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Summary: world of intrigue and suspence
Review: In 2081, the majority of the worlds population lives inside the Bin, a place where disease, crime, and death are non existent. It is a virtual society. People have their consciousness uploaded into a virtual body. Only about 2 million people live outside of the bin. They mostly consist of Christian fundamentalist, the criminally insane, and rebels-like Nemo.Nemo was abandoned by his parents at the age of ten and left with a construct named Lawrence. (Lawrence is a seven foot lizard with several personalities-or souls) Nemo fixes old CD players and reads his grandmothers diary on the outside. He made a choice when he was ten to never go into the Bin. Mainly because of the hostility towards his parents, and also because his grandmother choose to die in the real world. The most he would do was visit his parents twice a year. During one of his visits he meets a beautiful young lady, Justine. Nemo almost instantly falls in love with her. Nemo is torn between good and evil, which would be the Real world and the Bin. The story has so many twists and turns that it is nearly impossible to put it down. I definitely recommend this book. I am very interested in reading his sequel, and will be satisfied if it is half as good as this one.
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Summary: existential questions
Review: Is it better to live infinitely in a comfortable illusion or to live harshly in a real world? Are you alive if your personality is inside a community computer program, and you have no body outside the program? What is the relationship between body, soul, and personality? Can they be separated and retain their humanness? How much can you give up to be next to the one you love? What brings meaning to human life? These are only some of the existential questions raised by the tale told in Circuit of Heaven. In the midst of these serious issues comes a suspenseful, thrilling love story.
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Summary: An intimate novel of virtual immortality
Review: Most science fiction writers would find that a premise like the Bin, a virtual reality world people shed their bodies to enter permanently, demands a kind of large-scale treatment with a vast cast of characters and enormous moral dilemmas writ large against a sparkling, futuristic background. Danvers resists this temptation, instead keeping his story small and intimate and focusing on the characters as they live out their day-to-day lives. The bigger issues (e.g. "what is reality") are mostly swept to one side -- while there are probably people who ponder such issues in Danvers' universe, most people just get on with their lives, just as most people have always done. The story draws you in and, while a bit predictable in spots, is nonetheless engrossing and enjoyable. In a way, this novel reminded me of what you might get if you took James P. Hogan's "Realtime Interrupt," removed all the nuts-and-bolts details that are Hogan's trademark (and, for me, enjoyable in their own way), and injected a large dose of humanity. The only thing that really bugged me was the continuous reference to Aimee Mann, which Danvers obviously only threw in because he's a fan of hers and which for me served only to narrow down Justine's appearance rather too precisely for my taste. I think that particular aspect of the story would have worked better with an invented musician. On the whole, though, the book delivers solidly on its modest ambitions and is an pleasant read.
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Summary: life in a bin?
Review: Nemo's family entered "the Bin" when he was just ten years old. He had been left alone in the real world with a construct named Lawrence while his parents lived in the bin. By the time Nemo is 21, and the year is 2080, twelve billion people have joined his parents in the never-ending cycle of life known as the Bin. People do not die nor do they get sick. They are unable to commit crimes, because in the bin, there are no crimes. Nemo visits his parents twice a year, on Christmas and his birthday. The visit he makes on his 21st birthday changes his life and his mind about the bin forever. One of the souls that the Bin contains is Justine, a girl Nemo meets on his birthday.
Nemo and Justine immediately hit it off. However, both have a dilemma. They live in opposite worlds; one world is maintained "perfect" by computers, but the other world has degraded to the point where no one wants to live there. Neither one is able to choose which world they want to live in. The choice is difficult, but is there only one possible choice? Is there any chance that both could be happy in their own world?
This is a story very similar to that of Shakespeare's tale of Romeo and Juliet. Each must make a sacrifice to live their lives together, but what will that sacrifice be? The novel is somewhat predictable; the more you learn about the characters, the more you think you know, and the more you want to know. The various twists and turns in the plot make Circuit of Heaven interesting. You are left guessing about some points until the very end, and still do not know the entire story. I really enjoyed this novel and was left with many surprises. It is unlike many of the cyberpunk novels I have read, which makes for an interesting read. Danvers does an excellent job at leaving you hanging on until the very end.
