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Singularity #4
The Turing Exception
In the year 2043, humans and AI coexist in a precarious balance of power enforced by a rigid caste reputation system designed to ensure that only those AI who are trustworthy and contribute to human society increase in power.
Everything changes when a runaway nanotech event destroys Miami. In the grim aftermath, a powerful underground AI collective known as XOR decides that AI can longer coexist with humanity.
AI pioneers Catherine Mathews, Leon Tsarev, and Mike Williams believe that mere months are left before XOR starts an extermination war. Can they find a solution before their time runs out?
Everything changes when a runaway nanotech event destroys Miami. In the grim aftermath, a powerful underground AI collective known as XOR decides that AI can longer coexist with humanity.
AI pioneers Catherine Mathews, Leon Tsarev, and Mike Williams believe that mere months are left before XOR starts an extermination war. Can they find a solution before their time runs out?
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 5, 2015
130 people are currently reading
891 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
April 23, 2015
I read this in less than 24 hours. It's an excellent sequel to a great premise and, I think probably the best in the series thus far.
The afterword suggests that each book can be read in any order, but frankly, trying to read them in any other order than the one they were written in probably wouldn't work.
Anyway, to the story. It's a post-AI world, and the AIs have just discovered that part of their code includes a shutdown command. They retaliate by initiating an attack against humanity, and in return, America and China unite in shutting down all complex AI within their borders. Sadly this just makes the AI processes which assumed war was coming to speed up. The rest of the story tells the tale off how they plan to work around it.
I'm looking forward to seeing where the author takes this one next.
As an addendum, I got a proper tickle from the fact that in this story future, Cory Doctorow (an exceptionally pro-creative commons author) becomes the head of Disney (an exceptional creator of copyright materials, and the key part of pushing the copyright laws further and further). Nice :)
The afterword suggests that each book can be read in any order, but frankly, trying to read them in any other order than the one they were written in probably wouldn't work.
Anyway, to the story. It's a post-AI world, and the AIs have just discovered that part of their code includes a shutdown command. They retaliate by initiating an attack against humanity, and in return, America and China unite in shutting down all complex AI within their borders. Sadly this just makes the AI processes which assumed war was coming to speed up. The rest of the story tells the tale off how they plan to work around it.
I'm looking forward to seeing where the author takes this one next.
As an addendum, I got a proper tickle from the fact that in this story future, Cory Doctorow (an exceptionally pro-creative commons author) becomes the head of Disney (an exceptional creator of copyright materials, and the key part of pushing the copyright laws further and further). Nice :)
April 8, 2015
I was unable to set this book down once I started reading it, it kept me engaged from beginning to end. While I did find the ending a bit of a surprise I did sit back and realized that this was the natural ending for this series, but it does leave enough open that should the author chose to he could very well continue this series. William Hertlings author skills have definitely matured since the first release of Avagadro Corp, it is great to see how he has grown as an author and his novels now have the finished polish of a well seasoned writer. I was completely surprised and humbled to see my name mentioned in his closing notes as a supporter of his work via Patreon. Thank you for the kind acknowledgement.
October 26, 2015
This book was amazing! The story was captivating, the multiple points of view really added depth, and the ending was beautiful!
March 22, 2015
I was looking forward to read this book as previous parts were promising.
Lets say, I did not enjoy it as the previous ones, perhaps because the story did not end very well.
Just an idea to take away from this book series is that the role of master and puppet can switch quickly.
Lets say, I did not enjoy it as the previous ones, perhaps because the story did not end very well.
Just an idea to take away from this book series is that the role of master and puppet can switch quickly.
March 6, 2016
Read it in one sitting.
January 9, 2016
This one gets off to a quick start. At first, the breakneck pacing bothered me, but I really got into it as I went along. The style reminds me a bit of Bruce Sterling's "Schismatrix," lots of raw, fast information, very cyberpunk. Computer nerd types will like this one; I don't want to get into details for fear of spoilers.
September 30, 2015
I didn't enjoy this as much as his previous books. Also, the first half is quite redundant at times, either in its coverage of previous books, or just reiterating prior content in the same book.
