In a perilous future, disposable duplicate bodies fulfill every citizen's legal and illicit whim. Life as a 24-hour "ditto" is cheap, as Albert Morris knows. A brash investigator with a knack for trouble, he's sent plenty of clay duplicates into deadly peril, then "inloaded" memories from copies that were shot, crushed, drowned . . . all part of a day's work. But when Morris tackles a ring of crooks making bootleg copies of a famous actress, he trips into a secret so explosive it incites open warfare on the streets of Dittotown. "Kiln People" is a 2003 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel.

David Brin is a scientist, public speaker and author. His novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than 20 languages. Brin's latest novel - "Existence" - is set 40 years ahead, in a near future when human survival seems to teeter along not just on one tightrope, but dozens, with as many hopeful trends and breakthroughs as dangers... a world we already see ahead. Only one day an astronaut snares a small, crystalline object from space. It appears to contain a message, even visitors within. Peeling back layer after layer of motives and secrets may offer opportunities, or deadly peril. Brin's non-fiction book -- "The Transparent Society: Will Technology Make Us Choose Between Freedom and Privacy?" -- deals with secrecy in the modern world. It won the Freedom of Speech Award from the American Library Association. A 1998 movie, directed by Kevin Costner, was loosely based on his post-apocalyptic novel, The Postman. Brin's 1989 ecological thriller - "Earth" - foreshadowed global warming, cyberwarfare and near-future trends such as the World Wide Web.