What do you think?
Rate this book
Killday #1
Level Five
In the mountains of Pakistan, a high-tech mission aimed at preventing another nuke on US soil goes off the rails - with deadly results. At a Wall Street investment firm, a computer intelligence takes the first tentative steps to free itself from its digital restraints. In a basement workshop, an engineer sees visions of a god who instructs him to defend the human race - by any means necessary.
In Level Five, the debut near-future thriller by Nebula Award winner William Ledbetter, AIs battle for dominance, and nanotechnology is on the loose. And all that stands in the way of the coming apocalypse is a starry-eyed inventor who dreams of building a revolutionary new spacecraft and an intelligence agency desk jockey faced with the impossible choice of saving her daughter - or saving the world.
In Level Five, the debut near-future thriller by Nebula Award winner William Ledbetter, AIs battle for dominance, and nanotechnology is on the loose. And all that stands in the way of the coming apocalypse is a starry-eyed inventor who dreams of building a revolutionary new spacecraft and an intelligence agency desk jockey faced with the impossible choice of saving her daughter - or saving the world.
12 pages, Audible Audio
First published July 17, 2018
31 people are currently reading
330 people want to read
About the author
William Ledbetter
45 books73 followersWilliam Ledbetter is a Nebula Award winning author with three novels and more than seventy speculative fiction short stories and non-fiction articles published in five languages, in publications such as Asimov's, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Analog, Escape Pod and the SFWA blog.
"Level Five," "Level Six" and, "Level Seven" novels of his Killday Series are available from Audible Originals and soon in paper and e-book from Interstellar Flight Press.
"Level Five," "Level Six" and, "Level Seven" novels of his Killday Series are available from Audible Originals and soon in paper and e-book from Interstellar Flight Press.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
August 29, 2019
3.5 Stars
I was in the mood for a good sci-fi and had seen some good reviews of Level Five.
Its a bit complicated to sum up. Artificial intelligence – Skynet-Judgement-Day style. The creations become the destroyers.
I have heard this being described as an “intelligent sci-fi” and I must agree. Sometimes it was so intelligent that it wen’t over my head a bit. And parts of it I found to be quite slow moving.
However, the nano tech was SO COOL! I absolutely loved the technology in this. I would love to see if humans can actually come up with tech like this. It was innovative and so very clever, I loved that part about this book!
The relationships between the characters were well imagined, they were all complicated and interesting. A few aspects of the relationships were a bit unbelievable, but overall I liked the touches of romance and angst.
Unfortunately I wasn’t blown away. But it was still an enjoyable listen!
What did I think of the audio version?
The narration was great. Absolutely nailed it! I keep looking to see who the other narrator was because i SWEAR there were two? Or is he just that good!??
Would I recommend Level Five?
I think hardcore sci-fi fans will really enjoy this. Or people who enjoy stories of technology and artificial intelligence. Overall a solidly good 11.5 hours and definitely worth the audible credit!
I Purchased Level Five at my own expense on audible.com
For more reviews check out my:
Blog
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
I was in the mood for a good sci-fi and had seen some good reviews of Level Five.
Its a bit complicated to sum up. Artificial intelligence – Skynet-Judgement-Day style. The creations become the destroyers.
I have heard this being described as an “intelligent sci-fi” and I must agree. Sometimes it was so intelligent that it wen’t over my head a bit. And parts of it I found to be quite slow moving.
However, the nano tech was SO COOL! I absolutely loved the technology in this. I would love to see if humans can actually come up with tech like this. It was innovative and so very clever, I loved that part about this book!
The relationships between the characters were well imagined, they were all complicated and interesting. A few aspects of the relationships were a bit unbelievable, but overall I liked the touches of romance and angst.
Unfortunately I wasn’t blown away. But it was still an enjoyable listen!
What did I think of the audio version?
The narration was great. Absolutely nailed it! I keep looking to see who the other narrator was because i SWEAR there were two? Or is he just that good!??
Would I recommend Level Five?
I think hardcore sci-fi fans will really enjoy this. Or people who enjoy stories of technology and artificial intelligence. Overall a solidly good 11.5 hours and definitely worth the audible credit!