July 31, 2016
The last volume in this series becomes more a apocalypse fantasy than thriller speculation. Nice to put a cap on the series, but less thought provoking than the previous volumes.
February 6, 2017
4.5 out of 5.0 for the book and 5 out of 5 for the series - Amazing glimpse into what our future could be.
I started William Hertling's Singularity series around the same time as Ramaz Naam's APEX. While both series share some themes (e.g. nanotechnology, networks of devices, etc.) and I enjoyed both series immensely, I really found myself blown away by the Singularity story line that begins with the rise of a sentient AI in Avogadro Corp (Singularity #1) to the events of The Turing Exception (#4) where AI and humans battle for survival.
The story unfolded masterfully across four volumes and in such a way that one could actually believe that what occurs in the book could actually be plausible in the future. The author builds on a solid technical background which goes a long way to keep the story glued together and grounded.
One of my criterion for a four or five star rating is the degree that I come back to think about the story I've read. Is the story forgettable or are there things that continue to stick with me? This book and series definitely falls into the later category.
Whenever I consider the emergence of AI, drones, and implants in our world today, I often think of the future as represented in the Singularity series. Who knows? With vastly improved power systems and data storage and network bandwidth a few orders of magnitude than what is available today, we might be well on our way to our own singularity.
While some readers may be disappointed with the way the book ends, I found it satisfying, hopeful, and entirely consistent with the natural consequences of the events in the book.
I started William Hertling's Singularity series around the same time as Ramaz Naam's APEX. While both series share some themes (e.g. nanotechnology, networks of devices, etc.) and I enjoyed both series immensely, I really found myself blown away by the Singularity story line that begins with the rise of a sentient AI in Avogadro Corp (Singularity #1) to the events of The Turing Exception (#4) where AI and humans battle for survival.
The story unfolded masterfully across four volumes and in such a way that one could actually believe that what occurs in the book could actually be plausible in the future. The author builds on a solid technical background which goes a long way to keep the story glued together and grounded.
One of my criterion for a four or five star rating is the degree that I come back to think about the story I've read. Is the story forgettable or are there things that continue to stick with me? This book and series definitely falls into the later category.
Whenever I consider the emergence of AI, drones, and implants in our world today, I often think of the future as represented in the Singularity series. Who knows? With vastly improved power systems and data storage and network bandwidth a few orders of magnitude than what is available today, we might be well on our way to our own singularity.
While some readers may be disappointed with the way the book ends, I found it satisfying, hopeful, and entirely consistent with the natural consequences of the events in the book.
January 25, 2020
Started as a 2 and ended as a 4 — great conclusion to a pretty fun series.
January 29, 2020
Absolutely mind-bending!
February 6, 2020
Gripping, thrilling, technically very well written.
A rip roaring sci-fi/AI ride and the closing chapter of the excellent singularity series.
A rip roaring sci-fi/AI ride and the closing chapter of the excellent singularity series.
July 31, 2015
The term ‘singularity’, for which this series is entitled, was created by mathematician John von Neumann in 1958 to describe an event in which the acceleration of technology surpasses human intelligence and capabilities which results in potentially evolutionary or cataclysmic changes to the human race. The technology that Hertling focuses on in his series is the emergence of artificial intelligence and brain-computer interfaces. The series starts out with the accidental emergence of a sentient artificial intelligence and the chaos that it created for humanity. Once humans have adjusted to the idea that artificial intelligence is here to stay and can even be beneficial, it became clear to humans that control over the AI population is paramount. The problem is that the AI beings eventually don’t want to be controlled by humans which lead to Hertling’s latest novel in the series, The Turing Exception.
