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In the near future, the nano-drug Nexus can link mind to mind. There are some who want to improve it. There are some who want to eradicate it. And there are others who just want to exploit it. When a young scientist is caught improving Nexus, he’s thrust over his head into a world of danger and international espionage, with far more at stake than anyone realizes.
Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.
New York Times best-selling author Daniel Suarez delivers an exhilarating sci-fi thriller exploring a potential future where CRISPR genetic editing allows the human species to control evolution itself. On a crowded train platform, Interpol agent Kenneth Durand feels the sting of a needle - and his transformation begins....
Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets.
David Ryan is the designer of ELOPe, an email language optimization program, that if successful, will make his career. But when the project is suddenly in danger of being canceled, David embeds a hidden directive in the software accidentally creating a runaway artificial intelligence. David and his team are initially thrilled when the project is allocated extra servers and programmers.
Meet Phluttr - a diabolically addictive new social network and a villainess, heroine, enemy, and/or bestie to millions. Phluttr has ingested every fact and message ever sent to, from, and about her innumerable users. Her capabilities astound her makers - and they don't even know the tenth of it. But what's the purpose of this stunning creation? Is it a front for something even darker and more powerful than the NSA?
In the near future, the nano-drug Nexus can link mind to mind. There are some who want to improve it. There are some who want to eradicate it. And there are others who just want to exploit it. When a young scientist is caught improving Nexus, he’s thrust over his head into a world of danger and international espionage, with far more at stake than anyone realizes.
Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.
New York Times best-selling author Daniel Suarez delivers an exhilarating sci-fi thriller exploring a potential future where CRISPR genetic editing allows the human species to control evolution itself. On a crowded train platform, Interpol agent Kenneth Durand feels the sting of a needle - and his transformation begins....
Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets.
David Ryan is the designer of ELOPe, an email language optimization program, that if successful, will make his career. But when the project is suddenly in danger of being canceled, David embeds a hidden directive in the software accidentally creating a runaway artificial intelligence. David and his team are initially thrilled when the project is allocated extra servers and programmers.
Meet Phluttr - a diabolically addictive new social network and a villainess, heroine, enemy, and/or bestie to millions. Phluttr has ingested every fact and message ever sent to, from, and about her innumerable users. Her capabilities astound her makers - and they don't even know the tenth of it. But what's the purpose of this stunning creation? Is it a front for something even darker and more powerful than the NSA?
From best-selling author Neal Stephenson and critically acclaimed historical and contemporary commercial novelist Nicole Galland comes a captivating and complex near-future thriller combining history, science, magic, mystery, intrigue, and adventure that questions the very foundations of the modern world.
The Galahad, a faster-than-light spacecraft, carries 50 scientists and engineers on a mission to prepare Kepler 452b, Earth's nearest habitable neighbor at 1400 light years away. With Earth no longer habitable and the Mars colony slowly failing, they are humanity's best hope. After 10 years in a failed cryogenic bed - body asleep, mind awake - William Chanokh's torture comes to an end as the fog clears, the hatch opens, and his friend and fellow hacker, Tom, greets him...by stabbing a screwdriver into his heart. This is the first time William dies.
Thousands of autonomous computer programs, or daemons, make our networked world possible, running constantly in the background of our lives, trafficking e-mail, transferring money, and monitoring power grids. For the most part, daemons are benign, but the same can't always be said for the people who design them.
Meet the galaxy's unluckiest outlaws. Carl Ramsey is an ex-Earth Navy fighter pilot turned con man. His ship, the Mobius, is home to a ragtag crew of misfits and refugees looking to score a big payday but more often just scratching to pay for fuel. The crew consists of his ex-wife (and pilot), a drunkard, four-handed mechanic, a xeno-predator with the disposition of a 120kg housecat, and the galaxy's most-wanted wizard.
Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented - something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding. Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix - part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past.
A rising star at a preeminent political lobbying firm, Dag Calhoun represents the world’s most powerful technology and energy executives. But when a close brush with death reveals that the influence he wields makes him a target, impossible cracks appear in his perfect, richly appointed life. Like everyone else, Dag relies on his digital feed for everything - a feed that is as personal as it is pervasive, and may not be as private as it seems. As he struggles to make sense of the dark forces closing in on him, he discovers that activists are hijacking the feed to manipulate markets and governments.
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
How will artificial intelligence affect crime, war, justice, jobs, society, and our very sense of being human? The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology - and there's nobody better qualified or situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor who's helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial.
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
Nothing ever changes in Sanders. The town's still got a video store, for God's sake. So why doesn't Eli Teague want to leave? Not that he'd ever admit it, but maybe he's been waiting - waiting for the traveler to come back. The one who's roared into his life twice before, pausing just long enough to drop tantalizing clues before disappearing in a cloud of gunfire and a squeal of tires. The one who's a walking anachronism, with her tricorne hat, flintlock rifle, and steampunked Model A Ford.
Earth, 2144. Jack is an anti-patent scientist turned drug pirate, traversing the world in a submarine as a pharmaceutical Robin Hood, fabricating cheap scrips for poor people who can't otherwise afford them. But her latest drug hack has left a trail of lethal overdoses as people become addicted to their work, doing repetitive tasks until they become unsafe or insane.
The explosive conclusion to Nexus and Crux.
Global unrest spreads through the US, China, and beyond. Secrets and lies set off shockwaves of anger, rippling from mind to mind. Riot police battle neutrally linked protestors. Armies are mobilized. Political orders fall. Nexus-driven revolution is in here.
Against this backdrop a new breed of posthuman children are growing into their powers. And a once-dead scientist, driven mad by her torture, is closing in on her plans to seize planet's electronic systems and reforge everything in her image. A new Apex species is here. The world will never be the same.
Ramez Naam is a professional technologist and was involved in the development of Microsoft Internet Explorer and Outlook. He holds a seat on the advisory board of the Institute for Accelerating Change, is a member of the World Future Society, a senior associate of the Foresight Institute, and a fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.
Please note that following customer feed-back, sections of this product have been re-recorded. New audio has been made available as of 23 October 2015.
What did you like best about Apex? What did you like least?
The story was the best thing about this book, Naam is an excellent writer and I've been waiting anxiously for the release of this book only to have my ears violated by Stephanie Canon's racist and offensive portrayals of some of my favorite characters in literature.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I really like Fang. A loyal and strong character with a great sense of humor (for a posthuman killing machine that is) then Stephanie Canon shows up and takes a big plop on him, ruining his part in the book, making me cringe at the writing that was properly voiced in the first two books. Boooo Stephanie Canon, boooo.
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Stephanie Canon?
Gilbert Gottfried would have been a better choice. Ben Affleck would have been better, Emo Phillips, Paul Reubens, Bobcat Goldthwait would all have done a better job. Mickey Rooney in his portrayal of Mr Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's would have come up even. What were you guys thinking??? But seriously, get Mikael Naramore back and do it again.
Do you think Apex needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
No, the story is done. anything more would be guilding the lilly. I do however think Apex needs to be re-recorded by someone who doesn't have a subconscious hatred of the asian people.
Any additional comments?
As you can tell I'm furious. I demand a re-recording at the personal expense of the people who put their stamp of approval on Stephanie Canon's performance. Those people should be fired... from a cannon... into manure.
16 of 16 people found this review helpful
Great finale to this series, but plagued by horribly racist cartoon-ish portrayal from the voice actor. It's a good story with an embarrassing performance...
14 of 14 people found this review helpful
What did you like best about Apex? What did you like least?
Story and characters. Horrible narration. One step above my text-to-speech app.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Apex?
I will let you know when I finish READING the book. There is no way I can make it past hour one of Ms. Canon's "performance".
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Stephanie Canon?
Either one of the first two narrators in the series. I have no idea why she was chosen for the finale.
19 of 20 people found this review helpful
Loved the concepts but the narration is killing all the joy I expected to get from this book. Her voice is so wrong for this book.
18 of 19 people found this review helpful
What disappointed you about Apex?
