He, She and It by Marge Piercy - SF - SFBookcase.com - Reference of Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels/Authors.

Series:
Genre: SF
ISBN: 0449220605
Pages: 44 pages
Publisher: Fawcett
Price: 7.50
Reader Rating: 9 out of 10
Votes: 1

He, She and It by Marge Piercy

Description: Someone once described this book to me as a Jewish version of Terminator 2. It's more accurate
to say that it's a Jewish version of Frankenstein and Terminator 2 all rolled up together. Piercy
gives us a cyborg version of Frankenstein's Creature, and she intersperses his story with the
Jewish legend of the golem, consistently raising the issue of the rights of an artificial being and the
responsibilities of its creator. One of the biggest questions raised is, "Do we have the right to
create sentient beings for a *purpose* and do they have the right of self-determination?" (These
issues are raised briefly but thoughtfully in the excellent Star Trek: Next Gen episode "The
Measure of a Man.") Her vision of life in the near-future is scarily convincing and a very plausible
projection of where we are heading if we keep on our current course. From the effects of global
warming to the almost total control corporations have over their employees (each corporation has
its own religion!) to the Glop where the poor, the gangs, and the outcasts struggle to survive-all
are described in vivid, fascinating detail. Her novel also has cyberpunk elements, and she includes
a very creative, descriptive, and just plain *cool* portrayal of cyberspace. Her characterization is
excellent throughout; each significant character is thoroughly three-dimensional and human, from
Shira, the novel's emotional and moral center, to Yod the cyborg to my personal favorite, Nili, a
superstrong and superfast technologically enhanced woman warrior. This is one of my all-time
favorite books, and I literally couldn't put it down. Every time I finished a chapter, I'd say to myself,
"Well, just one more chapter," because I was so involved with the individual characters and their
relationships and the engrossing and suspenseful plot.