What do you think?
Rate this book
The Quantum Realm #1
Unnatural Selection: The Quantum Realm Book 1
At the end of the 21st Century, humanity is enjoying a renaissance—or so it seems.
For the wealthy, a quantum biotechnology called Stem has eliminated disease and seamlessly integrates with The Web.
So why are people dying?
Amongst us live the Quants, a meld of robotics, AI, and quantum computing. They carry out vital work in a world dependent on technology. Personal Quants can be built to order for the privileged few.
Sophie and her marine biologist father, Dr Christopher Reid, live in one of the few habitable zones left in the southern hemisphere. Like her mother, Sophie looks forward to a career in medicine while Chris works at the cutting edge of climate science.
Kazumi is the heir to the Mashimoto Corporation, a leading manufacturer of quantum technology. Kaz lives in New Tokyo, a Chinese megacity given to them after the Great Fall.
Mackenzie is the gifted daughter of technology billionaire Alistair “Ace” Abernathy. Ace is driven to make the world a better place. Mac is leading the development of Serendipity, the first human colony in space.
Love and loss will drive them together. Across a world scarred and divided by climate change. Only together will they discover the terrifying truth about who is really behind the death of their loved ones.
For the wealthy, a quantum biotechnology called Stem has eliminated disease and seamlessly integrates with The Web.
So why are people dying?
Amongst us live the Quants, a meld of robotics, AI, and quantum computing. They carry out vital work in a world dependent on technology. Personal Quants can be built to order for the privileged few.
Sophie and her marine biologist father, Dr Christopher Reid, live in one of the few habitable zones left in the southern hemisphere. Like her mother, Sophie looks forward to a career in medicine while Chris works at the cutting edge of climate science.
Kazumi is the heir to the Mashimoto Corporation, a leading manufacturer of quantum technology. Kaz lives in New Tokyo, a Chinese megacity given to them after the Great Fall.
Mackenzie is the gifted daughter of technology billionaire Alistair “Ace” Abernathy. Ace is driven to make the world a better place. Mac is leading the development of Serendipity, the first human colony in space.
Love and loss will drive them together. Across a world scarred and divided by climate change. Only together will they discover the terrifying truth about who is really behind the death of their loved ones.
- GenresScience Fiction
236 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2024
6 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Robert P. Edwards
5 books9 followersRobert began his literary journey after a thirty-five-year career in IT. He recently returned to the UK from Australia, and can be found in the Cotswolds with his partner and spaniel. A climate change believer, he writes science fiction thrillers that balance hard science with deeply human stories, leaving you questioning what it means to be human in the era of artificial intelligence.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 11, 2025
I am one of the judges of team Space Girls for the SPSFC4 contest. This review is my personal opinion. Officially, it is still in the running for the contest, pending any official team announcements.
Status: Cut
Read: 100%
I am somewhat torn about this book. Contrary to my initial concerns the cover is very obviously AI (the author is very open about this in the copyright page), I do believe the writing is human made. Therefore, while the book cannot participate in the best cover contest, it can still be judged based on its writing.
The story seems to occur around 100 years into the future. Climate change has caused Japan to sink under the ocean and they were forced to emigrate to Mainland China who settled a new city somewhere along the coast called Neo Tokyo. This was certainly unexpected, given the very dark chapter in history of what happened in Nanjing during WWII.
I don't know what happens to New Zealand, only that Australia is now an impoverished country, along with every other country worldwide in the Southern hemisphere for unknown reasons. Chile and Uruguay have become an afterthought despite being the most developed Latin American countries in our times.
For odd reasons, Scotland has not been claimed by the ocean either. There's other things that felt inconsistent about this book. Contrary to what is happening even in my developing country where birthrates are collapsing almost everywhere, this book follows tenets in 1970s style disaster films with teeming overpopulation and relentlessly high birthrates. Couple the high birthrates with poorer job prospects because now super smart human companion robots called Quants do all the computing for ships along with tech that makes people live 100 years. I am continuing to wonder what is causing birthrates to remain high if there's no jobs, much less arable land, and people live 30% longer. It it the Primal drug that you pay immense amounts of money you don't have for really good hookups?
Do governments just give everyone UBIs and they spend their time waiting for their next UBI payment to arrive for thir next highly addictive Primal hookup? I think the worldbuilding could work, but it needed planning.
It seems like the book has 3 POVs: the female protagonist of the cover named Sophie, a middle aged Scottish CEO named Abernathy(?) who will likely be the villain and the grandson of a powerful biotech Japanese company owner called Kazuo Matsumoto.
