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The Genesis Code: Lambda
"The day I was given the chance to wield the most beautiful, and terrifying creation of man, was the day I opened my eyes to a truth I didn't want to believe. With the ultimate weapon at my side, I held the power. Everything changed, when I met her . . ."
Zackary Allan Knight is just your typical eighteen year old teenager on the outside, but a genius within. Withdrawn, and reserved, he goes about life as if it was a chore. With parents that are never around, only one friend that laughs at his expense, and a famous idol for a sister, Zack can't help but gaze upon his world with boredom and distrust.
Unbeknownst to Zack, his little reality is about to be shattered. He is about to have his boring life turned upside down when a girl called Lambda appears before him.
Enter Lambda, the most powerful and sophisticated AI ever created. Possessing the ability to appear both in the physical world as well as the Cyber Network, the virtual world, Lambda represents man's greatest accomplishment in the world of science. To Zack, she is an alluring cyber goddess of destruction. One he can't take his eyes off of, despite all the warning signs, and eminent danger.
It all comes at a price. Nothing but corruption and mystery surround Lambda's creation and purpose. However, one thing is for certain: everyone wants Lambda.
Now, Zack must make a choice: to invite chaos and havoc into his life and embark on a roller coaster ride of mayhem and deceit, or die never knowing the truth that is hidden in a divided reality. As he struggles with his past and family while trying to learn the dark secrets that lurk within Lambda, he will have his eyes opened to a truth he never would've believed.
Time will never be on Zack's side as he is pulled into a dark world built on technology and lies. That fated day, everything changed, when he met her . . .
Zackary Allan Knight is just your typical eighteen year old teenager on the outside, but a genius within. Withdrawn, and reserved, he goes about life as if it was a chore. With parents that are never around, only one friend that laughs at his expense, and a famous idol for a sister, Zack can't help but gaze upon his world with boredom and distrust.
Unbeknownst to Zack, his little reality is about to be shattered. He is about to have his boring life turned upside down when a girl called Lambda appears before him.
Enter Lambda, the most powerful and sophisticated AI ever created. Possessing the ability to appear both in the physical world as well as the Cyber Network, the virtual world, Lambda represents man's greatest accomplishment in the world of science. To Zack, she is an alluring cyber goddess of destruction. One he can't take his eyes off of, despite all the warning signs, and eminent danger.
It all comes at a price. Nothing but corruption and mystery surround Lambda's creation and purpose. However, one thing is for certain: everyone wants Lambda.
Now, Zack must make a choice: to invite chaos and havoc into his life and embark on a roller coaster ride of mayhem and deceit, or die never knowing the truth that is hidden in a divided reality. As he struggles with his past and family while trying to learn the dark secrets that lurk within Lambda, he will have his eyes opened to a truth he never would've believed.
Time will never be on Zack's side as he is pulled into a dark world built on technology and lies. That fated day, everything changed, when he met her . . .
405 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 29, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 16, 2019
The Genesis Code: Lambda by Robert E. Parkin
This is an interesting book and goes on my list of books to love to hate. I think that the plot, the characters, and the whole premise of the book are okay and for the most part done well. What I had a problem with is the first one third of the novel. I am giving this high marks for being entertaining and another of those reads that got me from front to back on one sitting, but I had to slog past the first part; which was a shame considering that that part could have been just as well written as the rest.
The story begins with Zack getting up to start a normal day and meeting up with a friend,David, where they begin a bit of world building and it all goes well for a while. Until some distractions in the writing show up.
One of the first things that distracted me was that on occasion there would be some rather interesting images created by somewhat creative usages or combinations of words, but then there were the jarring ones that had the word 'to' where I would normally see 'at' or 'with' where I would see 'by' and other similar substitutions of words. On several occasions there were modifiers in the speach attributes that seemed unnecessary, but that might just be me and a person needs to read this to get the sense of it. There are a few words like 'no' where it should be 'now' and other words that seem to be totally missing in sentences. But what really drew my attention was the frequent use of the word 'just'. There is even one paragraph with four sentences that have 'just' four times; once in each sentence. And in most cases the adjective or adverb wasn't necessary if a more striking word were found for the one modified. Once again most of these are things that a reader must encounter to determine how they might affect the reading. Overall I think this could use one more edit.
