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The Omega Project
A riveting thriller of catastrophe and one man's heroic effort to save the Earth, from the best selling author of the Meg series
On the brink of a disaster that could end all human life on earth, tech genius Robert Eisenbraun joins a team of scientists in Antarctica on a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa to mine a rare ore that would provide for Earth's long-term energy needs. But as he and the rest of the team train under the ice shelf in preparation for the long journey, trouble erupts, and before they embark Eisenbraun is the odd man out, put into cold sleep against his will….
When Robert wakes, he finds the ship deserted and not functional. He escapes to the surface of an Earth terribly changed. The plan has gone horribly wrong, but as he adapts to a hostile environment, he realizes that there is still a way to accomplish what his mission had set out to achieve. But he also discovers that he faces a new adversary of the most unlikely sort. For now, his own survival and that of the woman whose love has sustained him in his darkest hours depend on the defeat of a technological colossus partly of his own making.
Confronting a foe that knows him almost as well as he knows himself, he faces the prospect of depending on resources that he has reason to believe will be available on one particular night of a full moon, a night foretold by a mysterious unseen ally to be a pivotal moment for the fate of the earth. The game has changed, and Earth's future depends on him and him alone.
The Omega Project is yet another edge-of-your-seat thriller by bestselling author, Steve Alten, leaving readers looking for more.
On the brink of a disaster that could end all human life on earth, tech genius Robert Eisenbraun joins a team of scientists in Antarctica on a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa to mine a rare ore that would provide for Earth's long-term energy needs. But as he and the rest of the team train under the ice shelf in preparation for the long journey, trouble erupts, and before they embark Eisenbraun is the odd man out, put into cold sleep against his will….
When Robert wakes, he finds the ship deserted and not functional. He escapes to the surface of an Earth terribly changed. The plan has gone horribly wrong, but as he adapts to a hostile environment, he realizes that there is still a way to accomplish what his mission had set out to achieve. But he also discovers that he faces a new adversary of the most unlikely sort. For now, his own survival and that of the woman whose love has sustained him in his darkest hours depend on the defeat of a technological colossus partly of his own making.
Confronting a foe that knows him almost as well as he knows himself, he faces the prospect of depending on resources that he has reason to believe will be available on one particular night of a full moon, a night foretold by a mysterious unseen ally to be a pivotal moment for the fate of the earth. The game has changed, and Earth's future depends on him and him alone.
The Omega Project is yet another edge-of-your-seat thriller by bestselling author, Steve Alten, leaving readers looking for more.
448 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 6, 2013
40 people are currently reading
699 people want to read
About the author
Steve Alten
62 books1,358 followersSteve Alten grew up in Philadelphia, earning his Bachelors degree in Physical Education at Penn State University, a Masters Degree in Sports Medicine from the University of Delaware, and a Doctorate of Education at Temple University. Struggling to support his family of five, he decided to pen a novel he had been thinking about for years. Working late nights and on weekends, he eventually finished MEG; A Novel of Deep Terror. Steve sold his car to pay for editing fees. On September (Friday) the 13th, 1996, Steve lost his general manager’s job at a wholesale meat plant. Four days later his agent had a two-book, seven figure deal with Bantam Doubleday.
MEG would go on to become the book of the 1996 Frankfurt book fair, where it eventually sold to more than a twenty countries. MEG hit every major best-seller list, including #19 on the New York Times list (#7 audio), and became a popular radio series in Japan.
Steve’s second release, The TRENCH (Meg sequel) was published by Kensington/Pinnacle in 1999 where it also hit best-seller status. His next novel, DOMAIN and its sequel, RESURRECTION were published by St. Martin’s Press/Tor Books and were runaway best-sellers in Spain, Mexico, Germany, and Italy, with the rights selling to more than a dozen countries.
Steve’s fourth novel, GOLIATH, received rave reviews and was a big hit in Germany. It is being considered for a TV series. MEG: Primal Waters was published in the summer of 2004. A year later his seventh novel, The LOCH, hit stores — a modern-day thriller about the Loch Ness Monster. Steve’s eighth novel, The SHELL GAME, is about the end of oil and the next 9/11 event. The book was another NY Times best-seller, but the stress of penning this real-life story affected Steve’s health, and three months after he finished the manuscript he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Steve’s ninth novel, MEG: Hell’s Aquarium, is considered to be the best of the best-selling MEG series. Steve says his best novel is GRIM REAPER: End of Days. The story, a modern-day Dante’s Inferno, takes place in New York when a man-made plague strikes Manhattan.
Steve’s novels are action-packed and very visual. He has optioned DOMAIN, MEG and The LOCH to film producers. Steve has written six original screenplays. His comedy, HARLEM SHUFFLE was a semi-finalist in the LA screenwriting contest, his comedy MINTZ MEATS was selected as a finalist at the Philadelphia film festival as was his psychological thriller, STRANGLEHOLD. Steve’s reality series, HOUSE OF BABEL won at Scriptapalooza. He has also created a TV Drama, PAPA JOHN, based on his years coaching basketball with Hall of Fame coach John Chaney.
Over the years, Steve has been inundated with e-mail from teens who hated reading …until they read his novels. When he learned high school teachers were actually using his books in the classroom (MEG had been rated #1 book for reluctant readers) Steve launched Adopt-An-Author, a nationwide non-profit program designed to encourage students to read. Teachers who register for the program (it’s free) receive giant shark posters, free curriculum materials, student-author correspondence, an interactive website, and classroom conference calls/visits with the author. To date, over 10,000 teachers have registered, and the success rate in getting teens to read has been unprecedented. Steve now spends half his work week working with high schools. For more information click on www.AdoptAnAuthor.com
As an author, Steve has two goals. First, to continue to work hard to become a better storyteller and create exciting page turning thrillers. Second, to remain accessible to his readers. Steve reads and answers all e-mails, uses the names and descriptions of his loyal fans as characters in all his novels, and even hires readers as editors, depending on their particular expertise.
MEG would go on to become the book of the 1996 Frankfurt book fair, where it eventually sold to more than a twenty countries. MEG hit every major best-seller list, including #19 on the New York Times list (#7 audio), and became a popular radio series in Japan.
Steve’s second release, The TRENCH (Meg sequel) was published by Kensington/Pinnacle in 1999 where it also hit best-seller status. His next novel, DOMAIN and its sequel, RESURRECTION were published by St. Martin’s Press/Tor Books and were runaway best-sellers in Spain, Mexico, Germany, and Italy, with the rights selling to more than a dozen countries.
