Rating: 
Summary: half good
Review: The first half of this book is quite good. It's an interesting view of a society which differs from ours primarily through the ability of its residents to program their personality and knowledge into autonomous "dittos" made of a sort of clay. Setting a mystery in this society is a fine way to bring out its interesting points.But then the book segues into the one that Brin apparently really wanted to write, about "soulistics" and how consciousness actually exists in some metaphysical form related to (but apparently distinct from?) quantum mechanics. This is just NOT interesting (speaking as someone who knows a fair amount about quantum mechanics, and has thought a fair amount about consciousness). And it's tedious even for the characters in the book, much less for the reader, to sit through all the speechifying about it. Come to think of it, even recommending half of the book is too much. Read just "Part I", then call it quits.
Rating: 
Summary: dull
Review: I thought this was the worst of Brin's novels. I was interested and engaged, then found the ending dull and dissatisfying. A rewrite of the last few chapters would have made this as fun to read as his other works.
Rating: 
Summary: An Original Science Fiction Mystery
Review: Larry Niven once wrote that science fiction mysteries are among the hardest stories to write. You need to come up with an interesting science fiction premise, a mystery, then synchronize the two so that the science is necessary to solve the mystery, but doesn't give away the ending or cheat. Brin is one of the last people writing SF mysteries. I think his earlier work, Sundiver, is a lot better, but Kiln People is still very strong, and well worth reading.
Kiln People is set in the near future, with a slightly advanced version of the internet, superlight electric cars, and one radical technological advance - "dittoing." Specifically, dittoing rests on the discovery that the mind (or soul) can be copied onto 24-hour clay copies of yourself ("dittos"), that can be designed to be smarter, stronger, breath underwater, or what have you, for the right price. If the ditto makes it back in time, you can even upload its memories back into your real head.
The main character, Albert Morris, is a private detective. Mostly, he works from his houseboat, sending dittos out to do his investigations, particularly those related to his arch-nemisis - "Beta" - a crimelord who specializes in pirating other people's personalities for his own dittos, and who Morris has never met in the flesh.
The story is inventive and clever, introducing us to the idea, then meeting wilder and wilder extrapolations of the possibilities created by ditto technology as Morris digs himself into a modern version of a film noir mystery. (Specifically, his story is close enough to the Big Sleep that I'm surprised no one recognized it).
I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 because of the ending, which I found unsatisfying. As with a number of his recent books (Earth, Heaven's Reach), Brin takes his new idea and converts it into a Deus Ex Machina that resolves the plot without any seriously satisfying outcome. Other than that, however, the book is very solid.
Rating:
Summary: Typical Brin
Review: I found Kiln People to be a typical David Brin novel: intriguing, hard to put down, thought-provoking, and just a little unsatisfying. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Kiln People. However, I found the incessantly cute "ditto" word play to be distracting. And as with other Brin novels (all of which I enjoyed) there seems to be a lack of a satisfactory conclusion. Maybe this is the beginning of another series for Brin. If so, I look forward to the next installment. If not, this is a good (not great) book that I would recommend to a friend.
