Musings on Tech-Heaven
July 2nd, 2012
Powerful women populate my novel, Tech-Heaven, in a story that explores the impact of cryonics, the slow development of nanotechnology, and political issues surrounding both.
But is Tech-Heaven a feminist novel? What is a feminist novel anyway?
The protagonist of this story is a woman, Katie Kishida. The two primary antagonists are women as well — Senator Ilene Carson and Roxanne Scott — who are both complex characters in their own right, though they also serve as the face of broad-based social forces.
But here’s the catch: at the center of the conflict between these three women is a man, Tom Kishida. He’s Katie’s husband, Ilene’s brother, and Roxanne’s friend. He’s also the dead man the story revolves around, his body preserved in liquid nitrogen while those who love him wrestle over his fate. Katie wants to rescue Tom, to see him through to a time when advancing technology can repair his body and restore his life. Ilene and Roxanne see things differently.
As several reviewers noted, at its core, Tech-Heaven is a romance, but be warned: it’s a grimly determined one.
What I like most about the character of Katie Kishida is that she’s not remotely a superhero. She’s starts the story as a nearly ordinary wife, mother, and businesswoman, but after her husband’s death her obsessive determination to make cryonics real and workable changes everything: her life, her relationships, and the world around her.
Out of all my novels, I think Tech-Heaven is written closest to a “mainstream†style, with scenes of daily life and reflection included in what becomes from time to time, a bizarre narrative.
The story is a very American one, set primarily in California and reflecting many aspects of American culture.
It’s not directly concerned with the role or status of women, assuming instead that women are capable players — or more accurately, that people in general are as capable as they choose to be. Alliances between characters are not made across gender lines, but are founded on shared beliefs and shared goals.
The story also includes mixed-race marriages while paying hardly any attention to them, because in my experience, when you’re living inside one, that’s how it is. But the story does pay attention to love, family, obligation, ethics, politics, and the determination to see a task through to the end.
Tech-Heaven is not a book aimed particularly at men or women, but at readers interested in exploring different sides of controversial ideas and the fallout of advancing technology.
Is it a feminist novel? If it’s not, then the meaning of “feminism†is uselessly narrow. Is it a humanist novel? I like to think so. From a marketing perspective, I consider it a near-future thriller. We’re already into the early years of that future and it seems to me the story still holds up disturbingly well.
Where to sample/purchase the ebook:
Book View Café (worldwide)
Amazon.com USA
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble (USA)
Where to order the print version:
Amazon USA
Amazon UK
Booktopia (Australia)
Barnes & Noble (USA)
Powell’s Books (USA)
Posted on: Monday, July 2nd, 2012 at 11:16 am
Categories: Musings On....
Tags: cryonics, feminist novels, humanist novels, near future, Tech-Heaven, The Nanotech Succession
July 2nd, 2012 at 1:08 pm
Yup. I read it about a year ago and it felt current. The identity politics felt like the weakest part of the story (which probably reflects more on my dislike for identity politics than any actual weakness in the story), but it didn’t seem improbable. The final conflict and its resolution were gripping.
July 2nd, 2012 at 6:22 pm
Thanks, Ted. When I re-read the book prior to the new editions, it was interesting to re-visit some of the debates.
July 4th, 2012 at 11:19 am
I liked the strength of the protagonist, revealed perhaps by adversity, but whatever. And my favorite mental imagery is of her riding the black robot up past the last human settlements and into high-altitude Andes.
July 5th, 2012 at 9:04 am
I think it was Anne Groell, who is still an editor at Bantam, who suggested I take that scene from the end of the book and use it at the beginning. In my opinion, it was a brilliant idea.