• The Post-Human Omnibus

  • Books 1-4
  • By: David Simpson
  • Narrated by: Ray Chase
  • Length: 24 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,243 ratings)

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The Post-Human Omnibus  By  cover art

The Post-Human Omnibus

By: David Simpson
Narrated by: Ray Chase
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Publisher's summary

1. Sub-Human

Before he was Oldtimer, he was Craig Emilson, a young doctor sucked into military service at the outbreak of World War III. Enlisting to become a Special Forces suborbital paratrooper, Craig is selected to take part in the most important mission in American military history - a sortie into enemy territory to eliminate the world's first strong artificial intelligence. The mission is only the beginning of Craig's story and the story of humanity as well as they accelerate toward a world that is post-human.

If you're already a fan of the smash-hit Post-Human Series, this prequel to Post-Human, Sub-Human, will answer the previously unanswered questions of how the post-human world came to be. And if you're new to the series, Sub-Human will serve as an engrossing introduction to a possible future that has enraptured tens of thousands of listeners!

2. Post-Human

The future should have been perfect. Microscopic robots known as nans could repair any damage to your body, keep you young by resetting your cellular clocks, and allow you to download upgrades like intelligence, muscle strength, and eyesight. You were supposed to be able to have anything you wanted with a simple thought, to be able to live forever. But when a small group of five terraformers working on Venus return to Earth, they discover that every other human in the solar system has been gruesomely murdered. Now James Keats and his four companions must discover what happened to the rest of humanity and fight back if they wish to avoid the same horrifying fate.

3. Trans-Human

In this sequel to Post-Human, humanity will be forced to face a future more advanced than it could have imagined if it wants to survive. Nineteen months have passed since the AI turned against humanity and was subsequently destroyed. In the meantime James Keats has turned over the AI's powers to a nonintelligent, easily controlled operating system.

He and Thel have left the planet and spent six months vacationing on Venus, which has been terraformed without the consent or knowledge of the Governing Council. The AI has been deleted, but the message it sent out into the abyss of space in search of a companion has been answered. An alien force dwarfing the Earth is on its way to find out why the AI has stopped communicating. Keats and company can only assume its intentions will be hostile when it finds out the truth.

4. Human Plus

Human Plus is the fourth story in the smash hit science-fiction series. Not exactly a sequel, not exactly a prequel, Human Plus will defy expectations. No matter what you thought was coming next, you're in for a surprise!

Just one caution: When you're finished you're going to want to share the surprises with everyone online.... Please don't! Please respect future listeners, and let them enjoy the surprises just as much as you did!

©2014 David Simpson (P)2015 Podium Publishing

Critic reviews

"Wow! Reads like an action film is reeling off in your head!" (Joanna Daneman, #1 HALL OF FAME, TOP 10 AMAZON REVIEWER, [Review for Sub-Human])
"Fantastic series, download and start reading right now!" (Mark Draper, TOP 10 AMAZON REVIEWER)

What listeners say about The Post-Human Omnibus

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Man, I really wanted to like this book

I've been a lover of cyberpunk for a very long time. However, I've been out of the genre for a while. So when I did a few key word searches this title floated to the top of the list. So many stars. I didn't think I could go wrong. It was a quick buy. However...

The performance was terrible. It would have been better if he had read it in a monotone voice. I do like a dramatic reading, but every.. single... conversation... was...read... in... an... over... the... top... manner. After a while it made me think of how people used to lampoon William Shatner's captain Kirk from the 60s. Then there was the writing. So many MaGuffins.I couldn't even laugh after a while. I'm really sorry if I offend folks, but it was as if the author was wanting to throw in outlandish plot points just to make all the 11 year old reader's happy. I can get on board with believing we can send a human through to a parallel universe for the first time with no hitch. But does it have to be in a super remote place, within moments of a critical historical human event? And then does the human, a man of science, have chose to change the outcome of that event without a thought, while talking to everyone present like annoying children? What a waste of a good premise.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

I unsuccessfully tried to listen

I purchased this book which is actually a 4 novel series 14 months ago. I have tried to listen to it several times. I give up! My major complaint is over performance by narrator Ray Chase. He is not a novice, but his emphasis is on the wrong words and phrases. He narrates like an excited two year old talks.

The plot? Being nice, I'll say I'm really not in the target audience.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Humanity on the brink of destruction...again.

With the Post-Human Omnibus clocking in at just under 25 hours for 4 books you know that each book isn't very long or deep, so don't expect a ton of character development. However, David Simpson does cram a dizzying array of science fiction topics into a small space including nano-technology, human augmentation, virtual reality, sentient artificial intelligence, assimilation, terraforming, and alternate universes, just to name a few. The story itself is a wild ride that goes from one mankind threatening scenario to another in rapid succession with hardly a breath in between.

Sub-Human starts with a political climate pitting two sides against each other over the controversy of strong AI. One side believes that if a true artificial intelligence is created it will quickly realize that humans need to go and mankind will face extinction. This faction will stop at nothing to prevent the other side from actually creating such an AI including a nuclear war. Basically, they are willing to destroy human civilization to prevent an AI from doing so.

