Archform: Beauty - L. E. Modesitt, Jr. Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!

Other books by
author L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

"Archform: Beauty"
Message Board

Review Summaries

" . Tor, Jul 2002, 25.95, 330 pp. ISBN: 0765304333 Four hundred years or so into the future, technology and climate has changed the world, as we readers know it. The North American east coast mostly resides under the sea so that the capital of NorAm has moved to the center of the nation Denv. No one lacks sustenance, as there is an abundance for everyone. However, problems remain mostly with self-actualization since people do not need to accomplish much to insure a full belly and a roof. In Denv, police lieutenant Eugene Chiang studies crime statistics seeking patterns when he observes an apparent link between seemingly unrelated events including suicide among the under twenty five crowd. Music professor Laura Cornett struggles with today's popular music that makes her style antiquated and unacceptable with the fad being resonant amplification of the emotional impact causing behavioral conditioning that would shock Skinner. Senator Elden Cannon adheres to his values trying to do the right thing, but his re-election is in trouble due to unknown forces wanting the do-gooder out of the way. Media expert Jude Parsfal learns some questionable things about the Martian Republic. Businessman Chris Kemal deals on anything to make for money for his family's business. These five people will clash in a dangerous convergence. As highly regarded L. E. Modesitt, Jr. is for his speculative fictions, ARCHFORM: BEAUTY is his best work to date and perhaps the science fiction tale of the year. Satirizing the art vs. science war, the author provides a powerful insight into society through his five narrators. His ability to provide distinct lucid voices for each members of the quintet makes the action packed story work. Harriet Klausner "
Harriet Klausner, Resident L. E. Modesitt, Jr Scholar

Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!

Overall Review

Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.

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 - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Cultural problems, alien culture Yes
Culture clash- - one human from different culture of other humans
Intense exploration of society's culture? Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - society

Setting
Earth setting: - distant future
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a fair amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - mostly dialog

Most similar books by Gordonator ranking
Hybrids by Robert J. Sawyer
Angel-Seeker by Sharon Shinn
The Braided World by Kay Kenyon
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Tritcheon Hash by Sue Lange

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

Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Book search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed book search
(click here) or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion

Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!

Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!

Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game

Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

Charmed: Is Piper really a Halliwell? 11/13/2009 11:30:45 AM

Lord of the Rings: Why would Aragorn choose pig lips Arwen Evenstar over Eowyn? 11/12/2009 6:40:39 PM

Xena: 37 reasons why Xena and Gabrielle are... you know.... 11/12/2009 7:23:13 AM

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 11/11/2009 11:48:16 PM

Battlestar Galactica: Was Battlestar Galactica politically conservative? 11/1/2009 9:51:45 AM

Battlestar Galactica: Why were the Cylons so slow and thinking impaired? 10/31/2009 8:36:52 PM

Blade Runner: Blade Runner 10/22/2009 2:43:11 AM

Star Trek Enterprise: Jolene Blalock on T'Pol and Star Trek Enterprise 10/19/2009 2:48:46 PM

Charmed: If Piper Halliwell gets pregnant, can Leo give her an abortion? 10/3/2009 12:29:33 PM

Star Wars: Why did stormtroopers wear armor that didn't work against blasters? 9/30/2009 9:48:47 PM

Newest slaves:
Elektra 9:14:19 PM
Princess Leia 9:12:44 PM
Admiral Helena Cain 9:05:49 PM
Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) 9:04:42 PM
Queen Amidala/Padme (Natalie Portman) 9:02:13 PM
Cat Woman 8:49:59 PM
Starship Troopers Boob Girl 8:43:39 PM
Nikita (Peta Wilson) 8:38:37 PM
Dylan Hunt 8:37:02 PM
Trance 8:35:36 PM
All slaves
(click here)

Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)