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The Downloaded
The new novel by Canada’s top Science Fiction writer
In 2059 two very different groups have their minds uploaded into a quantum computer in Waterloo, Ontario.
One group consists of astronauts preparing for Earth’s first interstellar voyage. The other? Convicted murderers, serving their sentences in a virtual-reality prison.
But when disaster strikes, the astronauts and the prisoners must download back into physical reality and find a way to work together to save Earth from destruction.
The Downloaded debuted in a six-month exclusive window as an Audible Original narrated by Academy Award-winner Brendan Fraser promoted by national TV and radio ad campaigns. This print edition is coming out immediately after Audible’s exclusivity ends and is being supported by a six-city cross-Canada author book tour.
“Robert J. Sawyer’s latest novel is a potent distillation of everything that makes science fiction so addictive. The Downloaded explores a broad swath of future history and absolutely sizzles with fascinating ideas. You want space travel, a ruined Earth, virtual worlds, a cast of relatable characters, and a glimpse into the labyrinth of human destiny? Look no this story has all that and more.”
—Robert Charles Wilson, Hugo Award-winning author of Spin
“In The Downloaded , Robert J. Sawyer proves he’s not just a master of using science fiction to address social issues but also a master of devious plot twists and diverse character voices.”
—James Alan Gardner, Theodore Sturgeon Award-winning author of Expendable
“No one does the end of the world quite like Robert J. Sawyer. The Downloaded is a wicked-smart thrill ride from start to finish. The interview format brings genuine intimacy to this action-packed story that also raises questions about consciousness, society, and the very nature of humanity. I loved it.”
—Sylvain Neuvel, bestselling author of Sleeping Giants
“Robert J. Sawyer is well known for big-concept original SF and rigorous research. While The Downloaded continues in this vein, it’s also a wonderful demonstration of another aspect of this impressive his deep understanding of—and compassion for—people, regardless of who or what they are, or even what they have done. It’s a rare and potent humanity that elevates Sawyer’s work high above the rest.”
—Julie E. Czerneda, Aurora Award-winning author of To Each This World
“One of the best SF novels I’ve read in years. The Downloaded is a tightly-written SF story that will hold your attention, but it’s more than just that. Sawyer has given us an advance look at a technology that we may have someday if we’re fortunate, but also a near-future world that we may get, too, and God help us if we do. The juxtaposition of the two makes this a fascinating tale.”
—Allen Steele, Hugo Award-winning author of Coyote
One group consists of astronauts preparing for Earth’s first interstellar voyage. The other? Convicted murderers, serving their sentences in a virtual-reality prison.
But when disaster strikes, the astronauts and the prisoners must download back into physical reality and find a way to work together to save Earth from destruction.
The Downloaded debuted in a six-month exclusive window as an Audible Original narrated by Academy Award-winner Brendan Fraser promoted by national TV and radio ad campaigns. This print edition is coming out immediately after Audible’s exclusivity ends and is being supported by a six-city cross-Canada author book tour.
“Robert J. Sawyer’s latest novel is a potent distillation of everything that makes science fiction so addictive. The Downloaded explores a broad swath of future history and absolutely sizzles with fascinating ideas. You want space travel, a ruined Earth, virtual worlds, a cast of relatable characters, and a glimpse into the labyrinth of human destiny? Look no this story has all that and more.”
—Robert Charles Wilson, Hugo Award-winning author of Spin
“In The Downloaded , Robert J. Sawyer proves he’s not just a master of using science fiction to address social issues but also a master of devious plot twists and diverse character voices.”
—James Alan Gardner, Theodore Sturgeon Award-winning author of Expendable
“No one does the end of the world quite like Robert J. Sawyer. The Downloaded is a wicked-smart thrill ride from start to finish. The interview format brings genuine intimacy to this action-packed story that also raises questions about consciousness, society, and the very nature of humanity. I loved it.”
—Sylvain Neuvel, bestselling author of Sleeping Giants
“Robert J. Sawyer is well known for big-concept original SF and rigorous research. While The Downloaded continues in this vein, it’s also a wonderful demonstration of another aspect of this impressive his deep understanding of—and compassion for—people, regardless of who or what they are, or even what they have done. It’s a rare and potent humanity that elevates Sawyer’s work high above the rest.”
—Julie E. Czerneda, Aurora Award-winning author of To Each This World
“One of the best SF novels I’ve read in years. The Downloaded is a tightly-written SF story that will hold your attention, but it’s more than just that. Sawyer has given us an advance look at a technology that we may have someday if we’re fortunate, but also a near-future world that we may get, too, and God help us if we do. The juxtaposition of the two makes this a fascinating tale.”
—Allen Steele, Hugo Award-winning author of Coyote
183 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 11, 2024
197 people are currently reading
1339 people want to read
About the author
Robert J. Sawyer
228 books2,488 followersRobert J. Sawyer is one of Canada's best known and most successful science fiction writers. He is the only Canadian (and one of only 7 writers in the world) to have won all three of the top international awards for science fiction: the 1995 Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment, the 2003 Hugo Award for Hominids, and the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan.
Robert Sawyer grew up in Toronto, the son of two university professors. He credits two of his favourite shows from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Search and Star Trek, with teaching him some of the fundamentals of the science-fiction craft. Sawyer was obsessed with outer space from a young age, and he vividly remembers watching the televised Apollo missions. He claims to have watched the 1968 classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey 25 times. He began writing science fiction in a high school club, which he co-founded, NASFA (Northview Academy Association of Science Fiction Addicts). Sawyer graduated in 1982 from the Radio and Television Arts Program at Ryerson University, where he later worked as an instructor.
Sawyer's first published book, Golden Fleece (1989), is an adaptation of short stories that had previously appeared in the science-fiction magazine Amazing Stories. This book won the Aurora Award for the best Canadian science-fiction novel in English. In the early 1990s Sawyer went on to publish his inventive Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, about a world of intelligent dinosaurs. His 1995 award winning The Terminal Experiment confirmed his place as a major international science-fiction writer.
A prolific writer, Sawyer has published more than 10 novels, plus two trilogies. Reviewers praise Sawyer for his concise prose, which has been compared to that of the science-fiction master Isaac Asimov. Like many science fiction-writers, Sawyer welcomes the opportunities his chosen genre provides for exploring ideas. The first book of his Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, Hominids (2002), is set in a near-future society, in which a quantum computing experiment brings a Neanderthal scientist from a parallel Earth to ours. His 2006 Mindscan explores the possibility of transferring human consciousness into a mechanical body, and the ensuing ethical, legal, and societal ramifications.
A passionate advocate for science fiction, Sawyer teaches creative writing and appears frequently in the media to discuss his genre. He prefers the label "philosophical fiction," and in no way sees himself as a predictor of the future. His mission statement for his writing is "To combine the intimately human with the grandly cosmic."
http://us.macmillan.com/author/robert...
Robert Sawyer grew up in Toronto, the son of two university professors. He credits two of his favourite shows from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Search and Star Trek, with teaching him some of the fundamentals of the science-fiction craft. Sawyer was obsessed with outer space from a young age, and he vividly remembers watching the televised Apollo missions. He claims to have watched the 1968 classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey 25 times. He began writing science fiction in a high school club, which he co-founded, NASFA (Northview Academy Association of Science Fiction Addicts). Sawyer graduated in 1982 from the Radio and Television Arts Program at Ryerson University, where he later worked as an instructor.
Sawyer's first published book, Golden Fleece (1989), is an adaptation of short stories that had previously appeared in the science-fiction magazine Amazing Stories. This book won the Aurora Award for the best Canadian science-fiction novel in English. In the early 1990s Sawyer went on to publish his inventive Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, about a world of intelligent dinosaurs. His 1995 award winning The Terminal Experiment confirmed his place as a major international science-fiction writer.
