From Publishers Weekly
Completing the loose series that Aldiss calls the "Squire Quartet" (Life in the West; Forgotten Life; Remembrance Day), this rather discursive, near-future tale follows the wanderings of Roy Burnell, a British architectural historian. Ten years of Burnell's memories are stolen by EMV ("e-mnemonicvision") thieves in Budapest, and while he tries to resume his life he also searches for a copy of the memory "bullet" that will restore his lost years. His desultory search, broken up by unsought adventure in Central Asia, carries Burnell through an early-21st century world in which life appears very familiar, though many of our current troubles (ethnic wars, poor economies) persist or have gotten worse. The plot is perfunctory, but plot is rarely Aldiss's strong suit or point. What's really offered here is a witty, well-observed travelogue that reveals the state of the world, as well as a fascinating exploration of character. A fin-de-siecle atmosphere pervades; Burnell and those he meets ruminate on the nature of memory and personality, history and human nature, the "moral emptiness" of modern times and their compensatory pleasures. Aldiss weaves these thoughts into a delightful and sometimes harrowing story, proving once again that science fiction can illuminate vital matters of the present as effectively as any genre.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Aldiss' latest is the final volume of his Squire quartet, a series of loosely interconnected novels following many characters through a twenty-first-century landscape of insidious new technology and international political turmoil. Here, the protagonist is Roy Burnell, a British architectural expert whose eclectic researches take him across the shifting borders of a war-torn former Soviet Union. While vacationing in Budapest, Burnell becomes the prey of underground neurosurgeons who skillfully steal and edit his memories to sell on the black market, where the latest entertainment craze involves experiencing selected events from other people's lives. With 10 years of his life now missing, Burnell's only choice is to continue working while tracking down his stolen memories, the loss of which, he discovers to his surprise, has as many benefits as drawbacks. Writing with his usual command of language and his uniquely inventive perspective on humanity's all-too-probable future, Aldiss demonstrates once again why his voice is one of the most respected in science fiction.
Carl Hays