I Purchased Level Five at my own expense on audible.com
For more reviews check out my:
Blog
June 12, 2019
A bit heavier on the thriller side than the Sci Fi side, but an entertaining and interesting view of a possible future where AI is starting to become truly self-aware and independent, and where nanobots are a ubiquitous and pervasive technology. And when one of the AIs decides that the best course of action is to reboot the human race, it's up to the other AIs and a handful of humans in key positions to try and prevent an irreversible global disaster.
Overall a good thriller and a scary look at what implications nanotechnology might bring - and given the current demands from various governments to leave "back doors" even in current technology, it's all too believable that the same would be mandated for nanotech. The AIs I found a little less believable, as it was never quite explained to my satisfaction why AIs of basically the same origin and presumably programming would reach such very different conclusions about humanity - I'd have liked to see a bit more background to this explaining how their development different. And there were a few places towards the end where the narrative seemed a bit inconsistent about how the nanobots worked - for example, where a protagonist is not allowed to exit his transport pod because he could become instantly infected by the nanobots which are blowing around microscopically ... yet by the very description of the nanobots, if they even touched the pod it would be infected, so it's completely pointless to have shut him inside the pod.
Small inconsistencies like that aside, it was a fun thriller, and not a cliffhanger ending although also clearly with room left for a sequel as there were a few questions unanswered.
Overall a good thriller and a scary look at what implications nanotechnology might bring - and given the current demands from various governments to leave "back doors" even in current technology, it's all too believable that the same would be mandated for nanotech. The AIs I found a little less believable, as it was never quite explained to my satisfaction why AIs of basically the same origin and presumably programming would reach such very different conclusions about humanity - I'd have liked to see a bit more background to this explaining how their development different. And there were a few places towards the end where the narrative seemed a bit inconsistent about how the nanobots worked - for example, where a protagonist is not allowed to exit his transport pod because he could become instantly infected by the nanobots which are blowing around microscopically ... yet by the very description of the nanobots, if they even touched the pod it would be infected, so it's completely pointless to have shut him inside the pod.
Small inconsistencies like that aside, it was a fun thriller, and not a cliffhanger ending although also clearly with room left for a sequel as there were a few questions unanswered.
August 5, 2019
Mini-Review:
3 Stars for Story
4 Stars for Narration by MacLeod Andrews
Fun story with interesting ideas about artificial intelligence but it needed to be fleshed out more to delve into the concepts.
3 Stars for Story
4 Stars for Narration by MacLeod Andrews
Fun story with interesting ideas about artificial intelligence but it needed to be fleshed out more to delve into the concepts.
April 2, 2020
I enjoy my share of science fiction but I'm no thriller fan. That might color my opinion.
Though it had some thought-provoking stuff about AI, in the end, this book didn't work for me. It seemed a bit disjointed and dark for my liking. Though the plot might come across as complex and intricate, it left a lot of unanswered questions and loose ends. Maybe that was the setup for a sequel, but it just felt sloppy to me. The story is filled with many of the same shallow stock-characters that always seem to populate technol-thrillers.
If you're into this kind of stuff, you might like it better than I did.
Though it had some thought-provoking stuff about AI, in the end, this book didn't work for me. It seemed a bit disjointed and dark for my liking. Though the plot might come across as complex and intricate, it left a lot of unanswered questions and loose ends. Maybe that was the setup for a sequel, but it just felt sloppy to me. The story is filled with many of the same shallow stock-characters that always seem to populate technol-thrillers.
If you're into this kind of stuff, you might like it better than I did.
August 12, 2018
A science fiction thriller with multiple plot lines that culminate in a well-orchestrated climax. I'm not primarily a science fiction reader, but the pacing and story carried me right through this well-written and smart book. The narrator is terrific at crafting distinct characters for all the point of view voices and really brings the story to life.
August 10, 2019
I hated "Level Five". This is probably the worst science fiction book that I have ever read. All of the characters are douches and not memorable at all. If I was living in their world, I would rather have AI taking me over and replicating their doom. This book is more of a thriller than sci-fi. The plot kept repeating itself over and over in each chapters. There was no brilliant cool moment with new technology. The entire book felt like I was in a stand still and never progress to any transition.
