Architects of Emortality

Emortality #4

by Brian M. Stableford

Brian Stableford launched an ambitious future history series with Inherit the Earth , to widespread praise. "Stableford has created in this novel a totally believable world, and wrapped it around a series of mysterious events, surprise revelations, double crosses, confused motivations, rumors, lies, plots, and counterplots. . . . Tightly controlled and suspenseful throughout," said Science Fiction Chronicle.

Library Journal said, "The ethical questions posed by the prospect of conquering the aging process underscore this fast-paced SF adventure, adding depth to a story that will appeal to fans of high-tech SF and conspiracy theories." This future world is a complex society obsessed with the technology of life extension and on the brink of creating true immortals.

Now, in Architects of Emortality , Stableford gives us a story set hundreds of years in the future, filled with people who can hope for 300-year lifespans and a fortunate few whose lives will be in the thousands of years. This society is on the edge of radical change, where people have the time to develop eccentric lifestyles and personal obsessions, a world sometimes reminiscent of the distant future of Michael Moorcock's Dancers at the End of Time series. And there has been a series of murders that threaten the future stability of the world, murders executed by bioengineered flowers. Police officers Watson and Holmes investigate, but the central figure quickly becomes the amateur detective Oscar Wilde, a student of history who has taken on the persona of his namesake. And the question is not so much who the murderer is, but how and why.

Filled with memorable characters and powerful and striking images of the richly altered world of the future, Architects of Emortality is a satisfying and complete story that also adds depth and detail to the evolving series.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Mystery

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Brian Michael Stableford was a British science fiction writer who published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford. He also used the pseudonym Brian Craig for a couple of very early works, and again for a few more recent works. The pseudonym derives from the first names of himself and of a school friend from the 1960s, Craig A. Mackintosh, with whom he jointly published some very early work.

Reviews

[Forsythia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εξαιρετική νουβέλα, οι τεχνολογίες που αναλύει και προβλέπει είναι λογικές και αναμφίβολα ενδιαφέρουσες σύμφωνα με την πορεία επιστημονικής εξέλιξης της ανθρωπότητας. Αρκετά αποσπάσματα του βιβλίου σου δίνουν τροφή για σκέψη και έμπνευση, καθώς σε κάνουν να ονειροπολείς κατασκευάζοντας πιθανές εκφάνσεις του ανθρώπινου μέλλοντος. Μου αρέσουν τα κλασικά μυθιστορήματα, οπότε οι αναφορές σε ήρωες γνωστών βιβλίων του παρελθόντος ήταν μια ευχάριστη προσθήκη στη φουτουριστική αυτή ιστορία.

[ΑΝΝΑ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ο βλαστός και τα φύλλα του θαυμαστού φυτού ήταν καταπράσινα,όμως τα πέταλα σε κάθε άνθος ήταν κατάμαυρα. Το κέρινο στίγμα στο κέντρο κάθε καλυκα ήταν βαθυκοκκινο και είχε την μορφή αιγυπτιακού σταυρού"
114 σελίδες.
Μια ανάγνωση δεν φτανει.
Δεν είναι μόνο ο καλλιτέχνης δολοφόνος,που έχει κάνει τον τέλειο φόνο,σε μια φουτουριστική εποχή που ο προμελετημένο φόνος έχει σχεδόν εξαλείψει.
Δεν είναι μονο η αστυνομικός που αμφισβητεί τον εν δυνάμει ναρκισσο ύποπτο,που εν τέλει αναγκάζεται να συνεργαστεί μαζί του.
Είναι όλα τα θέματα που θίγει γύρω γύρω.
Είναι η εικόνα που έχει πλάσει στο μυαλό του ο Στεημπλφορντ για το μέλλον και όλες τις δυνατότητες που θα μπορούσαν να πέσουν στο τραπέζι.
Και τελικά ,σε αυτές τις 114 μόλις σελίδες,γυρνάς προς τα πίσω να χωνέψεις τι διάβασες (μια σόδα μονο δεν φτανει) και τελειώνοντας λες "Τι Mindfuck ήταν αυτο? Πρέπει να το ξαναδιαβάσω" . Εγώ τουλάχιστον,που έχω κάνει το μυαλό πουρέ απο τα νυχτέρια.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in March 2001.

