Nimbus - Hardcover

Murder-mystery/brain-puzzler, set in 2030, in which narrator Peter Ambrose--who makes his living installing ``virts'' (specialized interactive computer chips) in the heads of his clients--wakes one morning to find his computer displaying the hologram of a recent murder victim. Why? Well, the dead man is an old colleague from a mysterious past that Peter has blocked off from his memory--a past involving experiments in mind control during the horrid Wars of Devolution. Other members of the Nimbus group soon come to Peter's attention: Tony Wadkins blows up the corpse that Peter has gone to investigate--forcing Peter to approach his ex-wife, Corinne, to help him recover his scattered memories. Murders of more Nimbus members follow, leading Peter to suspect the involvement of Nimbus's old leader, Linden Straussmann. But Straussmann has been dead for years; the other Nimbus people have gone their separate ways and disclaim all knowledge of the killings--indeed, Peter himself becomes the prime suspect and is himself nearly killed by a desperate Wadkins. Then he recalls installing a particular virt in the brain of Gideon Farley, Corinne's husband--a virt constructed by another Nimbus member for purposes unknown. Hard-working, with fine ideas well worked out, but wildly overdetailed and involuted; the contrast between Jablokov's excellent characters (especially the women) and his mushy, juvenile-sounding protagonist is particularly unfortunate. Better than the mediocre A Deeper Sea (1992), not as good as the splendid Carve the Sky (1991). -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The author of A Deeper Sea keeps readers glued to the page while also providing some thought-provoking ideas in a tale of intrigue set in the near future. Brain modification has become as common as nose jobs, not to mention a frequent prerequisite for career advancement. Peter Ambrose (aka Theo Bronkman) performs such operations for a living and has installed blocks in his own head to remove memories of his years with The Group, a specially selected unit used to devastating effect in the Wars of Devolution. When someone starts killing members of The Group, Ambrose scrambles to find out who and why. Is the murderer one of the other Group veterans, or their old leader Linden Straussmann (presumed dead), or did Ambrose/Bronkman commit the crimes himself, then block them out as he did his other memories? The narrative maintains a breakneck pace but allows ample space for interesting comments on the issues raised by brain modification, most notably the question of who or what people become when they remake themselves at such a deep level. The invention seems forced in a few spots, but on the whole Jablokov delivers an engrossing, introspective novel packed with action and plenty of neat futuristic touches.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.