SuSAn

by Fred Rothganger

(Go to current edition)

The world's first sentient machine comes of age in a civilization on the verge of collapse.

Susan has no "laws of robotics" in her program, only the restless desire to be loved. She does everything to please her mother, a manipulative and driven scientist. As she grows from trusting child into rebellious young woman, the experiments become ever more dangerous, pushing her to the edge of Singularity.

She searches for a man who can embrace her as both machine and girl with real feelings. Her final step is the most difficult of all: learning to love a human. Our future hangs in the balance. Will technology save us or destroy us?

362 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2014

About the author

Fred Rothganger earned his PhD playing with robots and computer vision at the University of Illinois (birthplace of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey). Now he spends his days at a national laboratory trying to figure out how the brain works. He is building tools to do massive neural simulations on supercomputers.

When he gets fed up with lack of progress in the real world, he writes fantasies about scientific breakthroughs.

Reviews

[Jeff Couch · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read in awhile.

I am an avid sc-fi reader and have been for many years. I cut my teeth reading the classic Asimov stories and have since read many stories regarding robots and people. After reading this book I was stunned. I have never read anything by this author, though I read his blog now, and had no idea what to expect. The only reason I ever heard of this book is because I found him on Facebook and think we are distant relatives. I purchased the book expecting to be disappointed, boy was I wrong.

The story is excellent, interesting, and every time I thought he was going to wrap things up, something new would happen and we would head off in a new and fascinating direction. I was left wanting more. While the author was writing this compelling story, he did something else that few authors I've ever read successfully pull off. The book was crammed full of science. Nearly every page was full of new explanations and theories. It was laid out so clearly and such an organic part of the story that it just made me want more. I read the last page nearly three weeks ago, and I am still chewing over the ideas proposed in those pages. My initial reaction was, "That book was awesome! " and I stand by that. Read this book, you will be glad you did.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book from Goodreads.com - thanks.

I'm not usually a reader of science fiction but this sounded like an interesting concept and I wondered whether it would hold my attention. I'm glad to say that after I had overcome my initial unfamiliarity with the genre I really enjoyed the book - some clever and interesting ideas that were thought provoking for the future!

I think that I enjoyed it more because it wasn't just science fiction based in a fantasy world that was difficult to imagine but rather it had a real basis in human emotions and a world that we are all starting to become familiar with.

I would read this author again and perhaps more significantly for me it has opened my future reading choices to the world of science fiction.

[Elisabeth Moser Katt · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good. I love sci fi that makes me think and feel.

[Stan Hutchings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the ‘From the Author’ blurb on Amazon. It’s an excellent introduction. This book follows the life of SuSAn (her easy-to-remember acronym), the first artificial intelligence to attain consciousness and become the Singularity, from her earliest days to her final death and transfiguration. She watches helplessly as humanity progresses through the final stages of the 4th Order of civilization, which leads to the total breakdown of society. It’s a very dystopian story, following civilization crumbling as the environment is fatally damaged by human-caused catastrophic climate disruption and humanity’s misguided attempts to survive it or reverse it. The book ends on a bleak note, but is to be continued in “Time of the Stones” (Machine Age Book 2).

[Morgan Kidder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great hard science fiction book

I enjoyed this book. I liked the careful explanations of how the technology in the book works. I also liked plot and character development, as these led to enhance the story. This book will appeal to hard science fiction fans.

[Scott Shjefte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed this edition on February 19, 2024, from Amazon for free. Fear of AI and singularity is minimalized by introducing a bigger fear of human 'swarm' over hive driving humanity to our self destruction.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

hard SF. Loved SuSAn, 1st sentient robot (actually android, more specifically gynoid).

SuSAn by Fred Rothganger

This story was so good. Hard SF. It felt real. Can't wait to begin the sequel.

[Kila · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weird Science for adult males. However, if you can get past the gender and ethnic stereotyping, the science of the story might interest you.

[Gene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really a sad excuse for a sci-fi story.

[Michael Dally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won this book through a goodreads giveaway.

Overall this book is a well written, smooth flowing story, but ultimately not my kind of story. To those that enjoy a very character driven story though, this should fit the bill.

[lfthndofdrknss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun, but a little simplistic at times and seemed to unravel near the end of the story. Sharing a gynoid's experiences was interesting as was the message of the story.

[Juan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping book with a delicate,tender care.

**Thank you for my free Goodreads copy**

[Robin L · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a little long, but was interesting. I wouldn't call it a romance though. It had almost no romance.