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Level Six  By  cover art

Level Six

By: William Ledbetter
Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
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Publisher's summary

Fifteen years after warring artificial intelligences nearly destroyed Earth, a young woman finds an artifact from that struggle, upsetting a delicate balance of power and dragging her into the middle of a new fight for humanity's survival. 

With a significant portion of the planet covered in heat-absorbing black dust, Earth's biosphere teeters on the edge of collapse. One AI faction is attempting to fix the damage, with huge machines trundling across the countryside sucking up dust and planting grass, while another faction cares only about elevating itself to a higher plane of intelligence and will destroy anyone who gets in the way. 

As the only humans still not controlled by AIs race to build huge orbital habitats so some humans will survive should temperatures continue to rise, a more secretive organization grows in the shadows and idolizes the man who triggered the nano-replicator attacks that nearly destroyed the world. They, too, believe the only way to stop the AIs is to annihilate everything. 

In Nebula Award winner William Ledbetter’s Level Six, one woman has the power to save humanity - if she can survive long enough to use it.

©2020 William Ledbetter (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

What listeners say about Level Six

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not as good as the first but definitely worth listening to.

The characters weren’t as well developed and the pace was slower. But still interesting plot and good science fiction. I’m looking forward to the next installment!

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Worthy Successor

A great continuation and expansion of the world which Ledbetter so deftly built (and tore down) in Level 5. While the sequel does not pack as many twists and gee-whiz technical marvels as the first installment, great character writing and tightly depicted tension-filled sequences make up for it. Andrews' narration is as varied and expressive as ever as he brings the characters to life with impressive depth and bredth.

I can't wait to see where the story goes next.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent

I agree with another review I read. It is not “quite“ as good as the first, but still an excellent story. Without searching I really hope that there is another.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal!

Start with Level 5 by the same author. Both are killer hard sci-fi techno-thrillers!!!

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Right up my alley!

I very much enjoyed this continuation of Mortimer's story, and it was wonderful to see him again through human eyes. This story has the perfect blend of humanity and machine and proves again we are more alike than different. Additionally, it's wonderful to read speculative fiction that gets the science so spot on. Thank you Mr. Ledbetter for another amazing story. I'm looking forward to the next one.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A great continuation of the story

Another great story with a pace that never leaves you bored. Highly recommend if you’re into AI and nanotech Sci-Fi!

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant and Scary

Scary series of technology AI and human excitement entertainment with great narration good build up of characters

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Wanted to finish but not as good as the first book.

It felt like the story was rushed. They real glossed over important details and elaborated mundane jargon that was probably made up cause after all this is fiction. But it killed a long drive so in that sense it was a good listen.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Run of the mill AI story but good timing and pace

I wouldn't say there was anything that stood out to me as unique about this story and the dialogue between humans has something left to be desired, but overall I liked this one better than the first

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Solid story

I enjoyed the story- for me it never gets old; good versus evil and the question of how we arrive at the decisions we make for “good” of society-

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