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Synchronicity Trilogy Omnibus
The same story told three times from three radically different points of characters in the Western world, the Chinese bloc... and the mysterious Spinners. The tale doesn't read the same each time, and there's plenty of new discoveries along the way to keep it interesting for the second and third points of view. The circa 2077, several giant corporations have moved into space to avoid oppressive governments owned by the competition. The Western world is in loose alliance, led by the United States, Brazil, and the European Union. Opposing them for world domination is the Chinese bloc, with a sphere of influence that spans the Eastern world, including what was once Japan. If you don't work for a big company or government, then you're one of billions living at subsistence level with little hope for a better future. But the resources to support an aging Earth will come from the rest of the solar system, where governments and companies are reaching out to seize the new frontier and control the new world order.
688 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 12, 2013
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Michael McCloskey
44 books115 followersI am a software engineer in Silicon Valley who dreams of otherworldly creatures, mysterious alien planets, and fantastic adventures. I'm also an indie author with over 150,000 paid sales and another 150,000 free downloads.
Visit http://www.squidlord.us for more information.
You can subscribe to announcements of my new releases here: http://eepurl.com/nExcb
Visit http://www.squidlord.us for more information.
You can subscribe to announcements of my new releases here: http://eepurl.com/nExcb
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 11, 2015
An interesting read, though a single volume would be better
The edition I read was three books in a row. While interesting I think overall the story would have benefited from being woven into a seamless whole with slightly more integration.
The author has great ideas and interesting characters, and I'm interested in reading more of his sci-fi.
The edition I read was three books in a row. While interesting I think overall the story would have benefited from being woven into a seamless whole with slightly more integration.
The author has great ideas and interesting characters, and I'm interested in reading more of his sci-fi.
May 17, 2019
Series: Synchronicity Trilogy, Omnibus (1-3) By Michael McCloskey
I wasn't certain how I would react to reading the same story three times. Thankfully it didn't feel so much like that. There was some overlap but since this written from West World block POV and East World block POV and then Alien POV it worked out quite well.
I think that internally the story stays true to the science presented and as has been pointed out there is a expectation of suspension of disbelief in some parts. But this is science fiction and most of that does expect some suspension of disbelief.
It was a bit difficult to find any single character or set of characters to empathize with or root for and I think that it falls back to part of what the story is all about. What each story has in common is that the people we meet are all living on the edge and in many cases dealing with things that leave them in danger most of the time.
There are the corporate espionage people and the UN police force and the Chinese special forces and then the aliens who seem to be game players who have lived on the virtual edge for so long they are having trouble dealing with reality and have only a marginal understanding of the dangers of living on the edge in reality.
Then there is the ultra intelligent AI's that they all deal with which are the most dangerous feature of their daily lives. They are also the best tools for the needs of each group so that that temptation will always be there even though they know that it could lead to something worse than skynet form Terminator.
The aliens represent a cybernetic human/machine hybrid and are far advanced in many ways and become the target of the greed of all these people.
There are a good share of ethical questions brought into the story with slavery and forced labor and the use of virtual worlds and mind control and then there's the aliens.
Although it could be argued that some of the situations seem too far out, the real point of the story is how each group of people are reacting to what is happening in this particular what if situation. The pace is good the writing might need a bit of polish; but overall it has to be pretty good, because I read all three straight through hanging on to see what happens next.
It has an interesting end.
Great SFF for those not too keen for the Simon Pure type and who like to do a bit of thinking about how they would react to these things.
I definitely would like to know what happens next in this strange universe.
J.L. Dobias
I wasn't certain how I would react to reading the same story three times. Thankfully it didn't feel so much like that. There was some overlap but since this written from West World block POV and East World block POV and then Alien POV it worked out quite well.
I think that internally the story stays true to the science presented and as has been pointed out there is a expectation of suspension of disbelief in some parts. But this is science fiction and most of that does expect some suspension of disbelief.
It was a bit difficult to find any single character or set of characters to empathize with or root for and I think that it falls back to part of what the story is all about. What each story has in common is that the people we meet are all living on the edge and in many cases dealing with things that leave them in danger most of the time.
