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Memento Mori
Can humans trust a computer with an identity crisis to save them from the plague?
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Memento Mori
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By Shariann Lewitt
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Tor Books
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$14.95/$21.95 Canada
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Trade Paperback, April 1997
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ISBN 0-312-86294-6
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Review by Susan Dunman
 he citizens of Reis have successfully colonized their world by slowly transforming its alien landscape into a patchwork of territories adapted for agriculture and manufacturing. Reis' only city -- the undisputed center of art and culture on the planet -- attracts aspiring young scholars, artists and intellectuals from every district. But the city abruptly changes from artistic sanctuary to oversized mortuary when a catastrophic plague infects the population.
In an attempt to slow the killer disease, residents agree to a self-imposed quarantine which prevents physical contact with anyone outside the city. The plague and quarantine have profound psychological effects on the city's inhabitants, effects which are astutely observed by a group of pseudo-intellectuals who hang out at the trendy Metz Club. Frequenters of this fashionable bar spend their time drinking expensive beer, professing their devotion to art and debating if the plague heralds the death of art or creates a new "art of death."
They also wait expectantly for the city's central computer to discover a cure for the virus before they become the next casualties. The computer -- called RICE -- is a semi-organic artificial intelligence possessing both mechanical and biological attributes, and it monitors and controls all municipal services. RICE is assigned the task of isolating the virus, which requires continual analysis of death statistics. The emphasis on death causes RICE to redirect his attention to the meaning of life, a process which may or may not help save the city from certain destruction.
Depressing, but good
The horror of plague is effectively captured by Shariann Lewitt as she examines its traumatic impact on both individuals and society. Observing the gradual demise of their world, her central characters are a group of elitist, self-centered college students who believe that they are inherently special and somehow immune to the plague.
These denizens of the Metz Club keep a morbid vigil on the progress of death in their city. They also maintain a detachment from others' feelings that is almost as frightening as the unchecked plague. For the most part, these characters are as fickle as the disease which threatens to wipe them out. The persistent feeling that not one of them "deserves" to live through the horrible ordeal may be intentional, but it seems to weaken interest in the storyline.
In spite of the inherently depressing mood of the subject, not all is gloom and doom. There is the ever-present hope that RICE, a virtual omnipotent force in the city's electronic infrastructure, will discover the cause of the plague. The RICE system possesses artificial intelligence engineered with a nightmare mix of network relays and human DNA strands. The result is a cross between a child prodigy and a supercomputer, which makes for some interesting possibilities -- especially as the child in the computer begins to grow up. RICE adds an unexpected dimension to the novel, allowing author Shariann Lewitt to explore popular themes such as relationships between man and machine and the purpose of life and death.
While this story is not for anyone already in a blue funk, it does offer striking scenarios and situations that demand attention.
There's a lot to chew on in the food-for-thought category after reading this one. -- Susan
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Faraday's Orphans
A shift in magnetic poles devastates Earth
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Faraday's Orphans
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By N. Lee Wood
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Ace Books
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$12.00/$17.00 Canada
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Trade Paperback, June 1997
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ISBN 0-441-00446-6
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Review by L.R.C. Munro
wo hundred years in the future, humanity has been decimated by an ecological double whammy -- part natural-disaster and part human error. First Earth's magnetic field disappeared due to the natural cycle of magnetic polar shifts. Without the magnetic field, the ozone layer dissipated, leaving Earth vulnerable to intense solar radiation. In order to replicate the "greenhouse" effect necessary for life to survive, the "ancients" attempted to create a nuclear winter by launching limited nuclear strikes.
Whether or not this plan will successfully preserve humanity in the long run is unknown, but the short term result is a devastated planet with little water or plant life. The last of civilized humanity lives in the few domed Cities that survived the Shift, while the barren Outside is left to the straggling bands of Aggies and Rangers. And to exploratory pilots like Berk Nielsen.
Berk is a helicopter pilot, one of the few independents who brave the radiation and danger of the Outside. When he was young, Berk explored the ruined cities looking for oil and salvage. A large oil find secured his position and reputation, but as the City became more self-sufficient, the need for oil was lessened and politics and pragmatism demanded a cut back in exploratory missions. Worse still, Berk's bad attitude has cut him further out of the loop, and he is relegated to flying mail runs while other pilots get what few exploratory assignments there are.
But when a fellow pilot goes missing, it is Berk who is chosen to follow his route and find out what lies beyond the Alley Oops mountains. Berk sets out prepared for danger, but when circumstances leave him grounded far from home he encounters hardships no City boy could have imagined. Forced into an uneasy partnership with Sidonya, the savage teenage girl who saves his life, Berk also finds that the Outside holds more than just unpleasant surprises -- it may hold the key to his future.
Unpleasant people in a grim landscape
Faraday's Orphans is a disappointing second book from the author of Looking for the Mahdi. While the first book's greatest strengths were its unique voice, dark humor and engaging characters, Faraday's Orphans possesses none of these qualities. The narrative is flat and expository, told in a colorless third person voice that adds little to the atmosphere or setting. The tale itself is as grim and humorless as the barren world in which it takes place, and, lacking either optimism or irony, it's hard to imagine what exactly the survivors are hanging on for. Worse still, it's almost impossible to empathize with protagonist Berk Nielsen -- drawn here as a selfish, self-involved lout with none of the charm such folk require to make them palatable characters. Sidonya fares better -- her character is equally unpleasant, but at least she has a good reason for being so.
Despite these flaws, Faraday's Orphans is nearly rescued by its post-disaster landscape. Wood has Berk travel through a potentially interesting remnant society made up of groups who have fit themselves into various niches -- subsistence farming Aggies; mad, mutant Rangers; independent, incestuous Tunnel families; and in the ruined remains of the cities, territorial Union gangs and feral Baby Bucks. But while these societies are quickly sketched in as needed, their treatment is superficial and pat, and ultimately not enough to carry the novel.
The book is not entirely without entertainment value though. Despite a slow beginning that skips annoyingly between present and past through a number of flashbacks, the pace really picks up once Berk is grounded in the Outside. Wood again demonstrates that she has great skill when it comes to writing non-stop action, and once there are specific goals for Berk to attain and obstacles to overcome, Faraday's Orphans becomes quite readable. Unfortunately it is not enough to make up for all the things the book is missing.
This reminded me of the classic Hiero's Journey by Sterling Lanier -- which, despite a certain hokiness, covers similar ground with all the charm that Faraday's Orphans lacks. -- LRC
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Atlantis Found
Time travel expeditions mysteriously disappear in the Bronze Age...
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Atlantis Found
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By R. Garcia y Robertson
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AvoNova Books
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$5.99/$7.99 Canada
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Paperback, April 1997
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ISBN 0-380-78678-8
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Review by Clinton Lawrence
 our research teams have disappeared without a trace on time travel expeditions to the Bronze Age. Now Jake Bento has assembled a fifth to try to find out what happened to them. Among his team are his two most trusted assistants: Sauromanta, a beautiful Amazon warrior originally from the first century B.C., and John Love, an African-American he rescued from the middle of the Vietnam War.
Jake's expedition includes an airship and a mini-submarine, as well as a crew to operate the airship. But almost immediately upon arriving in the Atlantic, near the Strait of Gibraltar, Jake detects anomalous radio signals, indicating they're not the only ones from future. Jake decides they must keep a very low profile.
Very soon, they run into Hercules during a sacrifice of bulls in a coastal village. Hercules is headed for Africa to fulfill one of his labors, stealing the Golden Apples of the Hesperides. The radio signals appear to be coming from that direction as well, and Jake, Sauromanta and Love travel with him. At the Garden of the Hesperides, Jake finds more evidence of a force from the future at work -- the serpent Ladon guarding the tree is actually a two-headed tyrannosaurus rex, and his group spots a shuttlecraft leaving the area.
It seems those responsible for the disappearances of the previous teams are posing as the Greek gods. Furthermore, Jake doesn't know how powerful they are, but he does know they're aware of him. His team has to get into the Mediterranean undetected, and Jake decides the best way is in the submarine, underneath the floodwaters of the Nile.
An exciting, but not quite flawless, adventure novel...
Atlantis Found is an exciting adventure novel throughout. R. Garcia y Robertson brings some vivid detail to the Bronze Age world he creates, and overall, it's an interesting place to visit, with its exotic customs and alternative morals and etiquette. While it's obviously an invented world, where Atlantis occupies the center of Mediterranean culture, it's rather fun to travel back with time travelers who accept the characters of myth as historical figures. It's not a novel that illuminates the real Bronze Age, but it is an interesting interpretation of the world of Greek myths.
Being primarily an adventure novel, suspense is crucial, and Garcia y Robertson maintains it very well. His heroes are far from perfect -- in fact they blunder quite badly at times, and it isn't always their own ingenuity that helps them escape. While the heroes' escapes are predictable in this kind of novel, Garcia y Robertson creates a lot surprises along the way.
Atlantis Found does have a few weaknesses, however. Garcia y Robertson's few explanations of the workings of his time travel universe don't always seem consistent with the actions of his characters. In addition, Jake's opponents pursue a strategy that doesn't make much sense when readers think about it for a while. But even with its flaws, Atlantis Found is a fun book to read, and many people will enjoy it immensely. It's not the perfect time travel novel, but Garcia y Robertson keeps it interesting.
In some ways, I wish Garcia y Robertson had spent more time in the world he created. -- Clint
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