Wednesday 26 June 2013

The Terminal Experiment by Robert J Sawyer

"Soon it would be  time to go public with the existence of the soulwave."

I wouldn't say I'm a pessimist per se, but whenever considering the implications of new technology my vivid imagination tends towards the worst possible scenario. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why I enjoy works of fiction that deal with darker imaginings of future scenarios. That would only be a small reason why I loved this novel. It's pace is spellbinding, running through the pages my eyes reacted to the tension of a thriller that at its heart questions the very meanings of what it means to be human.

A massive fan of some of his other works such as the WWW:Wake trilogy, I was eager to explore Sawyer's nebula award winning novel and was decidedly impressed. I feel it would detract from other readers' enjoyment to go into depth about the plot, it is action packed and yet contemplative, full of richly drawn and intriguing characters and combines science fiction with murder mystery for an assuredly entertaining experience.

This is reading all a little too gushy, I will attempt to temper my tone. Re-reading the blurb is a good indication that I can give a little of the game away. Peter Hobson, biomedical engineer, is attempting to use science to attack many of life's great questions. As is often the problem when dealing with the unknown, the side effects can be deadly.

I read this in one, fiendishly quick session of captivated reading and hope you get the chance to check it out too.  5 out of 5 Artificial intelligence doesn't taste the same.

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