Circuit of Heaven

Circuit of Heaven #1

by Dennis Danvers

“A haunting novel that will make readers wonder.” Orlando Sentinel Nemo's mother and father left him behind to enter "the Bin"—joining twelve billion uploaded personalities who live in crime-free, disease-free and deathless virtual societies. Nemo has come of age on a dangerous, near-deserted planet populated by a handful of religious fundamentalists and rebels, the creeps and the crazies. Now he is twenty-one. And on a rare, reluctant visit to the parents who abandoned flesh and son for cyber-utopia, Nemo has met the perfect a new Bin arrival named Justine, a beautiful pop singer who dreams other people's dreams in the virtual night. Now an inconvenient attraction is leading two lovers into a perilous mire of irreversible choice. For Justine has no body to return to. And Nemo the renegade has sworn never to sacrifice his own; to live, age, and die instead in a bleak earthly hell. Because, as an outsider, he may enter the Bin for short periods of time. But if he ever decides to stay...there will be no way out again. “EARTHLY AND SPIRITUAL DELIGHTS AROUND… DENNIS DANVERS'S MOVE TO SF IS A WELCOME ONE." Washington Post "A wild ride." Details "Danvers isn't exactly a household name in SF circles... CIRCUIT OF HEAVEN may change that." Locus

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Novels, Unfinished

312 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 1998

Reviews

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are. And thou sayest, How doth God know? Can he judge through the dark cloud? Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven." pg 14

Humanity has created a computer program that can contain a person's soul within its code. The programmers have made a new world — one without disease, violence or hunger, where those who leave their bodies behind and enter it, can live forever.

Prior to this breakthrough, programmers learned how to implant portions of people's personalities into biological bodies, to work as laborers and earn money for the ultimate project of building the new paradise. They called these creations, "constructs".

Not everyone, including some leftover constructs, have chosen to take advantage of this "heaven" and entered the program. Religious fundamentalists and those who have other objections to entering have remained behind. However, society has broken down without the leaders, who entered the program along with billions of other souls. Food is hard to come by and wild packs of dogs roam the streets.

Nemo, for reasons he can't totally explain even to himself, has chosen not to enter the program (commonly called 'the Bin') to be with his parents. But on a recent visit, he meets a beautiful woman and his life will never be the same.

Justine is a recent arrival to the Bin. But her memories are confused and she can't remember where she has been for the past few weeks. Is it a programming error or indicative of a bigger problem with the Bin itself?

There were scare stories about people going into the Bin and breaking up like a virtual in a thunderstorm, that there were flaws in the crystalline structure of the Bin, and you could find yourself in nightmarish worlds that made no sense, completely alone." pgs 12-13

I enjoyed the science fiction portions of this story and contemplating the power that humanity could one day potentially wield over life and death. With computers advancing the way they are, it's not too hard to imagine that someone someday will figure out how to code a personality or soul. And that raises a whole host of other questions, doesn't it.

What about the psychological effects of everything you could ever want being available at the touch of a button? What does it mean when a mother can program herself to look younger than her children? And what about children in a world without death? Should babies be uploaded immediately into the Bin or programmed from pure code without ever having existed in the real world?

The dilemmas go on and on. Beyond considering the hypothetical moral questions, I had a few problems with this book.

The characterizations were weak. A few of the major plot twists were clear well before they happened. But there was one, a big one, that I didn't expect and it was pretty messed up. Then, the characters just seemed to get over it and move on. They had a few conversations and that was that. To be honest, it took me awhile longer. (No spoilers, but if you read this one, I'm certain you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.)

Then the ending, when it came, was too rushed, which was rather a shame. So, that's why I gave this a middling review. The premise was fantastic. Then it devolved into a so-so science fiction.

[Bart Everson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always been intrigued by the idea of immortality. Who wants to grow old and die? Therefore I was impressed by the fact that, in Circuit of Heaven, Mr. Danvers succeeds in portraying a vision of immortality that is downright repulsive.

In this future world, humanity has largely downloaded itself to a virtual reality, a Matrix-like cybernetic environment called "the Bin," where everyone can live forever. The protagonist, Nemo, is a young man who rejects society's move to the Bin, and prefers to stay behind in the real world, now inhabited mostly by fundamentalist Christians.

