From Publishers Weekly
Mysterious forces threaten humanity in this relatively weak third installment in Barnes's Thousand Cultures series (after 1998's Earth Made of Glass). Once again, composer Giraut Leones, secret agent for the intergalactic Office of Special Projects, is in the thick of things. In the Thousand Cultures, people periodically record the contents of their minds on a device called a psypyx. When they die, their psypyx is stored until someone is willing to share their brain with the deceased. After two years, the dead person's mind is reanimated in a cloned body. Unfortunately, on Earth, where most people inhabit virtual reality simulations, someone has the idea of converting these stored personalities into what are essentially computer games that would force helpless, disembodied humans to be other people's playthings. Most citizens of the Thousand Cultures react to this proposal with horror. Though still recovering from a painful divorce, Giraut volunteers to carry the mind of a dead friend to Earth, and help lead a campaign to turn public opinion against the monstrous idea. As usual, Barnes's writerly nuts and bolts are firmly in place: well-developed characters, well-wrought environments like sterile, intellectually incestuous Earth, where anything can be discussed but nothing has meaning. Moreover, his conception of sharing one's brain with a separate personality is persuasive. Unfortunately, the novel bogs down in talk, and too many important events, including the discovery and punishment of the villains, occur off stage. Barnes is generally near the top of the SF world, but this one disappoints. (Dec. 19)with Tiber and The Return.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
When the pleasure-seeking inhabitants of Earth attempt to download recordings of the personalities of deceased individuals for recreational purposes, the Office of Special Projects enlists its best agents, Giraut and Margaret Leones, to stop the process. Recently divorced and unsure of their relationship, they find themselves at the center of a controversial web of political and galactic intrigue that threatens the future of humanity throughout the universe. Returning to the far-future world of A Million Open Doors and Earth Made of Glass, Barnes elaborates on his vision of a multicultural universe filled with diverse and often conflicting societies. Strong characters and exotic backgrounds add depth to this inventive tale of fast-paced action and subtle manipulations. For most sf collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
