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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
An entertaining read
The concept of detachable souls is an interesting one. The moral ramifications of a machine that can move souls from one body to another make for an interesting plot line. The ending was satisfying. However, there was way too much dry, essay-like exploration of those moral ramifications. The plot twists felt like a pre-set obstacle course rather than a real story.
The concept of detachable souls is an interesting one. The moral ramifications of a machine that can move souls from one body to another make for an interesting plot line. The ending was satisfying. However, there was way too much dry, essay-like exploration of those moral ramifications. The plot twists felt like a pre-set obstacle course rather than a real story.
Soulminder is less a novel than a series of short-stories connected by a single premise. It starts with the creation of the device and then begins to explore the use--and misuse--of a device that holds within it the absolute power over life and death.
The first chapter throws a lot at you without establishing a good base to stand on. I have no clue how tech like Soulminder, the ability to capture the spiritual essence of a person, would even be possible. Are the machines able to trap the souls due to magnetism on the atomic level, subatomic level, does the soul take up physical space that it can grab out of the air, is it based on weight escaping the body at the moment of death? Seriously, how do you catch a soul? I remember reading a little bit about this in a Dan Brown novel. We also need a reveal about the technology itself and what its made of as well as how it works. I need the science how. I could never get my head around how this is possible. This really distracted me from the rest of the book. With Zahn’s brilliant “Heir to the Empire” trilogy, “Star Wars” is a clearly defined basis to springboard off of. He had little world building to do. I have no idea what Zahn springboarded off of for this premise. The setting does not feel futuristic. I needed that initial “here’s how we do it” to get into the book. Soulminder never convinced me of its plausibility. While there are some interesting insights that follow regarding the misuse of an initially well-meaning technology, it carried little weight for me because I found the whole concept impossible in the first place. I read a lot of science fiction, and this is a very unique idea to explore. However, you can’t just pull an idea out of thin air without giving it a dose of reality.
Also in the first chapter, is Zahn referencing a current politician as one of the “biased characters” trying to fund Soulminder to gain access to the new tech? Additionally, one of the co-creators, Jessica, sells off some Soulminder information to this politician, and there are no repercussions? The founder of the machine doesn’t kick her off the project for selling him out for money? The act itself does not carry much weight when there are no consequences.
Soulminder's entire premise is an exploration of the grey areas surrounding new technology, and I think Zahn has a lot of interesting and thoughtful points. However, I can't imagine how such a technology would work and how such a sought-after machine such as Soulminder would remain monopolistic for at least 20 years long. Seriously… there are no other scientists who could figure out how Soulminder was created? Of course, competition would have made moot many of the issues that Zahn presented.
Most of the consequences were purely physical. There was very little time spent on the emotional and spiritual impacts. There were snippets of these moments, but most of the discussions were about physical elements of abuse. I wasn’t completely absorbed in the stories as these chapters were overall a little dry. The most interesting was the Pro Witness Program chapter and the soul that did not want to die. I liked exploring that concept, but the ideas were left hanging without much resolution. I felt Zahn was just getting to something extremely compelling, and then the chapter ended.
Overall, the book was fine. I read it, but I was not edge-of-my-seat reading it. The last two chapters I couldn’t put down because I really wanted to get to my next book by Rick Riordan. So I guess it was a somewhat interesting read, but it was not well established and explored. I’m very sad to say this too, because I think Zahn is a very talented writer and creative thinker.
The first chapter throws a lot at you without establishing a good base to stand on. I have no clue how tech like Soulminder, the ability to capture the spiritual essence of a person, would even be possible. Are the machines able to trap the souls due to magnetism on the atomic level, subatomic level, does the soul take up physical space that it can grab out of the air, is it based on weight escaping the body at the moment of death? Seriously, how do you catch a soul? I remember reading a little bit about this in a Dan Brown novel. We also need a reveal about the technology itself and what its made of as well as how it works. I need the science how. I could never get my head around how this is possible. This really distracted me from the rest of the book. With Zahn’s brilliant “Heir to the Empire” trilogy, “Star Wars” is a clearly defined basis to springboard off of. He had little world building to do. I have no idea what Zahn springboarded off of for this premise. The setting does not feel futuristic. I needed that initial “here’s how we do it” to get into the book. Soulminder never convinced me of its plausibility. While there are some interesting insights that follow regarding the misuse of an initially well-meaning technology, it carried little weight for me because I found the whole concept impossible in the first place. I read a lot of science fiction, and this is a very unique idea to explore. However, you can’t just pull an idea out of thin air without giving it a dose of reality.
Also in the first chapter, is Zahn referencing a current politician as one of the “biased characters” trying to fund Soulminder to gain access to the new tech? Additionally, one of the co-creators, Jessica, sells off some Soulminder information to this politician, and there are no repercussions? The founder of the machine doesn’t kick her off the project for selling him out for money? The act itself does not carry much weight when there are no consequences.
Soulminder's entire premise is an exploration of the grey areas surrounding new technology, and I think Zahn has a lot of interesting and thoughtful points. However, I can't imagine how such a technology would work and how such a sought-after machine such as Soulminder would remain monopolistic for at least 20 years long. Seriously… there are no other scientists who could figure out how Soulminder was created? Of course, competition would have made moot many of the issues that Zahn presented.
Most of the consequences were purely physical. There was very little time spent on the emotional and spiritual impacts. There were snippets of these moments, but most of the discussions were about physical elements of abuse. I wasn’t completely absorbed in the stories as these chapters were overall a little dry. The most interesting was the Pro Witness Program chapter and the soul that did not want to die. I liked exploring that concept, but the ideas were left hanging without much resolution. I felt Zahn was just getting to something extremely compelling, and then the chapter ended.
Overall, the book was fine. I read it, but I was not edge-of-my-seat reading it. The last two chapters I couldn’t put down because I really wanted to get to my next book by Rick Riordan. So I guess it was a somewhat interesting read, but it was not well established and explored. I’m very sad to say this too, because I think Zahn is a very talented writer and creative thinker.
A newly invented machine called the Soulminder causes massive social, legal, economic and ethical issues. Zahn has covered ethical issues in previous novels, example Deadman Switch uses a Star Drive powered by killing an intelligent being. An excellent example of old school hard SF nicely updated.