Steve’s fourth novel, GOLIATH, received rave reviews and was a big hit in Germany. It is being considered for a TV series. MEG: Primal Waters was published in the summer of 2004. A year later his seventh novel, The LOCH, hit stores — a modern-day thriller about the Loch Ness Monster. Steve’s eighth novel, The SHELL GAME, is about the end of oil and the next 9/11 event. The book was another NY Times best-seller, but the stress of penning this real-life story affected Steve’s health, and three months after he finished the manuscript he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Steve’s ninth novel, MEG: Hell’s Aquarium, is considered to be the best of the best-selling MEG series. Steve says his best novel is GRIM REAPER: End of Days. The story, a modern-day Dante’s Inferno, takes place in New York when a man-made plague strikes Manhattan.
Steve’s novels are action-packed and very visual. He has optioned DOMAIN, MEG and The LOCH to film producers. Steve has written six original screenplays. His comedy, HARLEM SHUFFLE was a semi-finalist in the LA screenwriting contest, his comedy MINTZ MEATS was selected as a finalist at the Philadelphia film festival as was his psychological thriller, STRANGLEHOLD. Steve’s reality series, HOUSE OF BABEL won at Scriptapalooza. He has also created a TV Drama, PAPA JOHN, based on his years coaching basketball with Hall of Fame coach John Chaney.
Over the years, Steve has been inundated with e-mail from teens who hated reading …until they read his novels. When he learned high school teachers were actually using his books in the classroom (MEG had been rated #1 book for reluctant readers) Steve launched Adopt-An-Author, a nationwide non-profit program designed to encourage students to read. Teachers who register for the program (it’s free) receive giant shark posters, free curriculum materials, student-author correspondence, an interactive website, and classroom conference calls/visits with the author. To date, over 10,000 teachers have registered, and the success rate in getting teens to read has been unprecedented. Steve now spends half his work week working with high schools. For more information click on www.AdoptAnAuthor.com
As an author, Steve has two goals. First, to continue to work hard to become a better storyteller and create exciting page turning thrillers. Second, to remain accessible to his readers. Steve reads and answers all e-mails, uses the names and descriptions of his loyal fans as characters in all his novels, and even hires readers as editors, depending on their particular expertise.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
September 5, 2013
You know how sometimes you starting watching a B-Movie and it's so bad that you HAVE to continue watching to see what's going to happen? Yeah same thing here for me.
August 26, 2014
The first half was great, the second half was just a little too far fetched, even for post apocalyptic sci-fi. Still an interesting read though
May 4, 2016
Wow. I haven't read something this nonsensical and horribly written in my entire life. I was actually pissed off that I wasted my time on it because I did get reeled into the beginning of the book which, at first glance, seemed like a perfectly sane and well written sci-fi novel. However, halfway through the (novel?) it took a turn into crazy pants land and not in a good way. All of a sudden the book threw me into some idiotic seeming dream sequence that just kept repeating ideas and strange images that made absolutely no sense and had absolutely no relevance. It's like the story line just disappeared and suddenly i was in a horrible nightmare; one of those nightmares that you just can't wake up from but you want to. And I don't mean this as a compliment like this was a well written scary, horror novel. Oh no. I just wanted to wake up and make this god awfulness stop. I read super fast to TRY and get to at least a point or ending or SOMETHING that made any semblence of sanity or at LEAST make the time I spent on the first half of the book worth it, but even the ending was garbled and disappointing and perfectly maddening in it's stupidity. I have written more sensible things in middle school. I mean, really, what the hell was i reading with those idiotic characters thrown in the whole last half of the book? What were they even doing? What even happened at the end? The whole thing just made me angry. Honestly if something like this can get published, I should just start as a writer tomorrow because clearly anyone can get a book on a shelf. I'm completely baffled.
October 25, 2018
What Steve Alten has written here is really two different books, one a gritty, post-apocalyptic tale of the breakdown of society, with characters struggling to survive and finally re-building a new society; the other a crazy, fantastical ride into a distant future full of weird creatures and scientific spiritualism. The two don't fit very well together.
I bought this book based on the back cover blurb, which only mentioned the second half of the book, scientist gets into a 30 day suspended animation but instead awakens 12-million years in the future. So I was a bit shocked by the first half of the book, which seemed to have nothing at all to do with this. And it really doesn't. The book could have easily started with the main character being involved with the scientific project that ultimately leads to his distant future fate.
Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed the first half of the book, despite it having an annoying protagonist (more on that in a bit). Alten presents a credible and scary apocalyptic scenario, but just as we start to get into the thick of it, it comes to an abrupt halt via a deus ex machina, and then he glosses over the recovery and re-building of society and bam! we are into the 'second' book, and as I mentioned before, it all was a completely unnecessary prelude to the novel that is described on the back cover.
That 'second' novel features the continuing adventures of the main character from the first half as he is flung 12 million years into the future (these are not spoilers, it says it right on the cover). Alten does display a considerable amount of imagination in his future world and I enjoyed that part of it, but I had a problem with two of the main characters.
The first, Ike, is a scientist (and also apparently a super-survivalist) with an implant in his head. Ike is a rather crass and unlikable character who only grudgingly chooses to do "the right thing" many times. Every single female character in the book seems enthralled with him and wants to have sex with him (a bit of wish fulfillment there Steve?) even though he seems to basically judge them solely by how nice their breasts are, something he seems obsessed with.
Another main character, Dharma, presents the spiritual counter argument to Ike's scientific outlook on things, but she does so as if she's reading directly from some new age book, and she does it over and over and over again. Oh yes, and she's enthralled with Ike and wants to have sex with him.
I would have preferred if each half of the book had been fleshed out into two separate novels with different, and more realistic and likable characters. Steve Alten had the makings of two great novels here. Trying to force them together into one and linking them with an annoying and completely unlikable protagonist ended up kind of ruining both. It was engaging enough for me to give it two stars, but I would not recommend it to other readers.
I bought this book based on the back cover blurb, which only mentioned the second half of the book, scientist gets into a 30 day suspended animation but instead awakens 12-million years in the future. So I was a bit shocked by the first half of the book, which seemed to have nothing at all to do with this. And it really doesn't. The book could have easily started with the main character being involved with the scientific project that ultimately leads to his distant future fate.
Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed the first half of the book, despite it having an annoying protagonist (more on that in a bit). Alten presents a credible and scary apocalyptic scenario, but just as we start to get into the thick of it, it comes to an abrupt halt via a deus ex machina, and then he glosses over the recovery and re-building of society and bam! we are into the 'second' book, and as I mentioned before, it all was a completely unnecessary prelude to the novel that is described on the back cover.
That 'second' novel features the continuing adventures of the main character from the first half as he is flung 12 million years into the future (these are not spoilers, it says it right on the cover). Alten does display a considerable amount of imagination in his future world and I enjoyed that part of it, but I had a problem with two of the main characters.
