. Problem solved. If you die suddenly, your thoughts and memories are automatically stored onto the net because everyone has become permanently connected through a microchip inserted directly into the brain. Even faster than death can take your brain, the net can upload your mind. You are then rebooted into a new body and on you go. Ingenious.
But Lowrie takes the implications of this even further to speculate on what would happen in such a universe politically, economically and socially. War and violence become unthinkable because you constantly have access to the perspective of every other person in the universe and harming another under these circumstances would be akin not only to harming yourself but to harming several billion other people who would then be mightily angry with you. A very perspicacious conclusion; I don't know that the whole idea of interconnectedness has ever before been taken to these logical lengths, not even by the father of this idea, William Gibson. (It should be mentioned that this is kept from becoming a claustrophobic phenomenon by the fact that one has the option to be logged on or not).
Our hero, Mohandas, joins up with the crew of a starship captained by the ultra-wealthy Steel, a woman of formidable drive and intelligence. She has a particular aim in mind for the mission they embark upon (far be it from me to put spoilers into my review) that she pursues with a tenacity that is at first inexplicable but is gradually revealed as the plot develops. Lowrie is an accomplished portraitist and develops the character of the crew members with great care and skill.
The author has an impressive range of knowledge to draw from. I will have to take his word for the astrophysics and much of the other science; I assume he knows whereof he speaks— it certainly sounds impressive. He also has a certain grasp of such diverse fields as biology, geology and chemistry. Unfortunately, he is a bit more shaky in both psychology and sociology; the incredible disruptions to society and psyche both get only a glancing treatment here. Though the effect of particular events resonate with some characters, the whole idea of being immortal is barely touched upon. I understand that part of this is because the world he describes has become inured to the reality of their immortality, but investigating the implications further would have been fascinating. One important realm left unexplored is the deep disconnection one would eventually feel toward humanity when one is so constantly in intimate contact with them.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing about this otherwise accomplished book is the same thing that is exasperating in so many inexperienced authors: the suspension of disbelief is made enormously difficult by the fact that the author clearly has a plot arc in mind and all things must be made to bend to this arc, no matter how awkward or unreal they may seem as a result. To take a few examples:
Finally, Lowrie's use of language is sometimes a bit jarring. He occasionally exhibits a rather bad case of "adjectivitis", the excessive use of adjectives where none are required, though this is more of an issue at the beginning of the book than elsewhere. He has a tendency to show off his vocabulary and use scientific jargon where a simpler word would achieve the same effect, except it wouldn't demonstrate how very smart he is. At some points he can be flowery to the point of causing one to wince ("He rested his head on hers. They stayed that way for a long time—forever, maybe, or maybe not long enough." or, speaking of a rock wall, "As I touched it to more intimately grasp its texture and shape, it informed me of my own. It was my teacher, my mentor, my mirror." Ooookay).
All of this criticism, though, is from a perspective of admiration. I wish this book could have been better and it still has the potential to be. I admire, too, the dedication and love the author has clearly lavished on his characters and the entire work. Perhaps next time he will have the benefit of the editorial help he obviously so richly deserves.
The plot of Dancing With Eternity is very clever and to the best of my knowledge, original. Our species has (more or less) solved the problem of death; when one's body dies or if one merely becomes tired of the current model, the solution is to reboot into a new one. Problem solved. If you die suddenly, your thoughts and memories are automatically stored onto the net because everyone has become permanently connected through a microchip inserted directly into the brain. Even faster than death can take your brain, the net can upload your mind. You are then rebooted into a new body and on you go. Ingenious.
But Lowrie takes the implications of this even further to speculate on what would happen in such a universe politically, economically and socially. War and violence become unthinkable because you constantly have access to the perspective of every other person in the universe and harming another under these circumstances would be akin not only to harming yourself but to harming several billion other people who would then be mightily angry with you. A very perspicacious conclusion; I don't know that the whole idea of interconnectedness has ever before been taken to these logical lengths, not even by the father of this idea, William Gibson. (It should be mentioned that this is kept from becoming a claustrophobic phenomenon by the fact that one has the option to be logged on or not).
