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Tiny Instruments
Tiny Instruments is an 84,000-word literary science-fiction novel set in the near future. It’s about a scientist who is so well known and respected that when he dies, the world refuses to let him go. He is genetically copied, genetically enhanced, and is continually reproduced throughout multiple generations. The book follows the fifth such reproduction, who isn’t sure whether or not he is real. The “artificial” as he is called, struggles to find his own identity through various events that go on in the research facility he is born into.
- GenresScience Fiction
402 pages, Paperback
First published July 19, 2015
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25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 26, 2015
Tiny Instruments is set in the 23rd C. when great scientists are resurrected as artificials -- not human, yet not completely machines either. It follows the life of TC5, the 5th clone of Timothy Cottard, his work as a researcher and the questions of what it means to be non-human in this future world.
Elegantly written, the story held my attention both for the vivid images it drew and for the plot that kept me asking what direction it would take next.
Elegantly written, the story held my attention both for the vivid images it drew and for the plot that kept me asking what direction it would take next.
October 20, 2015
I don't usually read books about the future, but someone told me that "Tiny Instruments" was a good read and different from others in the genre. I read it and agree that the life of "artificials' as told from Timothy's point-of-view was exceptionally interesting and charged my curiosity and enjoyment in their lives and problems. I'm tempted to tell about a particular unfortunate condition of their lives, but it would be a spoiler.
"Tiny Instruments" has an intriguing premise: the future scientific community recapturing great minds by placing their genetic material into selected young people who exist for this purpose, at least from scientists' perspective. Timothy, and the other "artificials", however, have human feelings and thoughts, thus raising the conflict.
"Tiny Instruments" is a very enjoyable book. I look forward to reading more from Mitchell Bogatz.
"Tiny Instruments" has an intriguing premise: the future scientific community recapturing great minds by placing their genetic material into selected young people who exist for this purpose, at least from scientists' perspective. Timothy, and the other "artificials", however, have human feelings and thoughts, thus raising the conflict.
"Tiny Instruments" is a very enjoyable book. I look forward to reading more from Mitchell Bogatz.
October 31, 2015
This is a funny old book.
I really liked it, but it does have a few flaws.
Essentially the core of the book is an examination of identity and humanity. We follow Timothy from his early life to middle age, and the reader is given an insight into the mind of a man who's whole life is controlled.
Bogatz's near future is well formed and the technological movement from the present is intelligent and logical. He manages to introduce day to day life without techno-babble and boring explanation. It's all very organically introduced.
The scary thing about the book is that the ideas within (dead scientific geniuses who are cloned and essentially enslaved to carry on their work) is perfectly believable. Within the sphere of the world, artificials are viewed as property rather than people and it's terrifying as you could see technology going that way.
I think the biggest thing that lets the book down is the pacing. It takes big time jumps but the end of the book seems so lumped together. Yes I can see that this was done to highlight the situation (I'm trying to avoid spoilers) but it felt rushed.
A character (who is very important) is introduced late on and I feel like more work should have been done on them. They didn't feel fully formed, and I think the author does himself a disservice as it's evident from the rest of the book that he's capable of more.
Overall though I found this compelling and enjoyable. I'd recommend it.
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PS Review. I was given a free copy via Netgalley which is by the by. BUT the formatting of the Ebook made the pacing and reading a bit off. I've assumed it's just because it's a preview copy and haven't held it against it. But wanted to mention it.
I really liked it, but it does have a few flaws.
Essentially the core of the book is an examination of identity and humanity. We follow Timothy from his early life to middle age, and the reader is given an insight into the mind of a man who's whole life is controlled.
Bogatz's near future is well formed and the technological movement from the present is intelligent and logical. He manages to introduce day to day life without techno-babble and boring explanation. It's all very organically introduced.
The scary thing about the book is that the ideas within (dead scientific geniuses who are cloned and essentially enslaved to carry on their work) is perfectly believable. Within the sphere of the world, artificials are viewed as property rather than people and it's terrifying as you could see technology going that way.
I think the biggest thing that lets the book down is the pacing. It takes big time jumps but the end of the book seems so lumped together. Yes I can see that this was done to highlight the situation (I'm trying to avoid spoilers) but it felt rushed.
