It has been a long time since I read some Science-fiction. So, was glad when I got a chance to review this book. Its rather a short book, around 210 pages and I managed to finish in a day. The book deals with the concepts of Augmented Reality and to an extent Artificial Intelligence. How will it impact our emotions/thinking?
Dan and Krish, techno-geeks, have invented a device named Visor (Dan prefers to call it Wizer). The device can help you go to remote locations virtually. Like the way you have avatar in games, you can choose one and can be virtually present. It also can detect emotions and a high-end version of the so-called lie-detector.
Krish's sister- Maya is Dan's girlfriend. Wait, did I tell you, the Wizer can make virtual sex a possibility.
Without the knowledge of Krish, Dan and Maya lead a happy love life, that is until Krish gets transferred to India to work on a project with AIRI, a prestigious research institute in India. Later, Dan is also called to India looking at the potential of the device.
The first half of the story is not at all heavy and you look more for science in the fiction. However, if patient enough, you get what you asked for in the second-half. Both Dan and Krish are working on Dirrogates (Digital surrogates). In the meanwhile there is an accident and someone dies. The name of the book kind of suggests whose death it is. Whether death is final? Or there is something technology can do about that too.
Dan finds a way for dealing with his grief and the title of the book is aptly justified. I could have written more but for the fear of giving away the plot.
The second-half more than compensates for the slow first half and when it ends, you are left asking for more.. I did read that the author is planning a sequel and will be looking forward to it. The book does talk about some philosophical concepts along with the concept of parallel universe. But I would have enjoyed more had been in depth. Anyway, as the genre is science-fiction, I cannot complain much.
Overall, the book was a good read, and one does get hopeful that such a technology becomes a reality soon. Dealing with death of a loved one will then become maybe a little bearable. But one also wonders, with virtual world so powerful, will the real world lose its sheen?
'Memories with Maya' is not too heavy on science, and someone who wants to start exploring the genre, science-fiction can consider this one. Of course, the book should classified in the romance genre too, after all, in essence it is a love story.
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