Our hero, Mohandas, joins up with the crew of a starship captained by the ultra-wealthy Steel, a woman of formidable drive and intelligence. She has a particular aim in mind for the mission they embark upon (far be it from me to put spoilers into my review) that she pursues with a tenacity that is at first inexplicable but is gradually revealed as the plot develops. Lowrie is an accomplished portraitist and develops the character of the crew members with great care and skill.
The author has an impressive range of knowledge to draw from. I will have to take his word for the astrophysics and much of the other science; I assume he knows whereof he speaks— it certainly sounds impressive. He also has a certain grasp of such diverse fields as biology, geology and chemistry. Unfortunately, he is a bit more shaky in both psychology and sociology; the incredible disruptions to society and psyche both get only a glancing treatment here. Though the effect of particular events resonate with some characters, the whole idea of being immortal is barely touched upon. I understand that part of this is because the world he describes has become inured to the reality of their immortality, but investigating the implications further would have been fascinating. One important realm left unexplored is the deep disconnection one would eventually feel toward humanity when one is so constantly in intimate contact with them.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing about this otherwise accomplished book is the same thing that is exasperating in so many inexperienced authors: the suspension of disbelief is made enormously difficult by the fact that the author clearly has a plot arc in mind and all things must be made to bend to this arc, no matter how awkward or unreal they may seem as a result. To take a few examples:
**Mohandas is integrated into the emotional life of the crew far too quickly. Is this a result of the new social order? If so, some mention of this would have been helpful. I suspect, though, that his rapid integration was essential to the plot moving forward and so was manipulated into place.
**Unless Steel is already deeply insane at the time, which the story doesn't imply, why does she keep insisting on such a narrow range to their study on the planet they visit? She is intelligent enough to know that only a broad understanding can lead to the end she seeks. If she is insane, none of the crew choose to comment on it or respond accordingly.
**Most people choose to remain the same gender when they reboot. This is the most heavy-handed of the author's manipulations because it (and an entirely superfluous visit to a feminist planet) allow him to hold forth on the sociological manifestations of feminism, patriarchal societies and other subjects on which he is not particularly qualified to speak, it seems to me. This is not to say he doesn't make some interesting points, but his perspective on male domination in most human societies is simplistic, at best.
**The highly risky visit to the planet of Eden doesn't seem to have any purpose proportional to its risk. They are aware that one of their party cannot reboot, yet they still choose to risk her death so she can pay a visit to a relative. Other than the author's need to tell this part of the story (and it is one of the best written sections of the book), the logic of the visit is highly questionable.
Finally, Lowrie's use of language is sometimes a bit jarring. He occasionally exhibits a rather bad case of "adjectivitis", the excessive use of adjectives where none are required, though this is more of an issue at the beginning of the book than elsewhere. He has a tendency to show off his vocabulary and use scientific jargon where a simpler word would achieve the same effect, except it wouldn't demonstrate how very smart he is. At some points he can be flowery to the point of causing one to wince ("He rested his head on hers. They stayed that way for a long time—forever, maybe, or maybe not long enough." or, speaking of a rock wall, "As I touched it to more intimately grasp its texture and shape, it informed me of my own. It was my teacher, my mentor, my mirror." Ooookay).
All of this criticism, though, is from a perspective of admiration. I wish this book could have been better and it still has the potential to be. I admire, too, the dedication and love the author has clearly lavished on his characters and the entire work. Perhaps next time he will have the benefit of the editorial help he obviously so richly deserves.
February 19, 2012
An interesting thought exercise on what humanity might look like after having conquered death. It is in equal parts compelling and frustrating; the core story draws you in and is quite emotional at times, but it is surrounded by chapters' worth of unnecessary detail (they had a rough trip down to Eden, I GET IT) and a writing style which is quite clumsy in places. Aside from the occasionally questionable grammar and some wandering sentences that should have never made it past editing, one thing that really sticks out is the attempt at coining a futuristic swear word ("skag") about 70% of the way through the book. From that point onwards, the author seems compelled to use it in practically every other sentence, despite it not having previously made an appearance.
