OK, who is this...REALLY?

kw: book reviews, science fiction, automata, artificial intelligence

It takes a real master of the craft to write a large novel (380+ pages of 11pt type), containing large swathes of dialog and internal soliloquy, that keeps me interested. In her first novel "Silver Screen", Justina Robson proves to be such a master.

Furthermore, she has interesting ideas. Ms Robson is but one of many who explore the boundaries around life, consciousness, and what it means to be human. What's it like for a copy of a human mind to exist in a computer network? What's it like for a real artificial intelligence to live in a human world? Would you believe none of our categories matter?

If I write more than a little on this, I'll spoil it. Instead, I'll touch a side point I noticed. A number of male writers have written in a female voice. With few exceptions, their female protagonists are men with boobs, women as many men would like them to be. And with only one exception I can remember, these male-created females are drop-dead gorgeous. The main woman in "Silver Screen" is probably attractive enough, but thinks of herself, and describes herself, as unattractive. For the female characters in general, looks are secondary to attitudes. I think this reflects the general female attitude...but what do I know, I am a man!

I'll keep an eye out for future work by this author.