Last Tango in Cyberspace

A Novel

By: Steven Kotler

Narrated by: Ryan Vincent Anderson

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times bestselling author Steven Kotler crafts a near-future thriller about the evolution of empathy.

Hard to say when the human species fractured exactly. Harder to say when this new talent arrived. But Lion Zorn is the first of his kind—an empathy tracker, an emotional soothsayer, with a felt sense for the future of the we. In simpler terms, he can spot cultural shifts and trends before they happen.

It’s a useful skill for a certain kind of company.

Arctic Pharmaceuticals is that kind of company. But when a routine em-tracking job leads to the discovery of a gruesome murder, Lion finds himself neck-deep in a world of eco-assassins, soul hackers and consciousness terrorists. But what the man really needs is a nap.

A unique blend of cutting-edge technology and traditional cyberpunk, Last Tango in Cyberspace explores hot topics like psychology, neuroscience, technology, as well as ecological and animal rights issues. The world created in Last Tango is based very closely on our world about five years from now, and all technology in the story either exists in labs or is rumored to exist. With its electrifying sentences, subtle humor, and an intriguing main character, listeners are sure to find something that resonates with them in this groundbreaking cyberpunk science fiction thriller.

©2019 Steven Kotler (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

phenomenal

Delightful near future sci-fi ultimately examining what it is to be human and emote through a tale mixing designer drugs, love, corporate greed, Rastafarianism and sundry other punk themes. Terribly engaging and imaginative.

Hang on...

Worth reading till the end.
Argentinean, sci-fi addicted, and keen on kotler's books could not avoid but reading it.
In then end it turned out well, however there were many things that made me want to quick several times along the way.
There is too much unnecessary dope and people smoking and getting high on whatever. It seems that editors will refuse to publish a fiction book that doesn't have some sex scenes, I'm getting tired of this cheap marketing.
Some not subtle references to Richard Brandson, is it à tribute or what? Why not making it clear. It seems it a new trebd in sci-fi books to tweak contemporary events instead if showing them as alternate futures, I don't quite get it.
Finally way too much data showing off all you can read in Kotler's previous books but it doesn't quite fit in the story. It makes is heavy and slow like the old novels with 100 adjectives setting the scene and providing context. A modern way of unnecessary hard reading which to me is just not so good style.
Yet worth reading to the end.

i loved it

so good i wish there was more. will read more of authors work - Steven Kotler

Abgefahren

Eigenartig, aber sehr gut. Dem Sifi-Outsider, wie ich es bin, aber dennoch zu empfehlen. Eine spannende wie unglaubliche Zukunft, auf die man sich freuen kann!

Interesting science, not enough plot

What I liked was the near futuristic take on what technology and society might be like as well as the commentary on psychology, empathy, and animal.

Wish there had been a lot more to all of it though. The main character spends more time doing drugs than using his empathy skill. Also felt a bit unrealistic - knowing real people who truly have great empathy I did not see any of that in the main character and their interactions with others. The plot was not very developed and other than flying around a lot and commenting on the culture in all the places, not too much really happened. All the characters were interesting caricatures but fairly flat otherwise.

New frontier Fast talk, neuro slang, chemtechs

Wise write Kotler's fresh air story blew strait in, left a cool breeze encircling me.

I love this guy. Steve, I hope this isn't a one off...

An uncomfortably believable world. Powerful story

In this world that’s right around the corner, Elon Musk has gotten space travel off the ground. Self driving cars are a thing. And people who can predict the memetic evolution of culture have a new kind of job: em-tracking.
In this world, we can grow all animal products from vats, from meat to leather. There is no need to kill animals. But some people still crave the experience of hunting.
And some of those people are now turning up dead.
With the expanded empathy of an em-tracker, Lion Zorn literally throws up at the sight of hunting trophies and sees animals as just as empathetic as humans. He’s watching the world change towards a brighter, more inclusive future. But not fast enough. And he’s wondering if he’s tracking a murderer, or something else.
This is an uncomfortably believable world: just strange enough to be jarring, just familiar enough to be disturbing.
The characters in this story have the reserve of those who’ve seen it all, and the strength of personality that keeps you reading. The main characters are eloquent, and the side characters are engagingly quirky and very, very chuckle-inducing.
Though the story revolves around Lion, he has supports and connections in all sorts of places: old rockers with pockets full of drugs. Extinction Rebellion types. Idealistic business men. Counter culture creatives. And the strange cross section of society in this story keeps everything interesting. The author walks the line between adding color and creating solid characterization just right. In the end, you see the world through the eyes of these people. And your mind is opened.

Lion himself explores the labyrinthine question of what it means to be human, and what it means to be valuable. He tells an unflinching story of the difficulties experienced by those who are neuroatypical in our world. As an Em-Tracker, Lion suffers from the cruelties of the world. He gets overstimulated easily. He and other children like him do struggle. But he also shows us the beautiful truth: humanity has to evolve if it is to survive. The first steps toward expanded empathy are ones we need to take.
The performance is also top-notch, with wonderful work drawing you deeper into the story.
This starkly compassionate, strangely lyrical story is a modern treasure. Humanity evolves for the better, and this book may help you feel a bit more evolved yourself.

Good story, really great narration

Slowish start, but it serves the story. the narrator has the perfect voice for this story and differentiates characters well. This isn't my usual kind of book, but I really enjoyed it. Recommended!

Reporting from the front end of our spiral up!

The present never sounded so much like a beautiful future! This book captures the thrill of being on the cutting edge of neuroscience literature! I couldn’t stop listening to this one once I started it! Fast pace trailer.

I read both of Steven‘s previous books, so I was totally not expecting this one at all! We’ve got an entirely new flavor here. Turns out this guy was definitely made for writing novels!

I literally had to pause halfway through the second chapter and go by myself some tobacco and Indica!!

I’m only sad it ended so fast!

Nice style, odd story.

Weird story, don't know how to describe it. I really like the authors vocabulary and style of writing however it was a lot of exposition and dialogue. Almost seems like a lot of the chapters didn't have anything to do with one another, only loosely connected while the characters discuss seemingly unrelated things.