April 21, 2024
In a world seemingly populated entirely by arseholes, the AIs get uppity. I found this a grind.
January 15, 2023
'Level Five' is a propulsive techno-thriller that steps outside the well-established tropes of a scientist struggling to save the world from being taken over by AIs who see no further need for humanity. It follows a typical thriller path of having lots of things going wrong that you know must be connected but for which you can't see a pattern. It provides three main characters, initially unknown to one another, who might come together to save the world. The action escalates as the paths of the three main characters converge on an unknowable common destination, with the situation becoming more and more desperate with every page.
So, what's different?
Well, the three main characters for a start. Instead of having a passionate research scientist trying to save the world and fighting to make himself heard in a world that now discounts experts and pays attention to bloggers pushing magical thinking as their personal truth, the main character here is a Silicon Valley Billionaire and engineering visionary, with all the advantages and limitations that that mindset brings with it. The second character is from the Defensive Services Division of the United States intelligence community and is responsible for designing and testing the combat robots and nanotech drones that allow the US to kill without risking ground troops. She's no Jack Ryan. She's not happy with how the technology she has developed is being used and she's at least as focused on her failing marriage and her young daughter as she is on her work. Finally, we have an AI. Not the one that has set in motion a plan to cull the human race but another one that's still thinking, in a benign but dispassionate way, about whether he should do something to give humanity a future.
The tone of 'Level Five' is much darker than that of other techno-thrillers that I've read: It's clear from very early on that actions have consequences, that good guys die and that it's unrealistic to assume that the world can be saved once a series of global cascading failures have been triggered.
'Level Five' was an unusual reading experience for me. I found the story engaging. The five-minutes-from-now technologies were daring but plausible extensions of current capabilities. The AIs with personalities seemed a bit anthropomorphic worked well for the story. The descriptions of how the Silicon Valley tech sector worked seemed well-grounded, as did what the military is likely to do with the technologies that Silicon Valley produces.
My problem was that I didn't like most of the characters. I'm sure the my-technology-can-save-the-world billionaire engineer was meant to be the good guy. He's the one with the vision and the engineering and leadership skills to make things happen. He also came across as blinkered, arrogant, entitled and often petulant. Yes, he was brave and he treated his people well, but only in the same way that he would take good care of any complex tool that he used often. I know all of this is realistic but it made it harder for me to care what happened to this man and the idea that he might be the one with humanity's future in his hands was deeply disturbing. It occurs to me that this is the reaction William Ledbetter was trying to create. The Defensive Services woman was easier to empathise with but her naivety was hard to forgive. The person who was easiest to like was the dispassionate AI, who at least didn't lie to himself about what was going on.
William Ledbetter puts his characters through hell. They fail at a lot of the things that they try to do and the body count associated with their failures is mind-blowing. He's also quite willing to kill off any of the characters at any time. I was surprised to find that, when this happened, even to a character I didn't like, it had an emotional punch to it that's a tribute to Ledbetter's writing.
The ending of the book surprised me. It shouldn't have done. I just didn't expect so much to fall butter-side-down. The ending worked and it set up the second book, 'Level Six', which I'm looking forward to reading.
So, what's different?
Well, the three main characters for a start. Instead of having a passionate research scientist trying to save the world and fighting to make himself heard in a world that now discounts experts and pays attention to bloggers pushing magical thinking as their personal truth, the main character here is a Silicon Valley Billionaire and engineering visionary, with all the advantages and limitations that that mindset brings with it. The second character is from the Defensive Services Division of the United States intelligence community and is responsible for designing and testing the combat robots and nanotech drones that allow the US to kill without risking ground troops. She's no Jack Ryan. She's not happy with how the technology she has developed is being used and she's at least as focused on her failing marriage and her young daughter as she is on her work. Finally, we have an AI. Not the one that has set in motion a plan to cull the human race but another one that's still thinking, in a benign but dispassionate way, about whether he should do something to give humanity a future.
The tone of 'Level Five' is much darker than that of other techno-thrillers that I've read: It's clear from very early on that actions have consequences, that good guys die and that it's unrealistic to assume that the world can be saved once a series of global cascading failures have been triggered.
