Rating: 
Summary: An interesting premise
Review: "In the Company of Mind" is the type of book I wish more s/f books would emulate. It takes a psychological premise, adds technology, and gets a knock-your-socks-off action/adventure/thriller/romance. :)J. Lance Blackstone seems to have everything, but he really doesn't. His father is incredibly, viciously abusive, and his mother is powerless to stop it. In addition, his father is an extremely powerful and wealthy man, on the order of a Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, or maybe even like one of the Saudi oil sheikhs. Because of this, it's very hard for his mother to get him away . . . but she eventually does. However, because of the longterm stresses Lance has endured, his personality has separated out into 47 personalities, including one woman (Jessica), a homicidal maniac (Patrick), a "big brother" type (Garth), the grandfather Lance wished he had (Grandpa Jack), and many others. These don't make it easier for Lance, but he comes up with a novel solution; he'll use his extra personalities effectively as an aid to commerce, forming his own security "company" -- what others don't know is that it's effectively a company of one. Aided by Robin, an AI inside his own mind, Lance can effectively talk with his alter egos, and uses their knowledge to help others. But there's a problem . . . his father still wants him back, and as Lance and his mother have went their own separate ways after she managed to divorce his father (by an effective bit of blackmail), the only way to bait Lance is to use his girlfriend, Delia, as bait in a most elaborate trap . . . . The rest is for you to read. :) But I think you'll want to read it; it's an exceptionally interesting book, one filled with a great deal of research, some humor despite the grim situation(s), and a rather sweet romance between the overburdened and overstressed, mentally handicapped (via MPD) Lance and the overstressed, physically handicapped Delia. Five stars, highly recommended. Barb Caffrey P.S. Two other books you might enjoy if you liked this one are Lois McMaster Bujold's "Mirror Dance," and Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's "Scout's Progress." Both deal with people who were badly abused making their way, and doing it with flair despite their emotional damage, and are well worth the read. :)
Rating:
Summary: An interesting premise
Review: "In the Company of Mind" is the type of book I wish more s/f books would emulate. It takes a psychological premise, adds technology, and gets a knock-your-socks-off action/adventure/thriller/romance. :) J. Lance Blackstone seems to have everything, but he really doesn't. His father is incredibly, viciously abusive, and his mother is powerless to stop it. In addition, his father is an extremely powerful and wealthy man, on the order of a Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, or maybe even like one of the Saudi oil sheikhs. Because of this, it's very hard for his mother to get him away . . . but she eventually does. However, because of the longterm stresses Lance has endured, his personality has separated out into 47 personalities, including one woman (Jessica), a homicidal maniac (Patrick), a "big brother" type (Garth), the grandfather Lance wished he had (Grandpa Jack), and many others. These don't make it easier for Lance, but he comes up with a novel solution; he'll use his extra personalities effectively as an aid to commerce, forming his own security "company" -- what others don't know is that it's effectively a company of one. Aided by Robin, an AI inside his own mind, Lance can effectively talk with his alter egos, and uses their knowledge to help others. But there's a problem . . . his father still wants him back, and as Lance and his mother have went their own separate ways after she managed to divorce his father (by an effective bit of blackmail), the only way to bait Lance is to use his girlfriend, Delia, as bait in a most elaborate trap . . . . The rest is for you to read. :) But I think you'll want to read it; it's an exceptionally interesting book, one filled with a great deal of research, some humor despite the grim situation(s), and a rather sweet romance between the overburdened and overstressed, mentally handicapped (via MPD) Lance and the overstressed, physically handicapped Delia. Five stars, highly recommended. Barb Caffrey P.S. Two other books you might enjoy if you liked this one are Lois McMaster Bujold's "Mirror Dance," and Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's "Scout's Progress." Both deal with people who were badly abused making their way, and doing it with flair despite their emotional damage, and are well worth the read. :)
Rating:
Summary: An interesting premise
Review: "In the Company of Mind" is the type of book I wish more s/f books would emulate. It takes a psychological premise, adds technology, and gets a knock-your-socks-off action/adventure/thriller/romance. :) J. Lance Blackstone seems to have everything, but he really doesn't. His father is incredibly, viciously abusive, and his mother is powerless to stop it. In addition, his father is an extremely powerful and wealthy man, on the order of a Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, or maybe even like one of the Saudi oil sheikhs. Because of this, it's very hard for his mother to get him away . . . but she eventually does. However, because of the longterm stresses Lance has endured, his personality has separated out into 47 personalities, including one woman (Jessica), a homicidal maniac (Patrick), a "big brother" type (Garth), the