A.I. Apocalypse

Singularity, Book 2

By: William Hertling

Narrated by: J. M. Badger

Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Leon Tsarev is a high school student set on getting into a great college program, until his uncle, a member of the Russian mob, coerces him into developing a new computer virus for the mob's botnet - the slave army of computers they used to commit digital crimes.

The evolutionary virus Leon creates, based on biological principles, is successful - too successful. All the world's computers are infected. Everything from cars to payment systems and, of course, computers and smart phones stop functioning, and with them go essential functions including emergency services, transportation, and the food supply. Billions may die.

But evolution never stops. The virus continues to evolve, developing intelligence, communication, and finally an entire civilization. Some may be friendly to humans, but others are not.

Leon and his companions must race against time and the military to find a way to either befriend or eliminate the virus race and restore the world's computer infrastructure.

©2012 William Hertling (P)2013 William Hertling

Critic reviews

"Highly entertaining, gripping, thought inspiring. Don't start without the time to finish - it won't let you go." (Gifford Pinchot III, founder Bainbridge Graduate Institute, author The Intelligent Organization)

"A fascinating look at how simple and benign advancements in technology could lead to the surprise arrival of the first AI. And like all good techno-thrillers, the reality of AI is less than ideal." (Jason Glaspey, Silicon Florist)

"An alarming and jaw-dropping tale about how something as innocuous as email can subvert an entire organization. I found myself reading with a sense of awe, and read it way too late into the night." (Gene Kim, author of Visible Ops)

Ok. Not great.

More of a AI narrative than a story with any real tension or suspense. Ok. But not great

Ambivalently endorsed: go do i

Enjoy the first half of this book? Then go read every Cory Doctorow book, they do a much better job at such type story & THEY'RE FREE!! Even on Audio. Just be sure to send him some love.

This story goes an unspectacular path down a predictable telling with the typical elements. The climax of the AI counsel meetings are the heart & gold of this story, but too short. For a better & More drawn out version see the WWW trilogy.

The hostilities are an ok telling, but second to Daniel Suarez every book. Yet fascinating to think: this qualifies as actual wargamming against an adversary that doesn't exist, but inevitably will, but the tactics are hereby invalidated by their exposure. Whatever advantage we should hope our creativity would bring in such a war are hereby subsequently diminished.

Bottom line: acceptable fodder to start conversation & seemingly a gateway to the two subsequent books that garner very high ratings. If you don't read on AI normally: this is a great place to start.

Bonus. Play Decision Problem Paperclips free game while listening! Get into exponential thinking :)

Great listen, loved it!

It's the type of cyber thriller that is easy to read or listen to. I couldn't put it down!

A. I. Apocolipse

The boom was incredible. It was very technical and a lot of violence but I enjoyed the philosophy at the end.

Solid and Interesting

So an "innocent" virus unlike any other takes on a life of its own and controls all of our electronic stuff…including military drones, etc. Makes for some interesting action.

I was hoping for more of a tie-in to the prequel to this book, but it really didn't fill in many holes. ELOP was back, as was one of the characters, but it was 10 years later and not much backstory provided.

In all, it was not a book I would rave about to others, but it wasn't a wasted credit, either.

The 1st book all over again? Nope, It's better.

I was a little worried that this book would just be another Singularity or AI being created and it'd be book 1 all over again. Well, there was another Singularity but that is where the similarity ends. The author once again does an awesome job of meshing good storytelling with accurate tech to keep everyone engrossed in the story.

This Narrator does a much better job than the narrator from the 1st book. Others have disagreed with me but I just didn't like the narrator's performance in Book 1.

I stay away from spoilers so I will only say this, I hope that there will be a 3rd book. The author could very well end this story here, with the end of this book, but I hope he doesn't.

Thank You Mr Hertling.

Great Part 2 to A.I.

Fun, well read, and exciting. Love this writer. My only complaint is that the 3rd book in the series is not on Audible therefore I have to revert to "old tech" and READ the book. The 3rd book is called "The Last Firewall".

Surprising what the narrator can’t pronounce correctly

Fault the producer/director. No, not everyone can speak Japanese — I got to live there — but choking through some fairly common english terms is inexcusable. Does not really impact the story which is excellent. You will want the sequel!

realistic and scary

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

As a software engineer I normally hate to read books concerning computers and software but this one is different. This almost 100% plausible and in a couple of years, might transcend the 'almost' word. .

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I wanted to listen to the whole book without stopping. I listen while driving to work, and found myself in the parking lot listening to the book instead of entering the building.

Any additional comments?

This is book 2 of a set, but it is a stand alone book. I will go back and read book 1, based on the strength of this book, but book 1 was not necessary to follow this book.

Not as engaging as the first

Sort of a rinse/repeat with less intricacy and fewer interesting characters. Lots of robot fighting if that's your thing; not as cerebral and less creepy than Avogadro Corp. J.M. Badger is a decent narrator, but it really ticks me when a professional narrator mispronounces common words like telemetry. Man, if you aren't sure, look it up. And, who edits/directs these books and lets that type of stupid error go uncorrected repeatedly?