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From: gknight@ut-ngp.UUCP (Gary Knight)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Report -- Canonical List of Sentient Computer Novels
Message-ID: <4435@ut-ngp.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 15-Dec-86 17:54:21 EST
Article-I.D.: ut-ngp.4435
Posted: Mon Dec 15 17:54:21 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Dec-86 22:33:36 EST
Distribution: na
Organization: UTexas Computation Center, Austin, Texas
Lines: 40


Hi gang,

      It seems that some of you are getting impatient waiting for my canonical
list of sentient computer novels.  I could post a simple list of everything
submitted to me in a couple of days, but I wanted to do more than that.  In the
first place, some of the titles weren't about sentient computers at all, but
just had a computer somewhere in the plot.  Secondly, I was after novels that
dealt with sentient computers as *principal characters*.  I wanted stories
about their genesis, growth, development, capabilities, etc.  But a lot of the
titles I received had sentient computers that were just props in the plot and
were not themselves the object of investigation.

      So, what I planned to do was read all of them (at least far enough to know
if they qualify or not) and then list each with a non-spoiler paragraph
descriptor.

      But I'll do both -- in a few days I'll just barf back the list (without
repeats, of course!).  Then later in the holidays, when I finish my reading,
I'll post the list (with commentary) that I originally intended.  Okay?

      In the meantime, for the *really* impatient who are looking for some good
holiday reads, the following meet my "principal character" criterion and
are definitely worth perusing (asterisks are *highly* recommended):

      THE ADOLESCENCE OF P-1 (*)
      VALENTINA: SOUL IN SAPPHIRE
      MICHAELMAS
      THE TWO FACES OF TOMORROW (*)
      WHEN HARLIE WAS ONE
      CYBERNETIC SAMURAI (*)
      COLOSSUS (trilogy)

That oughta hold you 'till Christmas, anyway.

-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
        Gary Knight, The University of Texas at Austin.
"All these things will be lost in time, like tears in the rain."
                       -- Roy Baty