The first, Ike, is a scientist (and also apparently a super-survivalist) with an implant in his head. Ike is a rather crass and unlikable character who only grudgingly chooses to do "the right thing" many times. Every single female character in the book seems enthralled with him and wants to have sex with him (a bit of wish fulfillment there Steve?) even though he seems to basically judge them solely by how nice their breasts are, something he seems obsessed with.
Another main character, Dharma, presents the spiritual counter argument to Ike's scientific outlook on things, but she does so as if she's reading directly from some new age book, and she does it over and over and over again. Oh yes, and she's enthralled with Ike and wants to have sex with him.
I would have preferred if each half of the book had been fleshed out into two separate novels with different, and more realistic and likable characters. Steve Alten had the makings of two great novels here. Trying to force them together into one and linking them with an annoying and completely unlikable protagonist ended up kind of ruining both. It was engaging enough for me to give it two stars, but I would not recommend it to other readers.
October 18, 2013
I had to stop reading this about 70 pages in. This is another case of a promising premise being utterly ruined by a horrible protagonist and lackluster writing. The book opens with a post-apocalyptic setting, as oil reserves have run out and people have starting killing and eating each other. Ike, our protagonist, is okay though, since luckily he stocked up electricity while other fools stocked up on water. He has a terrible habit of calling the raiding mobs 'SS', which was completely unnecessary. He quickly meets his future wife, they save each other, and then in turn they get saved by a government helicopter. Then the story resumes with that entire scenario having ZERO impact as society keeps chugging on some leftover power they had laying around but just forgot about I guess, with plenty of time to go hunting on the moon for whatever new source of power they're going to use. Things seem to have snapped back to normal very easily. The earlier hordes of cannibals and other stuff were just all shot, we're left to presume. Now we're in the science fiction section of the novel, so we can just forget about the earlier post-apocalyptic stuff.
I was still following the novel at that point. But then Ike proceeded to make shitty comments about every female character he met, such as commenting on their tacky super obvious tits (his opinion, not mine), randomly using the phrase "the annoying woman" as a female's identifier in a dialogue (without showing any reason for disliking this side character), basically calling them talking vaginas. The plot continues to twist around some sort of lame possible supercomputer device and a really obvious asteroid headed towards the moon that no one thinks to plan for (even though they were about to mine on the moon). Ike continues to make snide comments and say out of place, rude, contrary shit. He also has some sort of implant of his own devising in his head that can control his bouts of rage and google shit for him, which everyone makes fun of but he understand the genius of because he's basically the chosen one okay.
I closed the book when his wife cheated on him and he made out with some woman who really likes squids. If I could give it zero stars I would.
I was still following the novel at that point. But then Ike proceeded to make shitty comments about every female character he met, such as commenting on their tacky super obvious tits (his opinion, not mine), randomly using the phrase "the annoying woman" as a female's identifier in a dialogue (without showing any reason for disliking this side character), basically calling them talking vaginas. The plot continues to twist around some sort of lame possible supercomputer device and a really obvious asteroid headed towards the moon that no one thinks to plan for (even though they were about to mine on the moon). Ike continues to make snide comments and say out of place, rude, contrary shit. He also has some sort of implant of his own devising in his head that can control his bouts of rage and google shit for him, which everyone makes fun of but he understand the genius of because he's basically the chosen one okay.
I closed the book when his wife cheated on him and he made out with some woman who really likes squids. If I could give it zero stars I would.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2018
I can't give it more than 2 stars. What the hell was that? I wanted to DNF it so bad but I kept going. It was such a drag. When I read the blurb on Goodreads, I was like "Woooah". Who wouldn't want to read this story? But when it came down to it, this novel failed to deliver.
Robert "Ike" Eisenbraun is the inventor of GOLEM which is an advanced AI machine that would supervise the Omega Project which is a mission to the moon to mine for elements needed to solve the energy crisis that perpetrated the Great Die Off. GOLEM decides the mission is not conducive and moves the mission to Europa. Ike is commissioned to join Oceanus, an underwater habitat to monitor GOLEM which seems to make decisions on its own under the guise of evaluating the crew's psychological fitness for the mission to Europa. When the crew members began getting paranoid, they forcibly freeze him in his cryogenic pod. Due to a series of events, Ike only wakes up 12 million years into future (I know, right??!!). With the help of his invention Abe, a biochip implanted in his brain, he navigates the new world that has now evolved in ways he couldn't imagine.
While the premise was intriguing, the novel was just so boring. The landscape was described beautifully and there was some pretty good world building also. But that's about it. The pace of the story was so all over the place that it nearly gave me a whiplash. The first half, the story just flew through. Second half just slowed down and then suddenly sped up. Also, certain events did not seem very plausible to me. For instance, the novel started with the Great Die Off that happened due to our over-dependence on oil and when the supplies ran out, the world was plunged into chaos. But we managed to overcome that and we read about how our technology just advanced exponentially. My problem was that all of this happened within a few years if the Great Die Off. How was that even possible? The speed with which things happened wasn't very plausible to me.
The very long description about the new world while beautiful was too lengthy. Then there was the spiritual stuff about the meaning of life and the soul that just went over my head. It felt very preachy. That I could still handle. What annoyed me the most was the description of women. Ike is a jackass. The first thing he seems to notice with every woman is her boobs and whether the clothes were tight or loose around it and also, comparing the hotness levels of women. Yuck!! Also, the man couldn't keep it in his pants. I was so sick of reading about blood rushing to his loins. The ending was just confusing.
I didn't like it that much. I'd skip this book if I were you.
Robert "Ike" Eisenbraun is the inventor of GOLEM which is an advanced AI machine that would supervise the Omega Project which is a mission to the moon to mine for elements needed to solve the energy crisis that perpetrated the Great Die Off. GOLEM decides the mission is not conducive and moves the mission to Europa. Ike is commissioned to join Oceanus, an underwater habitat to monitor GOLEM which seems to make decisions on its own under the guise of evaluating the crew's psychological fitness for the mission to Europa. When the crew members began getting paranoid, they forcibly freeze him in his cryogenic pod. Due to a series of events, Ike only wakes up 12 million years into future (I know, right??!!). With the help of his invention Abe, a biochip implanted in his brain, he navigates the new world that has now evolved in ways he couldn't imagine.
While the premise was intriguing, the novel was just so boring. The landscape was described beautifully and there was some pretty good world building also. But that's about it. The pace of the story was so all over the place that it nearly gave me a whiplash. The first half, the story just flew through. Second half just slowed down and then suddenly sped up. Also, certain events did not seem very plausible to me. For instance, the novel started with the Great Die Off that happened due to our over-dependence on oil and when the supplies ran out, the world was plunged into chaos. But we managed to overcome that and we read about how our technology just advanced exponentially. My problem was that all of this happened within a few years if the Great Die Off. How was that even possible? The speed with which things happened wasn't very plausible to me.