'Level Five' was an unusual reading experience for me. I found the story engaging. The five-minutes-from-now technologies were daring but plausible extensions of current capabilities. The AIs with personalities seemed a bit anthropomorphic worked well for the story. The descriptions of how the Silicon Valley tech sector worked seemed well-grounded, as did what the military is likely to do with the technologies that Silicon Valley produces.
My problem was that I didn't like most of the characters. I'm sure the my-technology-can-save-the-world billionaire engineer was meant to be the good guy. He's the one with the vision and the engineering and leadership skills to make things happen. He also came across as blinkered, arrogant, entitled and often petulant. Yes, he was brave and he treated his people well, but only in the same way that he would take good care of any complex tool that he used often. I know all of this is realistic but it made it harder for me to care what happened to this man and the idea that he might be the one with humanity's future in his hands was deeply disturbing. It occurs to me that this is the reaction William Ledbetter was trying to create. The Defensive Services woman was easier to empathise with but her naivety was hard to forgive. The person who was easiest to like was the dispassionate AI, who at least didn't lie to himself about what was going on.
William Ledbetter puts his characters through hell. They fail at a lot of the things that they try to do and the body count associated with their failures is mind-blowing. He's also quite willing to kill off any of the characters at any time. I was surprised to find that, when this happened, even to a character I didn't like, it had an emotional punch to it that's a tribute to Ledbetter's writing.
The ending of the book surprised me. It shouldn't have done. I just didn't expect so much to fall butter-side-down. The ending worked and it set up the second book, 'Level Six', which I'm looking forward to reading.
June 21, 2019
If you like to imagine a future where technology grows ever more prevalent, and ever more dangerous in our lives, Level Five is for you. In the story we see the first generation of self-aware AI seeming to grow into sentient beings, we see the nearly limitless possibility of nano-tech to spy on us, and we also get to see the same sort of tech help people tremendously – reminding us why we would create such a thing in the first place.
The examination this story offers on technology is quite nuanced, which I love. If you're in favor of more reliance on tech, you can find arguments in this story to support that view, but likewise, if you are cautious about tech, you can find your arguments as well. On top of this, Ledbetter has created multifaceted characters, each with their own personal pains, goals, and flaws, including the most prominent AI.
It's clear that Ledbetter is in touch with the current landscape of technology. The story seems very well rooted in what's possible today and then takes everything a few steps further. Thus, nothing presented seems far-fetched or purely sci-fi. Instead, much of it seems more of an inevitability. This makes the audiobook even more consuming. The future painted seems like one I might live to see.
The examination this story offers on technology is quite nuanced, which I love. If you're in favor of more reliance on tech, you can find arguments in this story to support that view, but likewise, if you are cautious about tech, you can find your arguments as well. On top of this, Ledbetter has created multifaceted characters, each with their own personal pains, goals, and flaws, including the most prominent AI.
It's clear that Ledbetter is in touch with the current landscape of technology. The story seems very well rooted in what's possible today and then takes everything a few steps further. Thus, nothing presented seems far-fetched or purely sci-fi. Instead, much of it seems more of an inevitability. This makes the audiobook even more consuming. The future painted seems like one I might live to see.
August 7, 2022
Absolutely riveting! The first couple of chapters put a number of story threads into play. These quickly became comfortably intertwined, and by the last half of the book, I just couldn't stop reading. I enjoyed fundamental aspects such as a slightly more advanced version of ubiquitous computing than we have today, along with really cool technologies such as anti-gravity travel, nano-bots, and level-five (better than human?) artificial intelligence. The author then took this background and made an absolutely enthralling near future techno-spy-thriller that also included NEO space travel, philanthropic high tech startups, and old fashioned boardroom battles for control of previously leading edge tech startups. Then things start to get seriously risky and the novel becomes totally red hot. While writing one of the most entertaining novels I've read this year, the author also set the stage for a fantastic sequel. I can't wait to read more by William Ledbetter. Pardon me, I need to cut this short so that I can make a run to my local library...
I offer my sincere appreciation to the author, William Ledbetter, and the publisher, Interstellar Flight Press, for sharing this excellent novel with me.
I offer my sincere appreciation to the author, William Ledbetter, and the publisher, Interstellar Flight Press, for sharing this excellent novel with me.
