WWW: Wonder

By: Robert J. Sawyer

Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Marc Vietor, Oliver Wyman, Anthony Haden Salerno, Robert J. Sawyer - introduction

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

"A writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation" (New York Times) concludes his mindbending trilogy.

Webmind - the vast consciousness that spontaneously emerged from the infrastructure of the World Wide Web - has proven its worth to humanity by aiding in everything from curing cancer to easing international tensions. But the brass at the Pentagon see Webmind as a threat that needs to be eliminated. Caitlin Decter - the once-blind 16-year-old math genius who discovered, and bonded with, Webmind - wants desperately to protect her friend. And if she doesn't act, everything - Webmind included - may come crashing down.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction written and read by author Robert J. Sawyer.

Listen to the rest of the WWW Trilogy.

©2011 Robert J. Sawyer (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Sawyer shows mastery in his ability to move between complex scientific concepts and genuine and realistic characters....Wonder...is fast-paced and immediately engaging." (The Globe and Mail)

"The shining star of this near-perfect production is Jessica Almasy as the sweet teenager who introduces WebMind to the world. Her equal is Marc Vietor, the voice selected by the machine because of his brilliant work reading audiobooks. (Good inside joke there.) This story, the audiobook equivalent of a page-turner, challenges the listener to pick a side: human or machine. The answer is surprising." (Audiofile)

Well... WOW!

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

Yes I would, because it is beatifully written and the ending is, if you have listened or read the previous books, enough to bring tears to your eyes.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters. They are, if not realistic, at least credible. I might not agree with all the points made and conclusions that were arived at, but they mad eme think and still do.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

WebMind I think, but Catilin as well, heck all the characters.

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

Yes and no. I wanted to, but one scene actually made me want to stop listening.

Any additional comments?

As with the previous book there is certain scenes that might be thought of as disturbing, but in a good way if that makes sense.

A great gift

I’m not one of those people who has to read the last page of the book to begin. But I have this… pesky need to know how it all turns out for humanity. I am very grateful to accept this glimpse.

Also, the book itself is near perfection, just keep in mind that I just thanked a work of fiction for settling my nerves about humanity’s fate.

The 3 book journey has been incredible. Again. I’ll have to let you know if anything changes about that when I visit again, I’m guessing another 4 years from now. Peace.

Great Series!

I just finished listening to Wonder having previously listened to Wake and Watch. I thoroughly enjoyed each book. These books are not only good story-telling, but the best audio productions I have ever heard. The readers were perfect for each part they played and totally believable. Jessica Almasy in particular nailed the part of Caitlin. Thank you to everyone involved!

Brilliant!

This is a great End for the trilogy. It keeps the rythm of the other two books, and doesn't disapoint the followers.

A Truly Riveting Trilogy!

Sawyer has not disappointed me yet!... And if all his novels are like this, I doubt he could!

I’m sure that mine is the most boring positive review written for this book, but I don’t have much else to say other than: Loved it!

Although it’s a Sci-Fi story, I think it can easily appeal to a wider audience because the premise of Artificial Intelligence is just this side of credible, and Sawyer had a great knack for making people think. I felt exactly the same way after reading the Neanderthal Parallax Trilogy. In both cases, I would recommend that you read all 3 books back to back to back in order to really sink into the story properly.

This review really doesn’t tell you much about the plot, I know, but you can read the publisher’s summary for that. If you were debating whether or not to read the trilogy, hopefully I can influence you to do so - I’d be surprised if you were disappointed!

Decent conclusion. But needlessly repetitive.

The final book of the Robert Sawyer's WWW series, "Wonder" attempts to answer the ultimate question: Can an entity who knows everything. Unlike the first two books, however, it appears that Sawyer was attempting to make "Wonder" more accessible to those who had not read the previous volumes. A good 1/3 of the book involves the characters recapping action that occurred in the previous two books. This repetition becomes tedious at times, and detracts from the narrative flow of the story. I think from the onset, this story was broken down to be a trilogy, however, the final act, edited appropriately could have been told in two volumes instead of 3.

Jessica Almasy & Mark Vietor continue with their excellent characterizations from the point of view of Caitlyn and "the entity". The production greatly suffers for the disappearance of Jennifer Van Dyke's narration of the Primate Researcher Shoshanna. The passages from her point of view are ready by Almasy in this production. While there is nothing technically wrong with Almasy's characterization, her intonation and emphasis differ greatly from what we might have heard had Van Dyke had continued with the role. With the three volumes being a "tight" package, this change is somewhat jarring.

You will have to make up your own mind, about how satisfied you are with the ending of the series. Perhaps it takes the well known exclamation "Information longs to be Free." to the extreme, and I still am not very settled with how "the entity" manipulates people as a means to the end he seeks. In "Wake", "the entity" is given his prime directive by Caitlyn and the bulk of the story revolves around how an independent observer with virtually unlimited power would achieve that end.

Completing my thoughts across the books, however, I was very entertained by Sawyer's writing style and enlightened by his knowledge of both pop culture and hard science, blending it together into an interesting brand of science fiction that is highly contemporary and teeters on the edge of the possible. This was the first of his works I've read and I'm eager to go back and check out his other writings, especially the original novel "Fast Forward" upon which the ill fated ABC series of the same name was based. It will be fun to see what was actually intended and left hanging by the aborted production.

Such a great series!

This is probably one of my favorite YA series now. Well written and researched. Loved the character development and the plot. The epilogue was lovely as well. I'm going to check out more of Sawyer's books now. :)

Unmissable

I've been captivated by the www series since the first novel and Jessica Almasy blew my head off with her first rendition of "Calculass!" I'm a SF/AI freak, so the book was made for me anyway. What is wonderful is how Sawyer creates this band of flawed characters who then go on to fight the good fight with charm, courage and heart.

All three of the books are heart-warming and exhilarating. I didn't find the concepts at all hard to believe, except maybe for the rather stereotyped Government bad guys. That's probably personal, I used to be a Government bad guy and I was, er--good:)

While all of the readers(Mark Vietor, Oliver Wyman, Anthony Haden Salerno) play their part, and do so well, Jessica Almasy, as Caitlin Decter is perfect. When you hear actors talk about "creating a role," this is it. Writ large. She IS Caitlin Decter, you believe, and you dance and whirl as the teenager she is. Wildly excited as she works her way through crisis and wonder and the difficulties of the teen years. It is a simply stunning performance and I can't listen to it without a smile or a tear.

There are no grim bodies stacking up for the hero/ine, (blessedly) no Vampires, just normal-ish folks dealing with a somewhat extraordinary dilemma. I loved the front cover, I can see that girl. Wonderful, and for me, best of year.

I loved this series, and I've now read them through time after time. Kindle, Audible and Print. They are that good, but Almasy makes the Audible version UNMISSABLE.


brendan

Very creative and original

It is so rare these days to encounter new ideas in science fiction. Okay, it isn't a brand new idea, but the care and thought Robert Sawyer has put into crafting the concept into a story is remarkable. Although I felt that it was aimed at a younger audience, it was nonetheless highly listenable. This isn't the same old same old. Refreshing and most entertaining.

a good ending to the trilogy

I liked the series very much.
If you liked the other 2 novels, you wont be disappointed.
Web-mind is cool !