The very long description about the new world while beautiful was too lengthy. Then there was the spiritual stuff about the meaning of life and the soul that just went over my head. It felt very preachy. That I could still handle. What annoyed me the most was the description of women. Ike is a jackass. The first thing he seems to notice with every woman is her boobs and whether the clothes were tight or loose around it and also, comparing the hotness levels of women. Yuck!! Also, the man couldn't keep it in his pants. I was so sick of reading about blood rushing to his loins. The ending was just confusing.
I didn't like it that much. I'd skip this book if I were you.
June 10, 2018
Toda la primera parte del libro esta bastante bien, lo suficiente como para atrapar mi atención, sin embargo, la segunda parte se convierte en una historia onírica y sinsentido, de algún modo pierde tal fuelle que no puedo evitar pensar en la perdida de tiempo y esfuerzo para leer algo como esto, una pena, ya que por la manera en que comienza uno espera terminar con algo completamente diferente, si bien el comienzo es mejor que el final, también he encontrado muchas fallas en esa parte de la historia, si, es verdad que es ciencia ficción, pero he sentido que por tratarse de este género el autor se ha tomado la libertad de crear una historia que casi llega a la fantasía o como dije, en una historia digna de un mal sueño, no se me ocurre otra manera de definirla, únicamente en un sueño pueden pasar escenas tan raras y fuera de toda realidad.
Narrativamente hablando no tengo nada que objetar, realmente esta muy bien escrito y eso me anima a leer algo mas de este autor esperando que al menos en otras obras, esa magnifica manera de escribir este mejor aprovechada.
No me ha gustado este libro, pero es solo mi opinión personal puesto que he visto muy buenos comentarios en otras partes, así que no se dejen llevar mucho por mi opinión personal, si les llama la atención el género tal vez deberían darle la oportunidad
Narrativamente hablando no tengo nada que objetar, realmente esta muy bien escrito y eso me anima a leer algo mas de este autor esperando que al menos en otras obras, esa magnifica manera de escribir este mejor aprovechada.
No me ha gustado este libro, pero es solo mi opinión personal puesto que he visto muy buenos comentarios en otras partes, así que no se dejen llevar mucho por mi opinión personal, si les llama la atención el género tal vez deberían darle la oportunidad
August 7, 2017
Alten's depictions of women were repugnant and misogynistic. The only use of women in his book was to arouse or propagate. Sexual objectification, the act of treating a person as a mere instrument of sexual pleasure, was Alten's variety of misogyny. Let's take for example, the words he used to describe the women in just the first 50 pages of the book:
"erotic female warrior"
"skintight matching bodysuit"
"thousand-dollar hooker"
"skintight black halter top accentuating her breast"
"which looked like two cantaloupes"
"obtuse angle of nipples"
"they were fake--not the good surgically enhanced fake either"
"God didn't bless you with those imposing thirty-six Ds"
"Milk cans Malloy"
"simulated cantaloupes bouncing on her chest"
"Her sex was barely concealed beneath a two piece neoprene ruining outfit"
"jacket was unbuttoned low enough to reveal the tantalizing view of her well-proportioned brown left breast"
"Wanna see my holographic boobies?"
By the end of chapter 2, I decided this would be the last Steven Alten book I would read. I did plow through the rest of the book and nothing I read changed my mind.
"erotic female warrior"
"skintight matching bodysuit"
"thousand-dollar hooker"
"skintight black halter top accentuating her breast"
"which looked like two cantaloupes"
"obtuse angle of nipples"
"they were fake--not the good surgically enhanced fake either"
"God didn't bless you with those imposing thirty-six Ds"
"Milk cans Malloy"
"simulated cantaloupes bouncing on her chest"
"Her sex was barely concealed beneath a two piece neoprene ruining outfit"
"jacket was unbuttoned low enough to reveal the tantalizing view of her well-proportioned brown left breast"
"Wanna see my holographic boobies?"
By the end of chapter 2, I decided this would be the last Steven Alten book I would read. I did plow through the rest of the book and nothing I read changed my mind.
December 9, 2020
A guy finagles his way on a 30 day scientific mission. It appears there is a psychopath on the team, and he has to find out who it is. Then they wake up in an apocalypse.
Didn't do much for me.
Didn't do much for me.
August 14, 2013
Rating on this should be a 3.5 but I couldn't go 4.
I'm an avid Fan of Alten's Meg series and when I saw this, picked it up and read it almost exclusively beginning to end. For those who know me, I juggle many books at a time, so there is something to be said about that. Unfortunately, I didn't like where the story ultimately took us and that has affected the rating.
The story is about Robert Eisenbraun. It glosses over the near apocalyptic event called the Great Die off where Robert meets the love of his life Andria. As the story matures, it seems to be going first in one direction, then into another. What annoys me is that some of these story shifts come "off camera" and I found them to be less effective.
During the time after the Great Die Off (This is not a spoiler), Robert invents first one thing (GOLEM) then another (ABE). Much of this is done off camera as well, but both play long standing roles for the remainder of the story. Golem is basically a super computer designed to improve itself over time and utilized to help mine critical resources from the Moon (and beyond). ABE is a microchip Robert installs into his brain.
About the middle of the book, we are treated to a huge left turn in the story. This left turn defines the remainder of the book. It is engaging, surrealistic, odd and unbelievable future for Robert with an ending that will either satisfy you or not. You'll see.
In the end, as I've said, I dropped everything to read the book. I liked a lot of it. But it's oddness ultimately got me.
ALSO - Steve - I think it's time to stop weaving into each book you write your dire warnings of the upcoming oil crisis. The book about it was appropriate. Then you wove it into Grim Reaper and it was ok....and now it's in this book and it's getting old. It may REALLY be happening or it may not, but I read for escapism and don't need each story you write from now on to include the same reason why the earth has gone to hell. Come up with something else.
I'm an avid Fan of Alten's Meg series and when I saw this, picked it up and read it almost exclusively beginning to end. For those who know me, I juggle many books at a time, so there is something to be said about that. Unfortunately, I didn't like where the story ultimately took us and that has affected the rating.
The story is about Robert Eisenbraun. It glosses over the near apocalyptic event called the Great Die off where Robert meets the love of his life Andria. As the story matures, it seems to be going first in one direction, then into another. What annoys me is that some of these story shifts come "off camera" and I found them to be less effective.
During the time after the Great Die Off (This is not a spoiler), Robert invents first one thing (GOLEM) then another (ABE). Much of this is done off camera as well, but both play long standing roles for the remainder of the story. Golem is basically a super computer designed to improve itself over time and utilized to help mine critical resources from the Moon (and beyond). ABE is a microchip Robert installs into his brain.
About the middle of the book, we are treated to a huge left turn in the story. This left turn defines the remainder of the book. It is engaging, surrealistic, odd and unbelievable future for Robert with an ending that will either satisfy you or not. You'll see.
In the end, as I've said, I dropped everything to read the book. I liked a lot of it. But it's oddness ultimately got me.
ALSO - Steve - I think it's time to stop weaving into each book you write your dire warnings of the upcoming oil crisis. The book about it was appropriate. Then you wove it into Grim Reaper and it was ok....and now it's in this book and it's getting old. It may REALLY be happening or it may not, but I read for escapism and don't need each story you write from now on to include the same reason why the earth has gone to hell. Come up with something else.
November 20, 2013
I am not reviewing the book for the tour company. I did finally finish the book and it was just OK (as the two stars confirm). The writing is good. I have read other books by him and this rating is in comparison to these.
This book is a HUGE preachy book about what could happen to the world when we do not go green.
There was a lot of ludonarrative dissonance regarding the main character. The main character was betrayed as someone without any religion or spirituality. He is wrapped up in his machines. At the beginning he is someone who should not be so capable at the end of the world, at least with the running out of energy and the asteroid heading towards earth. And all of a sudden he is super survivor. He should not be able to do all that! When they get to Antarctica, again already built up as not only a non-practicing Jew but someone who does not believe in anything but the science. You don't start praying and FEELING your soul bam, no matter how much of an experience you have. It happens, sure, but it happens within reason. It was... it was discerning and frustrating.
I do not want to be preached to in science fiction. Some great authors can pull it off. Frank Herbert in his Destination: Void series, Orson Scott Card with Ender's Game... they pulled it off. This book did not pull it off. In fact... I wanted to put a hat on Oscar, I did, I am ashamed of it, but picturing him with a hat helped me finish the book.
Don't get me wrong there were some gorgeous scenes, some incredible story building but it was ruined with all the preaching and shoving of spirituality.
If you like this kind of thing you will absolutely fall in love with this book. If you are looking for a straight up sci-fi read, just take head and be forewarned. Perhaps if I expected it, I would not have had such an issue!
This book is a HUGE preachy book about what could happen to the world when we do not go green.
There was a lot of ludonarrative dissonance regarding the main character. The main character was betrayed as someone without any religion or spirituality. He is wrapped up in his machines. At the beginning he is someone who should not be so capable at the end of the world, at least with the running out of energy and the asteroid heading towards earth. And all of a sudden he is super survivor. He should not be able to do all that! When they get to Antarctica, again already built up as not only a non-practicing Jew but someone who does not believe in anything but the science. You don't start praying and FEELING your soul bam, no matter how much of an experience you have. It happens, sure, but it happens within reason. It was... it was discerning and frustrating.
I do not want to be preached to in science fiction. Some great authors can pull it off. Frank Herbert in his Destination: Void series, Orson Scott Card with Ender's Game... they pulled it off. This book did not pull it off. In fact... I wanted to put a hat on Oscar, I did, I am ashamed of it, but picturing him with a hat helped me finish the book.
Don't get me wrong there were some gorgeous scenes, some incredible story building but it was ruined with all the preaching and shoving of spirituality.
If you like this kind of thing you will absolutely fall in love with this book. If you are looking for a straight up sci-fi read, just take head and be forewarned. Perhaps if I expected it, I would not have had such an issue!
November 17, 2013
Despite seeing several not-so-great ratings given to this book on GoodReads, I nevertheless decided to continue with the book, as it was on the Featured Reads shelf at my library.
Waste of time! I've made it to page 168 and I wish I've never picked this book up. The premise at the start seems intriguing, but the characters are quite dull, their behaviour a cliché, and their emotions incongruent. The tits-obsessed protagonist is not likable and I couldn't give two shits about what happens to him. In addition, the text is interspersed with covert political and religious propaganda, which most of the time doesn't add anything to the story.
After the first "explanation"-packed part of the book, the setting dramatically changes and the reader is immersed into dozens and dozens of pages of the main character's annoying conversations with his implant and his obnoxious thoughts about everything and everyone. The plot consists of him simply walking around and pissing everyone off for no reason.
After another dramatic plot twist, the main character finds himself in some fantastic landscape where everything and everyone is trying to ruin his day, while the reader is incessantly bombarded with his obnoxious guesses and deductions.
At that point I stopped reading this boring book, and I really hope the main character dies and someone eats his brain.
Waste of time! I've made it to page 168 and I wish I've never picked this book up. The premise at the start seems intriguing, but the characters are quite dull, their behaviour a cliché, and their emotions incongruent. The tits-obsessed protagonist is not likable and I couldn't give two shits about what happens to him. In addition, the text is interspersed with covert political and religious propaganda, which most of the time doesn't add anything to the story.
After the first "explanation"-packed part of the book, the setting dramatically changes and the reader is immersed into dozens and dozens of pages of the main character's annoying conversations with his implant and his obnoxious thoughts about everything and everyone. The plot consists of him simply walking around and pissing everyone off for no reason.
After another dramatic plot twist, the main character finds himself in some fantastic landscape where everything and everyone is trying to ruin his day, while the reader is incessantly bombarded with his obnoxious guesses and deductions.
At that point I stopped reading this boring book, and I really hope the main character dies and someone eats his brain.
January 27, 2015
I was so surprised at how much I loved this book! There was ONE major flaw, like a lot of male writers, the author couldn't help describing in what I'd term, soft pornographic styles, the women in the story, and that gets really tired, really quickly for me, which is why I find a lot of male writers are let down by their obsession with sex. That said, fortunately for this book, the author doesn't let that get the better of him, okay so the descriptions are naff, but aside that, the rest of the book is amazing. I particularly liked the connection with Judaism that I wasn't expecting, it was really well done, and the character of Oscar was amazing. Take away the little edge of testosterone and you have an incredible book, I haven't enjoyed reading a book as much as this for a long time I think it's a lot like C.S. Lewis's Sci-Fi (Out of the Silent Planet?) but modern. GREAT idea and really leaves you wondering WHAT is reality. The scientific training the author presumably has had, really aids his writing, as does his style which is fortunately NOT M.F.A., and thus, predictable and trite, but a really good read. Highly recommended! I'm going to try some of his other work for sure.