A prolific writer, Sawyer has published more than 10 novels, plus two trilogies. Reviewers praise Sawyer for his concise prose, which has been compared to that of the science-fiction master Isaac Asimov. Like many science fiction-writers, Sawyer welcomes the opportunities his chosen genre provides for exploring ideas. The first book of his Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, Hominids (2002), is set in a near-future society, in which a quantum computing experiment brings a Neanderthal scientist from a parallel Earth to ours. His 2006 Mindscan explores the possibility of transferring human consciousness into a mechanical body, and the ensuing ethical, legal, and societal ramifications.
A passionate advocate for science fiction, Sawyer teaches creative writing and appears frequently in the media to discuss his genre. He prefers the label "philosophical fiction," and in no way sees himself as a predictor of the future. His mission statement for his writing is "To combine the intimately human with the grandly cosmic."
http://us.macmillan.com/author/robert...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 702 reviews
November 15, 2023
An interesting concept completely ruined by forced, unnecessary identity politics and on-the-nose social justice tropes. Somewhat rushed pacing and a relatively simplistic and predictable storyline.
If some of the swearing and more adult themes were toned down a bit I could see it being a good YAF novel. But as it is, this book reads like a gender studies student’s attempt at a Star Trek TNG storyline and comes off as preachy and bitter.
Edit: look out for the shoehorned in trans character out of nowhere for no reason who furthers nothing in the plot, and the multiple random demonizations of people (in the book’s setting of the year 2548) who didn’t get COVID-19 vaccinated. Yes, really
If some of the swearing and more adult themes were toned down a bit I could see it being a good YAF novel. But as it is, this book reads like a gender studies student’s attempt at a Star Trek TNG storyline and comes off as preachy and bitter.
Edit: look out for the shoehorned in trans character out of nowhere for no reason who furthers nothing in the plot, and the multiple random demonizations of people (in the book’s setting of the year 2548) who didn’t get COVID-19 vaccinated. Yes, really
November 5, 2023
Free download for Audible members.
I enjoyed this short but very interesting story. It’s narrated by a full cast that did an absolutely brilliant job. A mashup of sci-go, dystopia and post-apocalyptic genres, my only complaint is that it wasn’t longer.
I enjoyed this short but very interesting story. It’s narrated by a full cast that did an absolutely brilliant job. A mashup of sci-go, dystopia and post-apocalyptic genres, my only complaint is that it wasn’t longer.
October 29, 2023
I'll be honest, I only bought this because I'm a massive Brendan Fraser fan (you deserve the world, babe!), but it wasn't a bad book. A bit short, I think the story could have been extended quite a lot as we didn't get to see much interaction between the ex cons, other than some background screaming. It was okay, but I would have wanted more.
November 30, 2023
I chose this book because it was short-ish, had Brendan Fraser reading one of the characters, and was free on Audible. I thought the concept was super interesting. I've read books with similar preferences (uploading your consciousness into a computer and living there) and I've enjoyed them. However, in this short, fun-sized book, the author decided to touch on climate change, COVID-19 anti-vaxxers, recidivism of prisoners, people believing that women and African American people are just given high-ranking jobs to tick boxes, trans issues, risk of nuclear war, religion, and social justice.
This book could have been really interesting, but it felt a lot like a lecture. And unfortunately, there were also glaring plot holes ... Electromagnetic pulse wipes out technology on Earth, but your cryogenic pod, super computers, and the robots that support you are fine ... There is frozen food available that's been hanging out for 500 years and is totally fine. Etc. All in all, I was just super disappointed. Two stars for creativity and the acting in the audiobook.
This book could have been really interesting, but it felt a lot like a lecture. And unfortunately, there were also glaring plot holes ... Electromagnetic pulse wipes out technology on Earth, but your cryogenic pod, super computers, and the robots that support you are fine ... There is frozen food available that's been hanging out for 500 years and is totally fine. Etc. All in all, I was just super disappointed. Two stars for creativity and the acting in the audiobook.
December 29, 2023
Intriguing concept, but it felt rushed!
The Downloaded is surprisingly short for the story it was telling. A more flashed-out worldbuilding and characters would have enhanced the overall reading experience.
To be honest, I was just starting to love this when the story concluded. 3.5 stars for me.
P.S. I loved the Audible Original, a full-cast dramatization starring Brendan Fraser, however, it took some getting used to. Gets better.
The Downloaded is surprisingly short for the story it was telling. A more flashed-out worldbuilding and characters would have enhanced the overall reading experience.
To be honest, I was just starting to love this when the story concluded. 3.5 stars for me.
P.S. I loved the Audible Original, a full-cast dramatization starring Brendan Fraser, however, it took some getting used to. Gets better.
January 3, 2024
*Audible audio*
My brain is mush right now (sensory issues) but gonna do my best.
Confession: I mostly decided decided to download this because I saw Brendan Fraser played a character in it :) I've loved him since George of the Jungle and The Mummy movies.
I was dubious at fist with one aspect of the plot but they explained that part enough I could put my skepticism aside and enjoy the story.
It is intriguing 🤔 Would you want your consciousness uploaded into a computer with a simulated world around you, even if meant you might wake up cured of what ailed you but with everyone you loved older or dead?
Not sure about that one...
The voice acting in this was very well done, it didn't taken long for me to get into really.
It is sad and hopeful, and some supsense
Would recommend if you need to get out of your head for awhile.
My brain is mush right now (sensory issues) but gonna do my best.
Confession: I mostly decided decided to download this because I saw Brendan Fraser played a character in it :) I've loved him since George of the Jungle and The Mummy movies.
I was dubious at fist with one aspect of the plot but they explained that part enough I could put my skepticism aside and enjoy the story.
It is intriguing 🤔 Would you want your consciousness uploaded into a computer with a simulated world around you, even if meant you might wake up cured of what ailed you but with everyone you loved older or dead?
Not sure about that one...
The voice acting in this was very well done, it didn't taken long for me to get into really.
It is sad and hopeful, and some supsense
Would recommend if you need to get out of your head for awhile.
November 18, 2023
3.5 rounded up to 4.
I only listened to the audio, as there was only one
print edition (which I didn’t have) and no
ebook edition. It was short and I needed something
short between reading longer books. Besides,
it was free for Audible Plus subscribers.
This was quite enjoyable.
It was written by Robert J. Sawyer, a Canadian
science fiction author who also wrote the
WWW trilogy. Sawyer tackles some big questions here, like how can humans create a better society than the violent one we have that’s thoroughly messed up the planet?
It’s an interesting spin on the apocalypse scenario,
with a number of different groups who interact:
The pacifist Mennonites
A bunch of astronauts
Robots
A group of ex-cons
A Martian
I don’t want to say too much about the story, to
avoid giving away spoilers. But part of it involves
uploading one’s consciousness to a quantum computer
and later downloading back into a physical
body (hence the title).
The characters grab our attention. Sawyer delves deep into some of their psychological innards…especially those of Roscoe (see below). Since I have no text to refer to, I’ll avoid giving full names of most of them, since I’ll likely misspell their names (and if I do misspell any names please bear with me). The unusual cast of characters includes:
Letitia Garvey, a spaceship captain; her friend
Juergen Hass, a spaceship doctor; an ex-con named
Roscoe, who’s probably the most interesting character, a very repentant, kind, highly intelligent man convicted of a murder, who studied sociology,
watched old films, and read poetry while serving time in a virtual prison; some gentle Mennonite folks; a fiery, maverick British-Indian astrophysicist named Jamila; a robot called Penang (I think); a tough ex-con who’s another aficionado of old films; a transgender woman named Valentina who’s a Russian astronaut and an agronomist; Russian roboticist and cosmonaut Mikhail (spelling?); and a blue skinned Martian.
I enjoyed this up until the end (which I found
a bit hokey and contrived). And as usual,
with Audible Originals, it was a bit over produced. The music, sound effects, etc. sometimes distracted from the text.
The audio was full cast, with an excellent cast.
Also, the Dolby Atmos sound is very good,
chrystal clear and lifelike.
