Dreamships

Melissa Scott's Dreamships is one of my favorite novels and I return to it from time to read it again. However, if you are looking for fast paced action adventure this is not the novel for you. Scott's work is more character and idea driven, and I find her people and thoughts fascinating. When Reverdy Jian and her co workers Imre Vaugn and "Red" agree to pilot the starship "Young Lord Byron" to an asylum planet called Refuge they get more than they bargained for. Not only is their employer less than honest about the nature of their voyage, but as events play out their trip will catalyze massive social unrest when it is learned that they may have a true artificial intelligence on board. In a sense the book is not so much about artificial intelligence as it is about how the discovery of true AI might impact a society. So Scott takes her time building up our sense of the culture and world her characters inhabit. And to me, at least it is an intriguing world. Persephone where most of the action is set is a planet with a rotation of four standard days so that temperatures on the surface are always either too hot or too cold for comfort. The majority of the inhabitants live in an underground city which inverts our ideas of prestige and power in that the wealthiest classes live far below the surface. Scott has created an equally complex social and political world. The planet is owned by an offworld government, but actually governed by a corporate cartel and the political tensions created by this situation play out as the story unfolds. Also as a person who grew up in Southeast Asia I have a great appreciation for the multicultural aspect that Scott weaves into her tale. So many science fiction novels I have read are simply projections of American culture into the future. While Reverdy Jian and her partner Imre Vaughn are "Yanquis" (caucasians) the majority of Persephone's inhabitants reflect a mixed Asian background, and Scott melds many elements together so that we are left with the sense of an authentically different culture. Another aspect of Scott's work which I find apealing is her willingness to explore what everyday life might be like in a future society. Her characters have real jobs and do real work and Scott doesn't shy away from taking time to explore this aspect of things. Obviously this is not everyone's cup of tea, and I can understand how someone expecting a more plot driven story might be disappointed. On the other hand, I find that when the action beats in the story occur they feel much more real and generate much more tension than they would otherwise. On the whole though, I think it is the people who draw me back to this novel again and again. Scott creates lifelike characters with real problems, hurts and needs. Although the people in the story occaisionally act heroically, they are not heros. They are ordinary working class people who are caught up in events that are momentous and beyond their control. Scott then sets them i

A book that deals with the politics of Artificial Intelligence. The major question is whether or not Artificial Intelligences that pass the Turing Test should have the same rights as humans, or not. A pilot and her crew basically are on an adventure mission, and her ship's computer just might qualify as an AI, so they become embroiled in the controversy.

Melissa Scott creates a fantastic and compelx world in Dreamships, where hard science fiction meets dynamic social commentary. Scott weaves together characters and plots in a way that implies you are viewing only one sliver of a wholely realized world that could be explored for years to come. Scott's technology also has amazing sustaing power years later - her futuristic concepts still hold up as interesting and engaging, unlike other sci-fi that easily ages as technology passes by most author's dreams.

Melissa Scott did an excellent job examining aspects of society and technology. Once you get past all the technical terms you can get so much out of it. I love the ironic ending as well. I had to reread it just to make sure I had read it correctly. I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy challenging their minds to comprehend things they've never even thought of before.

I had read "Dreaming Metal" before I read this book and picked up "Dreamships" in anticipation. I was a little disappointed. I felt the book moved slowly at the beginning, although I liked the concept of piloting a ship using virtual images. I knew from reading "Dreaming Metal" what some of the plot had to be, and found the confrontation between Reverdy and Manfred to be tamer than I had expected. Overall, the technology and the relationships between the people in this story kept me interested enough to finish the book.