Silicon Man

By: W.H. Massa

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

A global pandemic has cut the human population in half. An android workforce fills the void left by the devastation. But some of the AIs have grown tired of being slaves. Some want freedom. An underground movement of runaways has sprung up and wages a shadow war with a simple objective - equal rights for artificial people.

Enter Commander Cole Marsalis, head of the AI-TAC first response team trained to deal with the rogue robots. Now he has been tasked with the ultimate undercover mission - infiltrate the android underground. But to do so, he will have to become that which he hates the most....

A machine!

©2014 William Massa (P)2016 William Massa

An "Easy Listening" entry in the Sci Fi genre

I didn't have hugely high expectations for this book, and I wasn't disappointed. It was a fun story, an easy listen. I could easily see this book as a pilot for a syndicated tv show with middling production values. I think the story could've used a bit more editing. I found the use of "futuristic" as a standalone adjective particularly silly and meaningless.

The narration was okay, though I won't go out of my way to look for other books narrated by Joe Hempel. He was competent without standing out. His female voices didn't jar me out of the story like some male narrators do.

If you're looking to be blown away by intense prose or an amazing vocal performance, then this isn't the book for you. But if you want something a little sci-fi (or maybe more Sy-Fy) that you can enjoy the background and not be too worried about missing a word here and there, this is a good find.

[Disclaimer - I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review.]

Thought provoking read

I loved this thought proving story of the progressing of AI's from "machine" to "living species." It is fast paced, exciting and heart wrenching. The parallels between the old slave trade and the treatment of the AI's is definitely eye opening. At what point do you consider a "machine" that is able to surpass its human programming to act and think independently to be a new "living" species? At what point do they become slaves and their human developers/users become the oppressors? Joe Hemple's narration fits the story well. He keeps the pace at just the right speed and imparts feeling into all the right places. Even though it is a stand-a-lone story, if you read Silicone Dawn first you will gain a greater understanding of the back story and origins of the AI's. The development of the characters and their relationships pulls you into the story and surprises you as it creates empathy and understanding with the AI's plight. You realize just how easy it it is to become an enslaver and how a quickly changing world, preconceived ideas, fear, narrow mindedness and prejudice can lead one to become the oppressor. I received the audiobook at no cost and under no obligation.

Poor Mechs...

To what lengths would you go if a runaway robot killed your wife and daughter and then wanted autonomy and 'human' rights? Cole must decide what he is willing to do to get the mech that did just that. What he doesn't understand is that he is just another pawn in a madman's game of control. Will he retain his humanity...or his life?

This was another enjoyable, quick listen from William Massa who writes The Occult Assassin series that I really liked.

I received this audiobook from Audibook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

The soul of androids

Any additional comments?

I was offered a copy of this book in audio format in exchange for an honest review.

A powerful virus has killed a great part of the world population and left sterile many of the survivors. This is the time for AI, since androids are needed to perform daily operations and jobs. Things seem to run smoothly but then some rogue androids try to convince the world that they should have basic rights and not to be treated like slaves. Some get to escape thanks to an underground network, and Commander Cole Marsalis, who hates rogue androids with all his guts, is the one that AI-TAC puts in charge to end this for good. In order to do that, the only way is undercover, and to be able to fool an android, the only way is becoming one. Buthe does not know that the AI-TAC's CEO has an agenda.

This book lands, for me, in between Blade Runner and Man Plus, by Frederik Pohl. On the one hand, we learn to see from the eyes of the androids and start to understand them, and on the other hand, we experience the transformation of the main character into something different than human, something that will change his perception and life forever.

At first I thought the story was going to be centered around this transformation, but there is a twist that changes things and gives more depth to the story. This was done in a clever way, and it makes the listener to want to know more and why. I am happy that William Massa has decided to explore this, and it is what has made the story complete.

I like the fact that Massa builds this world in a way that one relates more to androids than humans. It is like we are seeing the other side of things.

The main story is closed but the ending is open, and there is still more to know about the main characters.

Joe Hempel's narration is clear and he succeeds at transmitting the characters' emotions. He definitely helps to bring the story to life.

I truly enjoyed this book and how William Massa has given soul to androids and make it believable. I am looking forward to reading more about this.

Exciting and fast-paced

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast-paced sci-fi techno-thriller that had lots of action, interesting characters and was so well-written that it seemed like this could be our future. I actually enjoyed this book so much that I immediately purchased the three-book series bundle for Kindle on Amazon, and I look forward to This is the fourth audio book that I've listened to that was narrated by Joe Hempel, and I have to say, I really enjoy him as a narrator. He speaks with a good pace, and does a great job with all the different characters. They always say that a good narrator makes a difference when listening to audio books. I have to agree. You won't be disappointed in this narrator, or the story.

Silicon Man

What did you like best about this story?

It is a wonderful futuristic with robots as our nanny, driver, caregiver....after a pandemic wipes out a great deal of the population. Some robots begin to think on their own free will and want equal rights...so an Underground Railroad of sorts assists those robots to freedom.

Silicon Man

Excellent book! AI 'People' are a bit more integrated into society. One policeman is now undercover as an AI to flesh out a rebel and get his secrets before he can self destruct.Who is really the bad guy here? Joe Hempel was the perfect narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

incredibly well drawn out main characters

Commander Cole Marsalis' job is to hunt down rogue robots. And he is darn good at it. Maybe it's because he does this with slightly more vengeance than other members of the AI-TAC squad due to losing a family member to one of these units.  Unfortunately, to take down the movement that is helping these rogue AI units out he will have to become the thing he hates the most… a robot.

The narration for Silicon Man was done by Joe Hempel who is someone to watch in 2016.  His narration style and pacing pair extremely well with the Technothriller genre. Hempel’s work is synonymous with quality and I’ve never had a problem with any of his audiobooks.

The first thing I thought when reading this was its similarity to another book that Hempel also narrated – Pandora’s Brain by Calum Chace.  The two books could blend so well together it’s actually a little freaky.

This is one of the shorter books I’ve listened to in a while but don’t get me wrong, it has a lot packed into this small package.  I actually enjoy when an author can totally surprise me with a story that’s only 200ish pages that rival thousand page books I’ve read.

The main character Cole is an interesting one.  As the reader, we understand that he is out for vengeance in some way, but we don’t realize just how much it drives him.  This lends for some excellent drama later in the story as Cole is forced to become the thing he hates.

I don’t want to go much more into detail about those scenes because they were really powerful in the story, and talking about them will just take away from the masterful writing style of William Massa.

The story weaves this wonderful back and forth tale where Cole and others grow and become different people by the end of the story.  Any author that can pull that off without losing their audience is a master in my book.

Regardless, if you like science fiction and Technothrillers featuring rogue AI robots, incredibly well drawn out main characters, and secondary characters that make the story a fun and interesting read – this book is definitely for you.

And Hempel is one of those narrators that adds to the story instead of taking away from it.  I feel lucky that I hadn’t read this book before checking it out on audiobook. The drama that Hempel is able to add with his voice makes this a must listen.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Silicon Man made me question my "being"

AI helps humanity with nearly every aspect of their lives. But some of these AI are looking for more. A movement is forming demanding equal rights for the AI not always doing so in the most legal ways. That is where AI-TAC comes into play. Cole’s job within AI-TAC is to hunt down these “rogue” AI’s — and in doing so he will come face to face with more than just the movement.

Narration for this was done by Joe Hempel and he absolutely knocks it out the park. Joe is definitely a go to narrator for me especially when it comes to the technothriller genre. He just has the perfect voice and narration style to fit these fast-paced technical stories. As with the prequel that Hempel also narrated–this story was perfectly told and I’m actually glad that I listened to the audiobook version over reading it first.

I feel like I’ve been getting lucky with my reviews lately, the last few books (and a couple after this one) were all on my backlog that I was seriously interested in–but life and other reviews got in the way. I’m sincerely glad that I was given a shot to give this a listen.

The story is extremely well written and fast paced. Sometimes a story, even with good characters, story, and arcs can be drawn out. This is not the case with Silicon Man. The action scenes, story arc, and character development are tightly weaved into an immaculate web. Massa really does a great job making a story both interesting and totally believable. He had me actually covering my mouth in shock/awe a few times in this story.

This is definitely a story that I cannot write the review that I want, because I will give it away — but just know this: if you like plot twists, great story turns, and and overall story that leaves you asking questions but feeling satisfied at the same time. This story is for you.

The setting wasn’t clearly announced, but it definitely felt like the near future. I did find myself pulling some comparisons to the movie I, Robot (which I also said when I was reviewing Silicon Dawn). But, I didn’t feel like this was a total ripoff either. Massa has a way of writing so that you feel familiar with something but doing it in a totally new and unique way.

Overall, I finished this in one sitting. It took me one night to listen to this, and I’m glad that I took the time to do so. A great story with great characters.

I was given a free copy of this in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

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AI story at its best

Well written. Engaging story. Well developed characters that are easy to connect with. Wonderful twists that just kept coming. The author and the narrator were a great blend that kept my attention and had me looking forward to the next step each time. I received this audiobook from the author narrator or publisher for free via audiobookblast in exchange for an unbiased review