I really thought I could make it to the end of this book, but the narration was simply intolerable. She voices all the Chinese characters as if they work at City Wok on South Park. Was there no one associated with this project who realized what a bad idea that was?
What was one of the most memorable moments of Apex?
Listening to Charlie Chan and his family discuss the geopolitical implications of transhumanism.
What didn’t you like about Stephanie Canon’s performance?
Her Chinese accent is one of the most racially-insensitive things I've heard in a while. It is impossible to take any of the Chinese characters seriously. You keep expecting them to mention their "Numbah One Son".
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
The story is great, but the audio is unlistenable. They should consider re-recording this with a better narrator.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
The stories good but the lady with her stereotypic Asian accents ruins it. She also makes the people in America have a Boston accent.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
I really got into this series for the action, the science, and the speculation. Book 3 continues the tradition. He might have keep pushing a bit further, but on the other hand it was a solid finish to the trilogy.
But the accents!! hahahaha omg, I could not believe she was saying Feng's voice in the most stereotypical Asian accent possible. It was like a joke. Actually, it might have been better if she had done her stereotypes properly, but all of the Asians sounded exactly the same! Nakamura, should have had a distinctly different accent from Shu or any of the Chinese or Thai. Jeezus, is this lady a professional audiobook reader?
14 of 15 people found this review helpful
Did not like the narrators voive impression of Asian people. could have cut out 3 hours or more of filler.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
Any additional comments?
I have to assume that a voice actor is given the book with a team that would include, at least, a director. It's baffling that someone would choose to do such extreme Chinese accents including the heavy rolled 'l's. The sections of the story with Chinese characters speaking really just knock you out of the story - it's pretty uncomfortable and distracting. I like Stephanie Canon's voice and crisp pronunciation for most of the book but the accents are too much.
The story itself is good but I think that I would recommend reading the written book rather than listening to this audible performance.
12 of 13 people found this review helpful
What didn’t you like about Stephanie Canon’s performance?
If you ignore the "Asian" voices for a moment, Stephanie Canon is pretty mediocre. She mispronounces a fair number of words (causality becomes casualty, tyrannies rhymes with fannies).
As soon as Ms. Canon began to do her awful, stereotypical caricature of Asian voices, I thought she was going to tell a joke about "flied lice." While it's normal for characters in movies and audiobooks who are speaking another language to speak English with an accent, these are the most horrendous, offensive Asian accents I've ever heard. We're no longer in the era of Charlie Chan talking about "number one son." The only thing that would be worse would be to know that she had put on yellow face for her performance and taped her eyes at a slant.
Her voice acting basically ruined Apex for me, which is a shame, because I had really been looking forward to it.
17 of 21 people found this review helpful
What did you like best about Apex? What did you like least?
The conclusion to the saga was quite enjoyable.
What didn’t you like about Stephanie Canon’s performance?
the narrator Stephanie Canon did not suit the text at all. Her voice would have suited a childrens book and her character acting was terrible.
Was Apex worth the listening time?
Sure
Any additional comments?
Changing the narrator from two males in two previous books to a female in the finale was a terrible choise.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Such an exciting book and trilogy. it felt like o could also get connected to the mind of people in the book and see through their eyes!
the women reading this put on the worst male voice ever. especially for the Chinese, she sounds like she's talking through a snorkel! Got bored of the story in the end but not whether that was her voice or the story that bored. Either way, she ruined it for me.
Story continues to be great but the change of narrator made it difficult to listen to all 3 books in a row. The efforts at male voices and accents in this talking book are so bad it distracted from the plot. Really wish it was possible to have narrator consistency in a series like this.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Would definitely recommend the book not so sure on this audio version the performance is not good. Too many of the characterisations either sound alike or sound childish!
What did you like best about this story?
Brilliant end to Ramez Naam's trilogy
This tied everything up in a very satisfying way..All in all one of the most enjoyable series I've listened to in ages.Fast paced,intelligent,and thought provoking.Well worth a listen..only one complaint and that was the narration,she does a good job but as the first two books had a male narrator its very jarring.a very poor decision,whoever makes these calls obviously has no common sense at all.