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A review by beth_dawkins
Kiln People by David Brin
3.0
Have you ever woke up in the morning, and wished someone else would go to work for you? In this book someone does. People make copies of themselves, and send them out to do the things they don’t want to do. They have specialized colors for different things that determine the copy’s (dittos) function. Once they have spent their day doing their originals chores, they go home so the original can inload the memories. The story surrounds a PI, Morris. He is after a renowned criminal, when he is hired by Ritu, the daughter of one of the partners that came up with the ditto technology, to find her father.
The story is told through Morris’s eyes and his dittos. Through their eyes the reader discovers a very odd world. People have become addicted to experiences that they could never preform in their own bodies. Plots and stories of every kind are reenacted, and then inloaded. The most interesting is that Morris’s girlfriend works part time in wars. Wars are not fought by people anymore, but dozens of fighting formed dittos. It seemed every past time that I could have imagined was there, and more. The world was probably one of the most interesting things about the book. It also begs the question- What would you do if you didn’t have to risk your own body?
The plot started out very strong, and easy to follow, but towards the last half of the book confused me. I found it harder to keep up with what was going on, and feeling like I cared less. It has its moments of technological discussion that made me feel a little lost. Also Morris becomes a very in depth guy, while that is not a problem, it becomes one when his narrative and thought processes start to take up a large amount of pages. Because of this I started to feel bogged down, and a little lost in the pages.
There are not that many side characters, but of the few Pal is the most interesting. He is wheel chair bound, and his dittos are a little crazy, or maybe he is just a little crazy. The other characters , especially the two females either fell flat, or were not in the story enough to matter.
The story offers a very stunning world, but the plot fell off for me. It is off to a good start, but starts to become a slow read towards the end. I felt a strong lack of tension as the ending approached, and not enough excitement when secrets were becoming uncovered. Despite this I have to give the story props for the world, and the basic idea of soul copies. It offers the reader a huge amount of what if questions. This story would make some great discussion questions. I will leave you with one – Would you make a copy of yourself?
The story is told through Morris’s eyes and his dittos. Through their eyes the reader discovers a very odd world. People have become addicted to experiences that they could never preform in their own bodies. Plots and stories of every kind are reenacted, and then inloaded. The most interesting is that Morris’s girlfriend works part time in wars. Wars are not fought by people anymore, but dozens of fighting formed dittos. It seemed every past time that I could have imagined was there, and more. The world was probably one of the most interesting things about the book. It also begs the question- What would you do if you didn’t have to risk your own body?
The plot started out very strong, and easy to follow, but towards the last half of the book confused me. I found it harder to keep up with what was going on, and feeling like I cared less. It has its moments of technological discussion that made me feel a little lost. Also Morris becomes a very in depth guy, while that is not a problem, it becomes one when his narrative and thought processes start to take up a large amount of pages. Because of this I started to feel bogged down, and a little lost in the pages.
There are not that many side characters, but of the few Pal is the most interesting. He is wheel chair bound, and his dittos are a little crazy, or maybe he is just a little crazy. The other characters , especially the two females either fell flat, or were not in the story enough to matter.
The story offers a very stunning world, but the plot fell off for me. It is off to a good start, but starts to become a slow read towards the end. I felt a strong lack of tension as the ending approached, and not enough excitement when secrets were becoming uncovered. Despite this I have to give the story props for the world, and the basic idea of soul copies. It offers the reader a huge amount of what if questions. This story would make some great discussion questions. I will leave you with one – Would you make a copy of yourself?