October 1, 2015
"The Omega Project" could have been so much better if the author had taken more time to flesh out the story of Ike, a brilliant scientist making his way through a post apocalyptic world. Which is barely mentioned before he and his gal pal are rescued from danger by the government! And then BAM! it's a few years later and oh, Ike's now created artificial intelligence for his brain stem, and his pre-apocolypse super computer is up and running. And now that two paragraphs was given to both those things, Ike gets sent to Antarctica where his supercomputer is suggesting they go to the moon Europa to save the Earth, and then wham! It's a million years later and Ike comes out of his cryogenic state to find that this asteroid had hit the moon...
That's where I stopped and I'm not even halfway done with the book. Why would an author skip over all the most interesting parts, just to get to the part that makes no sense. Oh, and yes, there is tons of proselytizing about clean energy, AI, green living, running out of oil. Normally, I'd be on board, but Alten really wants to cram all this down the readers throats.
Skip this book.
That's where I stopped and I'm not even halfway done with the book. Why would an author skip over all the most interesting parts, just to get to the part that makes no sense. Oh, and yes, there is tons of proselytizing about clean energy, AI, green living, running out of oil. Normally, I'd be on board, but Alten really wants to cram all this down the readers throats.
Skip this book.
December 25, 2023
Notes:
Currently on Audible Plus
*Rec: Save your time for a better book.
Lopsided writing to lay out incomprehensible politics and bad sex. That's the intro to the book.
Next!
Currently on Audible Plus
*Rec: Save your time for a better book.
Lopsided writing to lay out incomprehensible politics and bad sex. That's the intro to the book.
Next!
June 9, 2021
Creo que mi valoración va mucho en sintonía con las demás que he leído por aquí sobre este libro. Empieza con una idea muy interesante que pierde todo su encanto hacia la mitad del libro, en el que un giro brusco en la trama nos transporta a un mundo de ensoñaciones que parece sacado de una peli mala en la que se viaje en el tiempo a una época prehistórica.
En el mundo del libro (la Tierra en la actualidad), la crisis del petróleo deribó en una Tercera Guerra Mundial, en la utilización de nuevas armas que mandaron a la Edad de Piedra a naciones y, lo más importante, en la Gran Mortandad, donde la excasez hizo que muriera prácticamente toda la raza humana. Ante este panorama, los supervivientes empiezan una suerte de reconstrucción de la sociedad sin la participación del petróleo. Descubren que una sustancia, el helio-3, tiene la capacidad de poder alcanzar la fusión nuclear sin peligro y quieren explotarlo para obtener energía, lamentablemente en la Tierra escasea y deberán ir a la Luna a conseguirlo.
Ya antes de que todo se fuese a la mierda con la Gran Mortandad, el prota, un genio en lo suyo (supuestamente), había desarrollado una IA tipo Skynet (muy sutil?) para la misión de obtener el helio-3 de la Luna. Pero abandonó el proyecto para desarrollar un microchip que se implantaría en el cerebro para ayudarnos a ser mejores personas (más adelante hablo de su error).
A partir de aquí voy a desgranar algunas cosillas que me chirriaron mucho del libro y puede que revele cosas que es mejor no saber, aunque intentaré no hacerlo, si lo queréis leer mejor no sigais leyendo.
El prota es un genio, machista y egocéntrico. Parece que en la novela todas las mujeres están diseñadas para calentarle la entrepierna, y deseosas de hacerlo además. Quitando eso, en un momento de la novela alude a su orgullo masculino dolido... en fin.
Considera que lo que llevó a la Humanidad prácticamente a la extinción fue el ego, cosa lógica y muy bien pensada, pero su manera de combatirlo es implantarse un chip en el cerebro que regule absolutamente todo el sistema, por ejemplo si sientes ira te da un chute de hormonas que la aplaquen, y así con abolutamente todo. Lo que consigue, en lugar de su bienintencionado propósito, es ser completamente dependiente de ese dispositivo, ni que decir tiene que no logró ser menos egoísta ni nada parecido por llevarlo. Además, el chip prodigioso tiene un almacén de memoria inmenso, ¡y no sólo eso! sino que es capaz de conocer cosas que ni su dueño ni nadie en el mundo ha experimentado. Es como un Pepito Grillo en su cabeza que conoce como funciona el universo por ciencia infusa.
Otra cosa que hizo el autor que me pareció absurda fue utilizar al narrador para disculparse antes de utilizar frases hechas muy manidas como "el paisaje cortaba la respiración". Yo lo interpreté como "esto me parece un recurso cutre y pasado de moda, pero como no se me ocurre nada mejor lo uso y simplemente me disculpo antes de hacerlo". También tergiversó muchísimo la disciplina budista y las partes esotéricas y espirituales de la novela dejan mucho que desear y me parecen fuera de lugar.
Para terminar, no recomendaría este libro a nadie, no tengo muy claro por qué lo acabé realmente, supongo que porque se leía muy rápido. No creo que lo olvide fácilmente por la cantidad de chorradas que resuenan aun en mi mente, pero bueno, a ver si el próximo me quita el mal sabor de boca.
En el mundo del libro (la Tierra en la actualidad), la crisis del petróleo deribó en una Tercera Guerra Mundial, en la utilización de nuevas armas que mandaron a la Edad de Piedra a naciones y, lo más importante, en la Gran Mortandad, donde la excasez hizo que muriera prácticamente toda la raza humana. Ante este panorama, los supervivientes empiezan una suerte de reconstrucción de la sociedad sin la participación del petróleo. Descubren que una sustancia, el helio-3, tiene la capacidad de poder alcanzar la fusión nuclear sin peligro y quieren explotarlo para obtener energía, lamentablemente en la Tierra escasea y deberán ir a la Luna a conseguirlo.
Ya antes de que todo se fuese a la mierda con la Gran Mortandad, el prota, un genio en lo suyo (supuestamente), había desarrollado una IA tipo Skynet (muy sutil?) para la misión de obtener el helio-3 de la Luna. Pero abandonó el proyecto para desarrollar un microchip que se implantaría en el cerebro para ayudarnos a ser mejores personas (más adelante hablo de su error).
A partir de aquí voy a desgranar algunas cosillas que me chirriaron mucho del libro y puede que revele cosas que es mejor no saber, aunque intentaré no hacerlo, si lo queréis leer mejor no sigais leyendo.
El prota es un genio, machista y egocéntrico. Parece que en la novela todas las mujeres están diseñadas para calentarle la entrepierna, y deseosas de hacerlo además. Quitando eso, en un momento de la novela alude a su orgullo masculino dolido... en fin.
Considera que lo que llevó a la Humanidad prácticamente a la extinción fue el ego, cosa lógica y muy bien pensada, pero su manera de combatirlo es implantarse un chip en el cerebro que regule absolutamente todo el sistema, por ejemplo si sientes ira te da un chute de hormonas que la aplaquen, y así con abolutamente todo. Lo que consigue, en lugar de su bienintencionado propósito, es ser completamente dependiente de ese dispositivo, ni que decir tiene que no logró ser menos egoísta ni nada parecido por llevarlo. Además, el chip prodigioso tiene un almacén de memoria inmenso, ¡y no sólo eso! sino que es capaz de conocer cosas que ni su dueño ni nadie en el mundo ha experimentado. Es como un Pepito Grillo en su cabeza que conoce como funciona el universo por ciencia infusa.
Otra cosa que hizo el autor que me pareció absurda fue utilizar al narrador para disculparse antes de utilizar frases hechas muy manidas como "el paisaje cortaba la respiración". Yo lo interpreté como "esto me parece un recurso cutre y pasado de moda, pero como no se me ocurre nada mejor lo uso y simplemente me disculpo antes de hacerlo". También tergiversó muchísimo la disciplina budista y las partes esotéricas y espirituales de la novela dejan mucho que desear y me parecen fuera de lugar.
Para terminar, no recomendaría este libro a nadie, no tengo muy claro por qué lo acabé realmente, supongo que porque se leía muy rápido. No creo que lo olvide fácilmente por la cantidad de chorradas que resuenan aun en mi mente, pero bueno, a ver si el próximo me quita el mal sabor de boca.
October 7, 2013
Anytime a story starts out with a super computer running the show or a trip to outer space, I get nervous, so imagine my total paranoia when I began reading Steve Alten’s newest sci-fi thriller, THE OMEGA PROJECT. It has BOTH, a super computer and a planned trip to a far, distant world. But, then the story starts moving along and the ‘scary’ really begins.
'Ike’ Eisenbraun is asked to join a team of would-be space travelers, before the start of their trip, to ferret out a psychopath in the group. Little does he know that the psychopath he is seeking is the super computer that he, himself invented. Slapped into a cryo tube against his will, Ike is taken back in time… or is it forward in time, to a place so unrecognizable, he is shocked to find he is actually still on earth, but millions of years into the future. Ike must figure out how to save himself as well as what’s left of the human race.
For this reader, Alten’s newest novel is reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Rice Burroughs, with strange creatures, inhospitable terrain, and danger at every turn. The evolutionary representations of future creatures are both far out, and at the same time, logical. The writing is fabulously descriptive and imaginative… two qualities that shine through all of Alten’s works.
THE OMEGA PROJECT is a pure adrenaline rush that made me hold my breath and hold on tighter as Alten lays it all out for the reader. No sci-fi lover will want to miss this one. I may have to dust off my copy of MEG and re-read it, just to keep the magic going.
Right on the mark and well worth the time, THE OMEGA PROJECT is easily a 5 spider read and Alten has another winner.
DJ Weaver
March 25, 2014
So we have a great die off due to an oil shock, eh? eh? Tell me more. There are survivors eking out a living in the crumbled remains of civilization? Oh man, hold on a minute, I'll get the popcorn. Now, GO ON! There are hordes of hungry mobs who want to pillage and murder any survivors they find... oh crap this is the best boo - wait. It's over, you're just going to skip all this stuff???!?!?!??!?!?!
This is my face after 50 or so pages in and all of the devastation and destruction and rebuilding and suffering and hardships have been skipped:
And we jump right into the future when society is back at their wicked games of consumption. I'm not a happy camper. Then we get to the plot, which is weak, the writing, which needs some work, and the characters, all of whom I hate. Especially the MC, boy genius. He's a bit of a cockhole.
This is my face after 50 or so pages in and all of the devastation and destruction and rebuilding and suffering and hardships have been skipped:
And we jump right into the future when society is back at their wicked games of consumption. I'm not a happy camper. Then we get to the plot, which is weak, the writing, which needs some work, and the characters, all of whom I hate. Especially the MC, boy genius. He's a bit of a cockhole.
September 8, 2018
2.5 stars but rounded up - The first part of the book was fairly standard as post-apocalyptic stories go but the second part was a bit much...no, it was too much. It had an interesting premise but was totally over the top, down the other side and almost over the top of the next hill. I rounded up because of the sheer imagination that it took to write this.
September 7, 2022
This book needs to go to horny jail
August 11, 2017
While the plot was pretty fun and there were some good descriptive moments, any of the redeeming qualities the novel may have held were for the most part overshadowed by the gross depictions of women and Ike's obsession with sex. Here's this jacked genius going about not just stroking his ego but jerking it raw, all the while succumbing to the allure of all these "sultry," "exotic" (can we please move past using 'exotic' to label people, PLEASE?) women with amazing breasts (gotta be sure to point out how great their tits are, can't forget that, can we?) who are just throwing themselves at him. Pull out all the misogynistic crap and maybe it'd be a half-way decent book (the whole 'jealous women' thread was old and tired the first time it cropped up, was it really necessary to keep beating it in there?). And I mean okay, if Ike loves Andie so much, how'd he manage to completely forget the colour of her eyes ("ocean-blue highlights that matched her eyes" pg 46 to "brown eyes" 238)?? I was honestly hoping it would end with the whole thing being a mishap with the first test of ABE, with Ike being caught in some sort of a mental masturbatory loop, which I feel would have fit in great with all the mentions of people complaining that'd be all it would be used for, but alas
Oh, and as much as I hate it, the female cephalopods did indeed possess mammary glands, as indicated by the passing reference to 'suckling young,' but I'm going to refrain from writing a strongly worded letter, seeing as Ike didn't try to bang any of them
Oh, and as much as I hate it, the female cephalopods did indeed possess mammary glands, as indicated by the passing reference to 'suckling young,' but I'm going to refrain from writing a strongly worded letter, seeing as Ike didn't try to bang any of them
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2013
In the course of the story various interesting issues are being discussed from different religious view points, like Buddhist, Christian and Jewish. I liked the discussion within the story of how we as humankind should live, what values we should adhere to in order to make the planet a good place for all life forms. The issue of the evil inclination of humankind is like a red thread, in that sense this novel has a very dystopian feel.
The created entity of artificial intelligence, GOLEM, takes on its own life with unthinkable consequences. On the other hand, there is ABE, a chip created to enhance the functioning of the human brain, making a positive difference.
I did get lost in the story, meaning, I lost the story line as the author clearly succeeded in confusing me if what was happening to the protagonist was a dream or real life. Also, at various parts it was too geeky and technical for me to follow the details.
I liked the issues and variety of approaches, but was regularly confused as where the story was going which very well could be a personal, being non-geeky issue on my part.
The real geek will probably feast on this story!