Post-Human tackles the endless desire to better oneself through technology and the ramifications of doing so. Nano-technology allows Post-Humans to become almost immortal but it comes at a great cost. Post-Humans become dependent on technology for survival and we've all seen enough sci-fi movies to know how that works out.

Trans-Human finds mankind facing a threat from beyond the solar system as old enemies become allies in order to survive this new external threat.

And finally, Human Plus is a weird one and any attempt to explain it would be a potential spoiler so all I will say is that it was my least favorite book of the series.

Overall I found the series enjoyable but there are times where the fiction dominated the science a bit too much and some laughable explanations were given for why things work the way they do. I found that I was able to look beyond those times and I just went along for the ride. If you are looking for something deep and profound then you should look elsewhere, but if you just want to gorge yourself at a sci-fi buffet then you have come to the right place.

Ray Chase does a decent job at the voices of the various characters and while his performance wasn't perfect I had no issue with him like some of the other reviewers did.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good listen

This was a binge listeners dream. All the books for one credit? Yes please! So I like this series but sometimes the characters seemed to balk at every new mind bending thing, like they can't wrap their head around something even though it is no more outlandish than the ten other things that just happened to them. Other that that it made my morning commute fly by.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The worst narration to date.

Story was good. Narration of the first and 2nd book was so, so bad. The narrator sounded as if he didn't really understand characters. Every other syllable was overemphasized making every character seem like a cartoon villain. By the 3rd book it seems as if the author or producer spoke to him because it did get a little better.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Pop-culture advanced humans with medieval morals

What was most disappointing about David Simpson’s story?

I mean come on, humans who live forever, but divorce is illegal? Public shaming of people with impure thoughts? This is a world where the Catholic Church invents cyborgs. It's especially implausible considering a leader of this government lusted after a colleague decades younger than him then married her after her husband was temporarily out of the picture.
The science seemed to be based on a poor understanding of pop-culture science, basically magnets and "magnetic energy" can do anything. The characters carried over from previous stories seemed to completely change to fit whatever new scenario arose. The story for the first book was clearly an angry American teenage boy fantasy. The series was disappointment after disappointment.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The ASI testing was a neat idea.

Any additional comments?

I would not recommend this series for fans of hard-science fiction or those easily annoyed by someone who would use terms like energy, force, and power interchangeably.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding performance and story!

What did you love best about The Post-Human Omnibus?

I loved the vision of humanity's future. Even though humans have become super- human, the moral decency and co-operation still exists. The Purists living outside the mainstream mirrors how our civilization operates... a great comparison.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Post-Human Omnibus?

When Keats and his team returned from Venus and find all humans destroyed stunned me. I was in shock trying to understand what could have happened.Finding the Purists' base and finding other humans was such a relief.

Which character – as performed by Ray Chase – was your favorite?

Oldtimer Craig was the character I felt Ray Chase did best. The gravely voice and inflections he used to portray his character was right on how I imagined him to be.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It's hard to pick just one moment from the omnibus, but I'd have to say when James reversed time back 22 hours and saved humanity and out witted One was exhilarating and very satisfying. I was overjoyed!

Any additional comments?

Turn up the volume and hang on for the most unimaginable and exciting ride of your life. David Simpson puts a spin on concepts of Asimov and Clarke that will leave you wanting more!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

If I Could Return It I Would!

Terrible. Weak plot, weaker characters, story line kept me going only because I was hoping for improvement- this didn't happen.
Total waste of a credit. Tried to give the series every chance I could, but decided to quit 20 hours into it, just couldn't stand it any longer. Narrator was ok.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Garbage.

It's difficult to think of anything nice to say. The writing is juvenile and the style doesn't contribute to the story. The larger scale ideas, like the political and ethical questions brought up are underdeveloped, the characters and relationships are trite, and every facet of science the author tries to include makes him sound like a bigger dimwit. We quit after 4 hours.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Waste of time and money

What would have made The Post-Human Omnibus better?

Better storytelling for the books themselves, and almost any other reader for the Audible narration.

What was most disappointing about David Simpson’s story?

The story suffered from cardboard cut-out characters either doing predictable things or behaving in ways that didn't make sense for who the character supposedly was. Mr Simpson's use of the English language is fine, but the storytelling wasn't there. I stopped reading the ebook shortly after the protagonist's visit to the WTC on 9/11 because I thought it was a waste of my time to continue. I stopped listening to the Audible narration a lot sooner than that because the reader was horrible.

How could the performance have been better?

This is a book about military characters. The author's voicing was artificial, affected, and annoying. He sounded like a rich fop suffering from terminal ennui, which certainly doesn't sound right for soldiers, particularly Special Forces types. Even a straightforward reading in a normal speaking voice, without any attempt at different characters, would have been better. (Heaven help him if that IS his normal speaking voice.)

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Angry that I wasted even $2.99 for a terrible reading performance.

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5 people found this helpful