Young Caitlin Decter is young, a math prodigy, web savvy, and blind. When offered a new and experimental implant that might help her see, she is thrilled and jumps at the chance. The implant, however, provides a view into the web realm, and she discovers (as it is discovering her) something else, another consciousness.
Many well-known specialists in the fields of neuroscience, linguistics, mathematics, and web science and computer geekdom, become part of Caitlin's reading and studying: Steven Pinker, Julian Jaynes, Stephen Jay Gould, Stephen Wolfram, Claude Shannon, and Doug Lenat of Cycorp. Fascinating stuff and intricately woven into the story.
Or stories, I should say, because there is more than one story going on here, and although they involve different people in different countries and different fields, the relationships become more and more evident.
Robert J. Sawyer has won all three of the world's for science-fiction: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award -- only one of seven writers ever to do so. He has, in fact, won forty-one national and international awards for his fiction.
The library is holding the next book in the series for me now. Yes!
Other reviews/ opinions: Starmetal Oak Book Blog, Rhapsody in Books, The Great Geek Manual,
Fiction. Speculative Fiction/ SF. 2009. 354 pages.
Sounds interesting! An author I have been meaning to read, but haven't got around to yet...
ReplyDeleteI think I saw Rhapsody Jill's review of this one and it sounded really interesting. I'm putting it on my list, Jenclair. BTW, thanks for thinking of me. I know you've had a lot of heat and dryness too.
ReplyDeleteWe just arrived for a week in Hot Springs Village a little while ago. Things look better here.
Kailana - I liked it, and I actually learned some interesting things, even if most of the computer stuff was way beyond me. I will be reading the rest of the trilogy (went to the library and picked up the next one today), but I also plan to read some of Sawyer's other books.
ReplyDeleteKay - Yes, it has been unbelievably dry for Louisiana, and we've had quite a few fires, too, but NOTHING like the fires near Austin. I'm glad you and yours are OK!