Kiln People

Rating:
Summary: A wild and Crazy Ride
Review: I just finished Kiln People and I thought it was a very imaginative story, and a lot of fun.

I loved how David Brin kept changing the point of view from one Albert Morris to another as they raced around trying to solve the puzzles. Each "ditto" only experienced one small part of the story, which made it very difficult for them/him to understand what was going on.

My favorite ditto was the green. He discovered early that he was a bad copy of the original because he wanted to find his own path in the world. Plus he was developmentally disadvantaged because he was a cheap green. With all his deficiencies, he managed to do more than anyone to solve the mysteries and save the world.

I enjoyed the mystery and the action, but there were several stretches toward the end where the story got bogged down discussing the scientific theory or preaching about how the society was on the wrong track.

Also I was not satisfied with the ending. I am still not sure why some things happened, and the final wrap up did not add much to my understanding.

Overall, I loved this book and would recommend it for the sci-fi adventure.


Rating:
Summary: An interesting concept
Review: Yup, this is fantasy, not science fiction. And while there is some exciting action, the overall scenario is what creates the lasting impression.

In this story, people can make multiple copies of themselves every day. It's fantasy, so I'll overlook questions of just how similar these copies are to real people, and how they can look and act very much like real people. Anyway, these copies only last about a day.

Still, the idea of having a new version of oneself every day is fairly complex. How would you like to be just a copy? Would you consider life cheap, given that you would exist only for one day? Would you actually exist only for one day? Would it really make that big a difference to you whether or not your memories for all or part of that day were incorporated into the person you were copied from?

One thing is clear, a person could literally die a thousand times. You could take suicidal risks as a matter of course: you (or someone with your memories) would still wake up the next day and try again. And that sets the stage for this story, which treats the topic in an interesting manner, where the "real" people tend to let copies of themselves do most of the real work. One part that I thought was rather clever was letting some of those copies be noticeably smarter than the originals. In the story, the protagonist is a detective, and some of his copies can think circles around him.

But I won't spoil the story. I think it's worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: I wish I had a Kil'n in my study.....
Review: David Brin's standalone novel in this instance was a surprise and a pleasant one at that. The blurb attracted me - the promise of a slick sci-fi detective theme set in a Cyberpunk style environment. However the sparkle came when the books overtones of Asimov's Elijah Bailey Detective series were enhanced by the books central character Albert Morris and his numerous "selves" which he replicates each day to complete various of his tasks confronting him. Being made of clay, each of these 'selves possesses an animate "soul" giving them some credo of life force - "Kil'n People".

Albert's "ditto's" ramble thru the story with ever increasingly interesting and diverse adventures. Because of their clay base it precludes an existance much longer than a standard day, whereby an "inload" - downloading of the ditto's memories - must be undertaken. Neat. Real Albert will than assimilate the ditto's memories and thus has enhanced his reach from the additional memories he's absorbed.

Easy prose, the book gets 4/5 for writing style. The let down was that I found I had to keep on referring backwards and forwards between chapters to work out which ditto I was following, as the story does jump around a bit following each of Alberts multiplicities.

However 5/5 overall for this book, as it sparked much discussion and conjecture amongst my friends and peers who I have since loaned the book too and let read. Stimulating reading.

Rating:
Summary: Creative and different
Review: I enjoyed Brin's creation of a world very much like ours, where you can be in 2 places at once and do all of the things that you want to do. He carefully thinks out the consequences of the technology on society. Because the lifespans of the copies are so short, he also reflects on the nature of life and death.

On another level, this is a satire of a traditional gumshoe mystery that is full of delicious puns, particularly on the word "ditto" (ie, he is a ditective). "Pundits" should discuss this book at length.


Rating:
Summary: Dancing with golems
Review: In the Morris Dance, raffishly-clad men silently gyrate around a great circle. Their colourful costumes are in stark contrast with their stern expressions as they dance their ancient, arcane ritual. When the dance ends, it doesn't cease with definite closure. Slowly, the action winds down with various dancers casually leaving the circle until none remain. As you watch the performance, you discern no meaning, no purpose to the noiseless pirouettes. The dance is an empty achievement, devoid of intent or result.

It's not hard to believe David Brin was inspired by the Morris Dance in writing The Kiln People. Not only is the protagonist named Albert Morris, but the story rests on the "lives" of Morris' clones. These "dittos" weave and pirouette through meaningless encounters with others of their kind, equally colourful, equally empty of value. They are temporary projections of their "rigs" [o"rig"inal real humans], but not true clones. Their skin colours reflect their intended role - black for "focused study," grey for general use, green for cleaning toilets and so on. The dittos have the original humans' memories implanted in them. They are then sent off to accomplish assigned tasks within their 24 hour life span. A "salmon reflex" urges them to return "home" to the rig and upload memories of their day's activities.

For Morris' dittos these activities are often investigative. Albert Morris is a PI [private investigator] - the Sam Spade of the twenty-somethingth century. Like all such characters, he has led a life fraught with danger, but it's his clay golems who suffer the risks. Brin, like his predecessors, uses this story to step up the pace of Morris' investigative life. Inevitably, this means the clone buffer is somehow eroded and Morris must confront his antagonists directly. Morris is confronted with his own mortality. Something the clay folk live with each day - for a day. Albert becomes involved in a typical detective story plot line - twists and turns of conspiracy, counter-conspiracy and unexpected revelations. Unlike the detective novels of an earlier generation, however, Brin inserts a philosophical spin in this convoluted tale. It almost fits, but finally fails to find an acceptable niche. Still, it lets Brin inform us that he's done some reading in serious authors like Roger Penrose. He's to be applauded for that, but not for how he uses the material in this story. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Rating:
Summary: Am I Real or Am I Memorex?
Review: Imagine a world where you can make copies of yourself for the day - to shop, to run errands, to go to school. At the end of the day, you can upload memories from your dittos. Private detective Albert Morris lives in this world - sending out copies to do legwork, to sit in long stakeouts, and to meet with clients. When Albert is asked to investigate the disappearance of the inventor of the ditto technology, the mysteries start piling up and the action gets fast and furious. Will Morris and his dittos be able to prevent dueling madmen from taking new copying technology a step too far?

Brin explores a fascinating premise and has put a lot of thought into the details. How would dittos be used and abused? What would the different protests be? What massive changes would society go through? Just how would someone deal with knowing they're the disposable copy? Brin really makes you think about the consequences of the technology. Despite the heavy topics, but Brin keeps the tone light with puns and humor mixed with the ambiance of a hardboiled detective novel. Sometimes it works, and sometimes the effect is a bit jarring.

The best part was watching all the different Alberts diverge with different experiences as they worked on separate aspects of the mystery. It was fun following the antics of Morris and his dittos, but the plot suffers along the way. It spirals into an over-the-top metaphysical knot that feels disconnected from the rest of the book. Since the book had a noir-like feel, I think it would have been better to have an ending scaled to that instead of reaching for grand, mystic insights. Still a good book with thought-provoking concepts, but it could have been better.

Rating:
Summary: Another of the page-turners I like so much.
Review: The book is fun, and full of fascinating ideas. The kiln people are akin to the instant clones in the movie "Multiplicity" with Michael Keaton, but instead of lasting forever, their memories are "inloaded" at the end of the day, back to the original. This revolutionalizes the world. Want to make some menial tasks? There is a specialized ditto for that. Study? Use another kind of golem. Have somebody represent you? Just pick the right blank! That's what makes the story so interesting. Brine explores implications to society, copies feelings, economics, war and defense, and more.

I really enjoyed this book. I'd stay awake late reading, yet managed to save the last four pages for the morning, when I'd be fresh for the conclusion.

Highly recommended.


Rating:
Summary: David Brin must be paid by the word
Review: It's a good thing I go back and re-read "Earth" every so often, or I would consider Brin nothing but a hack writer, cranking stuff out purely for a paycheck. I'm only about a third of the way through "Kiln People", and there's an excellent chance that I will never finish it (and not finishing a book is exceedingly rare for me.) But "Kiln People's" pith-to-byte ratio is very, very low. Okay, we have 24-hour clones. Okay, they can "inload" their experiences back to the original human. But it takes a stunning suspension of disbelief to accept that this world could exist (both for the things that Brin postulates into existence and the things he conveniently omits, lest his plotline fall completely to tatters).

I slogged through six volumes of the "Uplift Wars", really, really wanting to like them but never even getting near there. I read "Otherness" and found it deeply unsatisfying. I have absolutely no memory of his volume of the updated "Foundation Trilogy". Maybe I'm just not cut out to read David Brin. Or maybe I'll just throw away "Kiln People" and try "Glory Season" again; I vaguely remember enjoying that.

I think the real question for you is: do you like "noir" detective novels and bad sci-fi. If you can answer both questions "Yes", then maybe you'll like this book. So far, the answer to both questions (for me) is "No" and I'm not much liking this book.

Epilogue:

I finished the book, but my opinion hasn't changed.

I do, however, think that these paragraphs from Page 428 (of the paperback edition) strongly argue for Brin's nomination for the Bulwer-Lytton award:

-=-=-=-=-=-

"Ritu--" Despite rising anxiety, I restrained myself
from tugging at her arm. She had already been subjected
to more force today than anyone should endure.

At last her eyes cleared, coming around to focus on
mine. With a grim tightening of the jaw, she nodded.

"All right, Albert. I'm ready."

Ritu took my offered hand. Together, we plunged into
the tunnel's stony-cold womb.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Bulwer-Lytton? Like Ritu, I am *SO* ready!