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The Cartesian Machine
They searched for scientific proof of the human soul. What they discovered was unthinkable…
How do we think and do we have souls? These are the questions that a neuro-quantum interfacer called the Cartesian Machine was created to answer. Late one night, in a hospital lab buried deep beneath Manhattan, the Machine is surgically implanted to save a ten-year old orphan who just died in a car crash. As he wakes up to a reality no longer his own, the world above him is plunged into utter chaos, the physics professor who created the Machine is gunned down, and the neurosurgeon who cares for him disappears. Alone, kept alive by memory and desperate hope of seeing his mother again, he is forced to make a decision that will seal his fate and shake the very foundation of humanity. That is, if he could survive an audacious rescue attempt by two graduate students as the world’s most powerful and diabolical forces converge to retrieve the Machine.
How do we think and do we have souls? These are the questions that a neuro-quantum interfacer called the Cartesian Machine was created to answer. Late one night, in a hospital lab buried deep beneath Manhattan, the Machine is surgically implanted to save a ten-year old orphan who just died in a car crash. As he wakes up to a reality no longer his own, the world above him is plunged into utter chaos, the physics professor who created the Machine is gunned down, and the neurosurgeon who cares for him disappears. Alone, kept alive by memory and desperate hope of seeing his mother again, he is forced to make a decision that will seal his fate and shake the very foundation of humanity. That is, if he could survive an audacious rescue attempt by two graduate students as the world’s most powerful and diabolical forces converge to retrieve the Machine.
- GenresScience Fiction
502 pages, Kindle, Nook, and Print
First published August 1, 2011
1 person is currently reading
457 people want to read
About the author
Nick Tran
1 book57 followersNick Tran is an Edison Award winning PhD scientist and a graduate from the University of Texas at Austin. At thirteen, he dropped out of school to escape the Communist Vietnam by boat. His fifth and final attempt brought him freedom in America when he was seventeen.
He lives in Washington, DC. and can be found in various Starbucks and coffee houses in Dupont Circle, working on the next installment of the Cartesian Machine trilogy.
He lives in Washington, DC. and can be found in various Starbucks and coffee houses in Dupont Circle, working on the next installment of the Cartesian Machine trilogy.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 2, 2013
I won a copy on Goodreads Firstreads.
I really tried to like this book.It started with a bang and the action just kept coming.The plot was an intriguing concept.But I had to give up reading it around page 94 out of 493.
The author Nick Tran appears to be a very intelligent man.He is an award winning PhD scientist.He escaped from Communist Vietnam as a teenager.
It is possible that Mr.Tran wrote the book in another language and then it was translated very poorly into English.Another possibility is that Mr.Tran still has problems with English and then did not have his book proofread before publishing it.Either way, the book is filled with misspellings, grammatical errors, and just using the wrong word at times.Not only was this a huge problem in its own right,it caused problems in other areas as well.
The next problem was the flow of the book.Characters jumped from place to place without any obvious reason.Some of the action is just flatly impossible.Again some of this problem is probabaly due to the problems with the language.
Since Mr.Tran is a scientist,I figured the science would be top-notch. I like science.I even taught high school science.I may not be the best science guy around, but I can usually follow the science explanations in novels.I had real problems following it this time.Yet again, some of this was due to the language problems.
Like I said, this book had a good concept and I liked what I did read.The only problem was I found I was trying to understand it so much that I kept losing the thread of the story.The only way I could recommend this book is if it had a major rehaul to fix the problems that I already discussed.It is especially a shame since this is the first book in a proposed trilogy.
I really tried to like this book.It started with a bang and the action just kept coming.The plot was an intriguing concept.But I had to give up reading it around page 94 out of 493.
The author Nick Tran appears to be a very intelligent man.He is an award winning PhD scientist.He escaped from Communist Vietnam as a teenager.
It is possible that Mr.Tran wrote the book in another language and then it was translated very poorly into English.Another possibility is that Mr.Tran still has problems with English and then did not have his book proofread before publishing it.Either way, the book is filled with misspellings, grammatical errors, and just using the wrong word at times.Not only was this a huge problem in its own right,it caused problems in other areas as well.
The next problem was the flow of the book.Characters jumped from place to place without any obvious reason.Some of the action is just flatly impossible.Again some of this problem is probabaly due to the problems with the language.
Since Mr.Tran is a scientist,I figured the science would be top-notch. I like science.I even taught high school science.I may not be the best science guy around, but I can usually follow the science explanations in novels.I had real problems following it this time.Yet again, some of this was due to the language problems.
Like I said, this book had a good concept and I liked what I did read.The only problem was I found I was trying to understand it so much that I kept losing the thread of the story.The only way I could recommend this book is if it had a major rehaul to fix the problems that I already discussed.It is especially a shame since this is the first book in a proposed trilogy.
March 23, 2013
An interesting plot; could have developed into an interesting story. Unfortunately with the lengthy dialog in numerous places it turns into a drag out piece of fiction. The characters portrayed are beyond belief! They accomplish numerous feats beyond the human capabilities and recover in remarkable time. Although I read the book I cann’t recommend it to another reader. I do thank Mr. Nick Tran for the opportunity to read his adventure. I have the utmost respect for an individual who embarks on a journey and follows it through. Thanks to Goodreads also.
November 21, 2017
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
This is a book full of twists, turns, and sub plots. It is also full of interesting characters from hit men to academics who are thrown into some very unusual situations.There are people dying left and right, buildings getting blown up, people being kidnapped, and people being blown up. The characters are interesting and funny as he'll with a little ironic humor thrown in
This is a book full of twists, turns, and sub plots. It is also full of interesting characters from hit men to academics who are thrown into some very unusual situations.There are people dying left and right, buildings getting blown up, people being kidnapped, and people being blown up. The characters are interesting and funny as he'll with a little ironic humor thrown in
April 26, 2013
The Cartesian Machine by Nick Tran is an action packed adventure with a very intriguing storyline. If you like a book with a lot of twist and turns you will enjoy this book.
The storyline was well thought out and developed. I found the plot very intriguing and thought provoking. With several different subplots occurring at the same time, you have to pay close attention to keep up.
There are a couple of issues I have with the storyline. In places the dialog became too lengthy and blogged down. This tended to slow the story down needlessly.
Another issue I have, and this is a pet peeve of mine, is the author tried to write a characters language accent by using phonetic spelling words in the dialog. This really distracted from the story in my opinion and blogged the story down even more.
The Cartesian Machine by Nick Tran has a very good plot and storyline, but I had issues getting through the book.
[Please note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.]
The storyline was well thought out and developed. I found the plot very intriguing and thought provoking. With several different subplots occurring at the same time, you have to pay close attention to keep up.
There are a couple of issues I have with the storyline. In places the dialog became too lengthy and blogged down. This tended to slow the story down needlessly.
Another issue I have, and this is a pet peeve of mine, is the author tried to write a characters language accent by using phonetic spelling words in the dialog. This really distracted from the story in my opinion and blogged the story down even more.
The Cartesian Machine by Nick Tran has a very good plot and storyline, but I had issues getting through the book.
[Please note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.]
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews