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Summary: hey..this book is funny too.
Review: Just wanted to mention that Brain Plague is also very amusing. Chrys's microbes often just wanna have fun & cause no end of ruckus partying up in her brain, setting up night clubs, discovering that they can imbibe alcohol etc. It's really great to have a SCI-FI novel that can combine serious themes with a leavening of humor.
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Summary: Fish out of water?
Review: The main character of the book is a young female artist--a creative and ambitious girl (not woman) who seeks a shortcut to making her art better. She agrees to allow a colony of microsized "people" to live on the outskirts of her brain, in exchange for their willingness to help her with her art projects. She gets far more than she bargained for, and finds herself embroiled in the lives of her "people" and their sister colonies who live inside other carriers. Although the carriers are a diverse group who mostly seem to consider her an upstart who can't properly "control" her colony, they slowly learn to respect her differences as she in turn matures and learns. In the long run, the "people" learn a great deal from her as well, and they end up helping her in ways having nothing to do with her art. Altogether, a fascinating and diverse group of characters interacting in plausible ways. I look forward to another book set in this world.
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Summary: Hard to follow rewrite of Greg Bear's "Blood Music"
Review: This is an adventure on a grand scale but in a very small space. The great talent that the author has is that you definitely get a feel for the character and you understand the motivations of the different people in the story. Both the good and the bad guys were believable and the technology was both visionary and plausible. I liked the central idea alot and would be more than happy to volunteer to house a colony of intelligent beings and have them plan grand scale architecture and artwork that would take the viewer far beyond what they could accomplish themselves. I anxiously await the next turn in the universe/worlds of the Author. Her characters were true to themselves and very well written (down to the smallest microbe)
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Summary: Worlds with within Worlds, inside your very own head.
Review: This is an adventure on a grand scale but in a very small space. The great talent that the author has is that you definitely get a feel for the character and you understand the motivations of the different people in the story. Both the good and the bad guys were believable and the technology was both visionary and plausible. I liked the central idea alot and would be more than happy to volunteer to house a colony of intelligent beings and have them plan grand scale architecture and artwork that would take the viewer far beyond what they could accomplish themselves. I anxiously await the next turn in the universe/worlds of the Author. Her characters were true to themselves and very well written (down to the smallest microbe)
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Summary: Slonczewski, An Author to Watch!
Review: What if there were intelligent microbes? What if they could communicate with us? What if they could inhabit the human brain and offer to enhance our mental capacity? Would you accept the offer? Once accepted, what could keep the microbes from doing with you as they please? These are the complex and puzzling issues raised in Joan Slonczewski's latest novel Brain Plague. In the far future, humanity has spread throughout the galaxy. In addition to normal humans, there are "elves" (genetically engineered near-immortals), simians (human/ape hybrids), sentients (artificial intelligences), and a variety of other creatures (including organic, self-aware buildings who negotiate rental agreements with their tenants). Despite the advances of technology, all is not well in the universe. Humans still suffer addictions and homelessness. Violence still occurs all too often. And in the background, a terrible plague has been raging through space - a "brain plague" in which intelligent "micros" invade human hosts and turn them into slaves. But just like human beings, there are good micros and bad ones. The good ones are part of a carefully monitored program in which human hosts are matched with colonies of microbes. The resulting symbiotic relationship provides the microbes with an ideal living environment (and a "god" to worship); it provides the host with the equivalent of a million microscopic parallel processors to apply to any task he or she might imagine. Chrys, a young and talented (but starving) artist volunteers for the "brain enhancer" program, accepting a colony of microbes. They communicate with her via nanotechnology implanted in her optic nerves. Thus begins Chrys's journey, learning to live with her new partners, suffering through the prejudice and hatred of others, reaching self-actualization in her art, and risking her life to discover the truth about the Brain Plague. Joan Slonczewski (author of six previous novels) has drawn upon her background as a molecular biologist to bring us something very different from the usual science fiction tale. While many SF novels find ways to bend the rules of physics, Brain Plague finds ways to bend the rules of the mind, and tinkers with our concept of individuality. If any complaint can made against this novel, it's that so much is thrown at the reader in the first chapter it can be overwhelming. This is partly due to the fact that this novel, while not technically a sequel, is based in the same universe as her previous novels (thus some prior knowledge of these would doubtless be helpful); and partly due to Dr. Slonczewski's extremely active imagination. Nonetheless, the tale is well-told, drawing the reader in despite its complexity. All in all, it's an engrossing novel.
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Summary: An Engrossing Tale by a Distinctive Voice in SF
Review: What if there were intelligent microbes? What if they could communicate with us? What if they could inhabit the human brain and offer to enhance our mental capacity? Would you accept the offer? Once accepted, what could keep the microbes from doing with you as they please? These are the complex and puzzling issues raised in Joan Slonczewski's latest novel Brain Plague. In the far future, humanity has spread throughout the galaxy. In addition to normal humans, there are "elves" (genetically engineered near-immortals), simians (human/ape hybrids), sentients (artificial intelligences), and a variety of other creatures (including organic, self-aware buildings who negotiate rental agreements with their tenants). Despite the advances of technology, all is not well in the universe. Humans still suffer addictions and homelessness. Violence still occurs all too often. And in the background, a terrible plague has been raging through space - a "brain plague" in which intelligent "micros" invade human hosts and turn them into slaves. But just like human beings, there are good micros and bad ones. The good ones are part of a carefully monitored program in which human hosts are matched with colonies of microbes. The resulting symbiotic relationship provides the microbes with an ideal living environment (and a "god" to worship); it provides the host with the equivalent of a million microscopic parallel processors to apply to any task he or she might imagine. Chrys, a young and talented (but starving) artist volunteers for the "brain enhancer" program, accepting a colony of microbes. They communicate with her via nanotechnology implanted in her optic nerves. Thus begins Chrys's journey, learning to live with her new partners, suffering through the prejudice and hatred of others, reaching self-actualization in her art, and risking her life to discover the truth about the Brain Plague. Joan Slonczewski (author of six previous novels) has drawn upon her background as a molecular biologist to bring us something very different from the usual science fiction tale. While many SF novels find ways to bend the rules of physics, Brain Plague finds ways to bend the rules of the mind, and tinkers with our concept of individuality. If any complaint can made against this novel, it's that so much is thrown at the reader in the first chapter it can be overwhelming. This is partly due to the fact that this novel, while not technically a sequel, is based in the same universe as her previous novels (thus some prior knowledge of these would doubtless be helpful); and partly due to Dr. Slonczewski's extremely active imagination. Nonetheless, the tale is well-told, drawing the reader in despite its complexity. All in all, it's an engrossing novel.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Idea...
Review: When I read about this book I wanted to pick it up, just to see how the author incorporated the idea of an intelligent microbe race living in the minds of other intellgient beings. The microbes live in the brains of intelligent beings (as hosts) helping them to become better artists, smarter, etc. I found it a fascinating concept! The main character in the book is called the God of Mercy by her microbes because she tries to treat them fairly. It is a good book, with many new ideas. It is like having an entire civilization living in your brain... and you can imagine what that might mean. The microbe "Characters" have personalities and drives just as we do which makes each new generation (the mircobes have a much shorter lifespan than we do)different. The blink of an eye for us may be a month for them. I recommend this book for its ideas and mystery... some people do not do well with the microbes.. there is an underground.. certain people have addictions. A good book all the way around... and different. I believe Joan (the author who is also a biologist) is a good writer and has incorporated some great ideas in the very interesting novel.
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Summary: Believable! Good Characterization! Slightly sappy ending.
Review: While the premise, that of intelligent microbes colonizing human brains, sounds far-fetched, Joan Slonczewski's biology background helps her to make it quite believable. Unlike most science fiction writers that gets so caught up in scientific ideas that they forget to add plot or characterization, Mz. Slonczewski's characterization is excellent and detailed, while her plot is lively and interesting. While the micobial sub-plots exhibit great depth, the young woman's over-story exhibits "princess syndrome" to some degree, where a young, powerless girl overcomes everything to end up with everything she ever wished for and more. If not for this defect, I would say Slonczeweski was on her way to being an Ursula K. LeGuinn. I'd highly recommend it, especially to young women.
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