Sunday, July 23, 2017

Mindscan, Robert J. Sawyer

BRILLIANT concept. If "Self/Less" is a 2 body problem, this is a 2 mind problem. I loved the opening chapters setting up the split. Particularly insightful was Jake's "oh crap" moment when he realizes that copying is not the same as transferring, and the new I quickly becomes 'he' in Jake's mind, whereas the new I quickly slips into thinking of his previous, original self as 'it.' I thought the narrative split into two separate I's was absolute genius.

And then I expected more of a plot (because of this, XYZ happens). The main event, however, is really a long legal trial. I give Sawyer enormous credit because it's a thought-provoking extended legal, philosophical, cutting edge scientific, meditation on the definition of personhood. Overall, however, the book feels . . . curiously heartless to me, lacking the kind of character change and emotional arc I look for.

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