In spite of its flaws, this is worth a listen.
Summary :
Story until the ending: 4
Ending: 3
Acting: 4
Other production qualities (music, etc.): 3
I only listened to the audio, as there was only one
print edition (which I didn’t have) and no
ebook edition. It was short and I needed something
short between reading longer books. Besides,
it was free for Audible Plus subscribers.
This was quite enjoyable.
It was written by Robert J. Sawyer, a Canadian
science fiction author who also wrote the
WWW trilogy. Sawyer tackles some big questions here, like how can humans create a better society than the violent one we have that’s thoroughly messed up the planet?
It’s an interesting spin on the apocalypse scenario,
with a number of different groups who interact:
The pacifist Mennonites
A bunch of astronauts
Robots
A group of ex-cons
A Martian
I don’t want to say too much about the story, to
avoid giving away spoilers. But part of it involves
uploading one’s consciousness to a quantum computer
and later downloading back into a physical
body (hence the title).
The characters grab our attention. Sawyer delves deep into some of their psychological innards…especially those of Roscoe (see below). Since I have no text to refer to, I’ll avoid giving full names of most of them, since I’ll likely misspell their names (and if I do misspell any names please bear with me). The unusual cast of characters includes:
Letitia Garvey, a spaceship captain; her friend
Juergen Hass, a spaceship doctor; an ex-con named
Roscoe, who’s probably the most interesting character, a very repentant, kind, highly intelligent man convicted of a murder, who studied sociology,
watched old films, and read poetry while serving time in a virtual prison; some gentle Mennonite folks; a fiery, maverick British-Indian astrophysicist named Jamila; a robot called Penang (I think); a tough ex-con who’s another aficionado of old films; a transgender woman named Valentina who’s a Russian astronaut and an agronomist; Russian roboticist and cosmonaut Mikhail (spelling?); and a blue skinned Martian.
I enjoyed this up until the end (which I found
a bit hokey and contrived). And as usual,
with Audible Originals, it was a bit over produced. The music, sound effects, etc. sometimes distracted from the text.
The audio was full cast, with an excellent cast.
Also, the Dolby Atmos sound is very good,
chrystal clear and lifelike.
In spite of its flaws, this is worth a listen.
Summary :
Story until the ending: 4
Ending: 3
Acting: 4
Other production qualities (music, etc.): 3
August 28, 2024
This is a fun hard-science novel, very well-plotted and packed full of many clever twists and turns. It's told as a series of interviews of the major players, and the identity of the interviewer is one of the nifty surprises. It was originally published as an audiobook, and I can see that the format would be perfect for that. It's about a crew of interstellar explorers who have their consciouses downloaded into a virtual reality so that their bodies can by cryogenically frozen. There's also a group of convicted felons who have been likewise stored away to serve their sentences. They all awaken on a post-apocalyptic Earth hundreds of years later and the story revolves around their quest to find out what happened, their attempt to learn to work together, and their relationships with the survivors, both human and robotic. Sawyer slips in several entertaining popular culture references (old movie quotes and Asimov's three laws, for example), and some sly observations of political issues from a Canadian viewpoint. It's a very enjoyable story, and I just wish it had been a tad longer for a little more character exposition.
November 18, 2023
The idea for this story was such a cool one. I was excited to listen and even more excited it was free. It started off good, but then a little wokeness popped in. Meh, I’m not opposed to a story with a little bit of it in there because you honestly can’t find a story just for the story sake anymore. But the further along I went, the more I couldn’t take it. I had a little more than an hour left and I had to stop. I get enough of this garbage shoved down my throat on a daily basis through the news and social media. I read/listen to books to escape that. Major fail. I guess if you’re into that social justice warrior thing, this one might be for you. If not, don’t waste your time.
February 23, 2024
Two groups of people have their bodies frozen and their brains uploaded to a quantum computer : a crew of astronauts on a colonising trip to another planet and a group of prisoners serving their time in a virtual reality prison. Both are downloaded 500 years later on a depopulated and ruined earth. How will they survive?
The book is written as a series of interviews with the various characters, both astronauts and ex convicts. It’s cleverly written and entertaining, with lots of sci-fi and other references. A fun read.
The book is written as a series of interviews with the various characters, both astronauts and ex convicts. It’s cleverly written and entertaining, with lots of sci-fi and other references. A fun read.
November 15, 2023
Great premise and a good start, but ruined by political and (a)theological ideologies that feel very shoehorned into the story for no good reason.
December 3, 2023
This was just okay. It was a full production on Audible with a great cast and they did very well and it was interesting and techy while still being possible to follow. I really enjoyed Garvey and found myself excited when it was her turn.
The general premise is sort of a San Junipero-ish situation where your consciousness can be uploaded into a cloud of sorts. Some were there for work reasons(astronauts, doctors) and some were there as prisoners. That's a big ethical conundrum in this. It would feel like a 20 year sentence but in reality only 10 months had gone by. But after they were frozen and uploaded, humanity fell and they were out much longer than they'd planned so they're waking up to a new world. This is interesting but complex stuff.
There were some things I found annoying. We had a trans downloaded astronaut, and I'd like to go more than 5 minutes without hearing about gender but it was handled in a thoughtful and somewhat touching way.
Also, they kept talking about Covid vaccines and people who didn't get them or wear masks. The data on that has ended up being, at best, questionable already, so I doubt it's something they'd be pointing fingers over 500 years from now as a gotcha like "I bet you didn't mask up and vaccinate!" 😂 FFS. I got the vaccine as a personal choice but that's beside the point and I hate that I feel the need to add that disclaimer but these are the times in which we live.
So anyway, the future is still scary basically. This was a good production but a little loud for my taste. I don't always like all the sound effects in the Audible specials.
The general premise is sort of a San Junipero-ish situation where your consciousness can be uploaded into a cloud of sorts. Some were there for work reasons(astronauts, doctors) and some were there as prisoners. That's a big ethical conundrum in this. It would feel like a 20 year sentence but in reality only 10 months had gone by. But after they were frozen and uploaded, humanity fell and they were out much longer than they'd planned so they're waking up to a new world. This is interesting but complex stuff.
There were some things I found annoying. We had a trans downloaded astronaut, and I'd like to go more than 5 minutes without hearing about gender but it was handled in a thoughtful and somewhat touching way.
Also, they kept talking about Covid vaccines and people who didn't get them or wear masks. The data on that has ended up being, at best, questionable already, so I doubt it's something they'd be pointing fingers over 500 years from now as a gotcha like "I bet you didn't mask up and vaccinate!" 😂 FFS. I got the vaccine as a personal choice but that's beside the point and I hate that I feel the need to add that disclaimer but these are the times in which we live.
So anyway, the future is still scary basically. This was a good production but a little loud for my taste. I don't always like all the sound effects in the Audible specials.
January 10, 2024
Sigh, another author who just can’t keep their political opinions out of their sci-if story. Could have been great without all the wokeness.
November 4, 2023
While I overall didn't necessarily enjoy this book, I did find it interesting.
Pros:
- I enjoyed all of the Canadian references and how the story mentions a few real past/current events (more believable)
- I found the concept of human uploading/downloading into a virtual reality/simulation interesting
- The storytelling format was interesting: traditional/interview style
Cons:
- The story felt too short/fast-paced. I didn't really feel connected with any of the characters.
- I didn't like how the story made me feel like time wasn't relevant, precious, or important.
Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me, but if you like this genre/this type of book, most people would enjoy it.
Pros:
- I enjoyed all of the Canadian references and how the story mentions a few real past/current events (more believable)
- I found the concept of human uploading/downloading into a virtual reality/simulation interesting
- The storytelling format was interesting: traditional/interview style
Cons:
- The story felt too short/fast-paced. I didn't really feel connected with any of the characters.
- I didn't like how the story made me feel like time wasn't relevant, precious, or important.
Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me, but if you like this genre/this type of book, most people would enjoy it.
