"plot twists and suspense while explore gamut of emotions and ultimately love"
This technological drama incorporates the classic tale of
an angst-ridden and restless youth (twenty-one-year old
Nemo) coming of age in a not-so-distant future society. The
fact that said society is obsessed with perfection and
immortality at the expense of (its) collective conscience
is no small consideration as Danvers explores the theme of
Church vs. State among other political and religious
hotbeds of controversy. Nemo lives in the real world, a barren wasteland outside
of "the Bin"--a cyber environment where the personalities
of more than half of the world's population live and
breathe in virtual reality. The real world, however, is
inhabited by the likes of Nemo. These are the noble and
devoted rebels who refuse to forfeit their mortal souls and
humanity in order to attain utopian eternity, and the
sincere individualists unwilling to give up known evils
outside the Bin in favor of the lesser evils that might
await them in the Bin. Add to these two factions the
assorted crazies and religious fanatics who want to destroy
the Bin and what it represents along with the more than one
billion human essences within, and you are faced with all
the makings of a "virtual" holocaust. Nemo's parents are residents of the Bin. They want and need
to right the grievous wrong they committed when they
deserted their underage, only child to the care of a
Construct on the outside, in favor of everlasting cyber
life in the Bin. Their plan to lure Nemo into the Bin and
their way of thinking takes shape at the youth's twenty-
first birthday party where Nemo is introduced to a
mysterious young woman, with a confused past, whom will
ultimately become either his soul's downfall or savior. Through Nemo and the other denizens inside and outside the
Bin, Danvers takes us on a wild rollercoaster ride of
betrayal, loyalty and sensuality. His insights into the
destiny of virtual reality and the ultimate nature of man
are thought-provoking and highly plausible, and his
characters are poignant and richly textured. Ultimately, "Circuit of Heaven" manages to effectively
explore the gamut of human emotions--from righteous
indignation to young and blind love--while delivering
surprisingly original and imaginative plot twists and
suspense to the tried and true Romeo-and-Juliet themed
romance, sans the hopeless last act.
Reviewed by Gracie McKeever
Posted April 12, 2003
|