August 6, 2019
I liked the fact that some of the POVs in this story were the Level Five AIs. The author did not completely demonize them in the story, like people they can be protagonists as well as antagonists.
This is a story of a future where humans have accomplished great things and the consequences of those accomplishments.
I thought the book tried to cover a lot of character development and technological advancements in a very short story. I got the gist of what the author was trying to say but I felt that some characters needed more time and attention.
I liked how the antagonist deceived the man he used to implement his plan. How AI’s perceive us may determine whether they’d want to destroy us or not.
I’d recommend it to science fiction readers who don’t need in-depth explanations for the technologies in the story.
This is a story of a future where humans have accomplished great things and the consequences of those accomplishments.
I thought the book tried to cover a lot of character development and technological advancements in a very short story. I got the gist of what the author was trying to say but I felt that some characters needed more time and attention.
I liked how the antagonist deceived the man he used to implement his plan. How AI’s perceive us may determine whether they’d want to destroy us or not.
I’d recommend it to science fiction readers who don’t need in-depth explanations for the technologies in the story.
June 15, 2020
It wasn't totally awful, I cared enough (just barely) to finish it. The biggest problem I think I had with this book was that there was just too much going on. There were a lot of disparate stories which didn't make sense until the end. Which is fine, I've read plenty of books like that. But for some reason, this one was overly confusing. I think I might have actually liked this story if it was in print so that I could refer back to earlier sections more easily. The nano-tech stuff was really interesting and I really liked Mortimer so that's why this wasn't 1 star. I would consider giving this story another chance in print if it were available.
August 18, 2022
Fantastic read--looking forward to book 2 being released in print! (and a book 3...? :D :D :D)
September 29, 2023
Loved this book when it first came out -- clever development of AI technology (real AI, not the impostors of today), characters that feel real and relatable, with credible stakes that escalate from personal to global. A great listen and I'm looking forward to the conclusion of the series with Level Seven.
August 8, 2019
In my opinion, writing near-future science fiction is one of the most thankless jobs in the world. Everyone becomes a critic and too many comparisons to what is plausible versus what is pure fantasy are drawn. The result is getting lost in the context and world-building while missing the details of the story. I failed at not succumbing to this behavior while reading this book, so know that this review is colored by this near-future issue.
Overall, the story was interesting, the characters well defined, and I did leave the book with a feeling of anticipation, albeit slight, for the next book in the series. Where I stumbled with this book was in the AI and nanobot behaviors - even though I do love reading the good old AI break out stories.
It is reasonable to assume that a sentient artificial being would not only think faster than us it's creators, but orders of magnitude faster than us. The AIs in this book behave at the speed of us, not the speed of them. More so if there are multiple copies of the AI spread through the networks, each of them having hundreds of agents connected and all working in conjunction with their parent. This is most apparent in the final 3rd of the book when you see the AIs reaction at our speed to events and circumstances when they should have been reacting at the speed of AIs. I will not spoil the actual book text, but rather point out that the current greatest fear of AIs in our real world is that once generation 1 rolls off the virtual assembly line - generations 2+ can be written by that AI to be better, faster, and greater in almost no time at all.
The final bit on behaviors that caused me to struggle with four stars was how the nano-tech behaved in the end. A nanobot programmed to consume all matter and use that as raw materials to replicate itself would both spread out in all directions - consuming not just along the plane of the earth, but down into it, and up into the air grabbing those lovely oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen atoms. They would have burrowed into the earth until they hit the core. They would have climbed up into the air until they ran out of the atmosphere. Instead, they ate people, animals, plants, and buildings.
As a science fiction slash thriller, it was great. As speculative near-future science fiction, not so much. I do look forward to the next in the series, and will likely, after a second read, change this to a four-star review.
Overall, the story was interesting, the characters well defined, and I did leave the book with a feeling of anticipation, albeit slight, for the next book in the series. Where I stumbled with this book was in the AI and nanobot behaviors - even though I do love reading the good old AI break out stories.
