Silicon Man

Horror author William Massa has been terrifying me since I first watched saw the film he scripted—Return to the House on Haunted Hill. Since then, I have ploughed through his writings, recently reading his hybrid cyberpunk-android-civil-rights-commentary-action-packed-science-fiction-novel Silicon Man.

First, Silicon Man mixes two of my favorite subjects—history and science fiction. As a historian, Massa’s fresh take on human bondage and the question of property (even on free-will androids) confronts the reader with numerous ethical questions that are ingrained in most nations' histories. The ultimate question: what is it to be free? Beyond its metaphysical merits; the action is great! The world that Massa constructs feels at times, too close to home. A likely dystopian future that evokes humankind to question twenty-first century issues, especially concerning civilization’s mass consumption of nonrenewable resources.

Silicon Man is an excellent techno-thriller that goes far and beyond most stories in the genre that I have read. Luckily, there is a prequel Silicon Dawn. Hopefully it will make it into my read list shortly!