December 19, 2023
★★★★
Smart and concise!
In 2059, a team of astronauts destined for a far away planet are cryogenically frozen and their consciousnesses uploaded into a quantum computer located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Unknown to the astronauts, they are sharing quantum computer space with a group of felons participating in an experimental punishment where they serve their sentences in virtual reality prison.
When disaster strikes, both the astronauts and the prisoners are downloaded into their physical bodies and must learn to work together to save the last of humanity on Earth.
One of the things that I like about Robert Sawyer's writing is how he makes it relatively easy for the reader to understand complex concepts but without seeming to "dumb it down". He explains things concisely but with enough relevant detail so that the reader understands. The Downloaded is a relatively short book (~180 pages) and a quick listen at just over 5 hours. I listened to this book and while I loved the story, the multi-cast audio book was a bit of a challenge for me. The voice actors were great but there were background noises put into the performance that sometimes took me out of the story. Think blowing wind or footsteps or doors closing.
That would be my only criticism and it's with the performance, not the story. I love Robert Sawyer and continue to make sure that both his back catalogue and his new releases always make my annual reading lists.
I highly recommend any of Sawyer's books to all science fiction fans out there. If you haven't read any of his books yet, you are missing out! Robert J. Sawyer is "the only Canadian (and one of only 7 writers in the world) to have won all three of the top international awards for science fiction: the 1995 Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment, the 2003 Hugo Award for Hominids, and the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan."
Smart and concise!
In 2059, a team of astronauts destined for a far away planet are cryogenically frozen and their consciousnesses uploaded into a quantum computer located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Unknown to the astronauts, they are sharing quantum computer space with a group of felons participating in an experimental punishment where they serve their sentences in virtual reality prison.
When disaster strikes, both the astronauts and the prisoners are downloaded into their physical bodies and must learn to work together to save the last of humanity on Earth.
One of the things that I like about Robert Sawyer's writing is how he makes it relatively easy for the reader to understand complex concepts but without seeming to "dumb it down". He explains things concisely but with enough relevant detail so that the reader understands. The Downloaded is a relatively short book (~180 pages) and a quick listen at just over 5 hours. I listened to this book and while I loved the story, the multi-cast audio book was a bit of a challenge for me. The voice actors were great but there were background noises put into the performance that sometimes took me out of the story. Think blowing wind or footsteps or doors closing.
That would be my only criticism and it's with the performance, not the story. I love Robert Sawyer and continue to make sure that both his back catalogue and his new releases always make my annual reading lists.
I highly recommend any of Sawyer's books to all science fiction fans out there. If you haven't read any of his books yet, you are missing out! Robert J. Sawyer is "the only Canadian (and one of only 7 writers in the world) to have won all three of the top international awards for science fiction: the 1995 Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment, the 2003 Hugo Award for Hominids, and the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan."
November 21, 2023
Foof...
The Downloaded premise is a really interesting sci-fi concept, executed so poorly. I really would like a decent sci-fi author (Dennis E. Taylor, James S.A. Corey) to produce something similar. They would, at least, do extensive research, explain the real science the best they could and only then dip into fiction to fill in the gaps. Robert J. Sawyer just breezes over the neat science topics used in this book (cryogenic freezing and quantum computers) with what seems like very shallow knowledge of the real-life science behind them so he could rush toward the real aim of the book, which is....
Political agenda!
That's right, folks, if you're craving even more of that same old song and dance that we've had so much of lately, this is the "sci-fi" book for you.
Honestly, I think what bugged me the most is not that 80% or more of this book was Sawyer blasting various moral and political stances, but that he wrote these stances out in much the same way I would expect a mountain troll to speak English.
"Humans mean. Break planet."
"Rape bad."
"Murder bad."
"Anti-vaxxers bad."
"Transgender hate bad."
"Climate change bad."
"War bad."
"Some humans do not rehabilitate well, and will recidivate no matter what." (It's an educated troll)
Holy crap, Sawyer! We know. We know!
Maybe it only felt troll-like in its execution because it was a short book and he chose to harp on everything. If Sawyer had picked one or two of these concepts to touch on, he likely could have fleshed them out into decently touching topics, producing characters we actually cared for. Sadly, he did not.
This is the first thing I've read by Robert J. Sawyer, and it will likely be the last unless someone has a really compelling suggestion. I absolutely hate when this happens. I hate when my first experience with an author is this bad because it immediately colors anything I may read by them in the future with the hue of this garbage.
Boo, Robert. Boo.
The Downloaded premise is a really interesting sci-fi concept, executed so poorly. I really would like a decent sci-fi author (Dennis E. Taylor, James S.A. Corey) to produce something similar. They would, at least, do extensive research, explain the real science the best they could and only then dip into fiction to fill in the gaps. Robert J. Sawyer just breezes over the neat science topics used in this book (cryogenic freezing and quantum computers) with what seems like very shallow knowledge of the real-life science behind them so he could rush toward the real aim of the book, which is....
Political agenda!
That's right, folks, if you're craving even more of that same old song and dance that we've had so much of lately, this is the "sci-fi" book for you.
Honestly, I think what bugged me the most is not that 80% or more of this book was Sawyer blasting various moral and political stances, but that he wrote these stances out in much the same way I would expect a mountain troll to speak English.
"Humans mean. Break planet."
"Rape bad."
"Murder bad."
"Anti-vaxxers bad."
"Transgender hate bad."
"Climate change bad."
"War bad."
"Some humans do not rehabilitate well, and will recidivate no matter what." (It's an educated troll)
Holy crap, Sawyer! We know. We know!
Maybe it only felt troll-like in its execution because it was a short book and he chose to harp on everything. If Sawyer had picked one or two of these concepts to touch on, he likely could have fleshed them out into decently touching topics, producing characters we actually cared for. Sadly, he did not.
This is the first thing I've read by Robert J. Sawyer, and it will likely be the last unless someone has a really compelling suggestion. I absolutely hate when this happens. I hate when my first experience with an author is this bad because it immediately colors anything I may read by them in the future with the hue of this garbage.
Boo, Robert. Boo.
January 17, 2024
Preachy without saying anything. This could have been a fun sci-fi story, but every ten minutes you’re interrupted by a lecture on COVID vaccines, masking, diversity hires and the glass ceiling, gender identity, prison recidivism, etc. etc. etc.
It reads like a ten-year-old trying to write a Star Trek script, with self-inserts popping up to spoonfeed you the moral of the story in blocks of dialogue because they lack the nuance to weave these themes into the story itself.
And even if you removed the lecture, there’s not a lot left. This feels more like the setup to a story than a story itself. In the time it takes you to vaguely care about any of the many characters introduced, the book is over. And the most interesting parts of the timeline happen before and after the book.
It reads like a ten-year-old trying to write a Star Trek script, with self-inserts popping up to spoonfeed you the moral of the story in blocks of dialogue because they lack the nuance to weave these themes into the story itself.
And even if you removed the lecture, there’s not a lot left. This feels more like the setup to a story than a story itself. In the time it takes you to vaguely care about any of the many characters introduced, the book is over. And the most interesting parts of the timeline happen before and after the book.
September 14, 2024
This was a fun, clever read that I imagine works even better in audiobook format. Two groups of people have their bodies frozen and their consciousnesses uploaded: a group of astronauts preparing to colonize a distant planet, and a group of convicts serving out their sentences in sped-up time. But something goes horribly wrong and when they wake up, it's 500 years later and they're among a handful of survivors still on Earth. Came for the fast-paced story, stayed for the butthurt reviews from readers who found out that it wasn't just a cast of straight white cis men.
July 22, 2024
Two different experiments in uploading human consciousness into computers go wrong, stranding thirty five ex convicts and twenty three astronauts in a doomed future.
A fine idea, handled well by Sawyer, who makes readers understand even when they don't agree. The revelation as to why the experiments failed is shocking, but the climax is ultimately optimistic and redemptive.
