Vitals

Rating:
Summary: A subpar effort from Greg Bear
Review: Because I know that Bear is capable of so much more (see his wonderful "Songs of Earth and Power"), it only makes this weak effort all the more disappointing.

This novel contains an initially intriguing plot line about the quest for immortality as related to the initial invasion of mitochondia into eukaryotic cells, and the interplay between humans and the symbiotic bacteria in our gut. This plot line is then hijacked (and essentially forgotten) by one more concerned with mind control. But even this plot line has some interesting and terrifying descriptions of "historical" experiments carried out during the Cold War.

Where the novel goes completely awry, is in its complete lack of editing. There are characters that move in and out of the story inexplicably. The dialogue contains lines that seem completely unrelated to what came immediately before (and thus seem stilted and bizarre). The ending fails to wrap up anything (and in fact introduces new mysteries that are never resolved). Perhaps Bear wanted to produce this effect for some reason (to introduce a sense of confusion and paranoia into his readers?), but the result is that the book is simply not very enjoyable.

Another telling example of the complete lack of editing is the repeated use of the term "Manhattan Candidate" to describe victims of the bacterial mind-control. The use of this term is never described. Bear simply assumes that his readers will be familial with the concept. But in fact, he is mixing his metaphors. The "Manhattan Project" was the code term for the creation of the Hydrogen Bomb. The "Manchurian Candidate" was a 1962 movie staring Frank Sinatra as a man under the effects of mind-control.

For such a egregious error (and many others like it) to slip past seems to point to only one thing... Bear's editor failed miserably, and thus, so does this book.

Rating:
Summary: An Odd Book
Review: Every now and then Greg Bears writes a book that misses. This is such a book. This book reminds me of a sciencetific version of "Raiders of the Lost Arc". There is a good guy and an Evil scientist and all of the assorted paraphernalia that is associated with a saturday morning serial. The Hero, Hal Cousins, is researching an eternal life project when things go very wrong for him. His twin brother is killed and he is pulled ever deeper into a twisting story. The rest of the story reads like a mystery with the hero trying to unravel the truth.

The problem with this book is that it misses. I know that this is an unsatisfactory answer. There is nothing overtly wrong with the story except that it feels both half-finished and already done better by somebody else. This is not really badly written, but not up to Bear's usual standards. This book reminds me of his earliest works when he was still finding his voice and style. The book is probally two drafts from being very good, but Bear stopped for his reasons. This book is not bad, but not great either.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning Sci-Fi
Review: I suppose that I can understand some of the negativity of many of these reviews, but I certainly can't agree with it. I thought Vitals was terrific, one of the most interesting books I'd read in years. It has a lot of different qualities, but I was most reminded of Mel Gibson's movie Conspiracy Theory. In both, the protagonist isn't particularly likeable--although Bear's Hal Cousins is certainly more stable (most of the time) than Gibson's character. In both, the audience is never quite sure what is real and what isn't. Both are action filled, frightening, horrifyingly plausible, and deliver at the end. Vitals even delivers three times, with big, unexpected climaxes like a series of punches to the gut.

Now, as to the "flaws": Bear is a writer who has almost always demanded a lot of his readers. This isn't casual sci-fi, not space opera; in fact, until about two-thirds of the way through the book it's scarcely sci-fi at all. Hal Cousins, the protagonist, is thrown into a series of bizarre events and spends much of the novel scrambling desparately to make sense of an insane situation. In these passages, Bear reveals little, allowing the reader to share Cousins' confusion. Perhaps the action-orientation of these parts put off some of Bear's regular readers. After about 1/4 of the book, Bear changes point-of-view and time, and certainly I found this disorientating. Given that at this point Bear goes back in time and deals not with Hal Cousins, but with his twin brother Rob, also a scientist in the same field, confusion is understandable. Granted, everything is labelled, but I did have to look back when it became apparent to me that I'd glossed too much, and evidently I wasn't alone in this. But for me it's the only real flaw in the book, and the solution's simple--read more carefully! By the time we are back with Hal Cousins, things become extremely intense. The story takes a sci-fi twist that those readers who are more action oriented might find hard to follow. Bear has created a chilling but complex premise, and from there, everything else flows logically and with the inevitability of a Greek Tragedy, minus the deus ex machina. If you're looking for light entertainment, look elsewhere. But for a gripping, creepy and thoughtful read, you can't do better than this. I'd also recommend Maelstrom by Peter Watts as similar in tone.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning Sci-Fi
Review: I suppose that I can understand some of the negativity of many of these reviews, but I certainly can't agree with it. I thought Vitals was terrific, one of the most interesting books I'd read in years. It has a lot of different qualities, but I was most reminded of Mel Gibson's movie Conspiracy Theory. In both, the protagonist isn't particularly likeable--although Bear's Hal Cousins is certainly more stable (most of the time) than Gibson's character. In both, the audience is never quite sure what is real and what isn't. Both are action filled, frightening, horrifyingly plausible, and deliver at the end. Vitals even delivers three times, with big, unexpected climaxes like a series of punches to the gut.