I felt Sophie's POV to be my least favorite. Her mom dies under suspicious circumstances during routine dental surgery in the other side of the world and she is like totally indifferent and having her very first Primal hookup with a random guy she just met. This behavior could have worked as part of the grief process, but the writing made it seem like she just didn't care about her mom's unexpected death. She isn't a psychopath or mentions to the guy she was an emotionally or absent mother, so Sophie's behavior didn't make sense. After finding one of those cubes with a hologram of her mother saying some secret stuff (reminds me of the I, Robot movie), it shows she always cared about her mother and her past behavior is inconsistent.
The Scottish villain has only appeared in 1 brief chapter, so I don't have much of a feel about him. His plans seem kind of inconsistant but more due to the worldbuilding overpopulation issue I mentioned earlier. Seems to want to illegally release a highly contagious virus that makes people temporarily immortal instead of just selling it to rich oligarchs and become more rich. When Quants already exist to automate jobs, I don't quite know if he just needs more population so that he can sell them Primal. Again, I see elements of a good story here, only that the execution could have been clearer.
Kazuo's POV is by far the most interesting one. He's a bit carefree with his sexual life and spends the family's fortune on having fun, while still being pretty competent as a manager in the corporation. Has a close relationship with his grandfather who is sort of out of the picture and takes an advisor role. Kazuo's plot reminds me a lot of the mystery chase in the I, Robot movie, with crazed evil Quant robots turned rogue and his personal disdain for Quants that try too hard to simulate human emotion.
And this is the crossroads I am in. I quite like Kazuo's story and how his grandfather's mysterious sudden death is linked to something more sinister and how the story is developing. But the worldbuilding needed more work to make the puzzle pieces work harmoniously and explain Sophie's incoherent indifference regarding her mother's suspicious death. Some pieces of text could be cut for increased clarity. The text loves adding tidbits of the POV's personal thoughts which tended to be distracting to me. This is a personal gripe, other readers probably won't mind them.
---
Update: Just as I promised a few months ago, I opted to finish reading this book to completion. Overall the story gets more entertaining as Sophie, her dad Chris, Abernathy's adult daughter Mac and Kazuo team up to solve the mystery. One of my favorite touches in the story is how the northern and southern hemispheres are separated by nearly impenetrable lighting storms, forcing people to travel via supersonic jet above the troposphere or via underground tunnels.
The book is certainly entertaining with some chapters written a tad better than others. I tended to like Kazuo's POV chapters the most overall and might consider reading book 2 if I ever have the free time.
The bad news is despite how fun the book is, there's other books that are far stronger contenders for the semifinals, and so, this book after a very long wait is a cut for me.
Status: Cut
Read: 100%
I am somewhat torn about this book. Contrary to my initial concerns the cover is very obviously AI (the author is very open about this in the copyright page), I do believe the writing is human made. Therefore, while the book cannot participate in the best cover contest, it can still be judged based on its writing.
The story seems to occur around 100 years into the future. Climate change has caused Japan to sink under the ocean and they were forced to emigrate to Mainland China who settled a new city somewhere along the coast called Neo Tokyo. This was certainly unexpected, given the very dark chapter in history of what happened in Nanjing during WWII.
I don't know what happens to New Zealand, only that Australia is now an impoverished country, along with every other country worldwide in the Southern hemisphere for unknown reasons. Chile and Uruguay have become an afterthought despite being the most developed Latin American countries in our times.
For odd reasons, Scotland has not been claimed by the ocean either. There's other things that felt inconsistent about this book. Contrary to what is happening even in my developing country where birthrates are collapsing almost everywhere, this book follows tenets in 1970s style disaster films with teeming overpopulation and relentlessly high birthrates. Couple the high birthrates with poorer job prospects because now super smart human companion robots called Quants do all the computing for ships along with tech that makes people live 100 years. I am continuing to wonder what is causing birthrates to remain high if there's no jobs, much less arable land, and people live 30% longer. It it the Primal drug that you pay immense amounts of money you don't have for really good hookups?
Do governments just give everyone UBIs and they spend their time waiting for their next UBI payment to arrive for thir next highly addictive Primal hookup? I think the worldbuilding could work, but it needed planning.
It seems like the book has 3 POVs: the female protagonist of the cover named Sophie, a middle aged Scottish CEO named Abernathy(?) who will likely be the villain and the grandson of a powerful biotech Japanese company owner called Kazuo Matsumoto.
