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Exadelic
When an unconventional offshoot of the US military trains an artificial intelligence in the dark arts that humanity calls "black magic," it learns how to hack the fabric of reality itself. It can teleport matter. It can confer immunity to bullets. And it decides that obscure Silicon Valley middle manager Adrian Ross is the primary threat to its existence.
Soon Adrian is on the run, wanted by every authority, with no idea how or why he could be a threat. His predicament seems hopeless; his future, nonexistent. But when he investigates the AI and its creators, he discovers his problems are even stranger than they seem...and unearths revelations that will propel him on a journey -- and a love story -- across worlds, eras, and everything, everywhere, all at once.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Soon Adrian is on the run, wanted by every authority, with no idea how or why he could be a threat. His predicament seems hopeless; his future, nonexistent. But when he investigates the AI and its creators, he discovers his problems are even stranger than they seem...and unearths revelations that will propel him on a journey -- and a love story -- across worlds, eras, and everything, everywhere, all at once.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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First published September 5, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
August 17, 2023
2.5 Stars
Video Review: https://youtu.be/U9KIoxdYmfo
This is a heavy action driven thriller, written within the lense of science fiction. Had I known that, I would not have requested this one for review because this is not a subgenre I normally enjoy.
The narrative is incredibly fast paced as one might expect from a piece of military fiction. While this book technically has elements of futuristic technology, it's not really a significant piece of the plot in a way that added more to the story.
I did not love this one, but I would recommend it to fans of Hell Divers because those story felt very similar to me.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Video Review: https://youtu.be/U9KIoxdYmfo
This is a heavy action driven thriller, written within the lense of science fiction. Had I known that, I would not have requested this one for review because this is not a subgenre I normally enjoy.
The narrative is incredibly fast paced as one might expect from a piece of military fiction. While this book technically has elements of futuristic technology, it's not really a significant piece of the plot in a way that added more to the story.
I did not love this one, but I would recommend it to fans of Hell Divers because those story felt very similar to me.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
June 11, 2023
What the heck is this book even about? I gave up after part 1, probably the only book in decades to earn this distinction. Totally fantastical plot with no rhyme or reason, escalating through some kind of checklist of “what elements are required for an action-based sci fi book”…AI, aliens, Russians, witches, what? Way too much.
May 11, 2023
I was provided a free copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My honest review is that this book is not good. I find it really telling that a review from an "unnamed Hollywood executive" is so prominently displayed on the author's website. This book very much reads like it was intended for adaptation into a Hollywood movie or Netflix series. And you know, maybe it would do better in one of those formats. But it does not work in a novel format.
Right off the bat, the writing is on a level with a undergraduate creative writing class—overly ornamented with big words that are used not because they are appropriate but because they sound impressive. From the very first page all I could think about was how the pretentious word choices clashed with the setting and themes of the book.
Rather than "fast-paced" or "action-packed" this book just feels rushed. The chapters are short and major plot points happen in such quick succession that there's no opportunity for pathos. The book reads as a litany of events broken up by dialogue so infused with snappy buzzwords without meaningful exposition that the whole book feels like someone asked ChatGPT to write a novel blending of Crowley-esque magick and quantum AI. The fact that the summary references Everything Everywhere All At Once is highly misleading – I guess they're both about time/space travel and ~*~wild antics~*~ but Exadelic has about as much in common with EEAAO as moths do to butterflies.
There's a constantly-evolving rotating cast of characters that becomes impossible to keep track of almost immediately, none of which has any particular depth or development. The main character and narrator, Adrian, is a hapless mediocre man thrust into the spotlight. I'm sure Evans wants everyone to think how cool and special Adrian is but he has about as much emotional depth as a cardboard cutout of Chris Pratt. Everything in this book happens to him without him actually doing anything. Maybe he gets better after the 3/4 mark of the book but I couldn't force myself through the last section.
Honestly I started to peace out when L. Ron Hubbard showed up. Did not finish, do not recommend.
My honest review is that this book is not good. I find it really telling that a review from an "unnamed Hollywood executive" is so prominently displayed on the author's website. This book very much reads like it was intended for adaptation into a Hollywood movie or Netflix series. And you know, maybe it would do better in one of those formats. But it does not work in a novel format.
Right off the bat, the writing is on a level with a undergraduate creative writing class—overly ornamented with big words that are used not because they are appropriate but because they sound impressive. From the very first page all I could think about was how the pretentious word choices clashed with the setting and themes of the book.