There are the corporate espionage people and the UN police force and the Chinese special forces and then the aliens who seem to be game players who have lived on the virtual edge for so long they are having trouble dealing with reality and have only a marginal understanding of the dangers of living on the edge in reality.
Then there is the ultra intelligent AI's that they all deal with which are the most dangerous feature of their daily lives. They are also the best tools for the needs of each group so that that temptation will always be there even though they know that it could lead to something worse than skynet form Terminator.
The aliens represent a cybernetic human/machine hybrid and are far advanced in many ways and become the target of the greed of all these people.
There are a good share of ethical questions brought into the story with slavery and forced labor and the use of virtual worlds and mind control and then there's the aliens.
Although it could be argued that some of the situations seem too far out, the real point of the story is how each group of people are reacting to what is happening in this particular what if situation. The pace is good the writing might need a bit of polish; but overall it has to be pretty good, because I read all three straight through hanging on to see what happens next.
It has an interesting end.
Great SFF for those not too keen for the Simon Pure type and who like to do a bit of thinking about how they would react to these things.
I definitely would like to know what happens next in this strange universe.
J.L. Dobias
September 10, 2016
When I picked up the Synchronicity Trilogy Omnibus, I determined to read at least the first book. Then, if it merited a fair to middling grade, I would begin the second book with hopes of finding improvements.
My reading of the first book, Insidious, started off poorly, my having been tripped up by the odd use of a word in the very first sentence. Not a good way to begin! Things proceeded choppily thereafter.
I felt confused more often than not, and the confusion had nothing to do with the mystery at the heart of the novel and everything to do with the initially poor writing. The writing did improve, however, and my confusion began to ease.
But then about 40 percent into the book, the answer to the mystery at the heart of the plot was sprung suddenly without the usual building tension. The pacing felt all wrong, in other words. That was so off-putting that I had to put the book aside for awhile and began reading something else.
Upon returning to Insidious, I found myself checking to see how many more chapters were left before the end. (Another bad sign.) One of the female characters, Cinmei, was so badly fleshed out as to be comical. The reader learns that she's a spy for the Chinese government. Yet this spy is subsequently overtaken and duped, in the space of a minute or two, by a corporate executive. McCloskey gives Cinmei no more substance than a paper doll.
I persevered and finished Book One. The end was OK, but rather abrupt and left too much unexplained. Still, I thought, perhaps Book Two will answer the unexplained. More important, given Ingenious relates the same events but from the Chinese perspective, perhaps the paper doll Cinmei will become a credible character.
It didn't get any better. I read about one third into the second book. Cinmei (now 'Xinmei') was apparently recruited by the Chinese government while she was still in high school and TRAINED to be a spy. Yet she thinks thoughts like these, we are supposed to believe, and all too frequently:
"If only Feng [the boyfriend] were here, he'd smash this awful man to a pulp for me. But he isn't. So I will have to do it myself."
and again…
"She wished Feng could be there to fend the man off, but of course he was so very far away."
Oh… my hero…
GAG.
I won't be reading the rest of the trilogy.
McCloskey does best when describing military strategy and engagements. He does poorly creating believable, fully fleshed out characters - especially strong female characters - and believable associations, dialogues and relations among his characters.
(I changed my star rating here from one to two, to be compatible with the star ranking system on Amazon. Here on Goodreads, one star here means "did not like it." On Amazon one star = "I hate it." Two stars on Goodreads = "it was OK," while on Amazon it's "I don't like it.")
My reading of the first book, Insidious, started off poorly, my having been tripped up by the odd use of a word in the very first sentence. Not a good way to begin! Things proceeded choppily thereafter.
I felt confused more often than not, and the confusion had nothing to do with the mystery at the heart of the novel and everything to do with the initially poor writing. The writing did improve, however, and my confusion began to ease.
But then about 40 percent into the book, the answer to the mystery at the heart of the plot was sprung suddenly without the usual building tension. The pacing felt all wrong, in other words. That was so off-putting that I had to put the book aside for awhile and began reading something else.
Upon returning to Insidious, I found myself checking to see how many more chapters were left before the end. (Another bad sign.) One of the female characters, Cinmei, was so badly fleshed out as to be comical. The reader learns that she's a spy for the Chinese government. Yet this spy is subsequently overtaken and duped, in the space of a minute or two, by a corporate executive. McCloskey gives Cinmei no more substance than a paper doll.
I persevered and finished Book One. The end was OK, but rather abrupt and left too much unexplained. Still, I thought, perhaps Book Two will answer the unexplained. More important, given Ingenious relates the same events but from the Chinese perspective, perhaps the paper doll Cinmei will become a credible character.
It didn't get any better. I read about one third into the second book. Cinmei (now 'Xinmei') was apparently recruited by the Chinese government while she was still in high school and TRAINED to be a spy. Yet she thinks thoughts like these, we are supposed to believe, and all too frequently:
"If only Feng [the boyfriend] were here, he'd smash this awful man to a pulp for me. But he isn't. So I will have to do it myself."
and again…
"She wished Feng could be there to fend the man off, but of course he was so very far away."
Oh… my hero…
GAG.
I won't be reading the rest of the trilogy.
McCloskey does best when describing military strategy and engagements. He does poorly creating believable, fully fleshed out characters - especially strong female characters - and believable associations, dialogues and relations among his characters.
(I changed my star rating here from one to two, to be compatible with the star ranking system on Amazon. Here on Goodreads, one star here means "did not like it." On Amazon one star = "I hate it." Two stars on Goodreads = "it was OK," while on Amazon it's "I don't like it.")
April 18, 2016
I initially read these three individually (in order) some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed them. McCloskey consistently exercises his skill in setting up an alternate/future world in which he inserts well-crafted characters, develops challenging situations and turns things loose to develop into a completely engrossing story. This trilogy is one of his best.
This time around, I inadvertently read them in reverse (3,2,1) order, looking for clues to how Bren's harnessed AI grows in ability, knowledge, power and cunning. I was particularly interested in these cores, how they were seeded, cultivated, utilized and ultimately discarded. Seeing them first from perspectives of the Spinners, then the eyes of the Chinese spy, and then finally from the UNSF and Black Core operative was a different way to approach this series. I found this pattern helpful in my search to relearn the origins of the AI only after I'd met it from a variety of different angles.
One of my favorite things about this world (specifically the Parker Interstellar Travels world and in particular his recent The Created) is how McCloskey explores the future of our own nascent "internet of things" implementation. In the future, when truly everything is networked, every door, window, table, pencil, coffee mug and mosquito will have arrays of sensors, authentication, authorization and access to entire libraries of information, currency, power, monitors and actions. Our own world's current tendency to focus on the functionality first, leaving for distant second the issues of security and authentication makes for a scary backdrop to McCloskey's networked future.
I highly recommend immersing yourself in McCloskey's worlds for a time. Not only will you enjoy the story and meet some engaging characters, but you'll also gain some understanding of the "what-if" of our possible networked future.
This time around, I inadvertently read them in reverse (3,2,1) order, looking for clues to how Bren's harnessed AI grows in ability, knowledge, power and cunning. I was particularly interested in these cores, how they were seeded, cultivated, utilized and ultimately discarded. Seeing them first from perspectives of the Spinners, then the eyes of the Chinese spy, and then finally from the UNSF and Black Core operative was a different way to approach this series. I found this pattern helpful in my search to relearn the origins of the AI only after I'd met it from a variety of different angles.
One of my favorite things about this world (specifically the Parker Interstellar Travels world and in particular his recent The Created) is how McCloskey explores the future of our own nascent "internet of things" implementation. In the future, when truly everything is networked, every door, window, table, pencil, coffee mug and mosquito will have arrays of sensors, authentication, authorization and access to entire libraries of information, currency, power, monitors and actions. Our own world's current tendency to focus on the functionality first, leaving for distant second the issues of security and authentication makes for a scary backdrop to McCloskey's networked future.
I highly recommend immersing yourself in McCloskey's worlds for a time. Not only will you enjoy the story and meet some engaging characters, but you'll also gain some understanding of the "what-if" of our possible networked future.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews