Kiln People (2002) Grade: A+. PB, 576 pp. Imagine what you could do if you could create “golems”--temporary clay clones of yourself, that could function without you. Now imagine what would happen if just about everyone could do it.

At WorldCon in Philadelphia in 2001, Brin read the first chapter of Kiln People. I immediately knew I’d have to read it as soon as I could--and it was definitely worth the wait.

The key to the story is that the golems are temporary: they will fall apart after about 24 hours; if the creator so chooses, the golem’s memories can be downloaded and saved, or just discarded--so one person could go to college, work a job, and take a vacation at the same time. Brin did an amazing job fleshing out the world of this story. It’s clear this is a world where golem technology has been accepted; just seeing his ideas of how humans would (not) adapt to such a world makes the book worth reading.

Thankfully, Brin keeps the tone fairly light: there are just enough puns and jokes to keep a smile on your face, but not enough that the book lapses into parody.

Some people have claimed the ending falls into deus ex machina territory (as does >Earth). While I’ll admit it comes close, I felt that Brin laid the foundation for the ending over the course of the novel. To me, at least, it didn’t come as a shock or a stretch.

IMO, this is the best Brin book I’ve read (just ahead of Startide Rising), and I would highly recommend it to anyone, even people who don’t normally read SF.

Related Books