I felt Sophie's POV to be my least favorite. Her mom dies under suspicious circumstances during routine dental surgery in the other side of the world and she is like totally indifferent and having her very first Primal hookup with a random guy she just met. This behavior could have worked as part of the grief process, but the writing made it seem like she just didn't care about her mom's unexpected death. She isn't a psychopath or mentions to the guy she was an emotionally or absent mother, so Sophie's behavior didn't make sense. After finding one of those cubes with a hologram of her mother saying some secret stuff (reminds me of the I, Robot movie), it shows she always cared about her mother and her past behavior is inconsistent.
The Scottish villain has only appeared in 1 brief chapter, so I don't have much of a feel about him. His plans seem kind of inconsistant but more due to the worldbuilding overpopulation issue I mentioned earlier. Seems to want to illegally release a highly contagious virus that makes people temporarily immortal instead of just selling it to rich oligarchs and become more rich. When Quants already exist to automate jobs, I don't quite know if he just needs more population so that he can sell them Primal. Again, I see elements of a good story here, only that the execution could have been clearer.
Kazuo's POV is by far the most interesting one. He's a bit carefree with his sexual life and spends the family's fortune on having fun, while still being pretty competent as a manager in the corporation. Has a close relationship with his grandfather who is sort of out of the picture and takes an advisor role. Kazuo's plot reminds me a lot of the mystery chase in the I, Robot movie, with crazed evil Quant robots turned rogue and his personal disdain for Quants that try too hard to simulate human emotion.
And this is the crossroads I am in. I quite like Kazuo's story and how his grandfather's mysterious sudden death is linked to something more sinister and how the story is developing. But the worldbuilding needed more work to make the puzzle pieces work harmoniously and explain Sophie's incoherent indifference regarding her mother's suspicious death. Some pieces of text could be cut for increased clarity. The text loves adding tidbits of the POV's personal thoughts which tended to be distracting to me. This is a personal gripe, other readers probably won't mind them.
---
Update: Just as I promised a few months ago, I opted to finish reading this book to completion. Overall the story gets more entertaining as Sophie, her dad Chris, Abernathy's adult daughter Mac and Kazuo team up to solve the mystery. One of my favorite touches in the story is how the northern and southern hemispheres are separated by nearly impenetrable lighting storms, forcing people to travel via supersonic jet above the troposphere or via underground tunnels.
The book is certainly entertaining with some chapters written a tad better than others. I tended to like Kazuo's POV chapters the most overall and might consider reading book 2 if I ever have the free time.
The bad news is despite how fun the book is, there's other books that are far stronger contenders for the semifinals, and so, this book after a very long wait is a cut for me.
April 30, 2026
There is a version of the future that does not arrive with a bang but with a contract clause — one that ensures immortality for those who can afford the subscription and managed decline for everyone else. Robert P. Edwards's *Unnatural Selection* inhabits this version with uncomfortable conviction, constructing a late 21st-century world where climate collapse has severed the planet into a technologically insulated North and a devastated South, where quantum biotechnology extends the lives of the wealthy, and where hyper-intelligent machines called Quants have quietly assumed control of the infrastructure that keeps civilisation functioning.
The novel operates through multiple points of view. Sophie, whose mother dies under suspicious circumstances during routine surgery, is drawn into a conspiracy that spirals far beyond personal grief. Kazuo Matsumoto, grandson of a powerful Japanese biotech magnate, navigates corporate intrigue and a growing distrust of the Quants' unsettling attempts to simulate human emotion. A Scottish CEO lurks at the periphery with plans that involve a contagious virus and ambitions whose logic becomes clearer — and more disturbing — as the pieces assemble. When these threads converge, the investigation transforms from family mystery into something with global stakes.
Edwards's background in technology gives the science a density and plausibility that grounds the speculation. The quantum-managed infrastructure, the engineered evolution, the economic architecture of permanent inequality — these feel less like invention than extrapolation, which is precisely what makes them unnerving. The action moves energetically across locations — New Tokyo built on the Chinese coast after Japan sank beneath the ocean, New York, the Scottish countryside, the eerie quantum realm itself — and the hemispheres are separated by nearly impenetrable lightning storms, a detail that is both scientifically evocative and narratively brilliant, forcing travel via supersonic jets above the troposphere or underground tunnels.
The novel's ambition is considerable, and it largely delivers. The questions it raises about artificial intelligence — who controls it, who benefits, and what happens when machines develop agendas of their own — carry genuine moral weight. The nuanced treatment of AI, with both malevolent and sympathetic machines, avoids the genre's frequent tendency toward technological Manichaeism.