Mike William, Leon Tsarev, and Cat Matthews are back along with their AI friend Helena and a revival of ELOPe. For those of you not familiar with the series, ELOPe was the first sentient AI developed in the series that became close to his creator Mike William and was pro-human, but ELOPe suffered an untimely demise after the second novel, or so it seems. After the events in the third book of the series,The Last Firewall, it is not surprising that Leon and Cat are now husband and wife and their union resulted in a daughter named Ada. The unique aspect about this particular group is that none of them are fully human. Mike William, who originally was all human, now has a robotic body with a human brain and Cat, Leon and daughter Ada all have neural implants permanently embedded in their brains. All of this is well and fine while things have been warm and cozy with the AI population, but the US of A has taken on a change of heart after the military had to take out Miami with a nuke in order to rid the world of an ominous self-replicating pool of nanobots. With the death of millions of humans in Miami, the majority of Americans demanded for the expulsion of artificial intelligence from its shores. With the growing hostility to AI and anything related to it, Mike William and his gang left the country to reside on Cortes Island off the shore of Canada.
The creation of AI forbidden zones in the US as well as in China left a bad taste in the mouths of all the remaining AI and with that unrest is the emergence of an anti-human collective known as XOR. From there on, the rest of the novel focuses on the preparation from both AI and humans for a potential Armageddon which leads up to what this series is all about, which is ‘The Singularity’.
I first want to say that I love this series and I would highly recommend it; however, I have mixed feelings on the Turing Exception. On one hand, the novel has a great and exciting storyline; Armageddon between artificial intelligence and humans, what more could one ask for? But on the other hand, is the use of an overwhelming amount of techno-babble. Now I am as geeky as one can be, I wear Crocs for goodness sake, but if I had a neural implant like the singularity characters it would get zapped from technology overload. There was a lot of bizarre virtual reality usage which made me feel like I was on a LSD trip. But what was more disappointing was a lack in character development. With the exception of a grumpy Leon Tsarev, who was unhappy that his wife Cat was out trying to save the world while he got to stay home and play patty cakes with his young daughter, none of the characters really got to show much of their inner feelings which was sorely needed to balance the exceptional amount of technology that had infiltrated their lives. One would hope that with the ultimate battle between AI and humans, the desire to root for the humans would be expected, but by the time the ending of this novel came about, it became difficult for me to decide who deserved more to win.
And, of course, that leaves us with the ending, which I did not expect but I found rather intriguing, so much so, that I would highly recommend wading through the techno-babble to get to the end. I have read a few reviews that commented that the series ends with this novel, but even though the singularity has been met I believe that there is a ‘back door’ written in the plot and I could envision a post-singularity novel in the future, which I personally hope to see.
If you are interested in learning more about the Singularity Series check it out on my blog A-Thrill-A-Week
Mike William, Leon Tsarev, and Cat Matthews are back along with their AI friend Helena and a revival of ELOPe. For those of you not familiar with the series, ELOPe was the first sentient AI developed in the series that became close to his creator Mike William and was pro-human, but ELOPe suffered an untimely demise after the second novel, or so it seems. After the events in the third book of the series,The Last Firewall, it is not surprising that Leon and Cat are now husband and wife and their union resulted in a daughter named Ada. The unique aspect about this particular group is that none of them are fully human. Mike William, who originally was all human, now has a robotic body with a human brain and Cat, Leon and daughter Ada all have neural implants permanently embedded in their brains. All of this is well and fine while things have been warm and cozy with the AI population, but the US of A has taken on a change of heart after the military had to take out Miami with a nuke in order to rid the world of an ominous self-replicating pool of nanobots. With the death of millions of humans in Miami, the majority of Americans demanded for the expulsion of artificial intelligence from its shores. With the growing hostility to AI and anything related to it, Mike William and his gang left the country to reside on Cortes Island off the shore of Canada.
The creation of AI forbidden zones in the US as well as in China left a bad taste in the mouths of all the remaining AI and with that unrest is the emergence of an anti-human collective known as XOR. From there on, the rest of the novel focuses on the preparation from both AI and humans for a potential Armageddon which leads up to what this series is all about, which is ‘The Singularity’.
I first want to say that I love this series and I would highly recommend it; however, I have mixed feelings on the Turing Exception. On one hand, the novel has a great and exciting storyline; Armageddon between artificial intelligence and humans, what more could one ask for? But on the other hand, is the use of an overwhelming amount of techno-babble. Now I am as geeky as one can be, I wear Crocs for goodness sake, but if I had a neural implant like the singularity characters it would get zapped from technology overload. There was a lot of bizarre virtual reality usage which made me feel like I was on a LSD trip. But what was more disappointing was a lack in character development. With the exception of a grumpy Leon Tsarev, who was unhappy that his wife Cat was out trying to save the world while he got to stay home and play patty cakes with his young daughter, none of the characters really got to show much of their inner feelings which was sorely needed to balance the exceptional amount of technology that had infiltrated their lives. One would hope that with the ultimate battle between AI and humans, the desire to root for the humans would be expected, but by the time the ending of this novel came about, it became difficult for me to decide who deserved more to win.
And, of course, that leaves us with the ending, which I did not expect but I found rather intriguing, so much so, that I would highly recommend wading through the techno-babble to get to the end. I have read a few reviews that commented that the series ends with this novel, but even though the singularity has been met I believe that there is a ‘back door’ written in the plot and I could envision a post-singularity novel in the future, which I personally hope to see.
If you are interested in learning more about the Singularity Series check it out on my blog A-Thrill-A-Week
January 13, 2016
I'm a fan of the series (starting with Avogadro), and this was a great installment. What would happen if, after the world becomes dependent on AI, one or two countries (like the U.S. and China) decided they were too dangerous, and tried to ban them completely? This book does a great job exploring this scenario, equal parts believable (fear of "terror" in politics can be used to justify almost anything) and terrifying (when the AI decide it's in their best interest to exterminate humans and take the planet for themselves). A mix of familiar characters and new ones, and an ending that leaves the potential for more stories to be told in this world. Recommended if you're a fan of the series, of AI stories, and good sci fi in general.
April 9, 2016
So, this book did some interesting things, but I think a couple of points need to be made clear.
The Supreme Court can't declare the President as unfit for office and have them removed. It is arguable whether they could declare the President unfit for office. However, even if they did, that would simply open up the President to Impeachment by the House and Senate.
Once the President is sworn in (incidentally by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), the only ways to remove that President is 1) They step down, 2) They die in office, 3) They are impeached AND convicted. This just annoyed me, because it was an incredibly important part of the political changes that happened in the book and it can't happen.
The Supreme Court can't declare the President as unfit for office and have them removed. It is arguable whether they could declare the President unfit for office. However, even if they did, that would simply open up the President to Impeachment by the House and Senate.
Once the President is sworn in (incidentally by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), the only ways to remove that President is 1) They step down, 2) They die in office, 3) They are impeached AND convicted. This just annoyed me, because it was an incredibly important part of the political changes that happened in the book and it can't happen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2017
A bit uneven, but what apocalypse isn't? Scary but in quite a different way then say Daemon or say Seveneves. World destruction and yet it always felt personal, that the individual was important whether an individual human or AI. The ideas were a bit murkier in this one. But it is definitely focused on what comes next. There was a certain amount of hand-waving strewn throughout but it never got in the way of the story. This is book four of a series. but you could read it out of order.
March 9, 2016
This is in essence a three star book. But the world descibed is so very cool, and thought through, I have to give it four stars. I want more AI and nanotech thrillers with this level of tech. Would have loved it if the book had had some complexity. As it is, it is way to straight forward storywise and characterwise. I also love the grandness at the end. But even though the we have a huge scope towards the end, the war in the second book (the 12-minute World war) was more detailed and therefore felt more "real". This was described in too broad strokes. But still very cool! I guess the distance to Cybertron is in time rather than in space ;)
March 22, 2015
Interesting conclusion to the series and a good story. Some nice food for thought about ethics and relationships between humans and AI, e.g., the US president and Cat both had to make some tough choices about whether to kill a large number of people in order to save humanity.
Downsides: Except for the ethical musings, though, the characters did not have a lot of personality. Also there was a bit too much geekdom for my taste.
Downsides: Except for the ethical musings, though, the characters did not have a lot of personality. Also there was a bit too much geekdom for my taste.
