PG16- (some x,some v,some b)

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There are two short novellas that make up Plugged-In Souls: "Plastic Dreams" and "Angels of Mercy". The first one, the better of the two, follows the life of Austin, a man without a past, a job, a family, or any other anchors in his life except his girlfriend Elyse and his mysterious friend Jim. About a year into his strange existance, Austin discovers that he is not human at all, but an artificial life-form, with no rights and a death sentence from his creator. At this point, the plot becomes more convoluted and interesting, though the preachiness about the lack of rights for artificials almost undermines the sympathy the reader feels for Austin. Though the style and dialogue are just a bit amateurish, the plot itself is well-woven.

"Angels of Mercy" follows the attempt of Austin's brother Mark and Elyse's sister Abby as they try to free human beings who are working as slave artificials in a mining camp 15 light-years from Earth. Though the premise is interesting, several chunks of the story are told, rather than shown, so the characters' emotions never quite grab the reader. Again, though, the basic ideas behind Claassen's artificials are interesting. These two stories have the feel of early works, and the writer may improve his style to match his plots in the next few years.

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Last Updated: January 28, 2000

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