Worldmaker
Over Christmas I read In Pursuit of the Enemy, a great mystery by Colorado writer A.C. Ellis. Well, I thought I would try another of his books - this time a science fiction adventure - since his other one had me reading non-stop. Let me tell you, I'm glad I discovered A.C. Ellis and his books!
Worldmaker - originally published in 1985 and re-published last year - is a combination of The Matrix, Orwell's 1984, and the recent Will Smith movie I Am Legend. In the future, all animals and humans have biochips planted in their brains (and not just for health related reasons as we are beginning to read about in today's papers). These biochips, as a side effect, allow some humans to develop special mental powers, such as predicting the future, changing the past, and manipulating reality. This is where I liked Ellis' premise rather then The Matrix's in complexity of thought and story telling. In The Matrix, as we all know, humans were living in a "dream" created by the Matrix. In Worldmaker, however, people are not living in a dream state and reality is not created by a matrix. Rather, the people themselves create the world, and some - because of these biochips - have the power to make the world "in their own eyes."
This is the central premise of the book: we each create our own reality to some extent - some more then others. How Ellis then weaves this premise into the science fiction novel is what kept me reading over the last couple of nights. As Steven - the central character - discovers his ability to change reality (and thus the world) the book takes so many twists and turns that it is not up until the very end that we discover just how brilliant the story is. I won't give the end away. Let's just say that this psychological science fiction novel will have you looking at your world and your actions in a whole new light.
Vivid imagery, multiple characters, and a philosophical/psychological (largely Jungian) bent are what carry the story. I'm glad to see this book back in print - it's given me some "moments of pause" as I look at myself and my actions in the world I create.
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2 comments:
This does sound interesting, I'd never heard of A.C. Ellis so will have to see if I can find a copy. What book would you recommend starting with?
You can find Ellis' books in quality bookstores and online at Amazon. As for which one to start with, it depends on whether you like science fiction or mysteries. Both are good, so it just depends on what you are in the mood for.
Cheers.
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