Rating:
Summary: none
Review: Provocative, with an all too plausible plot. Kiln People is one of Brin's best novels to date! Gary S. Potter Author/Poet
Rating:
Summary: Xerox Plus
Review: There have only been a few serious attempts to meld the crime/detective genre with hard-core science fiction, of which Asimov's and Bester's works are probably the most well known. Brin latest accomplishes this feat with a fair amount of elan, as he envisages a world where people can make ditto copies of themselves, impressed into variously hued clay molds that can only 'live' for a day, after which they must return to their originator, 'upload' their day's memories, and expire. Our protagonist, Albert, is naturally a detective, blessed with ability to make near perfect copies of himself that he can send out to do the leg work of his business. He must operate in a world where almost all work is done by ditto copies, where 99% of the 'real' population must live on the dole, not having any marketable unique abilities to sell. As a result of a supposedly successful 'bust' of one of his arch-enemy Beta's illegal ditto-cloning operations, he comes to the attention of Ritu, daughter of one of the founding scientific minds of the ditto-cloning technology, who has turned up missing. From here the plot gets complicated, as the missing father shows up dead, but his ditto clones are still around, bent on some incomprehensible scheme of their own, and one of Albert's dittos is hired to (unknowingly) sabotage one of the main ditto manufacturing plants of Vic Kaolin, recluse and close collaborator with Ritu's father. Complication is piled on complication, and Albert's multiple dittos each become characters in their own right as they follow various threads of the mystery. This is probably the best part of this book, as by showing how each ditto, starting from the same base, is modified by the events he experiences; each one, while retaining the greater part of their originator's character, slowly morphs into a distinct individual. This is some excellent characterization work. It also brings forth some of the thematic drive of the novel, a questioning of what makes each person unique, more than just an organized collection of atoms. As part of this Brin envisions that the metaphysical 'soul' has a real physical aspect, a field or 'Soul Wave'. Indeed it is this aspect of a person that allows the 'ditto' cloning technology to exist. However, Brin stretches this concept too far, trying to make it extend from quantum mechanics to what is God (and how to make one!). His explanations become rather rarified, especially as delivered by Ritu's 'ditto' copy father, who by this point is that cliche of cliches, the mad scientist out to remake the world in his own warped image. Brin does a fair amount of punning in this book, especially in his chapter titles, and while some of them are absolute groaners, they add a certain amount of warmth, a leavening of humor to what is essentially a very serious story. In general style it follows the precepts of the hard-bitten detective genre and does of pretty fair job without becoming a parody. The denouement, when all the various threads are tied together and all the mysteries are solved, is marred by the fact that one of the major players in all the action is never really presented as a character in his own right, whose motivations the reader cannot possibly know, and thus leaves the reader feeling a little cheated, that Brin has pulled one too many rabbits out of the hat. An ambitious book, with some great ideas, a lively investigation into individualism, privacy, and psychology, some great characters, but doesn't quite form a fully fleshed out mystery and fails in its upper reaches for meaning.
Rating:
Summary: Great and Interesting Story, Dissatisfying Ending
Review: I am a huge fan of Brin, and have read everything he has put to print, including many of his scientific and social papers. He has always been one of the most imaginiative and creative SF writers out there. Kiln People starts out like a good old fashioned mystery novel. It reminded me early on of the Old "Gil The ARM" series of novellas by Larry Niven, which I think are among some of the best SF mysteries to be found. Unfortunately, by the time that I had reached the end of Kiln People, I just didn't care about the resolution anymore, even struggling to finish the last three chapters! Overall, this effort is interesting in it's central idea, but flawed in it's execution. The departure to some "super soul plane" dimension didn't seem to serve any purpose, and certainly didn't manage to solve any mysteries, spritual or otherwise. Brin seems to be trying to send some sort of message about where technology is taking us on the spirtual level, but sorry, I just didn't get it! If you really liked "Earth" by Brin, with it's myriad of characters and somewhat contrived finish, then you will probably enjoy Kiln People. On the other hand, if you prefer his Uplift series or maybe the Practice Effect, you are going to find yourself little bit irriated at Brin for this one!
Rating: 
Summary: SF Masterpiece
Review: Great premise, fast paced action, engaging chartacters -- wow! This new novel grabbed me at once and held me cover to cover. It goes to the top of my "must read" science fiction reading list.
Rating:
Summary: Great Concept, Excellent Writing
Review: Short and sweet, to the point- this is a great book. The action as told by multiple points of view by the same person is fantastic. My biggest complaint is about the end of the novel, where the witty, scifi ditective tale is lost in a morass of high-concept quantum mechanics. Kind of threw the book out of balance for me, but it is still an incredible read.
Rating:
Summary: Thinking Man's SF
Review: David Brin is one of the rare authors who continues to take his imagination further with each new novel. Brin once again weaves an inventive and entertaining tale by taking current issues like cloning and privacy; and brings an unusual perspective to the topic without talking down to the audience's intelligence or obnoxiously moralizing in a way to tell you what to think.
Part hardcore science fiction and part murder mystery this book is filled with surprising twists and edgy dark humor.
The premise about having the technology to clone cheap copies of yourself to handle all the tedious tasks of the day while you relax at the ball game or beach had me daydreaming for hours. The book itself kept me from getting my work done for a few days.
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