A fine idea, handled well by Sawyer, who makes readers understand even when they don't agree. The revelation as to why the experiments failed is shocking, but the climax is ultimately optimistic and redemptive.
March 13, 2024
5/5 for acting.
2.5/5 for story, rounded down because 3 felt too kind.
An interesting story, and well acted. However not without issues. It feels like this could have been expanded upon to develop the characters and the plot threads more. But it is also quite preachy and patronising with the space it does have, and it lacks focus. The political stances that the characters, and by extension the novel and thereby the author seem to advocate are at points very contemporary and ill-suited to characters from 40 years in the future (before being uploaded) and at other points very problematic and authoritarian, though maybe unintentionally so.
Preachy unnecessary exposition and lack of world building
The reader is treated to some sociology 101, references to history and movie from the 20th century, science fiction and physics. The problem is that:
1. This is overkill, unnecessary to the plot and patronising (there is a character who constantly quotes old movies, which by the last quarter becomes distinctly annoying).
2. The references reach a point where they seem they are far more for the characters (author) to demonstrate how smart he is, rather than to serve any purpose in the story, e.g. a plot point or for character development.
3. Many of the things quoted are clearly incorrect or contradict the logic of the world the author is developing. It talks about fate and physics like certainties but quotes Clarkes' law (any suffiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic multiple times). Surely that would indicate that understanding of science, especially physics is incomplete? It's not like scientists ha ever held onto false beliefs about the nature of the universe...
It also makes sweeping and dismissive claims that nobody gives a damn about the past based "nobody watches silent movies". Right, so study of history isn't a thing? Nobody likes historical fiction? Nobody goes to museums? Does the author know the difference between film studies and history? It seems his mouthpiece character doesn't.
Then there's the sociology, this is incredibly shallow, doesn't account for many, many factors, from economics to the nature of hierarchies, a character who apparently studied the subject enough in prison to make him a professor in terms of knowledge preaches about it - but doesn't move on from maybe a first sociology lesson at uni... attended by someone with a hangover... who stayed up all the night before drinking, smoking weed and watching Casablanca... and missed the first half of the lecture.
Yes, yes. OK, some of the shallowness of the topics touched on really annoyed me. Without spoilers, there is also references to Isaac Asimov, which demonstrate that the author may have skimmed through Asimov's Wikipedia page at most, as he clearly didn't understand Asimov's Robot series, or Asimov's own views on robotics. This plot point also comes a bit out of left field (in that it's obvious by guessing and minimal deduction, but it's really not developed enough and not foreshadowed). The comparison of Asimov to a slave owner is actually downright offensive.
This is also matched with very little worldbuilding for whatever period passed between 2023 and the start date of 2059. It basically guarantees that this novel will age like week-old milk.
This made worse by the very present political issues that the author puts at the forefront, and the political issues that are not. There is a pre-transition trans character here, but the issue is treated very much like the world is socially identical to the present.
She does not reveal to anyone until about halfway through that she identifies as a woman, a decision that is alluded to having been made definitively when she was uploaded in VR. We are treated to her inwardly groaning to being "deadnamed" by robots and people who meet her in her male body, when they have no reason to know that she is trans, as she clearly presented as male previously. We are also treated to characters overcompesating to not offend her or trans people, when again, the people are from 2059, so I'd hope that society would have reached a more comfortable level of acceptance by then, rather than the very 2020s version we get.
On the other end, we do not get any exploration of the ethics of prisons or the treatment of convicts or ex-convicts, or of collective punishment. But we get a shallow hot take on robot rights, and a lazy "humans are a******s take on sociology.
The implications and extent of the VR, uploading and downloading technology is also really under explored, and therefore the implications of this on society, and the characters and their pre-apocalypric setting is underdeveloped.
Characters, perspectives and mouthpieces
The characters are more or less individually deep and interesting enough. And also well-acted, Brendon Fraser's Roscoe is the clear standout. However they don't come together for the whole narrative in a way that really meets the supposed aim of the novel, which is presumably to tell the story of the group of astronauts and ex-cons together.
The most obvious failing here is that while there are two main astronaut perspectives, and at least three minor ones; there is only ever one ex-con perspective of events. There are maybe only four ex-con characters who are named in the whole story, whereas the 3x-cons outnumber the astronauts. This gives a very slanted view of the story.
The next point is that the characters are not called out on their bull***t in most cases. This means that there are no repercussions for some pretty bad behavior, and carrying this to its natural conclusion seems to suggest that the author isn't just presenting themes and leaving the reader/listener questions to answer for themselves, but is actively in favor or sees nothing wrong with this.
The most obvious example of this is the selfish response of most of the astronauts to being downloaded into the real world. Most of them seem to want to go live in luxury in their own private heaven (with zero interaction with another sapient being) instead of actually doing anything to help anyone but themselves.
This even taints the story of the trans character, as this VR heaven where she can be biologically female takes priority over any contribution she could possibly make in the real world for the sake of anyone else. How about that as a way to undermine support for trans rights?
We also have no explanation of how most of the characters actually spend their time once downloaded. They seem to just eat and complain, the ex-cons brawl - that is all the charactisation of many of them. Many opportunities to show points of tension or conflict are skipped entirely.
Some of the things that characters aren't called out on are even more problematic, and the reader may infer that the author might agree with these views. As I don't know the author, and I don't want to assume the worst, I'll just put this down to clumsy writing or bad research. Whether it is intentional or not though this counts as a negative against the novel in terms of story and real world research which is frequently cited. These include:
- The idea that ex-cons should not have full rights (a protagonist even advocates at one point that prisoners' votes should have less weight in a part that seemed eerily close to the US Constitution's infamous "three fifths a man" over its treatment of black people).
- The book comes down strongly in favor of a surveillance state with zero privacy, and with very little to support it in the story, though the idea of a surveillance state should be repulsive enough to anyone.
- Two people are allowed to make a monumental decision on behalf of their entire community, not even representatives, just the two people the protagonist chose to talk to. These two people happily make a life or death decision for everyone, and nobody questions the protagonist or the two members of the community for this.
- Or most atrocious of all, collective punishment is applied to a whole species (which is a war crime when applied to a group in real life, and has been for at least a century, but apparently the author thinks collective punishment is acceptable...). It's tedious enough and clichéd to see all of humanity condemned for the actions of a few in fiction, but in this novel, the specific circumstance goes beyond this, and it's not called out at all.
See spoilers comments for more specifics. **
Overall this was an interesting idea for a story, but not well executed, lacking in focus, not enough world building, too many references and not enough exploration of the ethics or moral dillema. It comes across as too contemporary to have any staying power, and not focused enough to really say anything.
The politics is too contemporary and in-your-face at points, and subtly authoritarian at others (whether intentional or not). Despite the surface detail, this is not a "bleeding heart" novel, its ideas of privacy and human rights are callous by relatively limited standards set by international law. As this novel seems to put so much overt focus on these issues, it's only appropriate that it be judged on how it explores issues. It may just be that the author failed to really question or challenge the concepts and ideas he presents but either way I find The Downloaded seriously flawed here.
Lastly the ending stinks too much of a deus ex machina to me, and while some of it is set up beforehand, the main conflicts are not concluded in any satisfying way. In the context of the supposed issues raised, it feels decidedly unearned.
**** SPOILERS ****
*To give a brief overview, Asimov was critical of the concept of robots spontaneously developing consciousness. Anyone with any common sense or knowledge of artificial intelligence today would know that AIs are code, just instructions, so just like your toaster or oven, there is no chance of them spontaneously developing consciousness or free will. A robot or an AI is just a tool - a more sophisticated tool - but still just a tool. Should your toaster or roomba have equal rights? Of course not! Should a synthetic being being with a consciousness be considered a person with rights as such? Yes. But humanity is still very far away from creating a general AI (an AI that is able emulate intelligence in more than just specific tasks like your toaster or ChatGBT), let alone a synthetic intelligence with consciousness. The author's failure to distinguish this in The Downloaded shows a fundamental failure of research and complete misunderstanding of Asimov, which is all the more obvious and offensive for name-dropping Asimov.