Now, as to the "flaws": Bear is a writer who has almost always demanded a lot of his readers. This isn't casual sci-fi, not space opera; in fact, until about two-thirds of the way through the book it's scarcely sci-fi at all. Hal Cousins, the protagonist, is thrown into a series of bizarre events and spends much of the novel scrambling desparately to make sense of an insane situation. In these passages, Bear reveals little, allowing the reader to share Cousins' confusion. Perhaps the action-orientation of these parts put off some of Bear's regular readers. After about 1/4 of the book, Bear changes point-of-view and time, and certainly I found this disorientating. Given that at this point Bear goes back in time and deals not with Hal Cousins, but with his twin brother Rob, also a scientist in the same field, confusion is understandable. Granted, everything is labelled, but I did have to look back when it became apparent to me that I'd glossed too much, and evidently I wasn't alone in this. But for me it's the only real flaw in the book, and the solution's simple--read more carefully! By the time we are back with Hal Cousins, things become extremely intense. The story takes a sci-fi twist that those readers who are more action oriented might find hard to follow. Bear has created a chilling but complex premise, and from there, everything else flows logically and with the inevitability of a Greek Tragedy, minus the deus ex machina. If you're looking for light entertainment, look elsewhere. But for a gripping, creepy and thoughtful read, you can't do better than this. I'd also recommend Maelstrom by Peter Watts as similar in tone.

Rating:
Summary: Avoid!
Review: Normally, I would call myself a fan of Greg Bear; but this book is hard to recommend.

I picked up "Vitals" because I had just finished (the much better) "Darwin's Children" and thought another Bear book would be fun to read. For me, the book starts on a sour note in that it's set in the Juan de Fucha trench, and I recently read (and would highly recommend) Peter Watts' "Starfish" which is set there as well. Watts described it better, I believe.

The middle third of the book gets the technological explanations out of the way and devolves into typical thriller mode. That's where I began to worry. I wondered if Greg Bear is deliberately dumbing down his writing style in order to acquire more of the techno-thriller audience. (Apparently "Darwin's Radio" sold very well to the larger, non-SF audience, and "Vitals" is blatantly aimed at that same non-SF audience.)

But I stuck with the book, hoping that things would get wrapped up in the end. This was a mistake.

Simply put, the ending stinks. Instead of offering resolution to the reader, the protagonist actually revisits the festering plot holes to point them out and not explain them, making for one of the least satisfying book endings in recent memory.

If you're looking for a good Greg Bear book avoid this and instead read "Darwin's Radio", "Darwin's Children", or "Slant".

If you're looking for a good bio-catastrophe novel instead try "Starfish" by Peter Watts.

Rating:
Summary: Avoid!
Review: Normally, I would call myself a fan of Greg Bear; but this book is hard to recommend.

I picked up "Vitals" because I had just finished (the much better) "Darwin's Children" and thought another Bear book would be fun to read. For me, the book starts on a sour note in that it's set in the Juan de Fucha trench, and I recently read (and would highly recommend) Peter Watts' "Starfish" which is set there as well. Watts described it better, I believe.

The middle third of the book gets the technological explanations out of the way and devolves into typical thriller mode. That's where I began to worry. I wondered if Greg Bear is deliberately dumbing down his writing style in order to acquire more of the techno-thriller audience. (Apparently "Darwin's Radio" sold very well to the larger, non-SF audience, and "Vitals" is blatantly aimed at that same non-SF audience.)

But I stuck with the book, hoping that things would get wrapped up in the end. This was a mistake.

Simply put, the ending stinks. Instead of offering resolution to the reader, the protagonist actually revisits the festering plot holes to point them out and not explain them, making for one of the least satisfying book endings in recent memory.

If you're looking for a good Greg Bear book avoid this and instead read "Darwin's Radio", "Darwin's Children", or "Slant".

If you're looking for a good bio-catastrophe novel instead try "Starfish" by Peter Watts.

