Children of the Atom

De: Wilmar Shiras

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Imagine a group of incredibly gifted children — all roughly the same age, all hiding amazing abilities from a world they know will never accept them, and all the result of genetic mutation. One man commits himself to the task of gathering these extraordinary children into an experimental new school, both to guide them in the use of their unique abilities and to shield them from the jealous suspicions of the “normal” population. You may already be familiar with the saga of The Uncanny X-Men — but this is the tale of Wilmar Shiras’ Children of the Atom, first published in 1953 by pioneering SF publisher Gnome Press. Born to workers caught in an explosion at an atomic weapons facility, these remarkable youths were orphaned just a few months after birth when their parents succumbed to delayed effects from the blast. Now they are in their early teens, scattered across the country, each unaware of the others’ existence. But beginning with the introduction of 13-year-old Timothy Paul to school psychiatrist Dr. Peter Welles, all that is about to change. After identifying Timothy and his fellow prodigies for what they are — and for what their potential might be — Dr. Welles commits himself to gathering these “Wonder Children” into an experimental school, both to harness their intellectual abilities and to shelter them from the world they've left behind. At this new Academy, teachers and students alike throw themselves into discussion and learning, laying the groundwork for what they hope will become a rich new chapter in human history. But once the Children of the Atom are all in one place, keeping their existence a secret becomes more and more of a challenge, and escalating events soon force a reckoning not only among the Wonder Children themselves, but also with the larger society that lies just outside their sanctuary’s walls. Over the decades that followed, this eloquent portrait of gifted children confronting a hostile world proved itself to be an enduring classic. It has often been credited with providing the inspiration for Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s world-famous comic book creation, The Uncanny X-Men.

"Children of the Atom" A. I. audiobook

I first read this book well over half a century ago when I frequented the YA section of the library. At the time, I liked the book a lot because I could imagine myself as one of those super intelligent children. At the time, it didn't bother me that the book was all talk and very little action.

Recently I had the urge to re-read the book. It's out of print, but it's available as a Kindle edition. Once I bought the book in my Kindle app, I was offered the artificial intelligence audiobook for a small price, and I bought that. This review is about the audiobook.

Whoever produced the audiobook via A. I. lacked imagination. The book is produced with a single narrator. The A. I. uses the voice of a young adult female narrator. The narration is not robotic, but it's not as good as an actual young adult human woman would have read it.

A producer who wanted to do a good job would have listened to the entire narrative and prompted the A I. to correct the flaws. The characters should have had their own voices. A. I. has the ability to do audiobooks as if produced by a full cast of characters of the producer takes the trouble to give appropriate prompts to the A. I.