There is no foreshadowing of the robots possessing consciousness, no reason why the people who built the robots would need or want sapient robots, The comparison to robot to trans people is problematic to say the least. I'm not sure who should be more offended: trans people for being compared to the half-baked depiction of robots suddenly having consciousness, or comparison of living beings being treated as property to sex and gender identity. Either way it's a very clumsy comparison.
When a robot character is revealed to have murdered an astronaut's body for the sake of robot rights, this comes across as just stupid in the context above. The fact that the characters just laugh it off and accept the robot saying, "I spent longer alone than any of the ex-cons so shouldn't be punished" undermines any points the author may have been trying to make about sociology.
**
The characters' behavior is not called out or questioned.
1. Captain Garvey demands that she be recognised as leader of all the humans in the community of astronauts and ex-cons because she was chosen as the leader of the expedition. She then has a tantrum when she is not chosen as as the mayor in a vote and refuses to share the news about the planet-destroying meteor that she called the meeting to tell them about in the first place. This is never addressed. She was also fully prepared to abandon Earth and most of the people to carry out her expedition to Alpha Centauri, even 500 years later with an apocalyptic event wiping out Earth. Not heroic at all, not criticised by other characters, and not explored.
2. The doctor argues after said vote doesn't get the captain elected that the astronauts' votes should count for more, purely because there are less of them. He's told to shut up but that's all, he's still overtime presented as the most sympathetic character. He also decided to only tell two of the Menonites about the meteorite, Brimstone. They seem to make the decision for their entire community to stay on Earth and die.
3. The Martians (humans who colonised Mars before the apocalypse and have since bioengineered themselves to the the environment) condemn all of humanity in the 21st century based on the apocalyptic event. They then decide to leave all the people in the community of ex-cons and astronauts to die based on the actions of a few. They are never called out on morality or the legimacy of them making such a decision of collective punishment, even if they change their mind.
4. The Martians, in a throwaway line, justify that privacy has to be extinct in an advanced society for security from suitcase nukes. This is justified in the story with the example of the apocalyptic war on Earth, and just accepted. Why might "extremists" exist? Why might an individual or a small group resort to such extreme measures? Are we meant to assume that humans are just suicidally violent and there's no context? A strange assumption after supposedly focusing on sociology and the nature of society.
5. Roscoe calls for direct democracy, but it's outright rejected with a simple "f*** that", and a dismissive, you be mayor of us. Of about fifty people, who apparently just sit around and eat, and complain and fight. The whole thing is justified with "people like hierarchy". That's an exceptionally lazy assumption, especially for a novel that is supposedly interested in sociology. There are plenty of societies, political groups, movements and sub-cultures that demonstrate that is not true.
6. The Martians call the meteor that will wipe out Earth, Matricide. That comes across as a very hypocritical name for the Martians to use considering how indifferent they are to their "siblings", the humans on Earth.
Never mind the plot hole where the Martians have never bothered to return to Earth in 500 years, and they bioengineered themselves for Mars, but apparently can't for Earth...
This review was longer than I wanted, but it felt necessary. Unlike The Downloaded by Robert J Sawyer, which was too short, but still wasted some of that word count. A shorter or longer version would have probably both been better.
2.5/5 for story, rounded down because 3 felt too kind.
An interesting story, and well acted. However not without issues. It feels like this could have been expanded upon to develop the characters and the plot threads more. But it is also quite preachy and patronising with the space it does have, and it lacks focus. The political stances that the characters, and by extension the novel and thereby the author seem to advocate are at points very contemporary and ill-suited to characters from 40 years in the future (before being uploaded) and at other points very problematic and authoritarian, though maybe unintentionally so.
Preachy unnecessary exposition and lack of world building
The reader is treated to some sociology 101, references to history and movie from the 20th century, science fiction and physics. The problem is that:
1. This is overkill, unnecessary to the plot and patronising (there is a character who constantly quotes old movies, which by the last quarter becomes distinctly annoying).
2. The references reach a point where they seem they are far more for the characters (author) to demonstrate how smart he is, rather than to serve any purpose in the story, e.g. a plot point or for character development.
3. Many of the things quoted are clearly incorrect or contradict the logic of the world the author is developing. It talks about fate and physics like certainties but quotes Clarkes' law (any suffiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic multiple times). Surely that would indicate that understanding of science, especially physics is incomplete? It's not like scientists ha ever held onto false beliefs about the nature of the universe...
It also makes sweeping and dismissive claims that nobody gives a damn about the past based "nobody watches silent movies". Right, so study of history isn't a thing? Nobody likes historical fiction? Nobody goes to museums? Does the author know the difference between film studies and history? It seems his mouthpiece character doesn't.
Then there's the sociology, this is incredibly shallow, doesn't account for many, many factors, from economics to the nature of hierarchies, a character who apparently studied the subject enough in prison to make him a professor in terms of knowledge preaches about it - but doesn't move on from maybe a first sociology lesson at uni... attended by someone with a hangover... who stayed up all the night before drinking, smoking weed and watching Casablanca... and missed the first half of the lecture.
Yes, yes. OK, some of the shallowness of the topics touched on really annoyed me. Without spoilers, there is also references to Isaac Asimov, which demonstrate that the author may have skimmed through Asimov's Wikipedia page at most, as he clearly didn't understand Asimov's Robot series, or Asimov's own views on robotics. This plot point also comes a bit out of left field (in that it's obvious by guessing and minimal deduction, but it's really not developed enough and not foreshadowed). The comparison of Asimov to a slave owner is actually downright offensive.
This is also matched with very little worldbuilding for whatever period passed between 2023 and the start date of 2059. It basically guarantees that this novel will age like week-old milk.
This made worse by the very present political issues that the author puts at the forefront, and the political issues that are not. There is a pre-transition trans character here, but the issue is treated very much like the world is socially identical to the present.
She does not reveal to anyone until about halfway through that she identifies as a woman, a decision that is alluded to having been made definitively when she was uploaded in VR. We are treated to her inwardly groaning to being "deadnamed" by robots and people who meet her in her male body, when they have no reason to know that she is trans, as she clearly presented as male previously. We are also treated to characters overcompesating to not offend her or trans people, when again, the people are from 2059, so I'd hope that society would have reached a more comfortable level of acceptance by then, rather than the very 2020s version we get.
On the other end, we do not get any exploration of the ethics of prisons or the treatment of convicts or ex-convicts, or of collective punishment. But we get a shallow hot take on robot rights, and a lazy "humans are a******s take on sociology.
The implications and extent of the VR, uploading and downloading technology is also really under explored, and therefore the implications of this on society, and the characters and their pre-apocalypric setting is underdeveloped.
Characters, perspectives and mouthpieces
The characters are more or less individually deep and interesting enough. And also well-acted, Brendon Fraser's Roscoe is the clear standout. However they don't come together for the whole narrative in a way that really meets the supposed aim of the novel, which is presumably to tell the story of the group of astronauts and ex-cons together.
The most obvious failing here is that while there are two main astronaut perspectives, and at least three minor ones; there is only ever one ex-con perspective of events. There are maybe only four ex-con characters who are named in the whole story, whereas the 3x-cons outnumber the astronauts. This gives a very slanted view of the story.
The next point is that the characters are not called out on their bull***t in most cases. This means that there are no repercussions for some pretty bad behavior, and carrying this to its natural conclusion seems to suggest that the author isn't just presenting themes and leaving the reader/listener questions to answer for themselves, but is actively in favor or sees nothing wrong with this.
The most obvious example of this is the selfish response of most of the astronauts to being downloaded into the real world. Most of them seem to want to go live in luxury in their own private heaven (with zero interaction with another sapient being) instead of actually doing anything to help anyone but themselves.