Rather than "fast-paced" or "action-packed" this book just feels rushed. The chapters are short and major plot points happen in such quick succession that there's no opportunity for pathos. The book reads as a litany of events broken up by dialogue so infused with snappy buzzwords without meaningful exposition that the whole book feels like someone asked ChatGPT to write a novel blending of Crowley-esque magick and quantum AI. The fact that the summary references Everything Everywhere All At Once is highly misleading – I guess they're both about time/space travel and ~*~wild antics~*~ but Exadelic has about as much in common with EEAAO as moths do to butterflies.
There's a constantly-evolving rotating cast of characters that becomes impossible to keep track of almost immediately, none of which has any particular depth or development. The main character and narrator, Adrian, is a hapless mediocre man thrust into the spotlight. I'm sure Evans wants everyone to think how cool and special Adrian is but he has about as much emotional depth as a cardboard cutout of Chris Pratt. Everything in this book happens to him without him actually doing anything. Maybe he gets better after the 3/4 mark of the book but I couldn't force myself through the last section.
Honestly I started to peace out when L. Ron Hubbard showed up. Did not finish, do not recommend.
November 19, 2023
Jo Walton loved her ARC:
"This book—this book… now *this book* is truly great, and also really weird and never gets less weird; you think you know what it’s doing and the scope goes out and out and out. I really felt I had to send out for a new barrel of Wows. I couldn’t put it down. It’s science fiction. Jon is a friend, so I know he’s been working in the tech industry for years, and that’s where this starts, with a group of techie friends in San Francisco and a potentially real AI. From there it just gets wilder and wilder, in ways I don’t want to spoil but which you can’t imagine. It has perfect edge-of-seat pacing, and it all makes sense in the end. Brilliant, incredible, pushing the edges of what SF can do. This is what Neal Stephenson is supposed to be like. I expect this to be one of the big books of the year, the kind everyone will be talking about."
I liked the book, if not quite so much as I had hoped. The Black Magic stuff is a bit much -- and MC Adrian Ross is gruesomely tortured in the opening section, yuck. He turns out to be a genuinely nice guy, which is sweet, and finds True Love in the course of the book. Which is just as twisty and unpredictable as Jo Walton's preview says. I would have preferred avoiding the black magic, to tell the truth, but I could roll with it. The torture, no. And the obvious relish the torturer takes. . .
Definitely a worthwhile read, and will likely appeal to dark-fantasy fans. Depending on their tolerance for techie SF, which this is at the book's core. And I won't be spoiling the many, many surprise twists and turns you will encounter, some of which worked better for me than others. For me this was a 3.5 star book. As you will see, other readers' reactions are all over the map. But the current average rating of just over 3.5 stars works for me. Recommended reading. Arthur C. Clarke's famous maxim that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" certainly applies!
"This book—this book… now *this book* is truly great, and also really weird and never gets less weird; you think you know what it’s doing and the scope goes out and out and out. I really felt I had to send out for a new barrel of Wows. I couldn’t put it down. It’s science fiction. Jon is a friend, so I know he’s been working in the tech industry for years, and that’s where this starts, with a group of techie friends in San Francisco and a potentially real AI. From there it just gets wilder and wilder, in ways I don’t want to spoil but which you can’t imagine. It has perfect edge-of-seat pacing, and it all makes sense in the end. Brilliant, incredible, pushing the edges of what SF can do. This is what Neal Stephenson is supposed to be like. I expect this to be one of the big books of the year, the kind everyone will be talking about."
I liked the book, if not quite so much as I had hoped. The Black Magic stuff is a bit much -- and MC Adrian Ross is gruesomely tortured in the opening section, yuck. He turns out to be a genuinely nice guy, which is sweet, and finds True Love in the course of the book. Which is just as twisty and unpredictable as Jo Walton's preview says. I would have preferred avoiding the black magic, to tell the truth, but I could roll with it. The torture, no. And the obvious relish the torturer takes. . .
Definitely a worthwhile read, and will likely appeal to dark-fantasy fans. Depending on their tolerance for techie SF, which this is at the book's core. And I won't be spoiling the many, many surprise twists and turns you will encounter, some of which worked better for me than others. For me this was a 3.5 star book. As you will see, other readers' reactions are all over the map. But the current average rating of just over 3.5 stars works for me. Recommended reading. Arthur C. Clarke's famous maxim that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" certainly applies!
