Mindkiller - Spider Robinson Book Review

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"Mindkiller"
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Review Summaries

"As with most books with a clever plot, the reading enjoyment of "Mindkiller" would suffer from my re-telling the story here. Its chapters are alternately following the adventures of Norman Kent (university teacher) and Joe Templeton (burglar), who, several years apart from each other, seem to trace the same mystery that had taken away the sister of the one and the identity of the other. The mystery is closely connected to the invention of "Mindwipe" and the "Wire", the latter of which is an addictive procedure stimulating the pleasure center of the brain through weak electric currents - the drug of the new millennium. Highly imaginative, clever and thrilling up to the very last page, this is the book that inspired the New York Times to nominate "Robinson as the new Heinlein." I have re-read this book at least five times and enjoyed every minute of it. In 1996, "Mindkiller" was re-packaged together with its prequel, "Time Pressure" (ISBN 0-441-80933-2), into a book called "Deathkiller" ISBN 0-671-87722-4), which is the only form in which you can buy it now, not counting used-book stores. "
Balthasar v. Weymarn, Resident Spider Robinson Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Spying & Investigations Yes
What is main char. doing? - unraveling a conspiracy
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - scholar
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - mastermind
Eccentric: Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Earth setting: - near future (later in 21st century)
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - an average amount of scientific explanation
Sex in book? Yes
How much dialogue? - significantly more descript than dialog

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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