From: Robert Slade Subject: Review of "Kill-o-byte" Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 13:05:18 -0800 (PST) BKILOBYT.RVW 940218 Ace Books Berkley Publishing Group 200 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 "Kill-o-byte", Anthony, 1993, 0-441-44425-3, US 6.99 In the early part of this century, an adventure story was published with the cryptic title, "ODTAA". Since this did not refer to a person, place or thing in the story, the author was pressed for an explanation. He finally admitted that it stood for "One D----- Thing After Another." Which is as good a description as any of a Piers Anthony book. They tend to be strings of more or less random activities only barely constrained by the plot line. One tends to see them as hero does this, hero does that, hero does the other thing but it doesn't turn out quite right so hero does the other thing again, more specifically. It feels like a non-interactive text adventure. It is, therefore, appropriate that this book is about a computer game. It may also be appropriate that the game is a version of virtual reality. A recent column in InfoCanada states that to accept virtual reality you need only blind yourself to reality. Anthony's version of virtual reality is, of course, perfect. So perfect that a man who has been a paraplegic for some years is able to climb a rock face without having to relearn how to use his legs. The VR technology is of little interest, however, sine we are told almost nothing about it. The game programming is more interesting, although we have to infer quite a lot. The ability to set up an interactive game situation is only an extension of what is already available. (Sorry, Piers, but to generate full motion complete surround video with no time lags would take a lot more than a Pentium processor, even leaving out audio, tactile and olfactory stimulus.) The players of Kill-o-byte, however, are able to endue their characters with appearance, mental, situation and physical attributes. Physical and appearance, given a workable VR, are no problem. Situation can also be programmed, as far as social class and luck are concerned, but persuasiveness? You would be able to persuade programmed features, or game constructs as the book refers to them, but not other players. With a great deal of programming one might even be able to enhance the mental attribute of intelligence by making it seem that the choice of a dumb move was supported by unknown factors. (I personally wouldn't want to have to try the programming involved.) But enhancing creativity and discipline is simply out of the question. The game, however, is supposed to be able to do all that, and more. At one point, a player with a truthful persona attempts to lie and is prevented. Now the machine is a mind reader, too? (As well as being able to paralyse vocal chords? For those arguing that the computer generates the speech, we are told that players always speak in their own voices.) I was, however, told to review the book because of the virus. There is no virus. The programming referred to as a virus is not the least bit reproductive. Nor is it even a trojan horse or a logic bomb. It is a program patch, aimed at a specific, although random, user. The player thus patched is at the mercy of the cracker. Once the player is locked into the game, he or she is literally locked in: the VR gear cannot be removed by the user. (The makers of Kill-o-byte have never heard of bugs? fail-safe? deadman switches? And, given that the multi-player aspects of Kill-o-byte take place via modem, Piers Anthony has never heard of line noise?) Anthony's cracker is supposed to be based on a composite from stories out of "Cyberpunk." The reptilian little character (ironically afraid of snakes) is completely one-dimensional. Most of the other characters behave with less than the normal allotment of common sense. The Kill-o-byte technical support staff, confronted with a situation of a disabled person locked into the VR gear, would rather play games than take action to forestall a crisis that might see them sued out of existence. The police, likely personal friends of the afflicted individual, act with similar unconcern. For those who enjoy Anthony's style, this is Xanth with no puns and Phaze with less crossover. The aspects of technology in the book are really non-existent, and simply serve to provide a faster changing backdrop to the story. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKILOBYT.RVW 940218 ============= Vancouver ROBERTS@decus.ca | "Remember, by the Institute for Robert_Slade@sfu.ca | rules of the game, I Research into rslade@cue.bc.ca | *must* lie. *Now* do User p1@CyberStore.ca | you believe me?" Security Canada V7K 2G6 | Margaret Atwood