The Digital Dead

Rating:
Summary: Another facinating spiderweb from Balfour!
Review: Balfour has composed another intelligent and intriguing work of science fiction. His complex heroes, Tao and Kate, return with a host of creative new characters. The novel calls to mind the grandeur of the great science fiction authors without being derivative. This book is a true page turner; once picked up it cannot be put down. I would recommend it both to long term science fiction fans, who will find it a breath of fresh air from the cliches of the genre, and to new readers, who will find it a fascinating introduction.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: I had high hopes for this one when I picked it up off the shelf. The whole premise sounded really interesting, and I was really looking forward to a suspenseful page-turner that would leave me with "things to think about". What I got instead was a story written in a really dry style, with bland characters, and so many different plot elements that it's hard to remember exactly how it all fit together. It also drove me nuts that the author abbreviated the word "apartment" clear through the book, and would get hung up on some funky single-word imagery and overuse it for a few pages before consulting a thesaurus (look for "ooze"). Some plot elements never went anywhere at all, there was too much totally unbelievable conspiracy going on in the numerous plots as well, and some of the character motives never really made sense. For instance, why in the world does the "founder" of a religion who *knows* that it's all just psych-trick, bow before someone who was simply good at playing the game (and who also knew the truth)? Why does DoE have spies and hitmen? What was the use of all those chapters on the stupid alien museum? It wasn't "chilling", and it wasn't "suspenseful", it was just complicated and had some cool future-techno-stuff. Admittedly, the author did include quite a bit of plausible future technology ... but the plot and most of the characters just sucked.

Rating:
Summary: A great idea with many fatal flaws
Review: I have not read the "prequel" to this book (The Forge of Mars) but imagine it is a similar tale of action, Navajos, aliens and conspiracies. This book had incredible potential despite being a semi-clone of "Circuit to Heaven", an infinitely superior work.

Good: Front Cover
Bad: Title (Unoriginal in the extreme)

Good: Scientific vision of the future
Bad: Moral vision of the future (total amorality)

Good: Description of future as mere existence, a gray place simultaneously inhuman and unhuman
Bad: (See above)

Good: Description of alien civilization, thoughts, and science
Bad: Attempt to present primitive beliefs (ghosts, animism, power in fire, earth, soul wandering, etc) as congruent with a hyper-technical society - a situation both incongruous and infuriating. It reminds one of those novels that depict the future as a dark, dreary place with no freedom, ruined environment, dictatorships, etc yet the path of technological development continues unabated

Good: Idea of Indian/scientist hero and ruthless, faceless foe
Bad: The bland foe had more presence than the hero

Good: Politicians as smarmy
Bad: All policiticans as smarmy

Good: Elysian Fields, alien culture, conspiracies, politics
Bad: Mixing all in a single novel that became confusing and mired at the end.

Synopsis: Good for a read but don't expect to be dazzled or remember the characters for long.

Rating:
Summary: Good and Bad
Review: I have not read the prequel to this book (Forge of Mars) but imagine it is a similar tale of action, intrigue, Navajos, aliens and conspiracies. This book had incredible potential despite being a semi-clone of "Circuit to Heaven", an infinitely superior work.

Good: Front Cover
Bad: Title (Unoriginal in the extreme)

Good: Scientific vision of the future
Bad: Moral vision of the future (total amorality)

Good: Description of future as mere existence, a gray place simultaneously inhuman and unhuman
Bad: (See above)

Good: Description of alien civilization, thoughts, and science
Bad: Attempt to present primitive beliefs (ghosts, animism, power in fire, earth, soul wandering, etc) as congruent with a hyper-technical society - a situation both incongruous and infuriating. It reminds one of those novels that depict the future as a dark, dreary place with no freedom, ruined environment, dictatorships, etc yet the path of technological development continues unabated

Good: Indian/scientist hero vs. ruthless, faceless enemy
Bad: The bland foe had more presence than the hero

Good: Politicians as smarmy
Bad: All politicians as smarmy

Good: Elysian Fields, alien culture, conspiracies, politics
Bad: Mixing all in a single novel that became confusing and mired at the end.

Synopsis: Good for a read but don't expect to be dazzled or remember the characters for long.

Rating:
Summary: An immortal new classic
Review: I liked THE FORGE OF MARS, but Balfour's new book THE DIGITAL DEAD really delivered the goods. His style reminds me of William Gibson because it's a thriller set in the near future and it has a more literary tone than a lot of books of this type. He takes a new spin on the concept of immortality and injects an extrapolation of how powerful politicians would make use of such life-changing technology for their own benefit. Although he refers to his last book, and uses a couple of the characters from last time, this one is mostly set in San Francisco and has only a few connections to the previous story. But this one was great, and I just bought two more to give to some people who really ought to be thinking about these subjects. Balfour's vision of a world in the making promises to become a classic, and may even become a reality sooner than we think.

Rating:
Summary: Read this book! It's wonderful
Review: I've been waiting anxiously for this book since last fall, when I read and loved *The Forge of Mars*. I'm happy to say my anticipation has been rewarded and my expectations exceeded.

This book is NOT a sequel. Some of the main characters reappear, but the plot doesn't depend on the events of *Forge* -- you can read *Dead* without knowing a thing about *Forge* and still "get it." Tau and Kate are back, but they're joined by new characters who drive the action to a great extent. Everyone is caught up in a conspiracy to control the minds of Americans in an attempt to stage a bloodless coup (sound familiar?). Oh yes, and my favorite character, Yvette, is back and badder than ever.

Balfour's women characters are strong and sassy, and his men are average guys, not cardboard cut-out superheroes who have to win because they're so superior to everyone else. Tau is endearing and funny, and his adoration of Kate is touching and perfect.

The events in *Dead* are chilling because they're so plausible. The science is based in reality, and so is the ruthlessness of powerful men. The book is a cautionary tale, but it's also a lively, entertaining read. I'm already looking forward to Balfour's next one.

Rating:
Summary: An immortal new classic
Review: The trip to Mars for scientist Tau Wolfsinger and his fiancee archeologist Kate McCloud was anything but restful. They met an alien race in the ruins of Mars and the Russian General Zhukau of the Red Star Base tried to take over the American colony and use the Gwrinydd technology to dominate Earth. The Gwrinydd Free Mental AI who calls himself Thoth almost killed Kate when he established a mental link with her.

Now that they are back on Earth, the duo are on an extended vacation, needing to relax after they saved the world and made some amazing scientific finds. Unfortunately their vacation doesn't last very long because someone is trying to kill them. They manage to escape and Kate is sent to the Urals where some Gwrinydd markings have been found as well as a transportation portal. Back in America, Tau is trying to elude his pursuers but the prey becomes the hunter when they torture and kill his father in their effort to find him. During his mission, he acquires some interesting allies sworn to help Tau or die trying.

Tau is a naive genius who is so unworldly that readers will adore him and hope that he outwits the people who want to acquire the knowledge that he gained on Mars. Conspiracy fans will think the plot of this science fiction thriller is very plausible. Other readers will enjoy the action scenes and the concept that all facets of a personality can be stored in a biochip so that when a person dies he or she can be restored to digital life.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: fun science fiction thriller
Review: The trip to Mars for scientist Tau Wolfsinger and his fiancee archeologist Kate McCloud was anything but restful. They met an alien race in the ruins of Mars and the Russian General Zhukau of the Red Star Base tried to take over the American colony and use the Gwrinydd technology to dominate Earth. The Gwrinydd Free Mental AI who calls himself Thoth almost killed Kate when he established a mental link with her.

Now that they are back on Earth, the duo are on an extended vacation, needing to relax after they saved the world and made some amazing scientific finds. Unfortunately their vacation doesn't last very long because someone is trying to kill them. They manage to escape and Kate is sent to the Urals where some Gwrinydd markings have been found as well as a transportation portal. Back in America, Tau is trying to elude his pursuers but the prey becomes the hunter when they torture and kill his father in their effort to find him. During his mission, he acquires some interesting allies sworn to help Tau or die trying.

Tau is a naive genius who is so unworldly that readers will adore him and hope that he outwits the people who want to acquire the knowledge that he gained on Mars. Conspiracy fans will think the plot of this science fiction thriller is very plausible. Other readers will enjoy the action scenes and the concept that all facets of a personality can be stored in a biochip so that when a person dies he or she can be restored to digital life.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Great Hard Science Fiction!
Review: This novel is the sequel to THE FORGE OF MARS, you should probably read it first before reading THE DIGITAL DEAD, but it is'nt entirely necessary. This new novel continues the adventures of NASA nanotechnologist Tau Wolfsinger and his girlfriend Kate McCloud, after returning to Earth from Mars. Also included here is a man with great political ambition who will stop at nothing to achieve his political ends. Much of this novel occurs in cyberpace, and author Bruce Balfour does an admirable job in making it realistic, he himself is an A.I. expert at NASA, his scientific background is well evident in this 'all too possible' hard science fiction tale, taking place several decades in the future.

In this novel, Balfour touches several times on the subject of technological immortality, and he gives readers an entirely plausible method of actuating it, in a few decades something very similar may take place, fascinating stuff indeed. All the characters in this novel are fully formed and believable, inside an excellent plot, in an easy to read style, well worth reading. Everything, including the politics, are complicated by alien technology not fully understood, but no more potential spoilers...

Rating:
Summary: Visionary hard sci-fi that never really came to life
Review: While I would not call Bruce Balfour's The Digital Dead a full-fledged sequel to his novel The Forge of Mars, the story does pick up where that earlier novel left off, taking Balfour's unusual hero, Tau Wolfsinger, a NASA technician with a genius for artificial intelligence and an untraditional Navajo background, on an entirely new adventure, the most intense action of which takes place in cyberspace. Having returned safely from Mars, where Tau helped destroy a secret Russian military base and his girlfriend Kate McCloud acquired a powerful mental connection with an alien AI who appeared to her in the form of the ancient Egyptian god Thoth, the happy couple hopes to finally begin a normal life together on Earth. Alas, within two months, mystery men attempt to kidnap Kate and kill Tau, throwing both of their lives into turmoil once again.

After two novels, the mysterious Davos Group, an Illuminati-like secret society basically controlling the world from deep within the shadows, still remains - in my opinion - too much of a mystery to the reader, but fortunately Balfour does follow up on a few events from The Forge of Mars that seemed to serve little purpose in the earlier novel. Senator Aaron Thorne, the son (genetically-speaking, anyway) of Tau's late mentor Max Thorne, now makes his power play for the Presidency, acquiring a type of control over current-President Rex King that even the most ruthless of political advisors can only dream about, but the renegade genius Tau Wolfsinger stands in his way as a potential and annoyingly unpredictable threat to his aspirations when Tau becomes privy to certain information regarding Thorne's involvement with Elysian Fields. Ostensibly, Elysian Fields is a digital resting place for the dead. Virtually everyone now has a network slot on the back of his/her neck, wherein a special digital chip is encoded with all of a person's memories. Thus, through the wonders of modern technology, family members can now visit with the life-like avatars of their departed love ones whenever they like (if they can afford it). Thorne attempts to use "the digital dead" to influence the political motivations of the living; it is a scheme that would make LBJ proud, but it comes across as needless and a little silly to me.

The Digital Dead features a memorable cast of characters, some of whom we met in a more limited fashion in The Forge of Mars. Undoubtedly the most fascinating group of people in Balfour's future Earth are the Veggies; these individuals are super-environmentalists who refuse to eat plants as well as animals; instead, they have adapted photosynthetic patches for their bodies so they can live on sunlight alone. Equally eccentric are Brother Digital and the Pingers, purveyors of a new religion wherein illumination is to be found with the mysterious virtual-reality Entity. Before the cybernetic showdown for the ages comes to a head, you will witness the most unbelievable political assassination of all time, marvel at the theft of a dead former President's digital identity, and encounter some of the most incredible and daring advertising campaigns ever dreamed of. Balfour, an expert in the field of artificial intelligence himself, somehow holds the entire story together, but character development remains, for me, a weakness in his writing. All of his characters, including Tau in particular, never seem real or life-like to me. Those who love visionary hard science fiction will be fascinated by the ideas Bruce Balfour introduces in The Digital Dead, and many readers may adore his larger-than-life, inarguably unique characters, but I personally felt as if I was watching life-like holograms running inside a simulator rather than real people living extraordinary future lives.