Prometheus Road

Bruce Balfour is the author of science fiction novels The Forge of Mars, The Digital Dead, and Prometheus Road.

The Forge of Mars (rating: 7/10) concerns mysterious artifacts found in caverns on Mars.  I read it in 2004 and noted that while it had a few too many characters to keep track of, I found it interesting that it had so many themes in it, including Navajo culture right alongside virtual reality and AI (artificial intelligence).

Scientist Tau Wolfsinger and archaeologist Kate McCloud, the main characters of The Forge of Mars, also appear in The Digital Dead.  "Virtual versions of the dead control the desires of the ones they've left behind."  I tried to get interested in The Digital Dead but couldn't, and wound up abandoning it in 2006.

But for some reason I thought I'd give Balfour another chance.  I just finished Prometheus Road (rating: 7/10).  Like the previous two books, virtual reality and AI play key roles, but this is not Wolfsinger's and McCloud's world.  This world is a post-apocalyptic landscape governed by gods with control issues.  The lead character, Tom Eliot, must face these "gods" in order to free the land of their control.

Now here's the curious thing.  I'm tempted to give The Digital Dead another chance.  There's some precedent for that with me.  It wouldn't be the first time I've done it.