Overall I think I enjoyed the book, but was glad to have finshed it. The subject matter is thought-provoking, but the lack of editing makes it hard going. I thnk I'd want to see a few chapters dropped and the writing tidied up before recommending to others.
Overall I think I enjoyed the book, but was glad to have finshed it. The subject matter is thought-provoking, but the lack of editing makes it hard going. I thnk I'd want to see a few chapters dropped and the writing tidied up before recommending to others.
September 18, 2020
2.75 stars. this was good i guess. sometimes i was a little bored, and sometimes a bit confused by the story. but i did enjoy it, and im a big space lover so just the fact that this book was set in space is a big part of why im giving it the rating i am. i didnt really bond a lit with the characters, and many of them went by unnoticed, it wasnt really until the end i started caring about them.
July 10, 2014
Wonderful! I hope there will be more novels to follow.
UPDATE: I have now listened to the newly released audio version of Dancing With Eternity and, if anything, enjoyed it even more than the multiple times I have read the novel. Congratulations to John Patrick Lowrie and Ellen McLain for bringing the characters to life in perfect sync with the voices I had imagined when reading!
UPDATE: I have now listened to the newly released audio version of Dancing With Eternity and, if anything, enjoyed it even more than the multiple times I have read the novel. Congratulations to John Patrick Lowrie and Ellen McLain for bringing the characters to life in perfect sync with the voices I had imagined when reading!
July 12, 2022
This book honestly tore my heart out, got my hopes up, dropped them, fixed my heart and restored my hopes. I listened to it on audible, so it was narrated by John and his wife, Ellen.
Honestly I heavily enjoyed this book, as its incredibly hard to keep my attention for many books. The hardest part about listening/reading this book was trying to keep up and understand the math and physics of everything going on. It gets a little complicated and hard to follow at times, but once you know whats going on its fairly easy to understand.
I very quickly got attached to the main character and the crew he was with and the book essentially tore my heart out multiple times due to the relationships built. It did take me a while to read it because I have the attention span of a worm, but once I got started I didn't want it to end.
The book ended on a very solemn and wholesome note because, as I suspected, this was all just a really elaborate way for John to tell his wife he was always going to love her, for all of eternity.
Honestly I heavily enjoyed this book, as its incredibly hard to keep my attention for many books. The hardest part about listening/reading this book was trying to keep up and understand the math and physics of everything going on. It gets a little complicated and hard to follow at times, but once you know whats going on its fairly easy to understand.
I very quickly got attached to the main character and the crew he was with and the book essentially tore my heart out multiple times due to the relationships built. It did take me a while to read it because I have the attention span of a worm, but once I got started I didn't want it to end.
The book ended on a very solemn and wholesome note because, as I suspected, this was all just a really elaborate way for John to tell his wife he was always going to love her, for all of eternity.
June 21, 2012
This book was entertaining. I found some of the opinions about feminism to be a bit heavy handed and slightly out of place, when compared with the tone of the rest of the book. I was able to ignore this part of it and enjoy the rest of the story. As I was reading it I felt like I was reading a science fiction novel from an earlier era, one that attempted to imagine how society would change but could not really imagine the loss of that era's morals and values. So, it felt a bit old-fashioned to me. It was an interesting mix of cultures, religions and personalities.
May 20, 2012
I absolutely loved this book! The plot was simply brilliant and although it did take me quite a while to get through and understand, it was really worth it. This book is both intelligent and funny. I really hope that I can look forward to seeing more from Lowrie in the future.
November 3, 2011
Three words: READ THIS BOOK!!!! Not only is the author an amazing guy, it's a really REALLY good read. I'm bummed I'm done reading it.
February 7, 2018
Hm. I'm kinda divided with this book. The world it created is interesting and creative - it's the future of mankind, if we never really died. However, parts of this are really weird, shouldn't exist, or should've been edited a bit more. There are a few weird moments and dialogs, a few not interesting moments that drag a bit too much. The book gets better as it goes, but there is some weirdness even near the end.