I was emotionally convinced by Nemo's principled refusal of the Bin. Through his eyes, we see the Bin as a realm of claustrophobic denial and stultifying artifice. The Bin is a symbol of a society that is decadent, corrupt and complacent; Nemo is the idealistic rebel who refuses to go along with the herd. The Bin is hell, but Nemo is on the side of the angels.

The novel is fast-paced, fun and easy to read, and seems to have a classic story hook: Nemo falls in love with a woman who exists only in the Bin. There are several overt references to Romeo and Juliet, and so I steeled myself for a tragic conclusion.

SPOILER ALERT: I can't voice the main objection of my review without giving away the ending, so please don't read on if that sort of thing bothers you. The author seems to have chickened out, or perhaps been bullied by his publisher. The tragic ending which seems so clearly intimated earlier in the book never materializes. That's fine; I like happy endings. But this conclusion is only superficially happy. Nemo abandons all his objections and downloads himself into the Bin to be with the woman he loves! If you were convinced, as was I, by Nemo's initial rejection of the Bin, then you can't accept this reversal. It seems that Nemo simply "sells out," which is perhaps tragedy in itself, but the author doesn't seem to realize it.

I believe this author has committed an unforgivable sin: the betrayal of both the reader's trust and the integrity of his own story.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love my dystopian futures, and Circuit of Heaven is a good, novel one, because while there are still a few hold-outs in the rapidly degrading world, most people have been "uploaded" to a new world that's practically perfect in every way. The center story of this novel is the love story of Nemo and Justine, but I found myself way more interested in the various side characters and how they dealt with the strange dual nature of the world.

[Petalbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking. And you thought that scifi couldn't be emotional.

[o · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best science fiction novels I've read in quite some time. Left me with a lot to ponder about, writing was absolutely fantastic.

[LouLou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who's spent a lot of time on the net must wonder, "What if I could just crawl in and stay there? Jump from site to site? Be finally and totally virtual myself?" That's almost what this story is like. In the future, the "real world" is full of disease, crime, starvation, etc. You know, the typical Mad Max kind of stuff. But. There's a new answer in the "bin." You get yourself, minus your body, uploaded into the bin and live there, forever. No sickness. No crime. No aging. Anything you want. None of it is real, but once you're in you can't tell the difference.

It's a love story, but there's a lot of science and intrigue, excellent character development, some surprises. Although some of the stuff you can see coming.

The book is well-written, and reaches a good balance between in the bin and in the real world, in the present and in the past, what's mysterious and what's real. The story itself does require some concentration and it took me quite awhile to actually visualize what the bin was and where it was.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romantic SciFi set in a world after most of the residents have left to load themselves into a virtual eternity. If any of that sounds interesting to you then you should give Circuit to Heaven a try.

Complicated and thought provoking. This has been one of my favorite books for years. I absolutely love it.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg! I finally found this book. I read it multiple times years ago and either lent it out or lost it??! Probably former ... amazing. Finally searched right key words and found the title. So good!

[Sanuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a science fiction novel with a love story. Two concepts are explored: the virtual world and constructs which are living being made up of fragments of memories and personalities of a few human beings.

Nemo lives in the real world while his parent and most of the population of earth is now living in the "Bin", a virtual world where people have downloaded themselves for eternity. The real world is harsh but Nemo does not want to go to the virtual world as it does not seem real to him. However meeting a woman on the other side is about to change all that or will it? You have to read the book to know the answer.

[Sammy Kohli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one had all the elements to be a fantastic read: A great sci-fi concept, great characters, a mystery, and a bucketload of ethical and existential dilemmas.

Unfortunately, towards the end the story turns into a fairly simple thriller: will boy make it in time to be with girl forever? All the really interesting dilemmas are left undeveloped. As a result the book ends up being just a fun read when it promised being a mindblowing read.

[Tasula · Rating 5 out of 5]

SF story where a virtual world is created, and people can transfer their minds to live there- never (mentally) dying. Meanwhile, a group of devout people who consider the virtual world ungodly, live on in the depleted earth. Hero's parents moved to the virtual world, leaving him behind with a caretaker. He resents them and their world, until he falls in love.

[Jessica Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book several times in the past 20 years and always enjoy it when I do. Obviously since this was written in the 90's there are some technical advances that the author missed but I think he does a good job talking about the dilemma of a digital paradise.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

please see my review for End of Days, which basically includes discussion of both books.

[Tyler Bladyka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who loves random cyberpunk nonsense? I do! this was fun, readable, nothing special. Cool concept which is all I really need.