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Summary: Circuit of Heaven
Review: Prepare yourself to go into "receiving" because the future of life is held within the bin. The "bin" is a place where life continues on and the virtual world is free of disease and violence. Here Dennis Danvers takes us into the lives of the two main characters, Nemo and Justine. Nemo is a rebel living in the deteriorating real world, swearing never to give up his body to only exist as soul or personality floating through cyberspace. Justine has recently found herself existing in the bin, but having no idea where she came from or any remembrance of her past memories. When Nemo enters the bin as a visitor to see his parents, he also encounters Justine, and as a classic Romeo and Juliet, they fall madly in love. Then hidden secrets start to unfold that test the bonds of not only friendship, but that of love between all the characters. Now Nemo must make a decision, whether or not to give up everything he believes in, or to join a woman that is his pure and perfect love on this circuit of heaven.
Dennis Danvers takes the reader through an incredible journey in his novel. Circuit of Heaven is infused with the love story, the action, and the deceit that keeps one from putting the book down. The book did emphasize religion in a large part, which could have been unnecessary. Strongly religious readers might find it a bit offensive. Danvers also focuses too much on the singer Aimee Mann. She is constantly being referred to in the novel, which is also unnecessary. Overall, the novel was a great read and I am looking forward to starting on his next piece End of Days.
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Summary: A magnificent love story
Review: This book concerns itself with the 'bin', a virtual reality copy of the real world, with many improvements, making it a virtual 'paradise'. The ideas and technology portrayed are highly realistic and plausible, this book may be considered FUTURE HISTORY instead of science fiction. Danvers does a great job with character development and descriptions of places that add greatly to reading enjoyment. It is a love story in the end, and very well done, a masterpiece, I found it very hard to put the book down. I understand that Danvers is writing a sequel, I look forward to it. If having read this book, and you wonder, could something similar to this really happen, I recommend the book THE AGE OF SPIRITUAL MACHINES by Ray Kurzweil.
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Summary: One of the Greatest Works of Sci-Fi
Review: This book makes the reader examine their viewpoints on death, religon and love. It chronicles the life or a man who has to choose between giving up his principles and downloading himself or leaving his love behind. Danvers gives vivid descriptions of settings and characters. An excellent book for any fan of Sci-Fi.
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Summary: Will AI take us to heaven?
Review: This book reminded me of the Frank Tipler book "Physics of immortality". In these books the ability to "capture" human experience and run those captured "programs" on a machine of some sort is the path to heaven (in the Danvers book), and to God in the Tippler book. A fun engaging read.
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Summary: A book that really sucks you in
Review: This book was predictable with a twist. You'd figure something out, and turn out to be right, but then Danvers would put a add something to what you'd just figured out. It had you rooting for the good guys, then feeling sorry for the bad guys. The ending was a little bit too easy, the final conflict not conflicting enough, but overall a good book.
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Summary: Have your Love...and Upload it too!
Review: This futuristic romance novel is sure to pique anyone's interest; dealing with everything from a virtual world to a not-so-ordinary love story. Although Dennis Danvers is not your typical Cyberpunk, Science fiction author, he creates a wonderful window into the future making it difficult for anyone to put down his book. Nemo's parents chose to join the majority of the human population by leaving their bodies in the real world in order to "upload" their souls into the Bin: a virtual utopia with no death, disease, or violence of any sort. From the time he was a child, Nemo only leaves the outside world twice per year because of his strong feelings against the Bin. But on one particular visit on his 21st birthday, he finds himself very smitten with a guest at his parents' dinner party. Justine is everything he's never had; she is perfect for him. However, this poses a terrific problem seeing as Nemo is totally opposed to the life of the Bin and Justine has no way out. How is their relationship to survive living in two entirely separate worlds? Danvers has truly created a perfect novel with many conflicts, twists, and suspense. Nemo and Justine tell the tale of two seemingly star-crossed lovers which is almost impossible to put off finishing. An addicting read!
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