But, in spite of the negatives, the story overrall is interesting. Some of the characters are well developed, others are well used secondary characters... and some, you ask yourself why they were exactly there - Tamika is one of those. Another is Jamal. Those may have important roles in the end, but they are... just there in the background, most of the time.
Is it worth reading? Yeah, because the universe and the implications it has are very interesting. I kinda want to see more of this universe, even if the first book was kinda uneven.
But, in spite of the negatives, the story overrall is interesting. Some of the characters are well developed, others are well used secondary characters... and some, you ask yourself why they were exactly there - Tamika is one of those. Another is Jamal. Those may have important roles in the end, but they are... just there in the background, most of the time.
Is it worth reading? Yeah, because the universe and the implications it has are very interesting. I kinda want to see more of this universe, even if the first book was kinda uneven.
October 22, 2018
The story is a little hard to get into, but once it grabs you, you will not want to put it down. The universe Lowrie built was beautifully constructed and totally believable, including the way humans travel around the galaxy. Be prepared to have your heart a little torn.
I want another book from him set in this universe!
I want another book from him set in this universe!
November 10, 2019
Packed with philosophical questons about life and death in an interesting science fiction story.
July 25, 2012
Amazing...amazing. Kindle edition. Free promotion. I started to read this book once, and closed it when it failed to pique my interest after about 7%. A month later I opened it again, thinking I should give it at least 15%. I am so glad that I did.
There are plenty of reviews here that give a synopsis...so I won't.
The themes that Lowrie wove into his story developed layer upon layer of complexity. What seemed so simple at first--nice scifi-ish concept of rebooting people, turned into an exploration of "what if?" With the advent of a technological powered immortality--how would humanity change? Dig a little deeper. Add centuries of rebooting, and a limited capacity for memory storage. Each person must choose which memories to retain into their next lifespan.
What about God...how is faith affected by immortality? How about marriage and "until death do us part"?
What happens when people forget what it's like when someone dies, and can't imagine what a child even looks like? And the concept of a father and a mother is lost to them?
How does that change humanity?
And what about the people who refuse to be rebooted. Who live on their own world, separate from the sins of rebooting--where communication to the "net" is forbidden?
And what happens when the ideology of those two beliefs collide?
All of these things seen through the eyes and felt with the heart of the main character, "Mo" short for Mohandas, a man who is much older than anyone would guess.
This is a big story. It never lets up once it starts rolling. The characters are vividly written. And it's a sweeping story. The kind that makes you say, "Damn! That was a good book!" after you reluctantly turn the last page.
Get past the slow start; this one is worth reading. Five shining stars.
There are plenty of reviews here that give a synopsis...so I won't.
The themes that Lowrie wove into his story developed layer upon layer of complexity. What seemed so simple at first--nice scifi-ish concept of rebooting people, turned into an exploration of "what if?" With the advent of a technological powered immortality--how would humanity change? Dig a little deeper. Add centuries of rebooting, and a limited capacity for memory storage. Each person must choose which memories to retain into their next lifespan.
What about God...how is faith affected by immortality? How about marriage and "until death do us part"?
What happens when people forget what it's like when someone dies, and can't imagine what a child even looks like? And the concept of a father and a mother is lost to them?
How does that change humanity?
And what about the people who refuse to be rebooted. Who live on their own world, separate from the sins of rebooting--where communication to the "net" is forbidden?
And what happens when the ideology of those two beliefs collide?
All of these things seen through the eyes and felt with the heart of the main character, "Mo" short for Mohandas, a man who is much older than anyone would guess.
This is a big story. It never lets up once it starts rolling. The characters are vividly written. And it's a sweeping story. The kind that makes you say, "Damn! That was a good book!" after you reluctantly turn the last page.
Get past the slow start; this one is worth reading. Five shining stars.
