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)

Good, but not his best.

Sawyer's book are always good. This is good, maybe even very good, but most of his stories are exceptionally good. This is book 3 by the way, so make sure you read the first two. If you've not read some of his other stuff (Counting God, Hominid, Rollback, Flashforward), I enjoyed those more than this.

Weaker than the others but still good

If you could sum up WWW: Wonder in three words, what would they be?

Views of AI in society.

What was one of the most memorable moments of WWW: Wonder?

The end of the book, I definitely didn't expect it. I won't spoil it though ;)

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Will an emergent artificial intelligence convince humankind that is here for the good of humanity?

Any additional comments?

I view this book as slightly weaker than the other two due to the fact that it explores the inner workings of the characters the least. To say it another way, the characters came alive in the previous two books but acted as expected in this book with few if any surprises. However, it did wrap the series up quite nicely and would recommend this book to anyone who has read the other two.

Avoided a crash....

With a strong feeling of relief I feel the author barely pulled this story out of it's death spiral that started in the 2nd book. Fortunately, though still present, he tuned down the gay rights, anti God rhetoric that he seemed he couldn't stop spouting in the 2nd book, and concentrated on the story. I almost barfed with the irritating 16 year old girl OMG lines. But his going back to the development of Webmind ended up saving the story, and so I'm satisfied. That being said, it's such a shame that he started out with such a good story in book 1 and in the end failed to carry that story all the way to the end. I really feel that this story could have become a classic in scifi. I feel he ultimately failed because of the PREACHY attitude he took promoting atheism, gay rights, and pro teenage sex to the detriment of the story. None of the wanderings into these topics had anything to do with the story or of the development of web mind. "Come on", if you're going to include these things, at least show how it helped in the development of your characters. He says he spent six years on this trilogy, I'm sorry to say Mr. Sawyer it was 6 years wasted. To finish off I'd like to say that the one good thing in this book is that it did end cleanly with no major questions unanswered and no wish for it to continue.

Surprise of the year trilogy!

This was a total suprise. I can't find the words to praise this masterpiece! It was a long time since I found a recently written book so exciting. Not only the topic focusing on blindness is fresh, the story is exciting, full of fresh innovative ideas. Of course the singularity idea is not new per se but it doesn't hinder the story at all, it enriches the thema. I couldn't wait for every next chapter. Jessica Almasy's narration is excellent, you can't wish for any better. It perfectly fits to the character. Her voice is also very easily comprehensible and pleasure to listen to. I can't recommend this book high enough to anybody who would like to see one of the possible outcomes of the inevitable singularity phenomenon.

Colossus: The Wonder Project

What made the experience of listening to WWW: Wonder the most enjoyable?

This is the third book in the trilogy. The first one was good, it established the background of the story. It felt disjointed and when the second book came along (the best of the three) it finally became a real story. I was excited to hear the third book. The last part of the trilogy was more about the government response than anything else. I was extremenly disappointed in the Caitlin Deckter part of the book. It went from a story of an emerging woman and her relationshp with Webmind, to one of a teenage girl who's thoughts of her boyfriend took center stage.The ads for the book talked about the Chinese man who partly created Webmind was part of the effort to dismember him. False advertising. How the book ended reminded me of a Doctor Who episode merged with Colossus: The Forbin Project. Very disappointing ending. A very cold ending.

Would you be willing to try another book from Robert J. Sawyer? Why or why not?

It appears Sawyer is a good writer and I will read more of his books. He weaves a good storyline.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

After time, the voice of Caitlin was annoying. I enjoyed Colonel Hume presentation. Sounded very government.

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

No extreme reaction, just good listening. Did not tug my heartstrings.

Any additional comments?

A good trilogy, just don't listen to the last chapter

Great Audbile Book, highly recommended

What made the experience of listening to WWW: Wonder the most enjoyable?

I listened to all three books. The narration in this book was one of the best.

What did you like best about this story?

The ending was wonderful. This was a good stand alone, but a wonderful ending to the entire series.

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

Jessica Almasy as Caitlin (or Kaitlin, sorry not sure of spelling) did a fantastic job. I alway enjoy Marc Vietor, and I really enjoyed the reference to Webmind using this narrator as his voice.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I enjoyed the entire book, but the Epilogue was a nice closing.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommend the entire series to science fiction fans or anyone that enjoys a book about humanity.

Good story. Excellent performance!

interesting story, I only had one negative about this whole series, there was a little cursing which I hate to have to listen to, and usually don't....but before it started I was drawn in and very curious about what was next. good storytelling, excellent performance!

Another Wonder

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

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

I just finished the last book of the series and I'm still between goosebumps, and tears after the Epilogue. I never thought I could get so invested in a story about a child, but it wasn't, of course, it is about humanity...Standing applause again Mr. Sawyer.

Naration was among best ever heard

Transition between narrators was perfect. Every one of them was delightful to listen to. Different scenes were done by different actor's. On person was typically the primary narrator for each scene, but when there was cross over between plotlines the original actor portraying that voice still did so.
This was an incredible story and the performance was wonderful!

Great conclusion to great series

I loved listening to this entire series and can say that the author has a fun way of opening your imagination up to fun concepts even if they are a bit out there, the only negative thing about the entire series was at the very end you truly realize just how lonely an existence for Webmind would be with the way the author puts it, and I guess that also was his point he wanted to make so hence the books were all well written and hard to stop when started before finished.