Once I got past that one third mark the overall writing improved and the story became much more interesting so I took less note of all the just's.
An interesting style choice in this novel is to withold information as the story moves forward and then feed tiny hints here and there. This works for the most part, but becomes massively annoying when it appears that most of the major characters have a backstory that is dripped out this same way. There are few if any who don't have some hidden past which eventually adds to the confusion of mysteries that run rampant through the whole novel.
There are at least two instances I had to look back, because I was confused about some image or memory brought in at an earlier moment. The reader really needs to pay close attention to details, especially when they seem to be memories or hints at some dark secret.
There is also the initial separation of reality from the virtual and certain indicators that sometimes intrude into both and the reader has to pay close attention to know when something is reserved for reality and something for the virtual and those things that seem to exist in both.
The novel as a whole is like a blend of William Gibson and some super hero comics. In some instances the players have access to a slight inventory of weaponry similar to game avatars and many of these seem to cross the boundaries of reality and the virtual.
At some point the reader is introduced to the group of 12 whose names are such that the story begins to take on a bit of an alegorical bent, which doesn't quite get developed beyond a short peek into it.
It might be safe to say that this novel is about the growth and development of the Lambda character. It brings a lot of thought provoking notions into the development of an AI and when it becomes aware or sentient and sapient and has an interesting way of demonstrating the process to the reader over time.
This is good SFF for those looking for a good fun read that offers a bit more in some insight and deeper thought along the way.
Don't look for all the answers to all the questions because there are just a few things that seem to be meant to extend into the next book. And I hope Robert E. Parkin is working on that novel.
J.L. Dobias
This is an interesting book and goes on my list of books to love to hate. I think that the plot, the characters, and the whole premise of the book are okay and for the most part done well. What I had a problem with is the first one third of the novel. I am giving this high marks for being entertaining and another of those reads that got me from front to back on one sitting, but I had to slog past the first part; which was a shame considering that that part could have been just as well written as the rest.
The story begins with Zack getting up to start a normal day and meeting up with a friend,David, where they begin a bit of world building and it all goes well for a while. Until some distractions in the writing show up.
One of the first things that distracted me was that on occasion there would be some rather interesting images created by somewhat creative usages or combinations of words, but then there were the jarring ones that had the word 'to' where I would normally see 'at' or 'with' where I would see 'by' and other similar substitutions of words. On several occasions there were modifiers in the speach attributes that seemed unnecessary, but that might just be me and a person needs to read this to get the sense of it. There are a few words like 'no' where it should be 'now' and other words that seem to be totally missing in sentences. But what really drew my attention was the frequent use of the word 'just'. There is even one paragraph with four sentences that have 'just' four times; once in each sentence. And in most cases the adjective or adverb wasn't necessary if a more striking word were found for the one modified. Once again most of these are things that a reader must encounter to determine how they might affect the reading. Overall I think this could use one more edit.
Once I got past that one third mark the overall writing improved and the story became much more interesting so I took less note of all the just's.
An interesting style choice in this novel is to withold information as the story moves forward and then feed tiny hints here and there. This works for the most part, but becomes massively annoying when it appears that most of the major characters have a backstory that is dripped out this same way. There are few if any who don't have some hidden past which eventually adds to the confusion of mysteries that run rampant through the whole novel.
There are at least two instances I had to look back, because I was confused about some image or memory brought in at an earlier moment. The reader really needs to pay close attention to details, especially when they seem to be memories or hints at some dark secret.
There is also the initial separation of reality from the virtual and certain indicators that sometimes intrude into both and the reader has to pay close attention to know when something is reserved for reality and something for the virtual and those things that seem to exist in both.
The novel as a whole is like a blend of William Gibson and some super hero comics. In some instances the players have access to a slight inventory of weaponry similar to game avatars and many of these seem to cross the boundaries of reality and the virtual.
At some point the reader is introduced to the group of 12 whose names are such that the story begins to take on a bit of an alegorical bent, which doesn't quite get developed beyond a short peek into it.
It might be safe to say that this novel is about the growth and development of the Lambda character. It brings a lot of thought provoking notions into the development of an AI and when it becomes aware or sentient and sapient and has an interesting way of demonstrating the process to the reader over time.