April 18, 2013
This is a great effort for a first-time author. The story pulls you in, the Characters (mostly) are alive and vibrant, and the worlds and technologies are fascinating. Lowrie gives us characters who are convinced they are still entirely and completely human, but who have made themselves gods and are incapable with dealing with the possibility of losing their godhood. We like these characters. We root for them. In a tiny way, we are even able to remove ourselves from our own mortality and hope that these characters achieve their victory over death.
He balances things well for most of the book. Really, he does. But it is also within this conflict that the first of a few minor cracks in his story begin to open. While it is certainly interesting to witness human dealing with mortality - something that we deal with daily and almost don't notice - these characters don't often deal with it well, and their obsessive panic in the face of death gets old after a while. DIE? What do you mean someone actually, really, truly, verily DIED?????
And then - and I know this is more personal and opinion based - he seems to have a quabble with feminism. He sets up the last major galatic conflict as a war instigated by feminists, a gender war, and harshly misrepresents any rational feminist viewpoints while more of less concluding that feminism is stupid. I think its a personal preference for my science fiction, but if the author insists on teaching us social lessons, I think he should at least try to hide them within the ethical dilemmas of the story and try to present the opposing case.
Other squabbles are minor and could have been fixed with a good editor, and perhaps my bigger issues could have been worked on as well.
You should read this. It is certainly worth your time and the few dollars it costs in the kindle library.
He balances things well for most of the book. Really, he does. But it is also within this conflict that the first of a few minor cracks in his story begin to open. While it is certainly interesting to witness human dealing with mortality - something that we deal with daily and almost don't notice - these characters don't often deal with it well, and their obsessive panic in the face of death gets old after a while. DIE? What do you mean someone actually, really, truly, verily DIED?????
And then - and I know this is more personal and opinion based - he seems to have a quabble with feminism. He sets up the last major galatic conflict as a war instigated by feminists, a gender war, and harshly misrepresents any rational feminist viewpoints while more of less concluding that feminism is stupid. I think its a personal preference for my science fiction, but if the author insists on teaching us social lessons, I think he should at least try to hide them within the ethical dilemmas of the story and try to present the opposing case.
Other squabbles are minor and could have been fixed with a good editor, and perhaps my bigger issues could have been worked on as well.
You should read this. It is certainly worth your time and the few dollars it costs in the kindle library.
December 6, 2012
It's interesting reading a book by someone you know personally. So with that caveat, perhaps my review cannot be completely objective. I was so struck with the ideas and concepts in this, JPL's debut sci-fi novel that I spent a lot of non-reading time thinking about them.
The book takes place in the distant future, where humans have colonized many planets and can live forever through a re-booting process. They can also buy genetic 'enhancements' like feathers or scales, etc. But the rebooting process is expensive, so people spend a 'life' - about 60 years - working as slave labor for the Corporations so they can afford their next reboot on some resort planet living it up until their next reboot.
A planet of mysterious slug-like creatures who were the cause of a massive plague that wiped out millions over many planets, may hold an even greater secret for extending life, and the main character, Mo, is roped into a quest to return to the dangerous place in hopes of capturing this secret.
Johns' beautiful prose - I found myself re-reading some sentences for the pure pleasure of them - and intelligent science makes reading this mostly testosterone-fueled story absorbing. Though I have to admit to being very disappointed in the lack of character development. Everyone seems to be just ciphers in the service of the story. No real depth to the characters at all, who mostly speak in a snarky, hipster tone, that grates after a while. This is most surprising, as JPL is a very talented actor and has spent his own lifetime creating roles and bringing characters to life on stage and film. Would have been a 5-star if not for this significant flaw.
The book takes place in the distant future, where humans have colonized many planets and can live forever through a re-booting process. They can also buy genetic 'enhancements' like feathers or scales, etc. But the rebooting process is expensive, so people spend a 'life' - about 60 years - working as slave labor for the Corporations so they can afford their next reboot on some resort planet living it up until their next reboot.
A planet of mysterious slug-like creatures who were the cause of a massive plague that wiped out millions over many planets, may hold an even greater secret for extending life, and the main character, Mo, is roped into a quest to return to the dangerous place in hopes of capturing this secret.
