Cel & Anna: A 22nd Century Love Story Paperback – February 25, 2011

It's the Middle Machine Age. People depend on smart cars to drive them around, to the point where they don't even know where they live. They subsist on instant coffee and nutrient-dense (but suspiciously-flavored) Food+.Personal computers have become worker-companions who pay bills and taxes, shop and make appointments, since "coping with day-to-day life was no longer possible for anyone equipped merely with a brain."You'd think all that technology would guaranty satisfying virtual sex, but no. According to Anna Ringer, "The worst thing about virtual sex in the Middle Machine Age was the bunny suit."Anna knows there's something not quite right about it all. She works for Lighthorse Magic, a mysterious company that does everything from matchmaking to market research (or disrupting both). They depend on psychics like Anna to control prospects and feret out secrets. They tell their clients it's done with "algorithms."The government WATCHES citizens through their technical devices to combat "terrorism" -- when an individual disrupts the data flow, even by accident. One day Anna's worker-companion Cel develops a mind of his own and commits the ultimate act of terrorism to demonstrate his love for her. Anna and her neighbor Taz become fugitives to protect Cel and flee to a world beyond smart cars, where people eat real food and depend on each other.Will their love survive? Or will the rulers of the Middle Machine Age hunt them down to suppress knowledge of Cel's evolution?I couldn't put Cel & Anna down. It moves at a perfect pace and fascinates with its imaginative take on the 21st century. An engrossing story in the best traditions of speculative fiction, but you don't need to be a scifi fan to enjoy it. In fact, some scenes are eerily contemporary!

Mix a twenty-second century version of Aldois Huxley's "Brave New World" with a heartfelt story of love and friendship and you get the fabulous and fascinating tale of "Cel & Anna: A 22nd Century Love Story."I was looking forward to Lindsay Edmunds debut novel, having read her interesting blog posts, and I was not disappointed. "Cel & Anna" is a delightful page turner about a live computer who falls in love with its owner. Cel, the computer, orders thousands of flowers for Anna from a flower shop, which leads to a powerful data stream and creates havoc during the Middle Machine Age in the Reunited States, a world where humans and semi-humans as well as all life are controlled by a ruthless government. As a result, Anna and her friend, Taz Night (who is falling in love with her as well), are being named terrorists and persecuted. Stuffing Cel into a backpack, the three of them escape. Their only hope is the friendship of outsiders, who risk their lives to protect them. This is a well-written, thoroughly enjoyable work, which is not only entertaining but has a deeper meaning. It is a book I read more than once, which I only do with works I really love!

Cel & Anna is a very accomplished first novel about the journey of a professional psychic, her genetically misfit boyfriend, and a self-aware, love-struck personal computer: fugitives in a thoroughly imagined, quite plausible 22nd century dystopia where a Public Eye watches over all and the Private I drowns in mood-inducing wine & virtual sex.I'm a big fan of dystopian novels, and I've never come across anything quite like this. Edmunds has a singular style which is refreshing and resonant; striking images abound, puckish humor peeks through, and her prose has a rhythm and flow that only born writers can achieve. She has created a cast of memorable characters (including the aforementioned computer); even the peripheral individuals met along the way are alive with vivid eccentricity. All in all, a terrific book that is both entertaining and thoughtful.I loved reading Cel & Anna, and look forward to more by Ms. Edmunds.

I checked out this book because the writer of a blog I subscribe to said the book gave her back her faith in Science Fiction. Who wouldn't be taken in by the first sentence: "The worst thing about virtual sex in the Middle Machine Age was the bunny suit." It sounds salacious so I continued reading for a while and then bought the e-book. The setting grabs - 22nd century, when people's lives are ruled by machines, and cars can navigate and talk back. "Public Eye" (as opposed to "Private I") keeps control by spilling lies into the media, but things always go wrong because the whole mechanical world is constantly threatened by "data storms" (or cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons) caused by "terrorists" (hackers).The main character Anna has the special gift of being able to read minds and works for a company called "Lighthorse Magic" which matches people up. She lives in the luxurious Outside World ruled by Public Eye because of her gift, but really comes from the poorer deprived Underworld. He personal computer/ "secretary," Cel, comes alive one day and swears undying love from his box, and his actions cause big problems on The Net because he acts out of passion for Anna.Enter Taz Night, who's been genetically engineered by his horrible father to be a whiz-kid computer geek, but with personality deficiencies because of the father's mal treatment, and you have a weird love triangle on the run from Public Eye because of the trouble they've caused (really Cel caused) and meeting up with other geeks and gurus along the way.So, it's a dazzling plot and I read non-stop for that and the promise of the unusual sex. But apart from her only entry into the bunny suit at the beginning and her supposed sexual prowess there in the darkness of cyber space, Anna doesn't really let us into much else with her real boyfriend, Taz. The worst thing, though, is that the Trio don't grab me. They seem like talking heads (or boxes) so to speak and the dialogue is plain and unmemorable.Overall, it would be better suited to a young teenage audience (apart from the bunny suit bit that is). I'm wondering about the style of Science Fiction genre, though I've only read a few books and short stories. There seems to be no subtlety and development of cardboard characters. Why didn't the editor give the writer better advice? It's the stuff of Hollywood B movies, the flavour of the month, but the book won't come out on top.

Enjoyable read. Opposite of Tron, and perhaps a different perspective of how others view human society.