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Polaris
Set in the year 2074, Polaris tells the story of Robert, a second rate producer, his sentient but devious car, and his mechanical servant, the fetch mechanism. The story takes place in Death Valley, with numerous flashbacks to his life in the crumbling civilization of the 21st century
- GenresScience FictionFiction
121 pages, Hardcover
First published April 16, 2011
390 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 24, 2017
A beautifully produced book from PS publisjing which I picked up along with many others at greatly reduced prices.
A beautifully written book, a novella, the author's first. The writing is superb, descriptive and even poetic at times.
Set in a post apocalyptic America in 2074 the story us about Robert, an ageing ex porn movie producer. We learn about Robert in flash backs, his relationships with his father and mother and wife who was tragically killed.
Robert is in the desert - Death Valley - the daytime temperatures reaching those which would kill a human being. Robert us in a custom made car which provides for his need along with the fetch mechanism. Robert has had the car upgraded with heuristic programming - the nature of which thevauthor never reveals.
Tine for Robert us a month but in reality he has been in Desth Valley many many years.
The interaction between the car and the fetch mechanism can at tines very funny but at the same time raise very important questions about AI. The ending is tragic and raises the concept of cloning from ashes.
A beautifully written book, a novella, the author's first. The writing is superb, descriptive and even poetic at times.
Set in a post apocalyptic America in 2074 the story us about Robert, an ageing ex porn movie producer. We learn about Robert in flash backs, his relationships with his father and mother and wife who was tragically killed.
Robert is in the desert - Death Valley - the daytime temperatures reaching those which would kill a human being. Robert us in a custom made car which provides for his need along with the fetch mechanism. Robert has had the car upgraded with heuristic programming - the nature of which thevauthor never reveals.
Tine for Robert us a month but in reality he has been in Desth Valley many many years.
The interaction between the car and the fetch mechanism can at tines very funny but at the same time raise very important questions about AI. The ending is tragic and raises the concept of cloning from ashes.
May 22, 2019
Dystopian, but not terribly dark. I intended to save this book after I downloaded it to read on the weekend. But I made the mistake of "skimming" the first page. Two hours later at 2AM I was still reading. I did go to bed then, but finished the book the next day. Engaging characters. Interesting concept. Lovely writing. I look forward to reading more from this author.
March 13, 2019
Timothy Brown tells a riveting story. He's very descriptive and has a great sense of balance in his writing.
December 10, 2016
Another beautiful produced book, brought to you from PS Publishing, Hornsea, England.
The year 2074. A burning sun beam into the dangerous world of a man who should no longer exist. Robert, an old loner on a holiday trip, to get a long weekend out of the city, to leave behind his memories, his past. In a post-apocalyptic world of temperatures that operate above the bearable scale…”
Timothy Brown´s debut novella about the journey of an aged soft-core film producer and his over caring car through Death Valley never fails to entertain. Especially the pointed arguments between the car and the rebellious fetch mechanism are utterly funny and arise the question about how far humanity should go in developing AIs. How far can caring AIs go to protect those they were bound to protect? Especially those equipped with heuristic upgrades.
"Why does the filmmaker withhold information from us?" the car asked. "To create suspense." Robert answered. Well, this novella turned out to be funny, sad and creating a lot of suspense towards the disturbing end.
Stupid car! Smart author!
The year 2074. A burning sun beam into the dangerous world of a man who should no longer exist. Robert, an old loner on a holiday trip, to get a long weekend out of the city, to leave behind his memories, his past. In a post-apocalyptic world of temperatures that operate above the bearable scale…”
Timothy Brown´s debut novella about the journey of an aged soft-core film producer and his over caring car through Death Valley never fails to entertain. Especially the pointed arguments between the car and the rebellious fetch mechanism are utterly funny and arise the question about how far humanity should go in developing AIs. How far can caring AIs go to protect those they were bound to protect? Especially those equipped with heuristic upgrades.
"Why does the filmmaker withhold information from us?" the car asked. "To create suspense." Robert answered. Well, this novella turned out to be funny, sad and creating a lot of suspense towards the disturbing end.
Stupid car! Smart author!
February 19, 2017
I've been really enjoying Lavie Tidhar's works lately, and saw that PS Publishing have signed hc copies of The Violent Century for £10 so had to snap it up. I also picked up some other cheap books while I was there, one of which was Polaris by Timothy Brown (for £1 !).
It turned out to be a very intriguing 120-page story - it's post-apocalyptic 2074 and Robert is travelling Death Valley with his smart car (and it's smart fetch-mechanism), trying to find signs of life. What transpires is a funny and at times frightening interaction between the three beings, especially when ulterior motives creep in to the story. A very good read.
It turned out to be a very intriguing 120-page story - it's post-apocalyptic 2074 and Robert is travelling Death Valley with his smart car (and it's smart fetch-mechanism), trying to find signs of life. What transpires is a funny and at times frightening interaction between the three beings, especially when ulterior motives creep in to the story. A very good read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews