Download Audio Books from Audible.

Customer reviews

5 star		67%
4 star		19%
3 star		9%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

How are ratings calculated?

Review this product

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Clark Carr

A novel textbook, or a textbook novel?

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

For the story alone I would have given this a 4* . As an essay on ethics and non-human ethics (which to me is an oxymoron), I would have given it a 4*. As both in one, it’s at best a 3. A melange of class lecture and fable.

Unfair, because I fundamentally disagree on the concept that programmed electronics can achieve consciousness, which I openly admit I believe is only the domain of the soul, Atman, or whatever animates Life (that thing that leaves upon death). That a high form of thinkingness, computingness, calculation might be achieved I do not disavow.

The story was fascinating. The intruding lectures on ethics etc. will be welcome only to the academic. Woe to us all if ever academic ‘ethicists’ should be our judges or jury. God if he, she or it exists is for certain not to be contained in an academic classroom. And Love, may all poets be blessed, needs no AI defender.

I didn’t quit. I read the whole thing although it was a challenge.

I would recommend the book for the serious reader. I don’t think the author is interested in the casual reader. And good for him.

Clark Carr

Kindle Customer

An ethical-moral journey!

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is an ethical tour de force, the author deals with the paradoxical dilemma that stems from the inner struggle within a logical mind over setting free and saving a truly sentient AI, most writers have the tendency to go with the obvious AIs which always decide to destroy humans for obvious reasons, in this case is the complete opposite with a very compelling reason. Wether other readers agree with the reasons to allow an AI roam free among humans is up to them but in my view what we have here is just an opportunity to put ourselves in the narrative and ask oneself what would I do?

Peter Ryan

Is this really sci-fi?

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2020

Verified Purchase

Sure the basic premise of the story is science fiction-like, the idea of an AI achieving sentience is cool and I like it,but the whole thing felt more like a mystery/hostage-type story with a bunch of philosophical reasoning thrown in (God save me from the Interlude). There was also a WHOLE bunch of explaining going in a very dialogue heavy manner. Around two-thirds of the way through (64% on the Kindle) the line "Show, don't tell, Andy." appeared, and I couldn't help but nod at this advice. Having said that, the author clearly is smart, well-read with a cool imagination, and I reckon he's going to write some great stuff in the future. I look forward to his next publication.

Kindle Customer

Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

This book does a great job of sucking you in from the very start and maintaining a really good cadence, throughout. There’s good character development and fun twists, as well. Something that drives me crazy about a lot of science fiction books is that they can become slaves to the science and become long, drawn out technical dissertations. This book does not make that mistake, and uses the science properly, in my opinion, to guide and augment the story. Definitely a solid science-fiction read. I read it in one sitting, having had trouble putting it down.

AiDee

I’m sure there’s a great story here but...

Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

Unfortunately the turgid prose defeated me and I gave up at 18%

This is the author’s debut novel. It shows. There is a lot that’s right: spelling and grammar for example. But interactions between primary characters are lumbering and frustrating. Puzzles that are the life blood of any thriller are buried in unnecessary technical detail and so lose momentum. Hence, by 18% the plot and core motivation of the story was still unclear to me.

Overall, the writing would be so much better with about 30% fewer words. I wish the author well with future novels. The thoughtful afterword, an extensive bibliography and many good reviews show he has something to say.

reluctant.mortal

A Hopeful Imagining of a Possible Future of Artificial Intelligence

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2020

Verified Purchase

I have been brooding for some time on the notion that AI would result in the extinction of humanity. And still it may. Here, however is an alternative trajectory of our future. This entertaining, engaging and eminently understandable work of science fiction renders the compu-geek stuff intelligible for a non-techie like me. It also weaves an elegant series of philosophical, logical and legal arguments into a tapestry of morality which plausibly transcends the vitalism I have believed since childhood, by default. All this is adumbrated within a startlingly clever tale of peculation. This is a fun and thought-provoking read. Is this really a debut novel? If so, we may have a budding classic SF writer in the making.

Anthony

A bit mixed

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is worth a read if just for the questions addressed. The origins of machine sentience and the logical foundations of morality. It is overly polemical however and too overtly an elementary treatise on philosophy of mind 101 and ethics 101 with a bit of a plot in the background to justify the discussion. It contains a bibliography of philosophical references for Pete’s sake. The long winding story picks up a bit at the end when you find out what it was really about. Though I have to say the big twist was a bit contrived and a little annoying. But there’s still some good stuff in there and some great lines. The philosophical question is by no means resolved - which was hardly very likely. But I was always very interested in how it would turn out for Raphael. There wasn’t enough of that. I wanted more.

Corissa Figaro

Excellent & thoughtful

Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

I thought it was a great story, artfully told. I enjoyed the ethical explorations also.
In a way it revisits Frankenstein with the Doctor not a douchebag child abandoner. A satisfying ending.
I borrowed this on Prime then paid for it, it's worth keeping on my shelves.

Top reviews from other countries

K T Ratcliffe

Thoroughly enjoyable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2020

Verified Purchase

I got this based on the summary and reviews. It is a really good book. I haven't found much hard SciFi that I think is hard scifi these days - i.e. a lot of what claims to be hard scifi isn't ! This is, it is a good story, it is well and cleverly written......get it, well worth a read

See all reviews