A character (who is very important) is introduced late on and I feel like more work should have been done on them. They didn't feel fully formed, and I think the author does himself a disservice as it's evident from the rest of the book that he's capable of more.
Overall though I found this compelling and enjoyable. I'd recommend it.
--------------
PS Review. I was given a free copy via Netgalley which is by the by. BUT the formatting of the Ebook made the pacing and reading a bit off. I've assumed it's just because it's a preview copy and haven't held it against it. But wanted to mention it.
October 20, 2015
Tiny Instruments is an excellent read from cover to cover. The wonderfully written characters are so relatable. The story is original and compelling. This book is worth every penny!
October 20, 2017
I'm impressed. I'd been considering buying this book for a while when it became free on Amazon. It was interesting in the beginning, but I wasn't incredibly drawn in until part 3. God, that opening! It became clear to me then that Timothy's life was to mirror our own lives. From then on, it became almost a spiritual book. Also, it's beautifully written. He really has a way with words. It's really a treasure. Just don't start it unless you're going to finish it. It's really pointless to read a part of a book like this.
June 18, 2020
My favorite book ever. Brilliant narrative. Immaculate writing. Unputdownable. I cried at the ending.
October 23, 2015
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I tried so hard to like this book, I really did. Everything about this book screamed that it was right up my alley. Artificial intelligence that wants to be real. Reading the description I got a real Bicentennial Man feel and I was really excited.
Don't be fooled, this book is nothing like Bicentennial Man. And ultimately that's probably a good thing. It's unique in it's own regard, but I just wasn't picking up what Bogatz was laying down.
One of the biggest issues I felt with Tiny Instruments was that I really never felt like I cared much for Timothy, our main character, an Artificial bred and living in a research facility that is all that he knows. Perhaps this is actually a genius literary move by Bogatz where we never really have a connection with the main character because of the disconnect he has to humanity as an artificial, but if that's the case, it's a little over my head. My attachment to the characters is what keeps me reading, but in fact I had a hard time picking this book back up again after I'd put it down because I just simply did not care about Timothy's adventure.
The other thing that irritated me a little bit was that it seemed to not be consistent in what tense the story was being told in. There were times the book would read like the events had already occurred and you were being told what had happened in the past, but then suddenly a phrase would stand out that suggested you were in the present tense, and I found that a bit confusing at times. Though it didn't really negate from the story, it was a little distracting.
That being said, I still believe this piece was beautifully written, almost poetic, and I found myself pulling tons of quotes from this book that I really did enjoy, despite not necessarily being invested in the plot of the story itself. My interests did peak a bit for the latter half of the novel.
"'There are rules for artificials, but there are no rules for humans - not for things that matter. We just go around wishing and hoping, putting our love in the wrong places, forming ideas based on other people's ideas and sticking with them regardless of what happens or what we learn.'"
I appreciated the theme of humanity being flawed. Timothy doesn't care that humans aren't perfect, he just wants to have the freedom to make his own choices, and not live within a gilded cage. Though his life may not be difficult, it is not his own and Timothy knows that he is different from other artificials. This starts to make him uncomfortable. It certainly gets you thinking.
"They sat huddled over Timothy, both of them just people, deeply flawed in many ways, trying to find the right way to show their love."
When Timothy is staying in Alan's apartment and leaves on his own into the city, I feel like an opportunity was missed in exploring his thoughts and feelings about the outside world. For someone who seems so oblivious, he certainly has no hard time fitting in. He never seemed to blunder, which seemed a little unrealistic given the circumstances.
The ending of this novel felt a little abrupt to me, though I suppose we should have known that it would be right from the start. I loved that Alan found new meaning and purpose in his life, thanks to Timothy. I hated that I never really understood what happened in the end. But I think that's the point.
See, this book is not really about life or death, it's about how you choose to spend the time you have, told from the perspective of someone who doesn't have a lot of say in his. It's about logic vs. emotion, how we make decisions and how those decisions affect the intricate details of our lives.
I wouldn't pick up Tiny Instruments again, but I think I'd be interested in reading more of his work. I appreciate the voice telling the story.