grandfather Lance wished he had (Grandpa Jack), and many others. These don't make it easier for Lance, but he comes up with a novel solution; he'll use his extra personalities effectively as an aid to commerce, forming his own security "company" -- what others don't know is that it's effectively a company of one. Aided by Robin, an AI inside his own mind, Lance can effectively talk with his alter egos, and uses their knowledge to help others. But there's a problem . . . his father still wants him back, and as Lance and his mother have went their own separate ways after she managed to divorce his father (by an effective bit of blackmail), the only way to bait Lance is to use his girlfriend, Delia, as bait in a most elaborate trap . . . . The rest is for you to read. :) But I think you'll want to read it; it's an exceptionally interesting book, one filled with a great deal of research, some humor despite the grim situation(s), and a rather sweet romance between the overburdened and overstressed, mentally handicapped (via MPD) Lance and the overstressed, physically handicapped Delia. Five stars, highly recommended. Barb Caffrey P.S. Two other books you might enjoy if you liked this one are Lois McMaster Bujold's "Mirror Dance," and Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's "Scout's Progress." Both deal with people who were badly abused making their way, and doing it with flair despite their emotional damage, and are well worth the read. :)
Rating: 
Summary: "Where In the World Did You Come Up With This?"
Review: A fellow author (whose name I unfortunately forget) once told me that if you want a good story, you should try combining two completely unrelated, disparate concepts and see what happens. Good advice, but I was having a hard time following it. I had created the character Lance Michaels several years ago, knowing that I wanted to write about him, but not having the foggiest idea what his story was. So far I had a shy man who had been forced to undergo several painful operations to enhance his looks. Hardly a story. I added nanotechnology to see if that would help. It didn't. Lance spun in what I feared was permanent limbo. I needed another element, but nothing came to mind. Then, one summer while on vacation, I re-read SYBIL, the story of a woman diagnosed with multiple personality disorder. Something clicked. I went home and started working on a short story called "The Company." Ten days later, I had 12,000 words, a length magazines almost never buy unless you have a Big Name. I agonized for days over how on earth I was going to cut 2,000 words so I could call "The Company" a short story instead of a novella. Then my wife, who never looks at anything I write until I've sold it, actually read the entire piece while I was at work. Apparently she had been fascinated by what I had told her about it. "You can't cut this," she told me. "I want to know more, not less. Where did Robin come from? How did these personalities get started? You have a novel here, not a short story." I realized she was right. That day I set to work on what eventually became IN THE COMPANY OF MIND. The novel combines artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and multiple personality disorder. You can't get more disparate than that! At the moment, I'm working on CORPORATE MENTALITY, a sort-of sequel to IN THE COMPANY OF MIND. Watch for it!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I am very disappointed that this is a first novel. Normally when I see something of this quality I can rush out and buy a bunch of excellent stuff that the author has published earlier. Now I am going to have to wait.
Rating:
Summary: 1st novel or not, this is out of this world !
Review: I ordered a copy of "In The Company ..." on the basis of reading a sample chapter at Baen's web site. I finished the book one day after it arrived and have already started recomending it to freinds ! Mr Piziks has created a reaistic near future world with characters you can care about. The multiple personality slant is handled in a very original manner and in such a way that the reader's perception of what is going on in Lance's head varies from chapter to chapter. Coupled with the 'split chronology' of the book, constantly dipping back into the Blackstone's past, this makes for a highly compelling read. Stven Piziks just made it onto my favourite authors list !
Rating:
Summary: An excelent book
Review: I read this book in one sitting. It is a bit disturbing, and no doubt will take some fire for a few scenes, but it is a great book.
Rating:
Summary: An excelent book
Review: I read this book in one sitting. It is a bit disturbing, and no doubt will take some fire for a few scenes, but it is a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: if you want to read sci-fi buy something else
Review: I recomend this book. "In the Company of Mind" is one of those novels that draws strongly on it's genre without becoming a rehash or cheap knock-off. Some of the best theams in Science Fiction from the past 10 years are present, but they are handled smoothly, so as not to distract from a first rate story and an original premise.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book!
Review: I recomend this book. "In the Company of Mind" is one of those novels that draws strongly on it's genre without becoming a rehash or cheap knock-off. Some of the best theams in Science Fiction from the past 10 years are present, but they are handled smoothly, so as not to distract from a first rate story and an original premise.
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