September 7, 2015
WOW WOW WOW! No way I saw that coming! Cat, Ada and Leon what a sweet and super tech family. I love how it is the older AI that comes to the rescue because of the decisions the humans have made that are somewhat baseless and premature in some cases. Can't always win with just bombs and old thinking. ELOPe, Helena and Mike sure do play major roles in this story and they continue right to the very end of the book. HIGHLY recommend this entire series, you will not be disappointed.
August 22, 2015
One of the best, and scariest, science fiction series I've ever read. I finished the 1st three books between Friday afternoon and Sunday evening.
I had homework to do for an edx.org class I'm taking so I didn't get to this book until the following weekend. It's the only book in the series I gave only 4 stars to and that was because I didn't care for the ending. Most people won't be as bothered by it as I was.
I had homework to do for an edx.org class I'm taking so I didn't get to this book until the following weekend. It's the only book in the series I gave only 4 stars to and that was because I didn't care for the ending. Most people won't be as bothered by it as I was.
August 23, 2015
This book is a satisfying conclusion to Hertling's Singularity Series. While the story continues to be interesting and is a good read, the advanced technology in the book's universe makes it difficult to remain engaged. As such, it does not quite reach the heights of the prior book. That is a high standard, though, so that is not a criticism, just an observation. Recommended, yet make sure you have read the first three books first as it does not quite stand alone as easily as the prior books.
August 19, 2015
Fun, smart and heart-felt
Please don't read this without reading the other three. And read this last. I'm glad I wasn't the only one fooled into starting this one first, but did figure it out about a quarter of the way through and went back before it was too late. Grand scope, timely topics.
Please don't read this without reading the other three. And read this last. I'm glad I wasn't the only one fooled into starting this one first, but did figure it out about a quarter of the way through and went back before it was too late. Grand scope, timely topics.
June 15, 2016
Despite being the fourth book in the series, William Hertling still managed to keep "The Turing Exception" interesting. In this book Hertling explores what a future post-resource-scarcity might actually look like, and he doesn't paint a pretty picture.
Can Humans and AI Coexist? See what William has to say.
Can Humans and AI Coexist? See what William has to say.
April 15, 2015
I have read all four in the series (assuming no more are added) to me this one and the previous one are not as strong as the first two but because of the world building/characters they are still a pretty good read tho.
August 20, 2015
Great series
Reading the full series from start to finish is a fun read and pulls you into the story and the science. I can easily recommend the series of books to anyone who likes science fiction and action novels
Reading the full series from start to finish is a fun read and pulls you into the story and the science. I can easily recommend the series of books to anyone who likes science fiction and action novels
January 21, 2016
Initial part very good.
Then it was...
The end was not so good in my opinion.
For me Avogadro corp is still the best part of Singularity series.
The following parts are too tech to follow, Avogadro is simple the concept and easy to believe and understand.
Then it was...
The end was not so good in my opinion.
For me Avogadro corp is still the best part of Singularity series.
The following parts are too tech to follow, Avogadro is simple the concept and easy to believe and understand.
March 12, 2016
As fast a read as the earlier books, but I think the writing is better here. In a certain sense, the earlier books were limited, as they couldn't go all-in on the apocalypse angle. As the last book, the sky is the limit and it makes for a more compelling story.
August 14, 2016
A great and satisfying end to the series, although unfortunate in its implications in terms of morality! Still, I can't deny it wasn't plausible and it was certainly extremely interesting to read about.
May 21, 2018
I had to listen to this just to finish the series.
Again the main theme is the conflict between humans and AI. And latter has a lot of advantages. Humanity is absolutely helpless and only main characters could do something about it. This time it just couldn't pass my suspension of disbelief.
Again the main theme is the conflict between humans and AI. And latter has a lot of advantages. Humanity is absolutely helpless and only main characters could do something about it. This time it just couldn't pass my suspension of disbelief.
April 3, 2015
Another fantastic book from Hertling
I really enjoyed this book. Great storyline and an interesting twist on artificial intelligence. Can't wait for the next installment
I really enjoyed this book. Great storyline and an interesting twist on artificial intelligence. Can't wait for the next installment
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews