The Light of Other Days
   Arthur C. Clarke & Stephen Baxter
   (Sr. Staff Reviewer - D. H. BROWN)
  2000 A TOR Book, NY USA
   ISBN: 0312871996


When a brilliant & driven industrialist harnesses quantum physics to enable people everywhere to see each other at all times; around every corner, through every wall & into everyone's most private moments we are badly shocked. When we realize this technology exposes the wholesale truth about thousands of years of our history, our governments topple, our religions fold & all our societies tremble.

This book really made me look at my everyday perceptions of my life. It made me examine the concept of privacy & how that cocoons my thoughts & actions.

It made me look at our world of cultures & how we have coped with everyday life & our need for privacy. I was amazed at where my imagination took me when I started considering my own life in the light of a total lack of privacy; what that would mean & how I would interact, not only with the world at large, but those closest to me.

Privacy is something taken absolutely for granted & we all get a bit nuts when faced with situations where we get crowded & our privacy decreases. There isn't a human being alive who hasn't faced that dilemma & how we deal with it is by withdrawing into a shell, physically & emotionally, & when that becomes impossible, dire things happens. Things we can't explain.

So imagine a world where privacy vanishes & we must either adapt or completely collapse.

I found this book somewhat plodding as most all of Arthur C. Clarke's books have been but the concepts were absolutely riveting. Would I read this book again? Not right away (I think that's more because the ideas shook me in such a way that I don't even want to examine too closely again.) Will I read this book again? Definitely, someday when the precepts have settled & I can examine them again without too much of a shudder.

Arthur C. Clarke is legendary in the realm of science fiction writing with more than 60 titles many of which are now part of our cultural psyche: Across the Sea of Stars; Childhood's End; Dolphin Island; A Fall of Moondust; The Ghost from the Grand Banks; The Hammer of God; Islands in the Sky; The Other Side of the Sky; Reach for Tomorrow & 2001: A Space Odyssey a few titles among many!

Stephen Baxter is a rising star of modern science fiction winning the Philip K. Dick Aware, the John W. Campbell Aware, the British Science Fiction Association Award, the Lasswitz Award & the Seiun Award. His books include: Anti-Ice; Flux; Moonseed; Raft; Ring; Silverhair; Time; Timelike Infinity; The Time Ships; Titan; Traces; Vacuum Diagrams & Voyage
(09/17/00)

David
A RebeccasReads.com Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
D. H. BROWN is the author of the critically acclaimed HONOR DUE and the Citizens Warrior Series. The son of missionary parents and with the help his Uncle Sam, he has touched base in more than 40 countries.  In 1986 he produced the independent children's film Lessie's Rainbow.  During the late 80s and early 90s, he wrote the book Common Sense and delivered the seminars of the same name for the Community Action Network of Seattle (CAN).  While doing his early Vietnam recovery work, he counseled Veterans and spoke widely to men's groups in Washington state, and was a founder of The Lodge of the Wolf.

D. H. BROWN has worked as a Logistics and Weapons Specialist in Viet Nam; day laborer; Director of Security; Armored Car Driver; Police Officer; Professional Hunting Guide; Trapper; Dog Sledder; Homesteader; Truck Driver; General Contractor; Minister; Editor; Writer; Speaker; Restaurateur; Movie Producer; Antique Restoration Specialist; Personal Care Worker; PC Repair Specialist; Computer Instructor; Webmaster and Web Designer. "I write about what I know."

He lives deep in the Pacific Northwest rainforest with his wife, author and editor Rebecca and Buddy Dog, working on his next book.
Visit him at: www.dhbrownbooks.com