WWW: Wonder

By: Robert J. Sawyer

Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Marc Vietor, Oliver Wyman, Anthony Haden Salerno, Robert J. Sawyer - introduction

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

"A writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation" (New York Times) concludes his mindbending trilogy.

Webmind - the vast consciousness that spontaneously emerged from the infrastructure of the World Wide Web - has proven its worth to humanity by aiding in everything from curing cancer to easing international tensions. But the brass at the Pentagon see Webmind as a threat that needs to be eliminated. Caitlin Decter - the once-blind 16-year-old math genius who discovered, and bonded with, Webmind - wants desperately to protect her friend. And if she doesn't act, everything - Webmind included - may come crashing down.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction written and read by author Robert J. Sawyer.

Listen to the rest of the WWW Trilogy.

©2011 Robert J. Sawyer (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Sawyer shows mastery in his ability to move between complex scientific concepts and genuine and realistic characters....Wonder...is fast-paced and immediately engaging." (The Globe and Mail)

"The shining star of this near-perfect production is Jessica Almasy as the sweet teenager who introduces WebMind to the world. Her equal is Marc Vietor, the voice selected by the machine because of his brilliant work reading audiobooks. (Good inside joke there.) This story, the audiobook equivalent of a page-turner, challenges the listener to pick a side: human or machine. The answer is surprising." (Audiofile)

Unmissable

I've been captivated by the www series since the first novel and Jessica Almasy blew my head off with her first rendition of "Calculass!" I'm a SF/AI freak, so the book was made for me anyway. What is wonderful is how Sawyer creates this band of flawed characters who then go on to fight the good fight with charm, courage and heart.

All three of the books are heart-warming and exhilarating. I didn't find the concepts at all hard to believe, except maybe for the rather stereotyped Government bad guys. That's probably personal, I used to be a Government bad guy and I was, er--good:)

While all of the readers(Mark Vietor, Oliver Wyman, Anthony Haden Salerno) play their part, and do so well, Jessica Almasy, as Caitlin Decter is perfect. When you hear actors talk about "creating a role," this is it. Writ large. She IS Caitlin Decter, you believe, and you dance and whirl as the teenager she is. Wildly excited as she works her way through crisis and wonder and the difficulties of the teen years. It is a simply stunning performance and I can't listen to it without a smile or a tear.

There are no grim bodies stacking up for the hero/ine, (blessedly) no Vampires, just normal-ish folks dealing with a somewhat extraordinary dilemma. I loved the front cover, I can see that girl. Wonderful, and for me, best of year.

I loved this series, and I've now read them through time after time. Kindle, Audible and Print. They are that good, but Almasy makes the Audible version UNMISSABLE.


brendan

16 of 18 people found this review helpful

Wonder

Sawyer is original, exciting, and good at creating new plausibilities often in a contemporary setting. A bloody good story teller who unashamedly and genuinely tackles the pivotal issues that have and will define what it means to be a conscious human being living on a planet teeming with other life forms. Great trilogy and definitely worth the five stars

10 of 12 people found this review helpful

Great conclusion to great series

I loved listening to this entire series and can say that the author has a fun way of opening your imagination up to fun concepts even if they are a bit out there, the only negative thing about the entire series was at the very end you truly realize just how lonely an existence for Webmind would be with the way the author puts it, and I guess that also was his point he wanted to make so hence the books were all well written and hard to stop when started before finished.

10 of 13 people found this review helpful

Freaking AWESOME - as www's Kaitlin would say!

I don't even know how to express my own personal "WONDER" in relation to my experience listening to these books. All three of them are fantastic. I want a WebMind! I want him for me and for "us". This author is a genius. The way his mind works is unimaginable to me. His messages, his politics, his humanity, his creativity, his complexity and his talent are beyond compare. The story is wonderful. I absolutely love the narrators on this book. Kaitlin’s narrator is sooooooooo talented! I have read Mr. Sawyer's Neanderthal Parallax (NP) series and Calculating God (CG). They are great stories also. I knew I'd like NP, and after I finished those three books, I was pretty sure I'd like CG but I wasn't sure at all I'd like the WWW series. I'm just not technically inclined and the topic as described was a little bit intimidating. BOY WAS I WRONG. It's just such a great story. I hope the Chinese government reads it.
Now, my hardest decision is which one of Robert Sawyer's books to download next. :-)
PS - I think it is so smart for him to include references to Audible in WWW. What a great plug for a great service!

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Wow

this is a great series with a worthy end - wonderful. Great narrators too. Highly recommended

8 of 11 people found this review helpful

Good Guy AI

Fun series that presents a lot of good ideas. It's nice to have a story about a Artificial Intellegence that is not evil. Story is a bit Utopianish but still lots of fun. Readers are also great. Usually I hate multiple readers but it works for this series. This is not a good stand alone book. Start with the first in the series.

10 of 14 people found this review helpful

Some Trilogies Need to End at Two

WWW is a trilogy about a consciousness emerging from the world wide web. It is told simultaneously form the point of view of the consciousness and that of a girl who is initially blind and then gains sight through the use of technology which plugs her into the "Webmind". I enjoyed the previous two chapters, "Wake" and "Watch", particularly the first book in which we are introduced to both main characters. The books are flawed in that they are a bit preachy, about many, many topics that presumably interest the author. Sadly, the third chapter is the worst in this sense. The book addresses a number of the world's problems: freedom of speech, political oppression, religion, which is okay, but there are too many scenes in which the plot seems to grind to a halt so characters can make speeches (sometimes that is literally the case: the "Webmind " actually makes a speech to the united nations and later on to the another organization) It got tedious to the point that I had a hard time finishing the book. Also the main human character was always perky and upbeat, but honestly in this book she really doesn't have that much to do in terms of the plot, so that her constant cheer-leading becomes annoying. In fact, most of the human characters are far more one-dimensional in this book that in "Wake" and "Watch". Its Webmind that really shines here but that means that the human connection that brought us along in the other books without letting them become too cerebral is just lost in the final chapter. I also have to take issue with the constant, CONSTANT, pop-culture references. Some of the references to products and companies are so ubiquitous that I wondered if the author was getting paid for endorsements!

The voice acting was good, multiple voices used to good effect. The quality of the reading helped me finish a book I wasn't all that into.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very creative and original

It is so rare these days to encounter new ideas in science fiction. Okay, it isn't a brand new idea, but the care and thought Robert Sawyer has put into crafting the concept into a story is remarkable. Although I felt that it was aimed at a younger audience, it was nonetheless highly listenable. This isn't the same old same old. Refreshing and most entertaining.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

Fantastic!

Yes, it is Science Fiction but there are some great messages for the human race. The series, and especially this book, causes me to think more and more about what could be accomplished if we, all sides, looked at issues from different perspectives.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

Very Enjoyable

An odd combination this 16 year old blind girl and her first crush crossed with the philosophical and incredibly intelligent Webmind. I think I would have chosen a more mature human central figure but it works out just fine. There is plenty of material here to inspire thought. An interesting take on artificial intelligence. This one was a lot of fun.

7 of 10 people found this review helpful

OMG! OMG!! OMG!!!

Can't use anything better than Caitlin's words.

I came across "Wonder" by chance, then found out is was the end of a Trilogy (thanks to Author's preface). So immediately stopped listening and went & bought the rest. I know authors say "can be read as stand-alone", but I like to "grow with the characters". IT WAS WORTH IT!! I don't think I would be crying now if I had not "been in on the ground floor" with the characters.
I don't give 5* lightly. WAKE, WONDER, WATCH = Fantastic Life Story down to the very last word. Don't make it into a Movie - cramming it into 2-3 hrs would ruin the experience.