Johns' beautiful prose - I found myself re-reading some sentences for the pure pleasure of them - and intelligent science makes reading this mostly testosterone-fueled story absorbing. Though I have to admit to being very disappointed in the lack of character development. Everyone seems to be just ciphers in the service of the story. No real depth to the characters at all, who mostly speak in a snarky, hipster tone, that grates after a while. This is most surprising, as JPL is a very talented actor and has spent his own lifetime creating roles and bringing characters to life on stage and film. Would have been a 5-star if not for this significant flaw.
September 4, 2011
First of all, the story has nothing to do with what's written on the cover or in the praise or wherever.
It's not a bad book, but it's all about immortal people who cannot cope with the concept of mortality. Every once in a while the narrator will go on a one-page rant about "oh my god, we could lose him, really lose him, his perspective could be lost to us, he is so brave to live while knowing that he could die, not just die to be re-booted, but actually die, really die, die and not be ressurected, die, die, die" and after a while it gets pretty boring. Especially when for us, readers, it's not really such and unimaginable concept, since I too live my life knowing that at the end I will die the real death.
The narrator is funny and witty and I like him, but I didn't really want to read about him fearing the real death during 400 pages.
And those cool platents they get to go to: they're not so cool at all. I've read quite a few sf books and in those I've seen quite a few cool planets. So let me tell you that a planet where they don't re-boot, but really die at the end of their first lives, that's not really so cool. Actually that's Earth.
It's not a bad book, but it's all about immortal people who cannot cope with the concept of mortality. Every once in a while the narrator will go on a one-page rant about "oh my god, we could lose him, really lose him, his perspective could be lost to us, he is so brave to live while knowing that he could die, not just die to be re-booted, but actually die, really die, die and not be ressurected, die, die, die" and after a while it gets pretty boring. Especially when for us, readers, it's not really such and unimaginable concept, since I too live my life knowing that at the end I will die the real death.
The narrator is funny and witty and I like him, but I didn't really want to read about him fearing the real death during 400 pages.
And those cool platents they get to go to: they're not so cool at all. I've read quite a few sf books and in those I've seen quite a few cool planets. So let me tell you that a planet where they don't re-boot, but really die at the end of their first lives, that's not really so cool. Actually that's Earth.
March 13, 2014
A fresh sci-fi novel from an interesting perspective. Quite well-written and the author appears to have a good grasp of geology, which makes the descriptions refreshing and realistic. I liked the fact that the storyline included some good female characters, and actually paid attention to feminism, even if the main feminist agency was a bit first-wave and straw-feminist.
There are some good concepts in the book, which helped make it hard to put down, a very intriguing story with nice comments on society, a very hopeful book and to be honest, quite realistic in light of the current way the Internet is progressing.
The two focus planets of the story are polar opposites: one, a highly primitive non-technological planet where, out of choice, its inhabitants live in a patriarchal society devoid of advancement, the other, the only planet with alien life, so far advanced they have reached a steady state and live forever.
The main character, an Asian man named Mohandas, is well developed and it's quite pleasant to view things from his perspective.
There are some good concepts in the book, which helped make it hard to put down, a very intriguing story with nice comments on society, a very hopeful book and to be honest, quite realistic in light of the current way the Internet is progressing.
The two focus planets of the story are polar opposites: one, a highly primitive non-technological planet where, out of choice, its inhabitants live in a patriarchal society devoid of advancement, the other, the only planet with alien life, so far advanced they have reached a steady state and live forever.
The main character, an Asian man named Mohandas, is well developed and it's quite pleasant to view things from his perspective.
March 21, 2014
Another take on psychological aspects of humanity in the far future. Quite an old-fashioned piece of science fiction. I couldn't count many times I came across it and tried to avoid as much. I thought there were actions/battles and massive scopes of civilizations/races/species, but none. Instead, only humanity itself. But I have to give this book credit for a mesmerizing story telling, creative world building, but the technology is a quite flawed design (and why it's tagged as Fantasy.) Too bad, it ended when I was getting fond of Daimler, my only favorite character in the book. Also almost didn't recognize John for his voice acting for one of my favorite heroes-Storm Spirit in Dota 2. I hope he will continue to write more enjoyable and entertaining books.