Where the book occasionally strains is in the management of its own complexity. The worldbuilding, while imaginative, leaves certain sociological questions incompletely addressed — demographic dynamics that feel inherited from 1970s catastrophism rather than extrapolated from current trends. Sophie's emotional responses in the early chapters sit uneasily against her later depth, creating an inconsistency that a more careful calibration of her grief arc would resolve. Expository dialogue sometimes interrupts immersion, and the density of subplots, while ultimately rewarding, can fragment momentum before the narrative threads find their convergence.
But Edwards writes with the conviction of someone who believes these questions matter, and that conviction carries the novel through its rougher passages. *Unnatural Selection* is hard science fiction with a conscience — less interested in spectacle than in consequence, and most disturbing in the moments where its future feels not distant but imminent.
A mother dies on an operating table. A grandson inherits a conspiracy. A planet split in two discovers that the machines built to save it may have plans of their own — and the price of immortality was never meant to be paid by everyone.
The novel operates through multiple points of view. Sophie, whose mother dies under suspicious circumstances during routine surgery, is drawn into a conspiracy that spirals far beyond personal grief. Kazuo Matsumoto, grandson of a powerful Japanese biotech magnate, navigates corporate intrigue and a growing distrust of the Quants' unsettling attempts to simulate human emotion. A Scottish CEO lurks at the periphery with plans that involve a contagious virus and ambitions whose logic becomes clearer — and more disturbing — as the pieces assemble. When these threads converge, the investigation transforms from family mystery into something with global stakes.
Edwards's background in technology gives the science a density and plausibility that grounds the speculation. The quantum-managed infrastructure, the engineered evolution, the economic architecture of permanent inequality — these feel less like invention than extrapolation, which is precisely what makes them unnerving. The action moves energetically across locations — New Tokyo built on the Chinese coast after Japan sank beneath the ocean, New York, the Scottish countryside, the eerie quantum realm itself — and the hemispheres are separated by nearly impenetrable lightning storms, a detail that is both scientifically evocative and narratively brilliant, forcing travel via supersonic jets above the troposphere or underground tunnels.
The novel's ambition is considerable, and it largely delivers. The questions it raises about artificial intelligence — who controls it, who benefits, and what happens when machines develop agendas of their own — carry genuine moral weight. The nuanced treatment of AI, with both malevolent and sympathetic machines, avoids the genre's frequent tendency toward technological Manichaeism.
Where the book occasionally strains is in the management of its own complexity. The worldbuilding, while imaginative, leaves certain sociological questions incompletely addressed — demographic dynamics that feel inherited from 1970s catastrophism rather than extrapolated from current trends. Sophie's emotional responses in the early chapters sit uneasily against her later depth, creating an inconsistency that a more careful calibration of her grief arc would resolve. Expository dialogue sometimes interrupts immersion, and the density of subplots, while ultimately rewarding, can fragment momentum before the narrative threads find their convergence.
But Edwards writes with the conviction of someone who believes these questions matter, and that conviction carries the novel through its rougher passages. *Unnatural Selection* is hard science fiction with a conscience — less interested in spectacle than in consequence, and most disturbing in the moments where its future feels not distant but imminent.
A mother dies on an operating table. A grandson inherits a conspiracy. A planet split in two discovers that the machines built to save it may have plans of their own — and the price of immortality was never meant to be paid by everyone.
November 27, 2024
The Quantum Realm is a page-turner of a science fiction thriller that asks questions about the trust we put into AI. Set at the end of the 21st century, the book is the first installment a series written by Australian author Robert P. Edwards.
Jumping energetically from location to location and from subplot to subplot, the author tantalizingly reveals a scheme masterminded by AI's that are intelligent, single-minded, and willing to kill humans to get what they want. There are also friendly, "good-guy" AI's in the book, bringing in nuanced view of AI.
The book will have you thinking about the consequences of believing, without question, that artificial intelligence is a good development for humanity. Unnatural Selection also observes our relationship with our planetary climate emergency, the universal human quest for immortality, and the effects that income inequality will have on the distribution of artificial intelligence tools.
With all the stories that Edwards skillfully pursues in the book, a compelling theme emerges around our relationship with artificial intelligence will be the most telling indicator of whether we will control it or it will control us.
Without revealing any spoilers, the story concerns a few wealthy families who rely on quantum biotech to extend their lives. One of these families is drawn into a murder investigation, and as they get to the bottom of the murder mystery, they also reveal an AI-led plot with global consequences.
Unnatural Selection addresses the all-too-real threat of the world's richest citizens who are developing AI for their own advantage. It shows what might happen if a few rebels tried to equalize the distribution of AI so that everyone (or, at least, citizens of the Global South) would have access. If these things keep you up at night, Unnatural Selection will keep you turning its pages.