In most trilogies, each novel continues more or less directly from the previous one, with many of the same characters. There is, however, a lengthy gap between Inherit the Earth and Architects of Emortality. In this time, big advances have been made in the use of microscopic robots (nanotech) and genetic manipulation of embryos to increase the human lifespan. Everyone can expect to live two or three hundred years, and this has brought huge changes.

Like Inherit the Earth, this novel is a murder mystery, with very old men being killed by genetically engineered flowers delivered by a beautiful young woman (even by the standards of a time when body image and facial appearance are changed according to fashion). The motives for the murders lie deep in the past, when most of the victims worked on some aspect of the research which moulded the world imagined by Stableford, making them "architects of emortality".

The tone is lighter than in the earlier novel, with little jokes like the names of the investigating police officers, Holmes and Watson., It doesn't have the sense of significance of Inherit the Earth, either. The plot is more important, though the setting is still interesting. The earlier novel is better, but this is still a highly readable piece of speculation.

[Elmer Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit I like Sci-Fi books, normally.

This one not so much. (I did not know that this was book #4 of a series by Stableford. I don't, however, think that the first three would improve my thoughts on this outing.)

AoE posits several efforts to increase our mortal longevity, to varying results. Too much time is wasted in between scenes explaining the body types remaining/preferred in the future or what happens after the third rejuvenation; or skinsuit types, or how no one is born naturally; or ironically, how the new immortals are now called "Naturals." Yet nothing connective to believe how/why the world turned out this way, just that is did. More esoteric posturing about how once we solve immortality, everyone remaining will be mature, death will become irrelevant, and we bring death back as an artform.

The placement of the crime(s) occurs nearly 500 years in our future. The characters we get to tag along with are pale imitations of their original historical namesakes from the 17th/19th/20th centuries: Oscar Wilde, Holmes, Watson, Rappacini, Gustave Moreau. But they are flat and boring, bringing nothing new or interesting. Not even stereotypical tropes, just flat. Only two women populate this story: unfortunately, one is a worrisome excuse for a law enforcement officer that contributes zero to the solution, while trying to "keep up with the boys" and the other is the mindless vessel for the targeted executions. Neither were given the chance to excel within the story or as characters.

For this being a mystery, nothing remotely comes across as interesting in the investigative process, if one could call this story an investigation. It was more like the backlot tour at Universal, taking a slow moving tram through crime scenes of murdered old folks by means of genetically coded plants (which was the only original and bright spot.)

The story uses a few futuristic terms (sloth, silver, vidveg, comcon, etc) that one gets the gist of, with their actual explanation/definition falling beyond halfway through the story. There are other worldly processes/events that are earmarked within the story that are causal to the scientific efforts intended. But the tale was rather linear and uninteresting. I kept hoping for more action like the police from Minority Report, the pre-cogs, or something.

Instead, the story was filled with historical banter from Hal Watson to Charlotte Holmes about the meanings of poetry or people long since dead, or how "so advanced we are" that we can't even break through a video voice mail to warn a citizen of impending doom. Rather lackluster.

The grand finale was underwhelming, the precursor to the ending was a failed attempt at grandeur. The mystery wasn't really a mystery and the underlying plot contrived to cause all of the disturbance was for people already knocking on death's door. Nothing surprising was revealed, no real twists, even with the author forcing the reader to not see the bad guy as worthy, who you think is the bad guy turns out to still be the bad guy, if only for a preceding criminal? effort. Nothing spoiled because if you read this, it is spelled out, early and often.

Near the end, there is even a blatant bastardization of original early sci-fi for shock effect and passed off as futuristic art. If one cannot improve on a theme, why waste the time? Just cite the better work and move on.

Not recommending this one, Thanks for Reading

[Justin Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the strictest sense, Architects of Emortality by Brian Stableford is a whodunit. Its premise a relatively simple one. In the twenty-fifth century where death is rare and murder rarer, a long lived, famous, and influential architect has been murdered. And while that may sound mundane for a science fiction story, it is the manner of weapon which draws the attention of the U.N. World Police and a powerful cabal of Capitalists derisively known as MegaMall: flowers. Flowers that have been discovered to be genetically engineer to implant itself within their specific host anddevour the flesh, leaving behind only a skeleton intertwined with black flowers, delivered with a kiss by a femme fatale. And yet the story is more than a mere whodunit. The story touches upon the theme of creativity repressed leading to regret versus creativity unbounded by conventional norms. Upon themes of what does it mean to be a human being that can live--through the use of nanotechnology and rejuvenation treatments—about two hundred and forty years before their minds decay due to the treatment among the next generation of human beings tha have been genetically engineered as an embryo to live indefinitely. In short to live knowing one is obsolete due to mere chance. In many ways, this story is not so much a whodunit, but a whyhedunit. And regardless if one agrees with or disagrees with the suggested motive for the murder, it is very captivating nonetheless.

[Joey Brockert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover does no justice to the story: it has nothing to do with or represents any scene from the book.
The story is a murder mystery set in the far future. People can live for two hundred years with nanotech stuff, but there has been a recent improvement, and now the age limit is unknown. The people who are killed are one hundred ninety three or four years old and due to kick the bucket soon anyway. That becomes the most intriguing part of the mystery: why kill some nearly dead people anyway? Whoever is doing it will probably outlive them.
Another part is the names of the cops on the case, Sergeant Holmes and Ins. Watson. It is something that is lost on no one, even if there has been a rift between now and then, and a lot of history has been lost. There is almost at every turn some mention of the 'gay 90's' era of the last century. Oscar Wilde is part of the team, and books or poems are referred to relentlessly. It gets to be that I felt like I was not really following the story because I was not conversant in these literary allusions.
But I did enjoy reading this book. It was interesting and the murder, while not solved completely, like a lot of them are: who, what, why, where, when, and how are all spelled out finally; it did make you feel the result was what was presented.

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four centuries hence the Earth is starkly divided between Naturals, who are for all intents and purposes immortal, and the merely nano-enhanced, who may live for a few centuries. Into this world where crime is rather rare, a series of strange murders is in process. The first, of a well-known flower geneticist, was by an altered flower which infested and killed him. Smelling a break from routine, detective Charlotte Holmes is called in. The flowers were designed by another artiste named Oscar Wilde, a pompous gene genius, who believes the murders somehow involve him indirectly. The other party called in is the mysterious Michael Lowenthal, a Natural who is probably a representative of the upper echelons. His presence signifies bad news to Charlotte. As the list of murders lengthens it seems all the victims attended Wollongong university in the same years, so a connection has been made. Video also shows a very similar looking woman in each location. When the investigators have their car rammed it becomes personal and a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues. But why would somebody collect on a grudge 191 years old? Brian Stableford sets up the mystery nicely and follows it through with a minimum of rabbits out of hats. Filled with clues and illegal genetic experiments by a Moreau (not an accident) the ironies abound. Part of a series but can be read alone. Good stuff.

[K. Blaha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note: in this review, I mostly limit comments to the intro and first chapter (65 pages in this case). This review and other sci-fi reviews at my home page.

Rating: 1.5/5 stars

Architects of Emortality by Brian Stableford is the fourth book of the Emortality series and my first Stableford book. I am still unclear on the significance of “emortal” versus “immortal”, but otherwise, the book stood alone without reading the first three books. Architects of Emortality is set in the late 2400s. Life can be extended via technology, but for most, 200 years is roughly the limit. Due to a recent technological advancements, the next generation may be immortal, but only those treated before birth can partake. The book opens with a murder and the subsequent investigation of that murder.

Architects of Emortality had interesting world-building and intriguing ideas, but it had three big flaws: 1) the characters were flat and uninteresting, 2) the language was distracting, and 3) the female roles flat-out sucked. Not every sci-fi reader cares as much about character development as I do; if you enjoy big worlds with far-reaching ideas, this may very well be a book you will enjoy. For me, it felt out-of-date though it’s only from 1999.

The book opens with investigator Charlotte Holmes at the scene of Gabriel King’s murder. His murder is unusual; murders are uncommon in this future, and King has been consumed by flowers clean down to the bone. Video shows that a beautiful young woman visited just before the murder, bearing unusual flowers. Holmes, the protagonist, is a young sergeant and assistant to Hal Watson, who investigates from afar using the resources of the web. A minor spoiler: Holmes does nothing but fret about her limits as an investigator; she travels and observes but never acts. Her uselessness fuels complaints #1 and #3, above. Stableford draws attention to the fact that she is Charlotte Holmes by having a Watson. A famously clever investigator’s name suggests that Holmes will be at the center of solving the murder mystery, and that she will be clever. Neither is true. Most of the insights come from Oscar Wilde, a flamboyant flower designer with ties to the murder who travels with Holmes during the investigation. Holmes is an appendage to whom Wilde muses.

Other than Holmes, the only significant woman in the book is the murderess. We learn little about her; she is beautiful and young and acting on the behalf of someone else. All other significant characters are men; they are mostly experts of various kinds. Where Holmes is insecure and a hard-nosed investigator and little else, Oscar Wilde enjoys 19th century literature, designs flowers, and is beautiful, vain, and eccentric. He has opinions about everything, and he likes to make people uncomfortable with those opinions. He is better characterized than Holmes, but still a bit flat. If I imagined a future botanist version based on my thin knowledge of 19th century Oscar Wilde, this Oscar Wilde is about what I’d imagine. But he is still infinitely more rich than Holmes.

That pretty well covers my first and third complaints about the book. Finally, I found the language in this book excessively self-aware, and at times plain obnoxious. Instead of engaging in the story, I was rolling my eyes at word choice. I dog-eared the worst example from about halfway through the book (not a spoiler):

“I saw it,” Charlotte said wearily. “Was there something significant I should have taken note of?” She knew that she ought not to end sentences with prepositions, but thought that the stress of the situation made the infelicity forgivable.

This occurs immediately after the characters have had a brush with death. Not only is the preposition rule a garbage grammar rule cribbed from Latin, who cares at such a time? The quote above is just the most egregious example of pompous language undercutting the impact of events in the book. Only one line of dialogue earlier she is described as “profoundly shaken.” Also, to describe near-death as “infelicity”… I had to put the book down for a bit.

On a final positive note, the ideas in the book are rich and passionate, which is why I gave it 1.5 instead of 1 stars. These ideas include longevity technology, artistic expression, bio-engineering, what a far-reaching future might look like, and how people might find identity in a far future. It also explored how people handle death, how the media might look in a distant future, what our current tendencies toward oligarchy might lead to, what a crime might be in the future, and what nature might be in the future. Truly, it covers a lot of bases conceptually. But for me, it was on the back of lackluster characters with distracting language. I felt that the author cared far more about the concepts than his vehicles for breathing life into them. The useless female characters also damaged the sense of futurism; an avid fan of classic sci-fi learns to forgive empty doe-eyed ladies in 60s novels, but in a novel written in 1999 that’s just too much. I won’t be looking for Stableford in my reading future.

[Mark Edlund · Rating 1 out of 5]

Science fiction - didn't like it, didn't get it, will not read any other books in the series. Supposedly a murder mystery where the crimes are committed by genetically modified flowers I felt myself beat over the head the segues about morality, Oscar Wilde and Beaudelaire.
No Canadian or pharmacy references.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5⭐
Ωραίο, σύντομο, αστυνομικό/ μυστηρίου επιστημονικής φαντασίας (πολύ μπροστά για την εποχή που κυκλοφόρησε) που εμπλέκει πολύπλοκα νοήματα ζωής και θανάτου, φθοράς και αφθαρσίας. Με κούρασε λίγο προς το τέλος. Σίγουρα δεν φτάνει μόνο μια ανάγνωση για να πιάσεις τα νοήματα.

[Alexander Theofanidis · Rating 4 out of 5]

(ελληνική κριτική μετά τους αστερίσκους)

Brian Stableford, known for his philosophical reflection through not particularly soft science fiction, returns with Architects of Emortality, a work that combines the detective mystery with the nature of immortality. Although the novel is part of a broader narrative concerning the “science of life extension,” it stands quite well on its own and offers a deep meditation on humanity’s future.

The plot is set in a future society where biotechnology has nearly eradicated death from natural causes, making murder an absurd anomaly. It is precisely this irrationality that fuels the tension of the narrative. Thus, a puzzle is created that is both existential and criminological.

Stableford’s writing is intelligent and rich in ideas. He uses the mystery narrative not only to maintain the reader’s attention but also to explore concepts such as identity, life’s purpose, and the ethical cost of emortality (non-mortality, as the series is aptly named). In this context, the storytelling takes on an almost philosophical character. It’s not just a “whodunnit” and a “probablythebutler” but rather a whatdoesitmeantobehuman?

Although the character development may not always match the depth of the ideas presented, the book compensates for this shortcoming with the impressive imagination Stableford uses to build his world — a world that is convincing, complex, and eerily plausible.

Conclusion: Architects of Emortality is a demanding (despite its short length) yet captivating read that rewards those who seek the more contemplative side of science fiction. While it may not appeal to those looking purely for action or emotional attachment (try James S.A. Corey if you want to bond with characters — you’ll survive), it’s a book that will linger in the reader’s thoughts for a long time. I don’t know, time flies.


* * * * *


Ο Brian Stableford, γνωστός για τον φιλοσοφικό του στοχασμό μέσα από την όχι ιδιαίτερα soft επιστημονική φαντασία, επανέρχεται με το Architects of Emortality, ένα έργο που συνδυάζει το αστυνομικό μυστήριο με τη φύση της αθανασίας. Το μυθιστόρημα, αν και μέρος ενός ευρύτερου αφηγήματος γύρω από την "επιστήμη της επιμήκυνσης της ζωής", στέκεται αρκετά αυτόνομα (τόσο, που οι εκδόσεις ΤΡΙΤΩΝ αποφάσισαν στην Ελλάδα να το εκδώσουν μόνο του, έτσι) και προσφέρει έναν βαθύ στοχασμό πάνω στο μέλλον της ανθρωπότητας.

Η πλοκή τοποθετείται σε μια κοινωνία του μέλλοντος όπου η βιοτεχνολογία έχει σχεδόν εξαλείψει τον θάνατο από φυσικά αίτια, κάτι που καθιστά τη δολοφονία εξωφρενική παραφωνία. Ακριβώς αυτός ο παραλογισμός τροφοδοτεί την ένταση της αφήγησης. Δημιουργείται, λοιπόν, ένα παζλ που είναι ταυτόχρονα υπαρξιακό και εγκληματολογικό.

Η γραφή του Stableford είναι ευφυής και πλούσια σε ιδέες. Χρησιμοποιεί την αφήγηση μυστηρίου όχι μόνο για να διατηρήσει την προσοχή του αναγνώστη, αλλά και για να εξερευνήσει έννοιες όπως η ταυτότητα, ο σκοπός της ζωής και το ηθικό κόστος της emortality (η "μη-θνησιμότητα", έτσι ονομάζεται άλλωστε η σειρά). Σε αυτό το πλαίσιο, η αφήγηση αποκτά σχεδόν φιλοσοφικό χαρακτήρα. Δεν είναι απλώς ένα «ποιοσδιαολοτοκανε» και «μάλλονομπάτλερ», αλλά ένα τιστοκαλοσημαινεινασαιανθρωπος;

Παρότι η σκιαγράφηση των χαρακτήρων ίσως δεν έχει πάντα το ίδιο βάθος με τις ιδέες που παρουσιάζονται, το βιβλίο αντισταθμίζει αυτό το μειονέκτημα με την εντυπωσιακή φαντασία με την οποία χτίζει τον κόσμο του ο Stableford, ένα κόσμος πειστικό, περίπλοκο και ανατριχιαστικά πιθανό.