Rating:
Summary: Very, VERY disappointing!
Review: Not at all typical of Bear's usual work which is lucid, well-written and coherent. This book started out quite strong but seemed to lose steam toward the final third, almost as if Bear lost interest in the novel while he was writing it. It's a shame, really, since the characters have the potential to be very interesting and the premise, while farfetched (see David Cortesi's Feb 24 review for an excellent anlysis) was involving. Coincidentally, I read _Vitals_ soon after I had read Greg Iles' _Footprints of God_. The premises are similar, but the Iles book actually ends better than does Bear's (though I'm not implying Iles' ending was very good).

Rating:
Summary: Bear destroys his reputation
Review: Sadly, after having read and enjoyed many of Greg Bear's works, it took just this one book to destroy his excellent reputation for me. With that I mean that I won't purchase another book of his without spending more time on checking out some critical reviews. I bought this based on my previous enjoyment of his books (Darwin's Radio, Moving Mars and many others - all excellent), but this almost gave me the impression that some contractual obligation was due.

The characters are not mature to begin with, and a complete lack of character development doesn't make them any more believable. The plot is really far-fetched and not given enough support (too much devil in the detail, or not enough detail for the devil?), and at one point even managed to remind of something as eminently forgettable as The Stepford Wives. And that took some dragging up! A switch of perspective mid-way through is totally unnecessary and messes up any possibility of identification with the protagonist, and the book fizzles out with a real non-ending if I ever saw one. I hope that won't be used as an excuse for a follow-up - I couldn't bear it. Even without high expectations I would have felt totally let down. Bear fans do not deserve this.

Rating:
Summary: Vital Beginning, Slimy Center, Moldly Ending
Review: The beginning 1/3rd of the book has sufficiently clever plots twists and mysteries for me to unravel. Unforntately, Greg Bear introduces a rather boring 2nd character to narrate the story in the middle 1/3rd. I found this 2nd character to be too distracting from the best parts of the story. In the last 1/3rd, Greg Bear introduced too many major themes for my taste. In the end, it reminded me of my refrigerator where all the food spoiled, and everything evolved into quarrelling intelligent life forms.

On the technical side, Greg Bear's mind controlling bacteria had a flaw that was insufficiently exploited. If you became infected, you could have been contolled by anyone, not just by the villains. Greg Bear made the mind control triggers too open and too vague for a science fiction book.

Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear was much much better.

Rating:
Summary: confusing, incredible, unsatisfying
Review: This book fails in surprising ways for a writer of Bear's talent and record. It starts well, in the manner a classic thriller: the protagonist is rolling along when the bottom falls out of his world, and he's left disoriented, trying to survive among shadows and hints of awful danger.

But the loose ends are just too numerous; the bad guys' weapon is just not credible; and there's no ending.

Loose ends: there are characters introduced who just vanish, as if Bear lost interest in them. I've never before read a book where a character (Mrs. Callas) is carefully introduced, has a lot of dialog, and then says "I don't like your chances and I want out" -- and walks out of the story!

But the biggest problem for me was the simply incredible details of the mcguffin, the bacterial stealth weapon. Altered gut bacteria that make people sick, or that poison their brain chemistry to make them unstable or credulous, that I could credit. But I cannot credit that such a blunt tool could do the precision work of forcing a person to commit explicit behavior -- like, make a person go and shoot, or sic dogs on, a specific person.

There are horrifying details of a supposed Soviet experimental camp, but the details don't hang together -- how could such effects result from the suggested mechanism, and what possible political ends could be served by continuing such experiments until everyone was dead?

And there's a lot of business about people getting calls that seem to be from dead loved ones. What's the point? How is that supposed to result from, or interact with, their bacterial poisoning? There are several references to bacterially "tagged" victims being given lists of numbers to memorize, and these numbers cause specific reactions. Bacteria that do arithmetic?

There are apparently minor characters who turn up in totally unlikely places with no explanation (What the heck is Betty Shum doing on Lemuria?). There are mysteries that are carefully and explicitly planted (the 1949 picture of Rudy) and never resolved or explained. Indeed, there is an Epilog that consists mostly of the protagonist reviewing all the questions that were never answered, and they are numerous -- and remain unanswered.

In short, the furniture of this book just doesn't hang together; and that is death to a science-fiction story. It's just weirdness piled on weirdness, with no coherence or sense. Maybe since "The X Files" this is an accepted mode of SF storytelling, but I can't buy it.