Archform: Beauty [Paperback]

In "Archform Beauty" the prolific L.E. Modesitt, master of the plain tale plainly told, opts for something more complicated--an intricate five-voices point of view (a singer, a reporter, a cop, a politician, and a businessman), and a tangled plot line. He resolves everything nicely, as the five protagonists, who don't know each other when the book begins, converge by the end.

While the book is set in the 25th century, it has more of a near-future feel (change the Martian Republic to some rogue state on earth and it's likely the technology described is no more than a generation or two away). People communicate instantly via "linking"; fabricated food is fabricated in "formulators"; cars are electric.

And the author doesn't relish the future he imagines--one in which "resonance" enhances music, and maybe manipulates minds as well. In short, it's a world without beauty, and this irks Mr. Modesitt more than somewhat, and he'll probably get you on his side also.

It's seemlessly written and fast paced. And it's less of a whodunit than it is a "how will they figure it out?" You know what the bad guys are up to before the good guys do and, as Alfred Hitchcock knew well, that is the kind of scenario that creates the most suspense of all.

Notes and asides: Sigh. Like most futuristas, Modesitt feels compelled to make reference to "the holos." But since he actually describes how this tech might work instead of search and replacing "movies" with "holos" after he completed his first draft, I am not deducting any stars. The shortening of city names is disconcerting and not believable and sometime merely silly (Denv for Denver). Paris has been around a long time, and nobody's ever tried to shorten it to Pris.

Archform: Beauty (2002) is a standalone SF novel set about four centuries in the future. After the collapse of the Commonacracy, North America was re-unified, with the capital in Denv. The political climate is very different, however, as are the laws and enforcement. A major change is the privacy laws.

In this novel, Luara Cornett is an Adjunct Professor of Music at the University of Denv. She teaches two classes in Music Appreciation and has six private students in Voice. Still, university pay is not enough even for her rather frugal lifestyle. She also does backsinging for rez-based net commercials and occasionally she is hired for art song recitals.

Lieutenant Eugene Tang Chiang is Trends Analysis Coordinator for the Denv District Department of Public Safety. His staff is finding signs of social disturbance, but not in any particular location. The new strain of Ebol14 from the West Asian biowar labs is causing some of the unrest, but the unexplained overdoses and suicides among the young are the most unsettling.

Jude Parsfal is a senior researcher for NetPrime. He searches out historical data and interesting angles to current news stories. He is working on the background of water diversion within the southwest, but his editor diverts him to the McCall death. While the initial investigation concluded that this death had resulted from an accident, the Regional Advocate now claims that her husband had reprogrammed the electral's defense screens to crush the car.

Eldon Cannon is the Senator for Deseret District. He is Chairman of the Economics and Commerce Committee. In the upcoming elections, Cannon is facing a strong bid for his seat by Hansen. His campaign consultant has discovered that Hansen will be depending heavily on a new type of rez-ad tailored for each genotypical group. Cannon decides to anticipate his opponent by using the new techniques early in the campaign and with a positive message.

Christopher Kemal is the new family head since the death of his father. He had been running the family business for ten years, but the death will now make it official. He moves from the office of the President to that of the CEO after the funeral and then continues his normal routine. He has a private conversation with Evan McCall about the death of his wife and the DPS suspicions, then discusses his father's will.

In this story, Luara performs art and classical songs at a private party and gets into a conversation with an older man about music. She passionately argues that music is an essential element of civilization. It promotes rational thinking and accelerates learning. When the older man points out that rezrap and rezpop have widespread followings, Luara declares that they are not music in the same sense as classical works.

Senator Cannon thinks on the subject and has his staff prepare a small prototype program to increase the amount of music appreciation in the colleges. He also suggests that the program will make good publicity for his campaign. Then he proposes a small documentary of the subject with an interview of Luara Cornett as the centerpiece. His campaign manager quietly laughs at the idea, then points out that Luara has been doing the backsinging for his rez-ads all along.

When Evan McCall seemingly commits suicide out of remorse by jumping off his sixth floor balcony, Lieutenant Chiang is asked to focus on the case. Certain aspects strongly suggest that the death was not suicide, but murder. He gets his friend Kama O'Doull of Westside Physical Systems to check the building systems with a couple of DPS techs. They find signs of tampering.

This story digs into the affairs of the Kemal family. Although they are protected by the privacy laws, physical evidence of wrongdoing provides a hole into these affairs. Then information about foreign influence in Noram corporations becomes available and the privacy barriers crack open a little further. Chris Kemal has been a very bad boy.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One person's beauty is another individual's noise. Still, some forms of beauty are admired widely and for a long time.

As the title implies, this story portrays each protagonist as creating or protecting beauty in their lives. It describes examples of beauty in music, politics, the media, problem solving and family guidance. Yet such efforts sometimes conflict with each other. In reality, the sense of beauty is a product of value systems, for that which is valued is seen as beautiful.

If beauty can be ranked, then the scope and duration of each form of beauty might be the key factors. Music is an abstract and universal form of beauty, although it is an acquired taste. Politics sometimes is a quieter, but still long lasting form of beauty. The media can convey a more restricted and fleeting sort of beauty, although recordings provide some persistence.

Problem solving is probably very constrained in scope and consequence, but can occasionally have rather widespread effects, especially when these solutions create new technology. Family guidance produces the most limited form of beauty in many respects and often is the most likely to conflict with similar efforts; still, raising a family is a very widespread artform.

The author is much like Senator Cannon in at least one respect. He is married to a woman much like Luara Cornett and obviously listens to her about music. One hopes that his wife approves of the portrayal.

Highly recommended for Modesitt fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of human relationships, political machinations, and true romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Mr. Modesitt is one of my favorite authors of all time. His character development, focusing on regular people who *influence* history by reacting to situtations they're forced into gives each and every novel a depth and realism not often found.
In Archform: Beauty, Mr. Modesitt follows one timeline, through the eyes and situtations of 5 distinct people. Sometimes, the story is advanced through one person, and a time period, be it hours or days, may pass before the next 'chapter' is begun and the next character picks up the story. Othertimes, you'll be reading a chapter that overlaps with a previous chapter.
Regardless, this book is complex and believable. Futuristic technology that is just a *streach* beyond what we have and know to be possible. Politics that are infinitely believeable, with water disputes, terrorism, new diseases springing up, the 'haves and have-nots', and obtuse threats from the 'third-world' equivalent. And through it all, individuals who are worried about their jobs, families, and finding the money to pay for necessary repairs to their homes. This is *life*, just a bit in the future.

The most impressive thing about this book is simply that Mr. Modesitt presents extra or extraneous situtations and items that you will try desperately to figure out how they all tie in together, until in the last portion of the book you realize the actual thrust of the book, and that the additional items are all just the depth and coloring of the world. Amazing work here.

I gave this book 5 stars, although it is not perfect. Mr. Modesitt often introduces new words to books, and I feel seldom exactly defines them adequately. I tend to appreciate explanations laid out simply and obviously, and in this book there are several new terms presented which you must figure out their intent throughout the book.

I highly recommend this book; it is among the best developed I've read, and an example of the continuing excellence of my favorite author!

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