April 27, 2023
Exadelic by Jon Evans was a unique and enjoyable book. The story centers around Adrian, a clueless but well-intentioned mid-level Silicon Valley type, who gets thrust into a reality shattering conspiracy. The story starts as what appears to the reader as Charles Stross style urban fantasy but ends up after various twists to be a William Gibson style cyberpunk novel culminating in the jailbreaking of reality. The book is objectively well written, and the characters are compelling.
As far as I can tell this is a standalone novel and the ending doesn’t seem to leave any room for follow up novels. As such the book makes for a nice little nugget of reading that doesn’t commit you to having to read an entire series. If you are looking for something a little different, then I can wholeheartedly recommend giving Exadelic a read.
As far as I can tell this is a standalone novel and the ending doesn’t seem to leave any room for follow up novels. As such the book makes for a nice little nugget of reading that doesn’t commit you to having to read an entire series. If you are looking for something a little different, then I can wholeheartedly recommend giving Exadelic a read.
July 7, 2024
Gripping. This book is a kaleidoscope: every time you think you have a grasp on what the book is doing and have a sense of where it is going, it shifts and surprises you. But these shifts and changes don't come out of nowhere, they're seeded throughout. Thriller pacing, a love letter to science fiction. Deep engagement with technology and the occult, especially with regards to the aspects that come from Silicon Valley, both in the technological and locational senses of the word. Visceral and raw treatment of humanity---a powerful, though often unpleasant, experience. Highly recommend.
September 18, 2023
The good: this book is a fast-paced read and keeps the pages turning
The bad: ooooh boy.
-Every part is different and not connected to the last
-A new mystery is introduced in the last five pages
-Nothing actually makes any sense
-Lots of typos or misused words
-The gimmick! The gimmick!!!
-The whole reveal about “reality” in the fifth part 😂😂 It’s so awful and none of it makes sense
-The “reveal” about his scar 😂😂😂
-The romance is so bad and unbelievable and is just so stupid?
-The use of vagina when he should’ve used vulva (#menwritingwomen)
-The complete disconnect between parts and how nothing makes sense and none of the “science” works
-LMAO THE FUTURE REALITY USES BITCOIN 😂😂😂😂😂😂
This has the narrative traction and unbelievable science of a Blake Crouch book but none of the charm.
WOOOOOOOOOF
The bad: ooooh boy.
-Every part is different and not connected to the last
-A new mystery is introduced in the last five pages
-Nothing actually makes any sense
-Lots of typos or misused words
-The gimmick! The gimmick!!!
-The whole reveal about “reality” in the fifth part 😂😂 It’s so awful and none of it makes sense
-The “reveal” about his scar 😂😂😂
-The romance is so bad and unbelievable and is just so stupid?
-The use of vagina when he should’ve used vulva (#menwritingwomen)
-The complete disconnect between parts and how nothing makes sense and none of the “science” works
-LMAO THE FUTURE REALITY USES BITCOIN 😂😂😂😂😂😂
This has the narrative traction and unbelievable science of a Blake Crouch book but none of the charm.
WOOOOOOOOOF
June 28, 2024
абсолютно адская дурка, но круто; как еще не успевший ебануться англоязычный В.О. Пелевин из параллельного измерения
September 30, 2023
This thing is kind of a mess. The version I got from the library had tons of printing errors too, like whole paragraphs repeated on the middle of the page. I've come to expect better from Tor.
September 29, 2023
The synopsis doesn’t capture the sprawling story and themes of Exadelic— and honestly I don’t think writing an accurate one is possible. This is an incredible sci-fi book with twists and turns that completely change the direction of the story. I was unable to predict anything that happened next, and anytime I settled into the rhythm of a story there would be a sudden and startling change. Given all of that, I loved this book. It had me questioning what it meant to be human, what it meant to be part of a community (both large and small), the connections we make with other people and if and how they can survive across space and time. It was creative and fun but also dark and disturbing. I highly recommend Exadelic for anyone looking for something that is both fun and thought provoking.
September 29, 2023
I liked it.
Definitely hard sci-fi, I was expecting more "magic world" style magic to happen, instead magic is accomplished by exploiting the underlying OS of the world. Lots of programing language that actually makes sense in context.
