Derec and Ariel have been exiled to Nova Levis, the site of the cyborg lab that was uncovered at the end of the previous series by Tiedemann. Derec has been focusing the resources of his lab on containing the mutating plagues released by Kynig Pyrapoyos. There is a murder on Kopernik station which appears to be committed by a robot, which Derec is summoned to investigate. In the meantime Ariel is asked to look into the possibility of cyborg survivors getting the right to vote.

One of my main disappointments with this book is that the plot lines don’t seem to pick up in pace until about the last quarter of the book. Irvine doesn’t seem to demonstrate the knack for complexity and pacing that Tiedemann did during the last trilogy. Besides these things the book was overall an enjoyable read. If I could pick out one good thing it would be that the plot lines switch back and forth often enough so that you aren’t stuck wondering what is happening in the other one for too long.

***Spoiler discussion for this novel & Robots and Empire****
I think the biggest question I have so far from Mirage up to this book is; what are Daneel and Giskard doing at this point? Are they aware of this society of robots which is being led by Bogard and Hofton? It is obvious that in this series the Zeroth law has been determined independently before Giskard and Daneel do at the end of Robots and Empire. The same conclusion is reached: isolate the spacers and allow the settlers to populate the galaxy. I am still wondering what will keep the aliens from Robots and Aliens isolated from the Settler expansion. Despite these nagging questions I think that all of these books so far have been an enjoyable read.

If Chimera was more complicated than Mirage, then Aurora is at least that much more complicated than Chimera was. Tiedemann does a good job of weaving between four main plot lines: Derec and Ariel, Coren Lanra, Mia Daventri, and Masid Vorian. There have been severe repercussions following the aftermath that took place at the end of Chimera. Derec and Ariel are recalled to Aurora at the beginning of this book. Ariel which has become romantic with Coren Lanra must leave him behind. Coren soon begins an investigation of his own. Mia works to uncover the inner workings of smuggling through the Nova Levis blockade. Masid Vorian also begins an investigation but as a spy on Nova Levis itself.

Each of the plot lines interacts with each other throughout the novel and eventually gets tied together toward the end. I got a sense of satisfaction at the end that I didn’t have at the end of the Robots and Aliens series. I must say that I am pleasantly surprised that I didn’t remember many of the big spoilers in this series after 4 years. I was definitely surprised at the ending. Sometimes I wonder exactly how much information we actually do remember from experiences over the years.

A common theme which has been explored in many other novels so far is the discussion of what it means to be “human”. At what point does an organism cease to be considered human? There is a major backlash on Aurora since the discovery of actual working cyborgs. These types of cyborgs are much different than that of Robot City Book 3 which was merely a human brain in a robot body. The cyborgs in this series are genetically altered and intertwined with organic and positronic components. This makes classification much more difficult, and the differences in opinion are explored in this book.

Chimera opens up with a flashback to twenty-five years ago to the scene kidnapping of twenty babies from a hospice center. Back at present day, Coren Lanra, security chief for Rega Looms at DyNan Corporation, is working on tracking the actions of Rega’s daughter Nyom. Unfortunately, Nyom ends up dead along with all those she was attempting to help smuggle to the settler colony Nova Levis. The only possible clue lies in the brain of a robot that locked up while trying to save the passengers. Surprisingly, Ariel and Derec are encouraged to help Coren in his investigation by Ambassador Setaris Coren is forced to follow his own leads while Derec attempts to recover the failed robot’s memories. The following investigation eventually reveals the link to the kidnappings, with danger at almost every turn.

Overall, I would say that this second book has a much more complicated set of plot lines than Mirage. I like the Coren Lanra character the best out of all the others in this series. He’s a man of integrity that does what needs to be done without worrying about the consequences to him. The technology he uses for his investigation is very interesting and seems to fit well into the time period. I can see how some of his little gadgets might actually exist some day considering the way nanotechnology is coming along. The gadgets seemed a bit more futuristic when this book was published in 2001. This book also seemed to focus a lot less on Three Law conflicts than Mirage. I would say that is a compliment because some times these “authorized” novels can sometimes focus on them to the point of being repetitive. Mark W. Tiedemann seems to realize that if someone is reading this they probably know the Three Laws inside and out already.

Further discussion of plot points: ***Note Possible spoilers for Chimera, The Naked sun, Robots and Empire, and Robot City series***

As stated in my previous review the Solarians are reclusive to the point that ANY human contact is repulsive. Tiedemann appears to try and cover for this with the following sentence, “To be sure, those Solarians living here did not share the degree of paranoia exhibited … but they still came across as standoffish and mistrustful.” (Chapter 8, pg 123) Also Coren remembers that Solarians have an “aversion to being touched” (Chapter 15, pg. 242) when the Solarian ambassador fails to shake his hand. Anyone that hasn’t read The Naked Sun might not realize that these statements are a bit of an understatement. Almost all Solarians are afraid to even see another in person, except for specified times to meet with their spouse. From what I remember Gladia was one of the few Solarians to leave and her willingness to “See” (in person) people was considered perverse.

Another problem is with Derec saying, “It’s the first place (Earth) I really came to know after I recovered from amnemonic plague (Burundi’s Fever). I may as well have been born here.” (Chapter 11, pg 178) From the Robot City novels the doctors on Earth were amazed with Derec because he had antibodies but had never actually had the disease. His hospitalization was due to the interference of the “chemfets” that were injected into Derec back on Robot City before he and Ariel escaped. His memory loss was later found to be caused by insane father, Dr. Avery, in an attempt to keep him from Ariel/Katherine.

Mirage is a mystery that involves the investigation of the massacre intended to halt talks of a treaty between Earth and Spacer worlds. Derec Avery, from the Robot City series, starts an investigation to determine why both the Resident Intelligence in charge of security and his new experimental robot bodyguard Bogard failed. Early on there seems to be a conspiracy. Derec and Ariel, which have parted ways since Robots and Aliens, are forced to work together to find out who is behind the attack. What follows is an investigation with twists at almost every turn.

It is hard for me to write a review of Mirage without comparing it to the Robot City/Aliens series. Back when I first read this book I had not read any of the Robot City/Alien series so I had no preconceptions about Derec or Ariel. One thing which I found odd while reading in chronological order was that Ariel’s last name is Burgess. Back in the first Robot City books Ariel went by the name Katherine Burgess, until it was revealed that she had suffered from the Pneumonic Plague. She then went by Ariel Welsh which was her birth name. Aside from the obvious continuity issue of what exactly happened to these robot cities, I think that Mirage is very enjoyable novel. Content-wise Mirage is about the equivalent of any two Robot City books put together. The fact that there is a distinct beginning and end coupled with a continuing back story makes this book more interesting to me. I can’t wait to re-read the next two in this series.