The Silicon Man

By Charles Petty and Charles Platt

Book Overview

ANOTHER DAZZLING SPECULATION BY THE HUGO, CAMPBELL, PROMETHEUS & LOCUS AWARD FINALIST AUTHOR.

"A plausible, well-crafted narrative exploring cyberspace in a wholly new and very refreshing way." -William Gibson
"For the first time, a trip into the Heart of Virtual Reality with a Conrad who actually knows the territory. This fast-paced thriller set on the inter-face between Life and Immortality sends real chills down real spines." -Terry Bisson
"In fascinating detail, Platt shows us what it would really be like to live-and breathe!-in cyberspace." -Gregory BenfordWhat would it be like to upload your consciousness into cyberspace? James Bayley, an investigator for the High Technology Crime division of the FBI, finds out when he investigates LifeScan, a clandestine project sponsored by an aging billionaire. LifeScan's aim is to create a silicon universe, and it has embezzled millions of dollars in public funds to create a detailed cyberspace that offers virtual immortality.But what price this immortality? Those scanned will become immortal, virtual gods in a universe of their own creation, freed from the weaknesses of flesh. But to gain immortality, each candidate must first die! And to keep James Bayley from reporting back to the FBI, LifeScan decides to kill him in a car crash and then use him as a test subject - the first person to be uploaded into the silicon universe they have created. But his wife, Yumi, who discovers clues that convince her the car crash was a set up, begins to investigate his death, determined to bring those responsible to justice ... while James trapped in cyberspace, perhaps forever, tries to figure out who and what he is now."Full of good ideas ... a thought-provoking, thoughtful novel." -The New York Review of Science Fiction"A well-plotted, fast-paced, and imaginative look into the future ... a book where ideas drive the plot. Above all, Platt's work is full of surprises." -Washington Post"Who hasn't dreamed of disembodied barrel rolls over the fractal geographies of cyberspace, reincarnated as one of the infomorphs envisioned by Charles Platt is his unforgettable novel, The Silicon Man? Platt's achingly painful evocation of the man, 'downloaded' against his will, who realizes he is a cloud of electrons in computer memory who will never hold his wife and child in arms of flesh again has never stopped haunting me." -Mark Dery, Escape Velocity: Cyberculture at the End of the Century

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B09M59ZX59
• ISBN13: 9798510654028
• Release Date: November 2021
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The Best Book Ever

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.

Good, but I've read better

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.

Kind of a precursor to "The Matrix" minus special effects

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.

Give this book to someone has never read sci-fi . . .

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.

Wonderful!

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!