Page 45 Review by Stephen
I am, I own, very late to this particular party, but until now we've been unable to keep copies consistently in stock since it was first published - which was at least one refit ago. Magnetic Press's distribution has, historically, been lamentable.
And there's no question, had the book not tumbled out of print instantly upon initial publication, that it would have been Page 45CBOTM
Because, with jaw still agape (in awe, astonishment, and with respect), CARBON & SILICON is by several dimensions the very best piece of European science fiction I've read in my life.
Beyond being so exquisitely, intricately, lavishly drawn and coloured to a lush perfection (vertiginous VR architecture reminiscent of early Tombraider had game's the definition sharper, coloured like cola-flavoured jelly-chews), it is (and we are) so perfectly judged with such eloquently and economically expressed clarity, dignity and pinpoint accuracy that I thought I might be reading Yuval Noah Harari.
At several key developmental junctures, I was expecting Bablet to drop the anthropological, socio-political ball - so often fumbled by more famous folks - but Bablet doesn't, not once. Instead, usually through the more perceptive eyes and communicative mouth of Silicon, he manages to nail the human condition: its failure to think through its conflictions of interest, its tribal instincts and its ego.
I'm with Silicon every step of his wandering way. And, believe me, Carbon and Silicon are very different individuals despite having access to exactly the same data.
Oh yes, sorry, Carbon and Silicon are AI-housing androids - the prototypes for what will follow - because we're such blinkered egomaniacs that we have to create absolutely everything in our own flawed image, don't we?
I loved the full-page facial portraits which open every chapter - the changing face of Carbon - almost challenging you to look each in the eyes. Again, with the dignity. I'm still turning them over in my mind.
The publisher writes:
"Two androids crisscross the planet for centuries in search of themselves and each other while civilization crumbles around them. Born in a laboratory in Silicon Valley, two androids named Carbon and Silicon will witness the evolution of humanity.
From this dawn of true artificial intelligence, the pinnacle of human achievement, they will directly witness ecological, economic, and cultural crises that alter civilization as we know it.
Through their eyes, we rediscover our planet as it reaches the point of no return. The latest project by celebrated author Mathieu Bablet, this ambitious work addresses themes separating artificial intelligence from humanity. A fable about the ravages of capitalism and the illusion of transhumanism. A cautionary tale spanning 300 years of frighteningly plausible future scenarios."
