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I suppose the saga for the most part retains its course, but it jumps around too much between characters and, if not for the endless potted mini-biographies, would be a lot shorter.
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I think the first and the last ('Gods') are the best - and stand alone fairly well. I do like his philosophizing regarding technological metaphysics -(if a soul is an synthetic artifact, do the creators of your soul own 'copyrights'? - up to and including recreation, editing and deleting? - is the reincarnated v2.0 of you really 'you'? What about v56.0 (Burton commits suicide several times - either to escape present captors or to travel). Actually, I like the last one best of all. The middle ones spend there time watching various persons attempt to reach the polar region (north or south, I don't remember) where the control system for the Riverworld is located. And we get to see their petty human failings get the better of them. The most maddening is Sam Clemens - whose belief in predestination (and guilt over the death of his child) is pedantically (and boringly) regurgitated over and over again.
-------------------- 'One man's theology is another man's belly laugh.' - Lazarus Long
Registered: Feb 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Treknophyle: -(if a soul is a synthetic artifact, do the creators of your soul own 'copyrights'? - up to and including recreation, editing and deleting?
I don't think this is that much of a quandry. Putting aside the issue of whether a soul seperate from your body exists, "you" as an individual (regardless of your substance or essence) are created by your parents, and we all, for the most part, recognize that the parental role is a priviledged but not infinitely so.
Registered: Mar 1999
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