Damian’s Workshop by Deborah A. Kaminski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Damian’s Workshop is a sci-fi story set in the near future, about Brooke, a graduate student who invents a device, the Memex, to enhance memory, which could possibly be used to ameliorate Alzheimer’s disease or other cognitive disorders.Brooke and her lab mates are testing the machine on mice and applying for permission from the University to test in humans, but are turned down. Brooke is fearful because she may not have enough time to complete her doctoral research before her money runs out, so she makes the fateful decision to test the Memex on herself.
Brooke finds that the Memex thrusts her psyche in the head of a man called Damian who lives in Constantinople in the 13th century. She does not control Damian, her mind simply occupies his head and experiences everything that he does. Brooke eventually figures out which era she is visiting–the time of the 4th Crusade, when Constantinople was sacked by the Crusaders. Thus she has an unparalleled opportunity to observe an important historical event first hand. Or does she? Could all of this be just a dream sparked by the Memex, having no basis in reality?
The plot alternates between Brooke’s 13th century experiences and her contemporary struggle to get the Memex approved and ascertain if she’s really observing history. Author Kaminski has obviously done her homework–the passages describing daily life in ancient Constantinople are detailed and vivid, and her characters, both ancient and modern, come alive on the page. You will also find multiple POVs which the author handles deftly, weaving the individual characters’ tales into a coherent whole.
If Damian’s Workshop has a flaw, it’s that there’s too much detail, at least for me. I’m sure some readers will find Kamiski’s chronicle of quotidian events in the characters’ lives fascinating, especially the historical material, but for me, it caused the pacing to lag, and I found myself rapidly turning pages to get to the answers to important plot questions raised by the author. However, I’d much rather read an author who attempts to do too much than too little.
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