This is good SFF for those looking for a good fun read that offers a bit more in some insight and deeper thought along the way.
Don't look for all the answers to all the questions because there are just a few things that seem to be meant to extend into the next book. And I hope Robert E. Parkin is working on that novel.
J.L. Dobias
December 11, 2014
Lambda is the most sophisticated AI program, able to learn and grow, or is she? Zack was the one who found Lambda, the first to imprint on her, but is this more than just coincidence? Zack decides to stand by Lambda, for reasons he at first doesn’t disclose, which leads to his life and that of his pop star sister being in danger. As Zack falls for Lambda, he is more and more reminded of someone from three years ago, someone who changed his life, someone whose past is connected to Zack in more ways than anyone seems to realize.
In the fight for the Network’s continuation and the fight between those with access and those without, Zack and his family are caught in the middle of something greater than all of them, but they all seem to have a hand in it behind the others’ backs. And yet, it all goes back to a cruel abuse of power and the misuse of technology to hold back those who can’t keep up. A Great Divide.
This novel has a long list of characters and introduces most of them from the beginning to slowly tie them together throughout continual action and excitement and reveal. The author excels at layering his plot and leaving breadcrumbs of backstory leading right up to the climax. It was difficult keeping up with the cast of characters until the latter half of the story. It was also difficult keeping track of allegiances and motivations and keeping them clear between the characters.
The action scenes (which comprise a large portion of the novel) are engaging and exciting and frequented by fantastically large weaponry. For a novel based on Earth, with humans and human-like characters, the weapons technology is a deviation from the norm and keeps the book fresh and different.
I started out liking the powerful AI Lambda, but when she was overcome little by little with human emotions and lost her power and her confidence I started to resent her. She devolved from a feared and beautiful AI to a distressed and distracted woman-like AI. However, Parkin does say that “she is a girl before she is a program.” (Location 5073). But I hoped she would remain like Zack’s initial perception, “A cyber maiden of death, clad in black. All he could think at that moment was just how alluring and terrifying she looked.” (Location 430-431).
Some final thoughts I had upon finishing the novel were as to what the world outside the Limit Zones looked like. What do people eat? How is their Network technology possible?
I was also a bit disappointed in the ending. It appears the novel ends in the middle of the climax and I prefer, even of the first book in a series, for it to be complete and with an end. Even with an overarching unresolved issue the smaller conflicts should be resolved.
On an end note I adore the cover in its vibrancy.
In the fight for the Network’s continuation and the fight between those with access and those without, Zack and his family are caught in the middle of something greater than all of them, but they all seem to have a hand in it behind the others’ backs. And yet, it all goes back to a cruel abuse of power and the misuse of technology to hold back those who can’t keep up. A Great Divide.
This novel has a long list of characters and introduces most of them from the beginning to slowly tie them together throughout continual action and excitement and reveal. The author excels at layering his plot and leaving breadcrumbs of backstory leading right up to the climax. It was difficult keeping up with the cast of characters until the latter half of the story. It was also difficult keeping track of allegiances and motivations and keeping them clear between the characters.
The action scenes (which comprise a large portion of the novel) are engaging and exciting and frequented by fantastically large weaponry. For a novel based on Earth, with humans and human-like characters, the weapons technology is a deviation from the norm and keeps the book fresh and different.
I started out liking the powerful AI Lambda, but when she was overcome little by little with human emotions and lost her power and her confidence I started to resent her. She devolved from a feared and beautiful AI to a distressed and distracted woman-like AI. However, Parkin does say that “she is a girl before she is a program.” (Location 5073). But I hoped she would remain like Zack’s initial perception, “A cyber maiden of death, clad in black. All he could think at that moment was just how alluring and terrifying she looked.” (Location 430-431).
Some final thoughts I had upon finishing the novel were as to what the world outside the Limit Zones looked like. What do people eat? How is their Network technology possible?
I was also a bit disappointed in the ending. It appears the novel ends in the middle of the climax and I prefer, even of the first book in a series, for it to be complete and with an end. Even with an overarching unresolved issue the smaller conflicts should be resolved.
On an end note I adore the cover in its vibrancy.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews