Matt's Reviews > Ghost Spin

This was quite the book: conceptually intriguing enough to hang with it through the complex plot structure and difficult ideas. In my mind, the book is about the nature of personhood: how our past shapes us, and how our present circumstances alter us. This is explored through the characters of Cohen, a massive AI character who "dies" by being splintered into smaller, sometimes sentient, fragments; and Catherine/Caitlyn, who "scattercasts," i.e., travels through space by having her information broadcast, resulting in (at least) two recovered/reconstituted persons. These two persons, who share the same history, experience a very different reality and end up on opposite sides of a conflict. What a fascinating way to explore how alternate circumstances might alter a person!

Needless to say, this is heady reading, but it rewards the reader with likable characters and interesting settings. I read this book without realizing it's a "stand-alone" 3rd book of a trilogy; this probably made it even more difficult. Regardless, definitely recommended!

A favorite quote from the book:

"What is this place?

'The same thing every other place is, inside me or elsewhere. Memory. That's all any place is the second after you leave it."