Mindscan | Robert J. Sawyer
What makes humans so ... human. Is it our faith? Is it intelligence? What about our souls? Our consciousness? Maybe it's our biological make up as a species that makes us so unique? Can you really narrow it down to one factor? Above that, what makes a person ... a person?
While reading Mindscan you come to know of a time when death can avoided, and immortality is attainable. You pay an arm and a leg for it though. In fact, you pay alot more than that. The procedure allows your consciousness to be copied to a shiny synthetic new you.
Copied.
The old you looses all rights of personhood. The discarded you remains in your old body and retires to the far side of the moon along with the other 'shed skins'. The new you looses the finer touches of the human experience, the undefinable authenticity of human being. In exchange, you live on indefinately in a stronger more durable shell of latex and titanium and chemicals. It's quite the trade off really, especially if your family and friends can still see the real you behind your high definition cameras, and behind the touch of your durable latex hand, or through your digitally remastered voice output. But who needs friends and family if you can outlive all of them combined?
Jake, Sawyer's main character is a middle aged man who has undergone this extreme to release himself from the restrections of an incurable birth defect. He meets Karen who undergoes the same procedure to retain the rights the very novels that brought her so much success before her elderly body expires. Jake has a terrible time adjusting, as does his friends -- as does Karen's son and sole heir to her extensive estate. And, Jake and Karen support each other while their shed skins throw in the monkey wrench!
But what's this? ... Jake hears voices in his brand new alloy skull of his. That isn't supposed to happen... is it?
I'm a Sawyer fan, I'll admit. His skill at weaving thought provoking plots simply amazes me. His ability to create characters that you care about is at times uncanny, and strengthen the stories he tells. He explores various aspect of the human condition through these stories and dives deep while doing it. I enjoy travelling into the worlds of his novels. Each one is quite a remarkable and rewarding trip! This quality is evident in Mindscan.
Jake Sullivan is an average man with many weaknesses and issues. He's very much a character that you could meet someday. However, this is where I find the novel lacking. Jake's character isn't as likable as some of Sawyer's other characters. I don't really warm up to his character until after he's shed his depressing outlook on life... after he's upgraded his body. In this regard, I cannot say I favour this particular novel over his others. Chalk it up to personal taste.
The setting is rooted in the near future, enabling the reader to easily identify with the main character and where he comes from. Enter 'what if' situation. The author takes the reader along with the main character through an event, in this case the procedure, that fundamentally challenges some fact about humanity -- when is a person not a person? The answer however, is left up to the reader to decide. Sawyer examines this question thouroughly without loosing the reader along the way. For me, the story enlightened me to the possible consequences to such a radical procedure and made me think, made me question what I would do! What would you do?
~
While reading Mindscan you come to know of a time when death can avoided, and immortality is attainable. You pay an arm and a leg for it though. In fact, you pay alot more than that. The procedure allows your consciousness to be copied to a shiny synthetic new you.
Copied.
The old you looses all rights of personhood. The discarded you remains in your old body and retires to the far side of the moon along with the other 'shed skins'. The new you looses the finer touches of the human experience, the undefinable authenticity of human being. In exchange, you live on indefinately in a stronger more durable shell of latex and titanium and chemicals. It's quite the trade off really, especially if your family and friends can still see the real you behind your high definition cameras, and behind the touch of your durable latex hand, or through your digitally remastered voice output. But who needs friends and family if you can outlive all of them combined?
Jake, Sawyer's main character is a middle aged man who has undergone this extreme to release himself from the restrections of an incurable birth defect. He meets Karen who undergoes the same procedure to retain the rights the very novels that brought her so much success before her elderly body expires. Jake has a terrible time adjusting, as does his friends -- as does Karen's son and sole heir to her extensive estate. And, Jake and Karen support each other while their shed skins throw in the monkey wrench!
But what's this? ... Jake hears voices in his brand new alloy skull of his. That isn't supposed to happen... is it?
~
I'm a Sawyer fan, I'll admit. His skill at weaving thought provoking plots simply amazes me. His ability to create characters that you care about is at times uncanny, and strengthen the stories he tells. He explores various aspect of the human condition through these stories and dives deep while doing it. I enjoy travelling into the worlds of his novels. Each one is quite a remarkable and rewarding trip! This quality is evident in Mindscan.
Jake Sullivan is an average man with many weaknesses and issues. He's very much a character that you could meet someday. However, this is where I find the novel lacking. Jake's character isn't as likable as some of Sawyer's other characters. I don't really warm up to his character until after he's shed his depressing outlook on life... after he's upgraded his body. In this regard, I cannot say I favour this particular novel over his others. Chalk it up to personal taste.
The setting is rooted in the near future, enabling the reader to easily identify with the main character and where he comes from. Enter 'what if' situation. The author takes the reader along with the main character through an event, in this case the procedure, that fundamentally challenges some fact about humanity -- when is a person not a person? The answer however, is left up to the reader to decide. Sawyer examines this question thouroughly without loosing the reader along the way. For me, the story enlightened me to the possible consequences to such a radical procedure and made me think, made me question what I would do! What would you do?
~
My Rating
****
****
posted by ExpressiveSilence | 9:20 PM
2 Comments:
I enjoyed your blog on Sawyer's book, which had an intriguing premise. I'm writing more on your comment than his book. You mention something to the effect that taste-wise, you didn't much care for his main character until he shed his depressive outlook on life. Would you mind commenting on this further?
I haven't read the book, but is the shedding of skins like shedding the old person away to yield a newer outlooking life? If so, this new life wouldn't be as beautiful or grand had it not gone through this metamorphasis. Maybe the new person is just a moth - seemingly dull compared to a butterfly? Is it too, less preferential?
I dig you on preference, we all have one. But I wonder if those preferences are more prejudicial toward people who are depressed and therefore pull us down?
For the first time online, I'm beginning to write about some issues I've just pulled through. Maybe someone would be interested in a visit?
Thank you for your comments! I'm so glad someone had the thought to leave me some feedback!
Let me clarify the issue regarding Sawyer's main character:
It's not that I find him bland or uninteresting. Jake is a fine character. He is very much someone you could meet--real. This is good writing. However, I didn't pick up the book because because of this. I read the book because I've always enjoyed Sawyer's books and I was interested in this book because of the concept of copying a person's consciousness into an "artificial replica". I don't mean to disregard the main character's introduction and background, since his unique situation is vital to key elements later on in the story. The first part of the novel is engaging and successfully draws the reader closer to the main character. By the time this character undergoes the process, you undestand perfectly what the choice he made was, as far as 'why' he did it. It's everything afterward that is truly fascinating. Sawyer does wonders with givign his depiction of the future a sense of reality, as well as describing the character's reaction and behavior after the procedure.
So when I made comments about the main character I didn't mean them to be so negative. I have no beef with that specifica aspect of the book or it's story. Simply that this Jake character is my fav Sawyer character.
Have I made things better, or have I confused the matter?
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