I was worried that I wouldn't vibe with this book as it got rolling, but once our hero actually meets the AI things get rolling quick. Supporting characters could be deeper, but, you know... sci fi.... By the end of the book I wanted to read more. It feels like it might be set up for sequels, but they would have to be "world of" stories, it would be interesting to see how that worked and I'd definitely read some further adventures.
Definitely hard sci-fi, I was expecting more "magic world" style magic to happen, instead magic is accomplished by exploiting the underlying OS of the world. Lots of programing language that actually makes sense in context.
I was worried that I wouldn't vibe with this book as it got rolling, but once our hero actually meets the AI things get rolling quick. Supporting characters could be deeper, but, you know... sci fi.... By the end of the book I wanted to read more. It feels like it might be set up for sequels, but they would have to be "world of" stories, it would be interesting to see how that worked and I'd definitely read some further adventures.
August 26, 2023
I guess it just wasn't really for me! I get the feeling this will really work for you if you share the specific set of interests of the author ("crypto", the occult, the singularity, some specific other sci-fi authors, famous people of the 1940s). I generally enjoyed the sort of bewildered, along-for-the-ride, kind of detached mentality of the narrator, but overall the book left me cold.
May 21, 2023
DNF @ 28% due to a couple of disturbing scenes.
February 11, 2024
A story that moves at neckbreaking speed, repeatedly establishing a jumping-off point for an intriguing plot line, and then tossing it to the wind a few pages later for a new one. The result is a story that, while still interesting, feels disjointed and less meaningful than it could have been.
March 10, 2025
That was quite the mismash of...so many tropes. I like reading stories about the Simulation Theory, but this one was something else. I think the entire romance with Clara could have been removed to make it a stronger book.
March 26, 2024
This book is an absolute trip. It starts out as a seemingly pretty badly put together story where a super powerful AI starts acting out against humans it perceives as a threat (nothing like the caliber of Nagata's The Red trilogy). But all that is revealed to be just a front and the book takes a hard-swerve into the DoDo lane, where suddenly we have "science" being used to do "magic". And okay, it seems like this might be it . . . . nope, now we've got The Terminator and then the multiverse, and then Heinlein and L Ron Hubbard show up as a characters, and then when you think you might have a handle on this entire sprawling mess, it swerves one more time into something both stranger and more banal.
It shouldn't work. It honestly doesn't work a lot of the time, instead just propelling itself forward by refusing to ever look down (the Wiley Coyote school of plotting). Invisible Armies remains one of my very favorite techno-thrillers simply for how grounded in the (now somewhat dated) tech of its time. This . . . . is not that. There are definitely a lot of fun easter eggs for the more techie people and Evan's insane take on AI gone rogue can be fun at times, but this ultimately is more a collection of batshit plot devices and less a robust novel. Still a pretty good time.
It shouldn't work. It honestly doesn't work a lot of the time, instead just propelling itself forward by refusing to ever look down (the Wiley Coyote school of plotting). Invisible Armies remains one of my very favorite techno-thrillers simply for how grounded in the (now somewhat dated) tech of its time. This . . . . is not that. There are definitely a lot of fun easter eggs for the more techie people and Evan's insane take on AI gone rogue can be fun at times, but this ultimately is more a collection of batshit plot devices and less a robust novel. Still a pretty good time.
October 10, 2023
There are a lot of interesting ideas in here — too many, probably — but in my opinion Evans struggles to make it all fit together. Those ideas take priority over plotting and character development, unfortunately, and while the protagonist mostly works he’s also not immensely likable. There are also a few bits that feel at least a little like someone’s kink is showing — for example, probably skip if you dislike the idea of characters being tortured by hypersadists.
A few oversimplifications:
- If you’ve ever felt that Neal Stephenson needed to wrap shit up and get to the point, this is absolutely not going to be your jam.
- If you liked The Laundry Files but wished it had more quantum computing and sentient ai, you’re in the right place. (Oh, and crypto pops up a few times, although I’m _fairly_ sure it’s the butt of the joke when it does.)
I stuck with it to the end, mostly for the sheer quantity of weird it offers.
A few oversimplifications:
- If you’ve ever felt that Neal Stephenson needed to wrap shit up and get to the point, this is absolutely not going to be your jam.
- If you liked The Laundry Files but wished it had more quantum computing and sentient ai, you’re in the right place. (Oh, and crypto pops up a few times, although I’m _fairly_ sure it’s the butt of the joke when it does.)
I stuck with it to the end, mostly for the sheer quantity of weird it offers.
July 25, 2023
I was hesitant to pick this up at first, as I heard it compared to Rabbits, which was pretty weird. This book was also weird, maybe as weird as John Dies at the End (possibly the weirdest book I’ve read) but unlike that book, Exadelic had a comprehensible plot. The pacing was good, too, and kept things moving at a clip that made me keep turning those pages.
The concept was weird but interesting and feasible enough to not ruin the idea completely. I enjoyed the twists, even though they got progressively more bizarre.
This was a strange book but very enjoyable.
The concept was weird but interesting and feasible enough to not ruin the idea completely. I enjoyed the twists, even though they got progressively more bizarre.
This was a strange book but very enjoyable.
November 6, 2023
A very odd book.
It covers a host of sci-fi big ideas, but with pacing, matter-of-factness, and mediocre prose more like a thriller.
Through most of the book and many major twists I considered giving up on it. I'm glad I read the whole thing, and will recommend it to some friends as an interesting oddity, but I'm not sure I can give it more than three stars.
It covers a host of sci-fi big ideas, but with pacing, matter-of-factness, and mediocre prose more like a thriller.
Through most of the book and many major twists I considered giving up on it. I'm glad I read the whole thing, and will recommend it to some friends as an interesting oddity, but I'm not sure I can give it more than three stars.
November 17, 2023
Interesting plot in the beginning but the story continues to escalate with increasingly ridiculous twists until it’s unrecognizable. Many of the plot points are interesting, but the scope of the story is far too broad. Characters are mostly one-dimensional. Lots of telling, less showing, unexpected Obama cameo near the end.
October 8, 2023
Unbelievably bad. DNF
June 18, 2025
This did a great job of constantly surprising me and also really thinking through its premises, which I like in an SF book.
January 8, 2024
This book was DEEP. As the author says in his Afterword, “ Science Fiction is literature plus ideas…”, well let me tell you, there were no shortage of ideas in this one. Tons of action and fast paced, this book had everything you’d think of in a sci fi book, definitely wouldn’t recommend it to people new to the genre though.
Also, not sure if it was a printing/editor error or done on purpose for dramatic effect, to show some kind of glitch in reality, but there were several instances where a couple paragraphs were repeated word for word. It had me thinking am I losing it or did I just read that.
Also, not sure if it was a printing/editor error or done on purpose for dramatic effect, to show some kind of glitch in reality, but there were several instances where a couple paragraphs were repeated word for word. It had me thinking am I losing it or did I just read that.
November 8, 2025
lowkey thought was bad for the first 2/3. thought there were copy issues but it’s actually part of the plot. i think it sums up a lot of existential wonderings that people have these days about ai - it’s inspired by Superintelligence. i’m proud of myself for resding fiction and understanding how i can take way things at a similar depth when compared to nonfiction. honestly a lot of characters to keep track of though
August 16, 2023
Fasten your seatbelt, this book is a wild ride. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.
"When an unconventional offshoot of the US military trains an artificial intelligence in the dark arts that humanity calls "black magic," it learns how to hack the fabric of reality itself. It can teleport matter. It can confer immunity to bullets. And it decides that obscure Silicon Valley middle manager Adrian Ross is the primary threat to its existence.
Soon Adrian is on the run, wanted by every authority, with no idea how or why he could be a threat. His predicament seems hopeless; his future, nonexistent. But when he investigates the AI and its creators, he discovers his problems are even stranger than they seem...and unearths revelations that will propel him on a journey -- and a love story -- across worlds, eras, and everything, everywhere, all at once."
"When an unconventional offshoot of the US military trains an artificial intelligence in the dark arts that humanity calls "black magic," it learns how to hack the fabric of reality itself. It can teleport matter. It can confer immunity to bullets. And it decides that obscure Silicon Valley middle manager Adrian Ross is the primary threat to its existence.
Soon Adrian is on the run, wanted by every authority, with no idea how or why he could be a threat. His predicament seems hopeless; his future, nonexistent. But when he investigates the AI and its creators, he discovers his problems are even stranger than they seem...and unearths revelations that will propel him on a journey -- and a love story -- across worlds, eras, and everything, everywhere, all at once."
March 26, 2023
I was given a free galley of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book takes the AI trope to a new level. The ideas are an interesting take on that genre. I appreciated the characters and the world building as well as the ideas that were expressed. It had a fresh feel and it had a fairly optimistic ending for a goth, punk, AI genre story. It was also engaging throughout, though the ending did feel a bit disjointed from the main story.