This even taints the story of the trans character, as this VR heaven where she can be biologically female takes priority over any contribution she could possibly make in the real world for the sake of anyone else. How about that as a way to undermine support for trans rights?
We also have no explanation of how most of the characters actually spend their time once downloaded. They seem to just eat and complain, the ex-cons brawl - that is all the charactisation of many of them. Many opportunities to show points of tension or conflict are skipped entirely.
Some of the things that characters aren't called out on are even more problematic, and the reader may infer that the author might agree with these views. As I don't know the author, and I don't want to assume the worst, I'll just put this down to clumsy writing or bad research. Whether it is intentional or not though this counts as a negative against the novel in terms of story and real world research which is frequently cited. These include:
- The idea that ex-cons should not have full rights (a protagonist even advocates at one point that prisoners' votes should have less weight in a part that seemed eerily close to the US Constitution's infamous "three fifths a man" over its treatment of black people).
- The book comes down strongly in favor of a surveillance state with zero privacy, and with very little to support it in the story, though the idea of a surveillance state should be repulsive enough to anyone.
- Two people are allowed to make a monumental decision on behalf of their entire community, not even representatives, just the two people the protagonist chose to talk to. These two people happily make a life or death decision for everyone, and nobody questions the protagonist or the two members of the community for this.
- Or most atrocious of all, collective punishment is applied to a whole species (which is a war crime when applied to a group in real life, and has been for at least a century, but apparently the author thinks collective punishment is acceptable...). It's tedious enough and clichéd to see all of humanity condemned for the actions of a few in fiction, but in this novel, the specific circumstance goes beyond this, and it's not called out at all.
See spoilers comments for more specifics. **
Overall this was an interesting idea for a story, but not well executed, lacking in focus, not enough world building, too many references and not enough exploration of the ethics or moral dillema. It comes across as too contemporary to have any staying power, and not focused enough to really say anything.
The politics is too contemporary and in-your-face at points, and subtly authoritarian at others (whether intentional or not). Despite the surface detail, this is not a "bleeding heart" novel, its ideas of privacy and human rights are callous by relatively limited standards set by international law. As this novel seems to put so much overt focus on these issues, it's only appropriate that it be judged on how it explores issues. It may just be that the author failed to really question or challenge the concepts and ideas he presents but either way I find The Downloaded seriously flawed here.
Lastly the ending stinks too much of a deus ex machina to me, and while some of it is set up beforehand, the main conflicts are not concluded in any satisfying way. In the context of the supposed issues raised, it feels decidedly unearned.
**** SPOILERS ****
*To give a brief overview, Asimov was critical of the concept of robots spontaneously developing consciousness. Anyone with any common sense or knowledge of artificial intelligence today would know that AIs are code, just instructions, so just like your toaster or oven, there is no chance of them spontaneously developing consciousness or free will. A robot or an AI is just a tool - a more sophisticated tool - but still just a tool. Should your toaster or roomba have equal rights? Of course not! Should a synthetic being being with a consciousness be considered a person with rights as such? Yes. But humanity is still very far away from creating a general AI (an AI that is able emulate intelligence in more than just specific tasks like your toaster or ChatGBT), let alone a synthetic intelligence with consciousness. The author's failure to distinguish this in The Downloaded shows a fundamental failure of research and complete misunderstanding of Asimov, which is all the more obvious and offensive for name-dropping Asimov.
There is no foreshadowing of the robots possessing consciousness, no reason why the people who built the robots would need or want sapient robots, The comparison to robot to trans people is problematic to say the least. I'm not sure who should be more offended: trans people for being compared to the half-baked depiction of robots suddenly having consciousness, or comparison of living beings being treated as property to sex and gender identity. Either way it's a very clumsy comparison.
When a robot character is revealed to have murdered an astronaut's body for the sake of robot rights, this comes across as just stupid in the context above. The fact that the characters just laugh it off and accept the robot saying, "I spent longer alone than any of the ex-cons so shouldn't be punished" undermines any points the author may have been trying to make about sociology.
**
The characters' behavior is not called out or questioned.
1. Captain Garvey demands that she be recognised as leader of all the humans in the community of astronauts and ex-cons because she was chosen as the leader of the expedition. She then has a tantrum when she is not chosen as as the mayor in a vote and refuses to share the news about the planet-destroying meteor that she called the meeting to tell them about in the first place. This is never addressed. She was also fully prepared to abandon Earth and most of the people to carry out her expedition to Alpha Centauri, even 500 years later with an apocalyptic event wiping out Earth. Not heroic at all, not criticised by other characters, and not explored.
2. The doctor argues after said vote doesn't get the captain elected that the astronauts' votes should count for more, purely because there are less of them. He's told to shut up but that's all, he's still overtime presented as the most sympathetic character. He also decided to only tell two of the Menonites about the meteorite, Brimstone. They seem to make the decision for their entire community to stay on Earth and die.
3. The Martians (humans who colonised Mars before the apocalypse and have since bioengineered themselves to the the environment) condemn all of humanity in the 21st century based on the apocalyptic event. They then decide to leave all the people in the community of ex-cons and astronauts to die based on the actions of a few. They are never called out on morality or the legimacy of them making such a decision of collective punishment, even if they change their mind.
4. The Martians, in a throwaway line, justify that privacy has to be extinct in an advanced society for security from suitcase nukes. This is justified in the story with the example of the apocalyptic war on Earth, and just accepted. Why might "extremists" exist? Why might an individual or a small group resort to such extreme measures? Are we meant to assume that humans are just suicidally violent and there's no context? A strange assumption after supposedly focusing on sociology and the nature of society.
5. Roscoe calls for direct democracy, but it's outright rejected with a simple "f*** that", and a dismissive, you be mayor of us. Of about fifty people, who apparently just sit around and eat, and complain and fight. The whole thing is justified with "people like hierarchy". That's an exceptionally lazy assumption, especially for a novel that is supposedly interested in sociology. There are plenty of societies, political groups, movements and sub-cultures that demonstrate that is not true.
6. The Martians call the meteor that will wipe out Earth, Matricide. That comes across as a very hypocritical name for the Martians to use considering how indifferent they are to their "siblings", the humans on Earth.
Never mind the plot hole where the Martians have never bothered to return to Earth in 500 years, and they bioengineered themselves for Mars, but apparently can't for Earth...
This review was longer than I wanted, but it felt necessary. Unlike The Downloaded by Robert J Sawyer, which was too short, but still wasted some of that word count. A shorter or longer version would have probably both been better.
November 26, 2025
What a little gem, I found.
A hard sci-fi novel exploring so much of humanity, on a personal, social, and civilisational level. All within fewer than 200 pages and told from a clever collation of retrospectives and interviews with characters.
The book was made even better by the audio version with Brendan Fraser reading for one of the main protagonists.
A hard sci-fi novel exploring so much of humanity, on a personal, social, and civilisational level. All within fewer than 200 pages and told from a clever collation of retrospectives and interviews with characters.
The book was made even better by the audio version with Brendan Fraser reading for one of the main protagonists.
December 17, 2023
This was one of my rare dips into sci-fi, and it was a great success! Great story, great characters, and great performances. I really enjoyed it.
April 24, 2024
Not a bad story. The end kind of flopped a bit but still entertaining.
November 7, 2023
Great premise and setup, cryogenics used to make long space flight possible but also as a more economical means to house criminals. Add in a terrorist attack and the story takes a strange twist, in fact the plot twists like a mountain road with harrowing hairpin curves but the book ends with satisfying resolution.
Really well drawn characters who embody the current crop of cultural narratives, giving them a chance to explore themes fresh to the genre.
Really well drawn characters who embody the current crop of cultural narratives, giving them a chance to explore themes fresh to the genre.
January 22, 2024
Free on Audible to members so I tried it.