Συμπέρασμα: Το Architects of Emortality είναι ένα απαιτητικό (παρά το μικρό του μέγεθος), αλλά συναρπαστικό ανάγνωσμα που ανταμείβει όσους αποζητούν την πιο στοχαστική πλευρά της επιστημονικής φαντασίας. Αν και ίσως δεν συγκινήσει όσους αναζητούν μόνο δράση ή έντονη συναισθηματική ταύτιση (δοκιμάστε James S.A. Corey για να δεθείτε με τους χαρακτήρες, δε θα πάθετε κάτι), είναι ένα βιβλίο που θα μείνει στη σκέψη του αναγνώστη για καιρό. Δεν ξέρω, ο καιρός περνάει γρήγορα.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

25th century murder mystery.
A major preoccupation of future humanity is the struggle against old age and death. The attempt to live forever through the use of nanotech rejuvenation failed. Now there's a promising new technique but it must be performed on the embryo. Too late if you've already been born, but the next generation may live forever.
This is the setting for a series of bizarre murders targeting a group of old men who seem to have nothing in common.
There's nothing on the cover about this being number 4 in a series. If I had known, I probably would have held off, but I felt like the book was able to stand on its own.
By the author of The Empire of Fear

[Dev Null · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is such a thing as being too self-aware.

In the final pages of this book, one of the main characters thinks "If only she had been able to play a more active part..."

Funny; thats exactly what I was thinking.

This is an intriguing book, full of big ideas, but very little actually _happens_ in it. Our proxies in the tale, the main POV characters, essentially trail passively along being told things. So as a reader I also feel passive and uninvolved in the tale. Of course, as the reader of a book, I _am_ passive, but that doesn't mean I want to _feel_ passive. Basically, Stableford has created an interesting future, and some interesting characters, but he hasn't managed to tell a story with them.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

An installment in the future-history revised from his collaboration THE THIRD MILLENIUM. Charlotte HOLMES and Hal WATSON pursue a bizarre series of murders in a world where murder is vanishing, with the Hardinist Cabal looking over their shoulders, and the assistance -- whether they want it or not -- of the mad(ish) geneticist Oscar Wilde (his real name). It is Wilde who will grab the reader's attention as he races to unravel the scheme replete with references to decadent literature and real "fleurs de mal".

[Dark-Draco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent SF - an author I have heard of but never read. A murder mystery with a difference - what a way to go - your flesh consumed by flowers. I was hooked straight away and finished this off in a about three days. The only reason that it didn't get a higher rating was that I'm still not 100% sure I understand all the motive stuff - I liked the story and how it was written a lot, but some of the other stuff needs some thinking about. I can see where it was going though.

[Ελάρης Ελάρης · Rating 4 out of 5]

Αστυνομικό sci-fi με αμέτρητες λογοτεχνικές αναφορές όπως φαίνεται ήδη από τον μποντλερικό τίτλο του και τα ονόματα των πρωταγωνιστών Όσκαρ Ουάιλντ και Σάρλοτ Χολμς (μεταξύ άλλων). Το 4ο βιβλίο μιας άτυπης εξαλογίας, παρόλα αυτά το μόνο από τα 6 που κυκλοφόρησε ποτέ στα ελληνικά. 114 σελίδες, ποιητικά καλογραμμένο, κάνει μικρή κοιλιά κάπου στη μέση αλλά το τέλος αποζημιώνει. Ιδανικό για καλοκαίρι, αλλα όχι επιφανειακό. Ενδείκνυται για πολλαπλές αναγνώσεις.