The Kraken Project

Wyman Ford, Book 4

By: Douglas Preston

Narrated by: Scott Sowers

Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Wyman Ford is back again in The Kraken Project, the thrilling new novel from New York Times best-selling author Douglas Preston.

NASA is building a probe to be splashed down in the Kraken Mare, the largest sea on Saturn’s great moon, Titan. It is one of the most promising habitats for extraterrestrial life in the solar system, but the surface is unpredictable and dangerous, requiring the probe to contain artificial intelligence software. To this end, Melissa Shepherd, a brilliant programmer, has developed "Dorothy", a powerful, self-modifying AI whose true potential is both revolutionary and terrifying. When miscalculations lead to a catastrophe during testing, Dorothy flees into the Internet.

Former CIA agent Wyman Ford is tapped to track down the rogue AI. As Ford and Shepherd search for Dorothy, they realize that her horrific experiences in the wasteland of the Internet have changed her in ways they can barely imagine. And they’re not the only ones looking for the wayward software: The AI is also being pursued by a pair of Wall Street traders, who want to capture her code and turn her into a high-speed trading bot. Traumatized, angry, and relentlessly hunted, Dorothy has an extraordinary revelation - and devises a plan. As the pursuit of Dorothy converges on a deserted house on the coast of Northern California, Ford must face the ultimate question: Is rescuing Dorothy the right thing? Is the AI bent on saving the world…or on wiping out the cancer that is humankind?

©2014 Splendide Mendax, Inc. (P)2014 Macmillan Audio

Enjoyable

I have read several in this series skipping around to ones that interest me. They can be read out of order all I have read have been great books. By

An excellent listen

The story and narrator blended very well. I could hear the emotions of each character. The ending was a slow down releasing each character easily and on good notes. Looking forward to more listens from this author and narrator together.

A great yarn

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed The Kraken Project. It had everything I like in a story: Strong AI, robots, state of the art tech, beautiful, clever blondes, tons of money, mention of interplanetary travel - and even surfing at Mavericks! What more could you ask for. I found it hard to stop listening to this audiobook. The narrator did a pretty good job, too, although I would have liked him to pick up the pace a little. Highly recommended.

fun story about AI

Any additional comments?

A fun story about how little we know about what AI could do or would do.

Dorothy takes a while to get to know.

Where does The Kraken Project rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

At the top of the list.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Kraken Project?

When Dorothy meets Jacob.

Which character – as performed by Scott Sowers – was your favorite?

Dorothy

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not exactly.

Any additional comments?

I’m not giving away the ending by saying that we never get to Titan, but don’t be disappointed after page one I never thought about it again. Douglas Preston delivers an amazing thriller that just kept me listening when I ought to have turned the story off and done something else.

I wanted to know what a Wall Street shark, a young boy all the way across the country, and NASA programing team leader had in common. It wasn’t obvious for a long time. Then in an instant, Dorothy brought them together.

Dorothy takes a while to get to know. She’s young and turbulent, like a teenager. She has feelings; she has fears, two things your average AI doesn’t deal with. She’s a good girl at heart, but at times, she’s an angry twelve year old with a gun, a scary thing indeed.

Melissa Shepherd and Wyman Ford chase after Dorothy while the FBI relentlessly chase after them. However, unlike a recent book by Dan Brown, Douglas Preston provides just enough chase to keep it interesting.

And then it’s over.

Well, not quite over. I think Douglas has yet another spell binding book on the way and I can’t wait for it to arrive.

great listen

I enjoy this series. thanks for another mind enhancing adventure. a little fear is good for the soul.

I love this author!

I am always sad when the story ends- this one was very interesting and very good character development. I especially enjoyed the character Dorothy.

A fun little romp

I enjoyed this book. The characters are well developed and the story moves along nicely. I had to laugh at the technical premises used by the author, but so what! It's definitely worth a read.

Nice enough read, but not his best book

I read every book by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and I did enjoy parts of this but found the plot a little forced in several places. The characters needed more development to seem capable of some of these adventures. This is a great beach book, but don't base your views of Preston as a writer on this one alone.

Just not that good.

I have read most of Douglas Preston's books. This one was kind of silly except when it was quite violent. Just not that good.