The Silicon Man

I totally loved this book. I couldn't put it down. I loved the 5 digit area codes. A must read for any sci-fi reader.

By no means was I disappointed, but frankly a lot of the plot was weak enough to allow the fact that is was merely there to display the concepts show thru.However, the concepts themselves were very well detailed and quite plausible, even if I /would/ prefer to think you could record someone NONdestructively.Overall, it was worth the money and definitely worth reading. But if you're not obsessed with the idea of digital immortality, I don't know how much you'll like it.

Can you live forever by electronically replicating your brain in the form of a computer program? "Uploading," as the concept is sometimes referred to, has been around in science fiction for a long time: variations of it were kicked around in episodes of the old Star Trek ("What Are Little Girls Made Of?", "I, Mudd" and "Return to Tomorrow", among others), The X-Files ("Kill Switch"), and so on.In "The Silicon Man," Charles Platt aims at providing a technically plausible approach to uploading. The plot, such as it is, involves an FBI agent who, while investigating illegal trafficking in a special kind of gun, stumbles upon a group of scientists working on a publicly-funded project thought to have been a money sink, but which has actually succeeded beyond the wildest dreams. The scientists have to get rid of the FBI agent, but they can't quite bring themselves to kill him, so they copy his mind and put him in their electronic universe -- which is kind of like the Matrix (from the movie), though without any of the bells and whistles. Instead of Agents (the computer programs in "The Matrix") to torment our hero, however, there's the main computer scientists, who is a megalomaniac with the power to alter the computer environment as he sees fit. Yikes! Platt pushes the science and technology reasonably far, but the concept still seems a little unbelievable. Happily, that doesn't detract from the novel, which I finished in basically one sitting.

and they will be hooked. I devoured Platt's volume on a recent vacation and enjoyed it greatly. Two non-sci-fi readers have read my copy and they loved it. This is a gripping tale that begs to be made into a first-rate movie.

This is a wonderful book in my opinion, and it really gave me the chills. We have a long way to go before reaching the stage predicted by Charles Platt, but he writes a truly believeable story about a chilling and profoundly disturbing future. Also, I have never been more scared when reading a murder scene! I only wish that Wired Books will continue with these series, White Light is also excellent, and I would never have found these gems had they not been published anew by this company. The cover design and overall design of the books is excellent too! Two thumbs up for both Charles Platt and Wired Books!