Such an excellent concept for a science fiction novel ruined by author's current political views injected so much. The audible cast was good, the story was short and until the author got into politics I thought it was going to be too short for the premise to be fully expounded. But the science fiction was mostly covered in the first bits and it became more social commentary. If that's what floats your boat then by all means go for it. I ended up being glad it was only 5 hrs long. That short I went ahead and finished it, otherwise probably wouldn't.
Spoilers below
********************************************************
First the good. Astronauts bodies frozen and minds uploaded and slowed down so they only spend 4 years in virtual reality while their ship travels to another star. Prisoners done the same except sped up so a 20 year jail term is served in virtual while 10 months passes in real time. All wake up to discover human civilization died in the 500 years they slept.
Then the bad.
Anger at people who didn't wear masks or take the vaccine and the politicians that "coddled them". A main character repeatedly has issues with this and equates them with a rapist thief surviving convict.
An astronaut who wakes up angry because during his time alone in virtual he didn't have to be trapped in a male body and they ruined it. And that they keep "dead naming" "her" by using his actual name. And the main character who had noted how bad / lonely it was going to be in prison for a straight man basically immediately falls in love with "her".
Even after 500 years of no civilization the planet is still warming because of humans ruining it. Initially they think that a solar flare wiped out technology. They wake up in an intact but decayed city with no people, just a nearby village of Mennonites. Somehow Mennonites were the ONLY people who could survive not having technology. Which made no sense at all. Especially since they are so peaceful they won't even defend themselves. So any starving, desperate, violent people from the city would have wiped them out as civilization fell. It did not that some native americans who had not become city folk had survived for a while but either died out or moved away. I did find it odd that with the other views expressed by the author he promoted super peaceful Christians as the best of humanity - as in "the meek shall inherit the earch".
Such an excellent concept for a science fiction novel ruined by author's current political views injected so much. The audible cast was good, the story was short and until the author got into politics I thought it was going to be too short for the premise to be fully expounded. But the science fiction was mostly covered in the first bits and it became more social commentary. If that's what floats your boat then by all means go for it. I ended up being glad it was only 5 hrs long. That short I went ahead and finished it, otherwise probably wouldn't.
Spoilers below
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First the good. Astronauts bodies frozen and minds uploaded and slowed down so they only spend 4 years in virtual reality while their ship travels to another star. Prisoners done the same except sped up so a 20 year jail term is served in virtual while 10 months passes in real time. All wake up to discover human civilization died in the 500 years they slept.
Then the bad.
Anger at people who didn't wear masks or take the vaccine and the politicians that "coddled them". A main character repeatedly has issues with this and equates them with a rapist thief surviving convict.
An astronaut who wakes up angry because during his time alone in virtual he didn't have to be trapped in a male body and they ruined it. And that they keep "dead naming" "her" by using his actual name. And the main character who had noted how bad / lonely it was going to be in prison for a straight man basically immediately falls in love with "her".
Even after 500 years of no civilization the planet is still warming because of humans ruining it. Initially they think that a solar flare wiped out technology. They wake up in an intact but decayed city with no people, just a nearby village of Mennonites. Somehow Mennonites were the ONLY people who could survive not having technology. Which made no sense at all. Especially since they are so peaceful they won't even defend themselves. So any starving, desperate, violent people from the city would have wiped them out as civilization fell. It did not that some native americans who had not become city folk had survived for a while but either died out or moved away. I did find it odd that with the other views expressed by the author he promoted super peaceful Christians as the best of humanity - as in "the meek shall inherit the earch".
November 19, 2025
11/18/2025 re-listen update: I haven't stopped thinking about this audiodrama for a year, so I'm bumping my review to 5 stars. It is a crime Audible never notified me there was a sequel, but I stumbled upon it on my own, so needed a refresher of the first part. I'm in love all over again! I also ordered a copy of the book and preordered a copy of the sequel so hopefully there's more content and it's not just essentially a transcript. Either way, I love this story.
Original review:
Currently this is an Audible exclusive, though I see now there's an ebook available for preorder.
Well, there were things I loved and things I didn't. The thing I loved (or wanted to love) most was an unexpected romantic relationship, but it was not the least bit developed. That makes me sad. I guess I felt like most things in this story were rushed, like I was getting the Cliffs Notes version of a story but not the actual story itself.
There's a lot of diversity rep in the story but I don't know... It just felt heavy-handed. Like I'm super happy there was a trans character, but this story wasn't queernormative to me. And it takes place hundreds of years in the future, so it just rubbed me the wrong way that there was such a strong focus on her feeling like she wasn't accepted or respected or normal.
If the above two points were altered I would have given this an easy 5 stars but it really feels like a 3. I'm giving it a 4 because Brendan Fraser, I AM DYING DEAD GONE. He was superb. I'm probably going to listen to this again just for his voice and his character. If you didn't have a crush on him before, YOU WILL. Or your crush will be revitalized with the strength of a thousand suns.
Original review:
Currently this is an Audible exclusive, though I see now there's an ebook available for preorder.
Well, there were things I loved and things I didn't. The thing I loved (or wanted to love) most was an unexpected romantic relationship, but it was not the least bit developed. That makes me sad. I guess I felt like most things in this story were rushed, like I was getting the Cliffs Notes version of a story but not the actual story itself.
There's a lot of diversity rep in the story but I don't know... It just felt heavy-handed. Like I'm super happy there was a trans character, but this story wasn't queernormative to me. And it takes place hundreds of years in the future, so it just rubbed me the wrong way that there was such a strong focus on her feeling like she wasn't accepted or respected or normal.
If the above two points were altered I would have given this an easy 5 stars but it really feels like a 3. I'm giving it a 4 because Brendan Fraser, I AM DYING DEAD GONE. He was superb. I'm probably going to listen to this again just for his voice and his character. If you didn't have a crush on him before, YOU WILL. Or your crush will be revitalized with the strength of a thousand suns.
May 4, 2024
I just wasn’t hooked ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ found myself continually confused with the POV shifts and it was a chore to finish
May 15, 2024
J'ai beaucoup aimé ce roman! Chaque ligne est réglée au quart de tour par Sawyer, qui développe un récit ambitieux qui se lit très bien malgré la profondeur des concepts qu'il aborde.
Le seul point négatif est relié au fait que le roman est très court. Bien que cela contribue au rythme très utile au récit dans un effet de course contre-la-montre, cela empêche la mise en application du doigté habituel de Sawyer: certains passages/notions manquent de subtilité. Je suis heureuse de l'ensemble, mais je sais que dans un roman de 300-350 pages, j'aurais facilement pu aller jusqu'à 5 étoiles.
Si la SF vous intéresse, vous devriez jeter un oeil à ce roman! 🌎🪐☄️
Le seul point négatif est relié au fait que le roman est très court. Bien que cela contribue au rythme très utile au récit dans un effet de course contre-la-montre, cela empêche la mise en application du doigté habituel de Sawyer: certains passages/notions manquent de subtilité. Je suis heureuse de l'ensemble, mais je sais que dans un roman de 300-350 pages, j'aurais facilement pu aller jusqu'à 5 étoiles.
Si la SF vous intéresse, vous devriez jeter un oeil à ce roman! 🌎🪐☄️
March 19, 2024
I ended up quite liking this, had a few bumps on the way, and I think it maybe just needed either (a) more time, or (b) one less plot twist/wrinkle/topic. It was performed wonderfully, though, and honestly Brandon Fraser alone made this one worthwhile. Loved his character, his little love-story (though, with a spoiler warning: .)
Ultimately, happy I listened to it. But just as happy to head back into queer-centric stories by queer authors.
Ultimately, happy I listened to it. But just as happy to head back into queer-centric stories by queer authors.
August 28, 2024
The future is bleak. Mother Nature is over our antics. Humanity is over our antics. Extraterrestrial life is over our antics. We fucked ourselves.
But hey! Brendan Fraser navigates the audiobook. So that was super fun!
But hey! Brendan Fraser navigates the audiobook. So that was super fun!
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