I tried so hard to like this book, I really did. Everything about this book screamed that it was right up my alley. Artificial intelligence that wants to be real. Reading the description I got a real Bicentennial Man feel and I was really excited.
Don't be fooled, this book is nothing like Bicentennial Man. And ultimately that's probably a good thing. It's unique in it's own regard, but I just wasn't picking up what Bogatz was laying down.
One of the biggest issues I felt with Tiny Instruments was that I really never felt like I cared much for Timothy, our main character, an Artificial bred and living in a research facility that is all that he knows. Perhaps this is actually a genius literary move by Bogatz where we never really have a connection with the main character because of the disconnect he has to humanity as an artificial, but if that's the case, it's a little over my head. My attachment to the characters is what keeps me reading, but in fact I had a hard time picking this book back up again after I'd put it down because I just simply did not care about Timothy's adventure.
The other thing that irritated me a little bit was that it seemed to not be consistent in what tense the story was being told in. There were times the book would read like the events had already occurred and you were being told what had happened in the past, but then suddenly a phrase would stand out that suggested you were in the present tense, and I found that a bit confusing at times. Though it didn't really negate from the story, it was a little distracting.
That being said, I still believe this piece was beautifully written, almost poetic, and I found myself pulling tons of quotes from this book that I really did enjoy, despite not necessarily being invested in the plot of the story itself. My interests did peak a bit for the latter half of the novel.
"'There are rules for artificials, but there are no rules for humans - not for things that matter. We just go around wishing and hoping, putting our love in the wrong places, forming ideas based on other people's ideas and sticking with them regardless of what happens or what we learn.'"
I appreciated the theme of humanity being flawed. Timothy doesn't care that humans aren't perfect, he just wants to have the freedom to make his own choices, and not live within a gilded cage. Though his life may not be difficult, it is not his own and Timothy knows that he is different from other artificials. This starts to make him uncomfortable. It certainly gets you thinking.
"They sat huddled over Timothy, both of them just people, deeply flawed in many ways, trying to find the right way to show their love."
When Timothy is staying in Alan's apartment and leaves on his own into the city, I feel like an opportunity was missed in exploring his thoughts and feelings about the outside world. For someone who seems so oblivious, he certainly has no hard time fitting in. He never seemed to blunder, which seemed a little unrealistic given the circumstances.
The ending of this novel felt a little abrupt to me, though I suppose we should have known that it would be right from the start. I loved that Alan found new meaning and purpose in his life, thanks to Timothy. I hated that I never really understood what happened in the end. But I think that's the point.
See, this book is not really about life or death, it's about how you choose to spend the time you have, told from the perspective of someone who doesn't have a lot of say in his. It's about logic vs. emotion, how we make decisions and how those decisions affect the intricate details of our lives.
I wouldn't pick up Tiny Instruments again, but I think I'd be interested in reading more of his work. I appreciate the voice telling the story.
November 8, 2015
I thought Tiny Instruments was a touching read, one that was very gracefully written. Personally, I thought it was one of the best works of fiction I've read in a long time. I will say this warning though - it is NOT commercial fiction. It's more of a beautiful look at humanity than it is an excuse to write about a series of subsequent explosions. That said, the plot moved forward at a steady pace (especially after Chapter Twenty-Six, The End of an Era - Part 1: Liars), and I always found Timothy's story to be both touching and compelling. It's a story that forces you to think.
November 5, 2015
Mitchell Bogatz has a sentimental tale of a future where geniuses are cloned, but remain property. The fifth Timothy Cottard is remarkable smart. We meet him as a teenager when he tries to escape and learns that his body will poison itself at forty. In the last year of his life he meets a lab assistant Alan Turner who works with him on his final project of nanotech Tiny Instruments (paper from Publicity) and then helps him escape to the real world for his final six months. This will bring a tear or two.Review printed by Philadelphia Weekly Press
November 3, 2015
In this engaging futuristic novel, Bogatz's elegant prose reverberates throughout and his philosophical asides add an extra dimension to the plot. Characters are well-developed and relatable, even though they are "not quite human" due to scientific adjustments. Great concept, well done.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews