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Memories With Maya (2013)

by Clyde Dsouza(Favorite Author)

3.19 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1482514885 (ISBN13: 9781482514889)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

Createspace

review 1: The book's pace was reallyyyy slow. It only took the meaning of the title half was through the book. At page 133 was the climax, this is where it actually got to-read worthy. I think the book was more about Dan's project than it was about Maya. Though the second half of the book interpreted Maya in his project. Though I try not to give low ratings, this just wasn't the book for me. I actually liked the fact that the book was based off of science. It probably would've been a better read if it was supposed to be more about the science part and the Dirrogates. It's just the fact that it was supposed to be about Maya threw me off.
review 2: I happened to read this book by way of receiving a free copy from the author. I suppose one must call it a science fiction nov... moreel because it does paint a futuristic scenario in Augmented Reality and AI, even though many of the ideas outlined may be realized within a couple of decades rather than in a more distant future. The novel is an easy read but a little heavy on computer tech, which may make it somewhat inaccessible to those who are not enamored by computers.The story starts out with a couple of young techno-buddies, Dan and Krish, working on futuristic ideas on Augmented Reality enhanced by Artificial Intelligence. Early on, a couple of interesting product ideas on AR are outlined but very little happens with the story for almost two thirds of the novel, except for a few sexual acts between Dan and Maya, who happens to be Krish's beautiful sister. Even the sex is enacted through teledildonics (real-time remote sex monitored by computers to enable orgasm)! Just as you look at the ever-advancing progress bar on your Kindle Reader and wonder as to what is in store for the rest of the novel, the story suddenly jolts itself into life with some violence and consequent deaths. This leads us into the moral and ethical dilemmas related to resurrecting a dead person digitally and making the digital surrogates create fresh and new memories for the living ones. However, these dilemmas are hardly delved into deeply by Dan or Krish, leaving the core story pretty much unaffected. As the novel ends, what remains utmost in the reader's mind are the cool product ideas on AR and AI. One of them is a wearable Wizer with advanced AI software running on it. It can read your eyebrows, nostrils and pupil movement and simultaneously refer a vast database using algorithms similar to what police interrogators do and provide real-time knowledge on what goes on the minds of the observed person. I thought it a pretty cool idea to build a sci-fi novel on. Unfortunately, the device's capabilities are hardly put to much use in stirring up the novel's plot.The author does well to keep the reader guessing till the end as to when in the future the story is set, what the race and country of origin of Dan is or the city in which he is based. I tried to guess as I read the novel using some of the clues in the story line. The ideas behind AR and AI suggested that perhaps the events take place around 2030 or so, in my understanding of this area of technology. On the other hand, Dan and Krish are offered $1.2 mil for their ideas and they consider it substantial compensation. This suggests as if the novel is set around the late 1990s or even a few years earlier. Elsewhere, there is the reference to poor kids of Bombay studying under street lights and India's scientific institutions still hobbled by bureaucracy. That sounds very much like today's India. Alternatively, it could also mean that the author does not hold out much hope for India's fight on poverty and good governance. The timeline is finally specified in the last page but it doesn't really shake you up. There are a couple of clues to the city where Dan may be based in but it is difficult to nail it down beyond doubt.My take on this novel was that it felt more like science and less like fiction because I felt that the story line is weak. If you take out the technological stuff, there is not much depth in the plot. Consequently, there is not much intrigue or excitement. There is some expectation after the violent events in the techno-club, but the expectations are belied. Science Fiction in my view, should primarily be fiction and secondarily only be science. less

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