Gaudeamus - John Barnes Book Review

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Review Summaries

" Tor, Nov 2004, 24.95, 320 pp. ISBN: 0765303299 Private detective Travis Bismark visits his college friend, science fiction writer Professor John Barnes in Gunnison, Colorado after the writer spent time on the Internet with a cartoon, Gaudeamus. Travis spins some wild tale about “goddies” pills that enhance sex and telepathy and also describes a baffling technology called Gaudeamus that people are killing one another to gain control. Not long afterward, Travis vanishes while a cyber elk attacks John. Travis keeps appearing and disappearing over the next few months, but at each visit he provides a weirder tale starring exploitive alien businessmen and grunge musical clowns traveling in flying saucers that make even Mr. Barnes' novels seem mundane. Soon John realizes that the clock is ticking and that the earth has less than seven years to learn how to fully use Gaudeamus technology to convert energy from one form to another without space or time restraints. Harriet Klausner "
Harriet Klausner, Resident John Barnes Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Tech./$$$/Info hunt Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying - power source
Robots, Computers, VR Yes
Robot, PC, VR Plotlets: - virtual reality
Parody Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - writer
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Earth setting: - current (early 21st century)
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

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

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