false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171312077m/96478.jpg 96478 7 Just about everyone's had a day when they've wished it were possible to send an alternate self to take care of unpleasant or tedious errands while the real self takes it easy. In <I>Kiln People</I>, David Brin's sci-fi-meets-noir novel, this wish has come true. In Brin's imagined future, folks are able to make inexpensive, disposable clay copies of themselves. These golems or "dittos" live for a single day to serve their creator, who can then choose whether or not to "inload" the memories of the ditto's brief life. But private investigator Albert Morris gets more than he, or his "ditective" copies, bargain for when he signs on to help solve the mysterious disappearance of Universal Kilns' co-founder Yasil Maharal--the father of dittotech.<p> Brin successfully interweaves plot lines as numerous as our hero's ditectives and doggedly sticks to the rules of his created dittotech while Morris's "realflesh" and clay manifestations slowly unravel the dangerous secret behind Maharal's disappearance. As Brin juggles his multiple protagonists and antagonists, he urges the reader to question notions of memory, individualism, and technology, and to answer the schizoid question "which 'you' is 'you?'" Brin's enjoyment is evident as he plays with his terracotta creations' existential angst and simultaneously deconstructs the familiar streetwise detective meme--complete with a multilayered ending. Overall, <I>Kiln People</I> is a fun read, with a good balance of hard science fiction and pop sensibility. <I>--Jeremy Pugh</I> 2300358 2002 Kiln People (The Kiln Books) total:634|5:166|4:228|3:172|2:57|1:11| 634 2383 850 61 2 1 false false Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Jan 11 01:24:20 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 11 03:16:21 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue May 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 05 07:33:14 -0700 2007 Wed May 07 04:05:08 -0700 2008 previously read 1 Mar 2003

I am fascinated by the concept of the "dittos" -- an temporary, alternate self that you can imprint your self/soul onto - and then download its experiences at the end of the day. Brin explores this technology and its potential effects on human society ...more...]]> 1 1 false false Mon Mar 17 05:17:52 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 17 05:31:14 -0700 2008
The concept is fun at first. It explores some interesting issues with identity and individuality and so on. Since there's a mystery going on, it reminded me of Asimov's robot mysteries, except here you've got dittos instead of robots.

T...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Jul 20 09:11:09 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 20 09:14:28 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun May 24 20:39:05 -0700 2009 Sun May 24 20:39:05 -0700 2009
A near-ish future detective story set in a world where people can make copies of themselves (dittos or dits) which they can then send off to do various tasks, only to download the memories back into the original at the end of the day.

Brin takes a truly weird idea fo...more...]]> 2 1 false true Thu Dec 18 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 12:18:17 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 06:26:54 -0800 2008

Well, I have to say that I enjoyed the ride, but I didn't necessarily enjoy the destination very much. That is probably because I did not exactly understand the destination - the ending. I loved...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Dec 29 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Dec 25 21:25:15 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 21:25:15 -0800 2008 4
It's good. Quite good. But David Brin has written better.

Kiln People is extremely clever, funny, original, and memorable. It presents a very original idea: a future society in which people can temporarily spin off copies of themselves in clay du...more...]]> 5 1 false true Tue Apr 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 19:16:10 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 12:35:38 -0700 2009 Kiln People is an intriguing book on several levels. Although set several generations into the future, it deals with important issues like identity, "souls", race, technology, and self-actualization. Who is Albert, really? Does he have core character traits? Without his memories, would...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Sep 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 14 15:22:33 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 06 18:38:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 15:12:46 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 15:13:29 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Aug 12 17:00:42 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 12 22:39:04 -0700 2008 Kiln People is the book that finally allowed David Brin to exploit his least-known talent; humor so dark it's black. Not that the book is a comedy, but the delivery of its situations are enuf to border on the absurd at times.

In the future, almost anyone can duplicate themselves into a ch...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Aug 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 08 00:24:28 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 10 00:47:51 -0700 2008
I'm not normally a big fan of puns, particularly forced and freque...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun May 25 11:39:05 -0700 2008 Sun May 25 11:52:36 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Oct 22 15:52:35 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 30 18:01:01 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 22:41:53 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 22:45:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Dec 26 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 10:50:53 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 10:56:54 -0800 2008 The Postman and some of his other stand-alones. In this one, people can make clay copies of themselves that have an imprint of their soul, memories, etc. I enjoyed it (although I didn't rush through it or anything). One of ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 07 10:16:18 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 07 10:16:18 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Jul 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 21:09:06 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 25 01:53:47 -0800 2009 Snow Crash or Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon would love this, too. Albert is a detective in a world where "dittoing" - making copies of yourself - makes the world turn. Instead of working, people make copies of themselves (different color golems = differe...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 15 22:51:25 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 22:53:15 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jun 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 08:54:44 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 11:49:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=96478