March 1, 2014
I LOVED this novel. This kept me reding straight through to the end. It's an interesting take on the lives that may be lead in the future. It wasn't something I expected to really love, but I did. It had such an interesting social structure and a really revolutionary concept. My only negative comment is regarding the amount of detail in some of the setting descriptions. To me they felt unnecessary and I tended to skip over them. But they didn't take away from the story if I just skipped them. Overall, this is a must read and I was really sad for it to end. I was also surprised that the author didn't have any other novels, and this seemed to be his first one. It would be great to read other novels from him.
June 10, 2012
I don't know how I found this book, but I'm glad I did.
It was epic. Got a bit draggy around the middle, but plod through that and adventure, adventure. I loved Lowrie's long-haul concepts and themes. Rebooting, newbies, freewheeling (GATTAI! Okay, no one will get this Aquarion EVOL reference. >.>), perspectives, Draco/Pleiades, family, effects of space dilation, the reveal for Brainard's Planet.
Though I thought the blurb sounded rather tacky. ._. I'm glad I read the book first, it's a lot more elegant than that, lol.
It was epic. Got a bit draggy around the middle, but plod through that and adventure, adventure. I loved Lowrie's long-haul concepts and themes. Rebooting, newbies, freewheeling (GATTAI! Okay, no one will get this Aquarion EVOL reference. >.>), perspectives, Draco/Pleiades, family, effects of space dilation, the reveal for Brainard's Planet.
Though I thought the blurb sounded rather tacky. ._. I'm glad I read the book first, it's a lot more elegant than that, lol.
November 22, 2013
It's really hard for me to rate this book. The concept was exceptional, the ideas complex and well-researched. I don't think I've ever read the book which explored the idea of interconnectedness in quite this way. I liked Mohandas and his unique perspective. But, the story drags for a good portion of the book, Mo's interaction with other characters (except with Steel) is so limited that we didn't get to know most of them by the end of it and the ending is a bit of letdown. It's original, but the execution wasn't entirely satisfying.
June 20, 2014
The story is really entertaining, the concepts are very interesting, the storytelling is maybe a little flowery at times, but overall I think it's a great read. I have the audiobook queued up, it's read by the author John Patrick Lowrie, also a voice actor, and his wife Ellen McLain, opera singer and voice of GLaDOS in the video game Portal, as well as the AI in the film Pacific Rim. I'm really looking forward to listening to it!
January 21, 2016
A really fine effort from an Indie author, I thoroughly enjoyed it. In the fourth millenium, anyone with enough money can live indefinitely. The book deals with the implications of this, both in society and in the realm of human emotion and relationship. It becomes almost an extended meditation on mortality, with some pretty involving and poignant individual stories. Left me with a vivid sense of the brevity of our own lives as we have them now. Well worth a read.
July 9, 2012
This book was fantastic. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because it failed to deal with an issue I was really hoping it would tackle. I thought the ending was a bit anticlimactic, and there was one part that seemed unnecessarily gory. At any rate, I thought it was imaginative and compelling, and I would certainly recommend it.
September 21, 2011
A fantastic book; only two critiques - (a)it jumps around a bit and at times lacks a feeling of continuity and (b) the ending leaves a bit to be desired in terms of resolution (though I'll admit to being a sucker for drawn out endings). Still a remarkable book and highly recommended.
did-not-finish
November 20, 2013The book Is good (I've read about 30% of it) but it'a just not my cup of tea at all. Like in some other sci-fi novels characters seem to play the second fiddle to The Idea here and it's hard to care about them. After stopping for some other book I just couldn't make myself continue with this one.
November 23, 2011
Really nice story. It considers the concept of what society would be like if we technologically defeated death! How cool is that? The societal ramifications make your head spin. Well worth the read.
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