John W. Campbell and Lambda Literary Award-winner Melissa Scott exhibits the hip-tech sensibilities of cyberpunk and the mind-blowing complexity of Samuel Delaney in The Shapes of Their Hearts. This intricate novel introduces the god (or is that God?) of the planet Idun (read "Eden"), who was formed when the brain of a prophet was uploaded into the machinery of an artificial intelligence. The machine can copy itself, and each copy contains self-will. Now the god's avatars are leaving Idun, and beginning a campaign to extinguish those parts of humanity it deems "impure"--clones, replicants, and others with sullied DNA.

Anton Tso, a clone, is hired to steal a copy of the AI (known as the Memoriant), but first, he must get past the faithfully fanatic Children of Idun and deal with rampant cyberspace personalities gone mad. Scott's descriptions of the complex world she's created are extremely detailed and atmospheric. Her characters are perfectly conceived and innately mysterious--whether man or machine, ultimately human. This complex but razor-sharp tale will please fans of William Gibson and Samuel Delaney alike. --Therese Littleton

From Publishers Weekly
Taped from the fanatic brain of the prophet Gabril Aurik and melded into an artificial intelligence on the blockaded planet Eden, a wiseacre CyberGod called the Memoriant threatens to wreck the interstellar cybernetwork knitting Scott's latest far-future civilization together. Aurik's loathing for human cloning and the DNA-warping FTL drive bars his cold-eyed Children from leaving Eden, but they smuggle out copies of the Memoriant to spread their inquisitional faith. When Anton Tso, a cloned scion of a powerful criminal family on nearby Jericho, sets out to pirate a copy, the local Theologians trap him in virtual space, necessitating a lengthy conventional rescue involving Eden rebels led by Tso's bodyguard, clone Renhi DaSilva, a high-tech Emma Peel. Scott's colorful setting is Eden's grungy Freeport, where hyperrock Steel musicians scarf greasy fries and Auxiliary policemen ham-handedly juggle conflicting moral obligations. Less compelling are Tso's interminable attempts to escape his virtual prison and Scott's frustratingly awkward character names. No matter how glitzy, virtual reality just can't vivify Scott's provocative vision, a future where a human-made God sets out to make humanity's other creations irrelevant. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
On the planet Idun, populated by members of a Christian cult, a powerful AI (artificial intelligence) has merged with the mind of a deceased prophet, transforming that world into a dangerously aggressive theocracy. Sent by his family of interstellar importers to destroy or steal a copy of the AI's program, Anton Tso finds himself caught in a battle for his own salvation. Scott (Dreaming Metal, LJ 5/15/97) combines the taut action of an sf thriller with the cerebral excitement of cyber-metaphysics. A good choice for most sf collections.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gabril Aurik claimed to have had a revelation from God that human DNA is sacred. He and his Children left a society that accepted human cloning to settle Idun and create a society without clones, genetically engineered robots, and technological manipulation of DNA. As he neared death, the Children worried that his teachings would be perverted. So Aurik had a brain tape made of his memories for future generations of the Children to consult. Called the Memoriant, the tape, considered a copy of the mind of God, was sacred on Idun. Generations later, the tape somehow merged with an artificial intelligence, and its direction is now becoming extremely erratic, inciting the Children to violence against offworlders who do not share their religious beliefs. Can the Memoriant be stopped? Anton Tso has been hired to find out. Scott gives us a story full of deviousness and of characters for whom delicate subterfuge is a way of life. It slowly unfolds, revealing with each new development a situation more complex and intriguing than the last one. Bonnie Johnston

From Kirkus Reviews
Another far-future artificial-intelligence yarn from the author of Dreaming Metal (1997), etc. Here, planet Eden, with its religious-fanatic Children, their Memoriant (a powerful artificial intelligence imbued with the mind of prophet Gabril Aurik), and their support for terrorism, is under blockade. Still, a terrorist bombing on planet Jericho in which numerous bigwigs perished was facilitated by an exported copy of the Memoriant. So, rich, powerful bombing survivor Reiter Spath hires clone Dr. Anton Tso to steal a copy of the Memoriant for its security-busting potential. Tso, who trades on Eden, agrees but realizes that the Memoriant copy will need highly secure containment. Arriving on Eden, Tso's immediately grabbed by the Children, interrogated, then forced to interface with the Memoriant. As Tso's security chief Renli DaSilva teams up with local agent Angel Harijadi (his bosses would like to see the Memoriant destroyed altogether) to track him down, Tso learns that the Memoriant has an enemy in Eden's computer system--indeed, two free-living programs appear to be loose. One, Roy Muhyo, has the persona of an old revolutionary; the other, Caleb, has the ability to move invisibly. Tso must use all his wits and his computer know-how to survive until DaSilva and Harijadi arrive to free him. Even so, he will discover that the Memoriant has partially overwritten his implanted computer chips. Intriguing, at first, with Scott's depiction of cyberspace the main allure, but short on plot and burdened with too many narrative points of view: disappointingly slight and aimless. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

On the planet Idun a computer tape of the uploaded mind of a religious prophet has been allowed to merge with an Al. The result is both a Christian icon - a godlike being venerated by the faithful - and a powerful religious terrorist in its computer avatars off-planet. This a god of whom many copies exist. Anton Tso's challenge is to stop the terrorism without killing God.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Taped from the fanatic brain of the prophet Gabril Aurik and melded into an artificial intelligence on the blockaded planet Eden, a wiseacre CyberGod called the Memoriant threatens to wreck the interstellar cybernetwork knitting Scott's latest far-future civilization together. Aurik's loathing for human cloning and the DNA-warping FTL drive bars his cold-eyed Children from leaving Eden, but they smuggle out copies of the Memoriant to spread their inquisitional faith. When Anton Tso, a cloned scion of a powerful criminal family on nearby Jericho, sets out to pirate a copy, the local Theologians trap him in virtual space, necessitating a lengthy conventional rescue involving Eden rebels led by Tso's bodyguard, clone Renhi DaSilva, a high-tech Emma Peel. Scott's colorful setting is Eden's grungy Freeport, where hyperrock Steel musicians scarf greasy fries and Auxiliary policemen ham-handedly juggle conflicting moral obligations. Less compelling are Tso's interminable attempts to escape his virtual prison and Scott's frustratingly awkward character names. No matter how glitzy, virtual reality just can't vivify Scott's provocative vision, a future where a human-made God sets out to make humanity's other creations irrelevant. (June)

Library Journal

On the planet Idun, populated by members of a Christian cult, a powerful AI (artificial intelligence) has merged with the mind of a deceased prophet, transforming that world into a dangerously aggressive theocracy. Sent by his family of interstellar importers to destroy or steal a copy of the AI's program, Anton Tso finds himself caught in a battle for his own salvation. Scott (Dreaming Metal, LJ 5/15/97) combines the taut action of an sf thriller with the cerebral excitement of cyber-metaphysics. A good choice for most sf collections.

Kirkus Reviews

Another far-future artificial-intelligence yarn from the author of Dreaming Metal (1997), etc. Here, planet Eden, with its religious-fanatic Children, their Memoriant (a powerful artificial intelligence imbued with the mind of prophet Gabril Aurik), and their support for terrorism, is under blockade. Still, a terrorist bombing on planet Jericho in which numerous bigwigs perished was facilitated by an exported copy of the Memoriant. So, rich, powerful bombing survivor Reiter Spath hires clone Dr. Anton Tso to steal a copy of the Memoriant for its security-busting potential. Tso, who trades on Eden, agrees but realizes that the Memoriant copy will need highly secure containment. Arriving on Eden, Tso's immediately grabbed by the Children, interrogated, then forced to interface with the Memoriant. As Tso's security chief Renli DaSilva teams up with local agent Angel Harijadi (his bosses would like to see the Memoriant destroyed altogether) to track him down, Tso learns that the Memoriant has an enemy in Eden's computer system—indeed, two free-living programs appear to be loose. One, Roy Muhyo, has the persona of an old revolutionary; the other, Caleb, has the ability to move invisibly. Tso must use all his wits and his computer know-how to survive until DaSilva and Harijadi arrive to free him. Even so, he will discover that the Memoriant has partially overwritten his implanted computer chips. Intriguing, at first, with Scott's depiction of cyberspace the main allure, but short on plot and burdened with too many narrative points of view: disappointingly slight and aimless.