[Andrea Balfour · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this one on my bookshelves for so long, I thought I had already read it. But no. Lol. I'm glad I took the time. It's about a futuristic society in which most people download TV heir identities and their real bodies are cremated to rid the world of waste and death and disease and crime. But there are the religious that disagree and choose to stay "out" to wait for the rapture. I thought I had the ending figured out. I never think that. Thankfully it turns out I was wrong. It was a well developed story with interesting concepts to consider.

[Derek Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I ever read in my life.

When I was kid, I picked up this book, and it make me think about a lot of things. I think that everyone should read it. Those that would like to live in a virtual world to live forever should read this.

A story that brings sci-fi and romance together.

It helps you ponder not just living forever, but in what form and how you would want to live forever.

[Juan Sanmiguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the future one can download oneself into a computer and live in a virtual world called the Bin. Nemo refuses to enter this world until he meets Justine at his parents Bin home. Although she has a great secret we she is not aware of. Its a love story mainly. Some aspect of the ramifications of the Bin were not thoroughly explored in my opinion. Pretty good overall.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful references to Richmond that locals can appreciate. However, the main character seems to ditch his moral code about 3/4 through the book for very little reason. There is no clear “good guy” in this book and the most of the characters are depressed. My favorite part of this book is the two distinct worlds that the author builds creating a mortal earth and eternal purgatory dichotomy.

[Lukas · Rating 3 out of 5]

DnF at 42%.

Just didn’t capture me like I thought it would. I was not able to focus on the story as much as I would have liked. I found the characters (besides the protagonist) to be dry and hollow, just convenient set pieces for Nemo’s inner conflicts.

[J.A.]

NoveList Plus gives it this read alike: Neuromancer by William Gibson.

[Julius Alpay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with an interesting concept. Characters are well drawn out with a nice build up to the end of the book.

[Melissa Herrmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was just as awesome as I remembered! I'm so glad I found it as an e-book and was able to re-read it.

[Yunha]

I don't comprehend what I just read.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this in high school and liked it pretty well back then since it dealt with the idea of digitizing consciousness, and I hadn't read a book that did that before. I couldn't quite remember how things turned out, only that there was some kind of twist. So I read it again as an adult, and even though I couldn't remember the details of what had happened, I found the book to be really predictable by the way the author handled the plot. The writing's not bad, but it's not that good, either. It's a good story and worth reading, it's just very much on the light and slightly plodding side.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A science fiction book with a frightening realistic future and a theme close enough to my favorite 'Star-Crossed-Lovers" to be enjoyable. Imagine a virtual world that seems idyllic but never ends, and a real world destroyed by war where one has to fight to survive. Nemo prefers the latter, but is in love with Justine who lives in the former - dilemma! And there there is my favorite character (or should I say characters?): Lawrence - wouldn't we all want to have our own Lawrence?
I loved this book, and now look forward to End of Days. Good work, Mr. Danvers!

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started out with potential but lost my interest about half-way through. My thinking is that the problem lies in too many roles and too few characters. What you end with is a large number of contrived situations where characters magically align. And what characters do exist are largely flat. This book also has the habit of hinting at deeper philosophical questions but leaving them largely untouched.

[Jeff Hrusko · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was a little to quck to judge this book. The plots is mutli-layered, interesting once youo get passed the inital layer.



All it all it was an enjoyable read.



The author touched on some thing, like a entity made up of three personalities, which I think could have been move developed.

[M. Wehm · Rating 3 out of 5]

The SFnal elements were quite interesting, and I really liked the ambiguousness of the morality of abandoning the physical world.

The plot was predictable, though, and many of the characters fairly wooden. It felt somewhat like it had been dumbed down to fit the YA market, though there was enough sex and language to make me think that wasn't the case.

Worth reading for the neat ideas.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly pleasant and easy read, but it does not bear thinking about. There are some *enormous* holes in the book - suspension of disbelief is stretched too far as reasonable thermodynamics and economics are shattered, and the disconnects between the two main characters' stated motivations and actions are very strong. It's an interesting but not terribly plausible world.

[Christine]

I picked up this book as an ebook to read on a trip; I started reading it but then got a couple more library books in so have abandoned this one. It is okay so far (maybe 1/4 way through) but hasn't grabbed me enough to keep me from switching to my new library books