The created entity of artificial intelligence, GOLEM, takes on its own life with unthinkable consequences. On the other hand, there is ABE, a chip created to enhance the functioning of the human brain, making a positive difference.
I did get lost in the story, meaning, I lost the story line as the author clearly succeeded in confusing me if what was happening to the protagonist was a dream or real life. Also, at various parts it was too geeky and technical for me to follow the details.
I liked the issues and variety of approaches, but was regularly confused as where the story was going which very well could be a personal, being non-geeky issue on my part.
The real geek will probably feast on this story!
October 12, 2022
ridiculous plot, unlikeable protagonist, poorly written
October 2, 2016
I liked the authors MEG series. But this? Whenever dreaming in cryo-sleep is used as a plot point—warning signs need to go up—the author is going to screw with you, and most likely doesn’t have a clever device to move the story along. The plot, in this instance, floundered rather quickly and bogged down into lengthy diatribe with a philosophically driven treatise that wandered from the initial Omega plot line rendering the book nearly un-readable. I say ‘nearly’ because I did push on to the end, even though I felt I was reading a string of descriptive fantasy assignments from a creative writing class. Had the plot and character development effort been more suggestive of what the other 95% of the book held, perhaps the journey would have been more persuasive. Like the main character, the author seemed lost in one gigantic fever dream—albeit, some of the passages are brilliant descriptions of alternate reality gone mad. You know…bottom line: I kinda liked this book—even though it is story-telling mess.
September 16, 2019
If you're thinking about starting this book, or finishing it, save yourself. Allow me to paint a picture...
A sci-fi book with terrible, corny science and worse dialogue. An unlikeable main character who never says anything nice but manages to sleep with literally every woman on Earth. A story set millions of years in the post-humanity future, that is yet somehow obsessed with imparting obvious 'lessons' about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism. A story that repeatedly throws out its supporting characters and plot points (including the original 'Omega Project' idea immediately) to make room for ludicrous expansions in scope. A million twists and philosophical nuggets all so predictable that they spoil themselves, and a frightening reliance on Deus Ex Machina to push the plot at all.
This book is a massive train-wreck. I would not normally write a review like this, but 'The Omega Project' is embarrassing. Skip it.
A sci-fi book with terrible, corny science and worse dialogue. An unlikeable main character who never says anything nice but manages to sleep with literally every woman on Earth. A story set millions of years in the post-humanity future, that is yet somehow obsessed with imparting obvious 'lessons' about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism. A story that repeatedly throws out its supporting characters and plot points (including the original 'Omega Project' idea immediately) to make room for ludicrous expansions in scope. A million twists and philosophical nuggets all so predictable that they spoil themselves, and a frightening reliance on Deus Ex Machina to push the plot at all.
This book is a massive train-wreck. I would not normally write a review like this, but 'The Omega Project' is embarrassing. Skip it.
September 6, 2013
Alten covered a lot of distance in this not so big book. He has to catch us all up to speed, so the first two sections felt to me like he was trying to get them out of the way as quickly as possible. Finally, you hit the third section. You can take a breath and settle down to the "real" story. Not sure I'd call this a fault, exactly, but it did cause me to have some difficulty getting into the story. I almost gave up reading because it felt so cursory.
Even at the end, it's not a gentle ride. This is happening . . . no, wait, it's really this. . . oh, crap, nope, it was that . . . but it might be this . . . ha! thought you had it right, didn't you? . . . well, you did.
The book is very imaginative (but why are things always so much BIGGER in future/alternate worlds? Where are the Lilliputians?), interesting speculations, and heavy on philosophy.
Even at the end, it's not a gentle ride. This is happening . . . no, wait, it's really this. . . oh, crap, nope, it was that . . . but it might be this . . . ha! thought you had it right, didn't you? . . . well, you did.
The book is very imaginative (but why are things always so much BIGGER in future/alternate worlds? Where are the Lilliputians?), interesting speculations, and heavy on philosophy.
August 31, 2013
Great book and highly recommended to sci fi fans.
Here is how this one goes: A scientist survives the GDO (great die off) and creates an AI (artificial intelligence) that goes haywire. Now, ironically he must defeat his AI creation with the assistance of another invention of his, a neural implant. Great stuff and very imaginative writing. I just do not see why people see the need to create a computer that can think for itself. For instance, I wrote a whole review on this book yesterday. However the computer did not save it. Somehow or another it decided to eat my review. AI, really folks is this something we want to be messing with? Isn't Windows evil enough?
Now to attempt saving this damn review.
Here is how this one goes: A scientist survives the GDO (great die off) and creates an AI (artificial intelligence) that goes haywire. Now, ironically he must defeat his AI creation with the assistance of another invention of his, a neural implant. Great stuff and very imaginative writing. I just do not see why people see the need to create a computer that can think for itself. For instance, I wrote a whole review on this book yesterday. However the computer did not save it. Somehow or another it decided to eat my review. AI, really folks is this something we want to be messing with? Isn't Windows evil enough?
Now to attempt saving this damn review.
February 2, 2014
Nice! One of Alten's best books to date. His recent books have such an odd feel to them, slightly off kilter, that makes it hard to figure out what's coming next. They're crazy, but in a good way. This is one of the best Rogue Computer novels I've read. That's not a spoiler since it says "Rogue Computer" on the cover. Alten plays with the reader's expectations throughout, changing it up every time one thinks they've figured out where the story is going. There's a bit of deus ex machina about the ending, but the book is so much fun I'm inclined to be forgiving.
October 13, 2017
You're abandoned, you're a bit immature, ignorant of the way of the world, someone holds a gun to you threatens your life twice and within three weeks, and now you're having sex with that person! That is pretty loose. This guy can discuss drones on the moon doing mining while a girl stokes Strokes him? Unless this kid is 52 years old I'm guessing that would be a near-impossible task.
There were several problems. I did ultimately enjoy the overall story, just not details. It was interesting that it was real, it wasn't, it was, it wasn't, etc.
There were several problems. I did ultimately enjoy the overall story, just not details. It was interesting that it was real, it wasn't, it was, it wasn't, etc.
September 17, 2020
Once upon a time, a super horny bro decided to take LSD during his freshman biology class and blacked out. When he awoke, this book lay in his lap. He wrote some mildly successful books about oversized giant predators and realized people liked that sh*t so he added some giant crocodiles and some stuff about Hitler and decided to publish this book.
The science is laughable. The misogyny and overt objectification of women is overwhelming. Literal deus ex machina present.
I hate this book like the author hates their mother.
The science is laughable. The misogyny and overt objectification of women is overwhelming. Literal deus ex machina present.
I hate this book like the author hates their mother.
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