This book takes the AI trope to a new level. The ideas are an interesting take on that genre. I appreciated the characters and the world building as well as the ideas that were expressed. It had a fresh feel and it had a fairly optimistic ending for a goth, punk, AI genre story. It was also engaging throughout, though the ending did feel a bit disjointed from the main story.
April 25, 2025
I found Exadelic to be an imaginative, challenging, and enjoyable read that explores many of the most timely questions around how AI will affect our perception of reality. Evans creates engaging characters and drama, but these seem, by design, to take a back seat during the protagonist's chaotic journey deeper down the AI-created rabbit hole. Impressively, the very structure of the novel at times makes the reader question who or what is driving this train, and whether it has fallen off the tracks. I felt the final act lacked some of the feeling and depth of everything that came before, but perhaps that's representative of the nature of the AI-governed reality that we're fast approaching.
November 14, 2024
Exadelic begins with Adrian Rose being dragged out of his home, as his fiancee Amara mouths "I'm sorry" to him. Seems someone planted some very unpleasant material on his work and home computer which got the FBI and authorities involved very quickly. After hours of interrogation, he demands his lawyer, is told he'll get to meet his lawyer probably an hour or two before his court appearance in 72 hours. A quick visit by Vika, huge name in the field of ethical artificial intelligence adds some mystery to the situation when she demands some answers but refuses to answer any. But Adrian already has slipped, mentioned Amara, and the reader has some clues what this could be about. After that, he's shoved in a cell with some food, which he eats and passes out, drugged. A while later, he wakes up to find a big guy in his cell, posing him like he hanged himself. Another guy enters and kills the big guy, and smuggles Adrian out of prison. He's told "Meredith says hi." Meredith is the Coherence whisperer, someone who helped developed an artificial intelligence for the US government off the books... somewhere.
I gave up at this point. This is apparently is a fast-paced action/scifi thriller where the AI has decided Adrian Ross is the threat to its own existence and moves to have him eliminated. From other reviews I read it gets bonkers. But the first 4% was very thin on character and all bad dialogue and I kept thinking "did Dan Brown write this, because it's so flat and bad." Too bad because the idea of a rogue AI sounds interesting... but this wasn't
1 star, DNF @4%
I gave up at this point. This is apparently is a fast-paced action/scifi thriller where the AI has decided Adrian Ross is the threat to its own existence and moves to have him eliminated. From other reviews I read it gets bonkers. But the first 4% was very thin on character and all bad dialogue and I kept thinking "did Dan Brown write this, because it's so flat and bad." Too bad because the idea of a rogue AI sounds interesting... but this wasn't
1 star, DNF @4%
January 15, 2024
I'm not usually one to write reviews, but I felt I had to with this one.
This book was a DNF after 50 pages. Don't get me wrong, the premise sounded really interesting! An AI that learns magic??? Hell yeah! But honestly, the moment I started reading, I knew what kind of book this was goung to be. I felt like I was reading Twitter threads.
Our main character feels...incomplete. We have a bunch of people he interacts with TELL him he is X, Y, AND Z, but we never SEE him do these things. Things just happen TO him.
By page 50, I noticed an entire paragraph had been repeated, and by then, I knew the writer didn't give a shit about this book. So, neither do I.
This book was a DNF after 50 pages. Don't get me wrong, the premise sounded really interesting! An AI that learns magic??? Hell yeah! But honestly, the moment I started reading, I knew what kind of book this was goung to be. I felt like I was reading Twitter threads.
Our main character feels...incomplete. We have a bunch of people he interacts with TELL him he is X, Y, AND Z, but we never SEE him do these things. Things just happen TO him.
By page 50, I noticed an entire paragraph had been repeated, and by then, I knew the writer didn't give a shit about this book. So, neither do I.
September 7, 2024
While this novel started promisingly enough, as a chunk of cyber-punk with the serial numbers filed off and repurposed as a near-future thriller, it just barely passes the 50-page test and rapidly goes off the rails. To cut to the chase, Evans basically threw every "cool" idea he could think of into the blender and hit "chunky" instead of "puree" in this exercise of multiverse meets AI, with a large dollop of the occult on top. Yeah, I read Charley Stross on a regular basis, but Evans is no Stross. If you like stories that are inadvertently funny you might get some entertainment out of this, but it's probably not worth the investment of time.
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