https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3130009.html

I approached this with some trepidation, having bounced off Synners a few months ago - but actually I really enjoyed this tale of a woman with three identities, or possibly three women sharing bodies, or possibly a woman struggling for mindspace with two artificial personalities, each with different parts of the picture trying to work out what is going on. I found it very engaging and even funny in places, as well as a serious exploration of what might happen if personalities can be uploaded and downloaded freely (or, well, for a fee or some other consideration). Cyberpunk doesn't usually do it for me, but this hit the mark. ( )

Classic cyber/bio-punk where identity is shattered by technology. ( )

brilliant. set in the same world as Mindplayers. not only is the story intricate and clearly told but the avant writing keeps sparkling as it shifts to accommodate the subject matter - character voices change, and their names change, and their associations change, as the center cannot hold either in the world or in its inhabitants. at base, it's all about psychological issues running rampant, with multiple personalities, neurotics, and fetishists, all very specific, fighting to survive in a nasty and narcissistic world in which life is cheap. yet it feels possible, and even recognizable as a possible extrapolation along this timeline. and the writer's imagination creates so many indelible characters and types along its streetscapes, it's a joy to read. aside from the psychological baseline themes, it's strong enough to fit in beautifully with the cyberpunk work of William Gibson during this period. ( )

http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2015/08/review-of-fools-by-pat-cadigan.html ( )

reread for Strange Horizons Cadigan retrospective: here. A novel that is, if anything, better than when I first read it nearly 20 years ago ... ( )