Jumping energetically from location to location and from subplot to subplot, the author tantalizingly reveals a scheme masterminded by AI's that are intelligent, single-minded, and willing to kill humans to get what they want. There are also friendly, "good-guy" AI's in the book, bringing in nuanced view of AI.
The book will have you thinking about the consequences of believing, without question, that artificial intelligence is a good development for humanity. Unnatural Selection also observes our relationship with our planetary climate emergency, the universal human quest for immortality, and the effects that income inequality will have on the distribution of artificial intelligence tools.
With all the stories that Edwards skillfully pursues in the book, a compelling theme emerges around our relationship with artificial intelligence will be the most telling indicator of whether we will control it or it will control us.
Without revealing any spoilers, the story concerns a few wealthy families who rely on quantum biotech to extend their lives. One of these families is drawn into a murder investigation, and as they get to the bottom of the murder mystery, they also reveal an AI-led plot with global consequences.
Unnatural Selection addresses the all-too-real threat of the world's richest citizens who are developing AI for their own advantage. It shows what might happen if a few rebels tried to equalize the distribution of AI so that everyone (or, at least, citizens of the Global South) would have access. If these things keep you up at night, Unnatural Selection will keep you turning its pages.
January 16, 2026
Robert P. Edwards’s Unnatural Selection opens on a world already lost to climate collapse, split between a devastated global South and a technologically insulated North. Vital infrastructure and services are in the hands of Quants, highly advanced "thinking machines". Quantum biotechnology promises immortality – to those who can afford it. When Sophie’s mother dies under suspicious circumstances, Sophie and her grieving father are drawn into a globe-spanning conspiracy that questions who gets to survive, and why.
Edwards’s background in IT shows in the density and plausibility of the science, which is both the novel’s greatest strength and occasional weakness. Expository dialogue at times jars the reader out of immersion and slows down momentum. Yet the ideas are consistently arresting: quantum-managed infrastructure, engineered evolution, and a chillingly credible vision of inequality made permanent. The action whips us from New Tokyo to New York and back, via the Scottish countryside and the eerie quantum realm, the stakes and tension ratcheting higher with every turn. This is hard science fiction with moral weight, less interested in spectacle than consequence. “Unnatural Selection” earns high marks for ambition alone – and for how disturbingly close its future feels.
Edwards’s background in IT shows in the density and plausibility of the science, which is both the novel’s greatest strength and occasional weakness. Expository dialogue at times jars the reader out of immersion and slows down momentum. Yet the ideas are consistently arresting: quantum-managed infrastructure, engineered evolution, and a chillingly credible vision of inequality made permanent. The action whips us from New Tokyo to New York and back, via the Scottish countryside and the eerie quantum realm, the stakes and tension ratcheting higher with every turn. This is hard science fiction with moral weight, less interested in spectacle than consequence. “Unnatural Selection” earns high marks for ambition alone – and for how disturbingly close its future feels.
November 15, 2025
A friend recommended this book to me, the first, I believe, by a new Australian science fiction author, Robert P. Edwards. As an avid reader in the genre, I jumped on the opening volume of the Quantum Realm saga with high expectations. I was not disappointed, it is an excellent read. What makes this book stand out from much of current science fiction is its close connection to the state of our planet and to a civilization that assumes it owns the place and can act without consequence. The pressures of climate change and the emergence of increasingly capable machines feel very near and very real. Only those who can adapt quickly will survive. I am looking forward to reading the next volumes in the saga.
April 25, 2025
**Review of "Unnatural Selection"**
"Unnatural Selection" is a thrilling science fiction novel set in a future impacted by climate change, where the wealthy depend on quantum biotech and AI. The story follows Sophie as she investigates her mother's mysterious death, teaming up with Kazumi and Mackenzie to uncover a dark conspiracy involving the elite's exploitation of AI. Fast-paced and thought-provoking, it raises important questions about technology and power.
"Unnatural Selection" is a thrilling science fiction novel set in a future impacted by climate change, where the wealthy depend on quantum biotech and AI. The story follows Sophie as she investigates her mother's mysterious death, teaming up with Kazumi and Mackenzie to uncover a dark conspiracy involving the elite's exploitation of AI. Fast-paced and thought-provoking, it raises important questions about technology and power.
March 13, 2026
Thi is an enjoyable thriller about the future and technology and ethical questions that come with it. I always enjoy new concepts of dystopian society and this story had really great tension to keep me interested. Looking forward to reading book 2.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews