Fast Forward Book Review for November 2008

 

MultiReal
by

David Louis Edelman
New York: Pyr Books, 2008
http://www.davidlouisedelman.com/jump225/

A review
by Colleen R. Cahill

A few months ago I recommended Infoquake, the first volume in David Louis Edelman's Jump 225 series. Now Pyr Books has released MultiReal, the next book in that series, and it has the same excitement, tension, and intrigue as the first volume. We are once again taken to a far future where human beings contain programs and society is on the edge of a great technological breakthrough... or a great disaster.

Infoquake left Natch in a peculiar situation. On one hand, he was the major force behind MultiReal, a program that allows its user to pick the best option when confronted with a choice. MultiReal always lets you hit a home run. But Natch has also been infected with black code, biological software designed to destroy a person. That is not the only challenge he now faces, as Natch must fight off Len Borda, defacto leader of the world, who wants MultiReal and will use any means to get it, including sending a strike force to kidnap Natch. On his side, Natch has his team members who are helping investigate all the possibilities of MultiReal and some new allies who include a boyhood rival who certainly has his own agenda that could include setting Natch up for a fall. While he might now be on the top of the bio-software world, Natch's life is still full of trouble, intrigue and many questions.

Edelman has maintained great continuity with his first work while also broadening his characters. Natch is a good example of this, as he is definitely changing under the pressures he is facing. I also enjoyed Jara's struggles with her obsession with Natch and the changing interplay of the various staff in the fiefcorp, all of whom are unique. Even the villains are complex, and not all their attentions are on Natch, as some have to watch each other in this dangerous world. While the plot revolves around a program, this book is definitely character driven, with the motivations and desires of the people at its heart. The slightly familiar but always fascinating world that wraps around the cast only makes the book more compelling. Not that the program MultiReal is unimportant; as Natch's staff discover, not only can you make various choices, but MultiReal allows you to affect the choices others make. An obvious question is - what if two people in conflict are both running the software, and what if you have more than two?

You will want to read Infoquake before starting this book, but I think you will find that no hardship, as the book is in print and an equally good read. If you have read the first volume, you will want to get MultiReal today and continue the exploration of this dark, complex and fascinating work.