Nov

17

Posted by : atcampbell | On : November 17, 1998

Godheads by Emily Devenport

Eight people attended the discussion of Godheads. This is a far future science fiction novel with elements of suspense and mystery. The basic plot follows a young woman sent by a human intelligence organization to infiltrate an alien computer network. Before joining the intelligence organization, the protagonist had been a convicted criminal who was punished by having her mind wiped and being sentenced to several hundred years of cryogenic slumber. Supposedly rehabilitated and retrained, during the course of her mission she begins to have strange dreams and flashes of memory from her pre-wiped self. Ultimately she starts to question everything she knows. The story involves interplanetary travel, psychedelic drugs, lots of sex with aliens, and shopping at a futuristic mall. The fast-paced story never lets up.

All of us finished the novel, except for one who hadn’t had a chance to start it. Only one person had read Devenport before, but that didn’t hinder our enjoyment. We all enjoyed the book quite a bit. The author dealt with

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Nov

03

Posted by : atcampbell | On : November 3, 1998

The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh

Eight people showed up for the discussion of Amitav Ghosh’s novel The Calcutta Chromosome. Five had finished the book, and the others hadn’t had time to read much of it. Although this is not Ghosh’s first book, it’s his first to be marketed to SF readers. The story concerns a medical historian working on the biography of a British Army doctor who made early significant breakthroughs in malaria research. In the course of his studies, the historian begins to suspect that the doctor, who did this research while stationed in Calcutta, may have had guidance from an unknown source. Traveling to India for more information, the historian stumbles across a deep network of secret societies and conspiracies before uncovering the “secret history” of malaria research.

We liked this book a lot. The author’s writing style was compelling, and it evoked a mysterious and surreal atmosphere. The characters were well drawn and complex, and each had a distinct speaking pattern. The story had a lot of

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