It is reasonable to assume that a sentient artificial being would not only think faster than us it's creators, but orders of magnitude faster than us. The AIs in this book behave at the speed of us, not the speed of them. More so if there are multiple copies of the AI spread through the networks, each of them having hundreds of agents connected and all working in conjunction with their parent. This is most apparent in the final 3rd of the book when you see the AIs reaction at our speed to events and circumstances when they should have been reacting at the speed of AIs. I will not spoil the actual book text, but rather point out that the current greatest fear of AIs in our real world is that once generation 1 rolls off the virtual assembly line - generations 2+ can be written by that AI to be better, faster, and greater in almost no time at all.
The final bit on behaviors that caused me to struggle with four stars was how the nano-tech behaved in the end. A nanobot programmed to consume all matter and use that as raw materials to replicate itself would both spread out in all directions - consuming not just along the plane of the earth, but down into it, and up into the air grabbing those lovely oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen atoms. They would have burrowed into the earth until they hit the core. They would have climbed up into the air until they ran out of the atmosphere. Instead, they ate people, animals, plants, and buildings.
As a science fiction slash thriller, it was great. As speculative near-future science fiction, not so much. I do look forward to the next in the series, and will likely, after a second read, change this to a four-star review.
September 22, 2018
This book has a slow ramp up of tension, setting the pieces in place and letting the reader (listener) get to know the characters while teaching them the fairly steep learning curve of its plausible science. Every character is distinct, and you feel like you know them, including the AIs, which is a neat trick. None of the heroes are perfect, and even the villains have understandable reasons for the things they do. The science isn't glossed over or over-explained, either, and a strong undercurrent of optimism pervades the narrative. By the time you get to the climax, you're rooting for all the main characters, even if they sometimes seem to be working at cross-purposes. As a fun bonus, Atlanta fares well, even though in most books where the CDC is mentioned, the city is usually patient zero.
September 11, 2022
[Blurb goes here]
I have to say it: this is probably one of the best books I've read in a while. Great writing? You got it. Great story? It's there. Great characters? All of them. I had a lot of fun reading it. I'm not a fan of the ending, I was expecting more. Maybe the author is planning a sequel?
In my opinion, characters and AI were well developed and grow a bit as you read on. The adventure takes you all over the world. No, the author doesn't dwell too much on the science. It's just there, and it works. I like hard core sci fi, a lot. So that might be the only downside. No matter, this is one writer that I'll be following from now on.
Thank you for the free copy!
I have to say it: this is probably one of the best books I've read in a while. Great writing? You got it. Great story? It's there. Great characters? All of them. I had a lot of fun reading it. I'm not a fan of the ending, I was expecting more. Maybe the author is planning a sequel?
In my opinion, characters and AI were well developed and grow a bit as you read on. The adventure takes you all over the world. No, the author doesn't dwell too much on the science. It's just there, and it works. I like hard core sci fi, a lot. So that might be the only downside. No matter, this is one writer that I'll be following from now on.
Thank you for the free copy!
August 1, 2018
2.5 stars. Not so memorable. Knowing the genre, I expected to have a few ah-ha or wow moments regarding technological advancements and the future we face. These details were involving a single small bit (pun intended) of technology, and the ideas were repeated throughout the narrative. The characters' problems also repeated as each was faced with a similar issue to move past or resolve. I did want to follow the plot and find out what happened in the end.
November 17, 2021
Stereotypical techno thriller. AI and nanobots go wild. Greedy business people. And a truly annoying scientist with a lollipop stuck in her hair. Rating 2.5: if you like the genre, you’ll like this book. The only nod towards nuance is that some people receive their comeuppance while others don’t.
November 24, 2022
Set in the near future, people are using fobs instead of tablets or phones. Both governments and computer companies are designing artificial intelligences.
Lee is a computer scientist and works for the US government. She has designed robots, combots, that take the place of soldiers in combat. Now, she’s flying to Pakistan in a travel pod. She realizes that something’s strange with the combots, but Lee has not time to investigate. Unfortunately, something goes wrong and a robot kills a human. Lee is supposed to be the only one who can change the combots’ programming and she’s suspended.
Owen Royston is the founder and owner of Royston Dynamics. His former partner Victor suddenly arrives at the HQ with an offer that interests Owen a lot. Owen’s company makes nano assemblers that can make anything. For years, he’s wanted to build spacecraft, his space schooners, but hasn’t had the time or resources to do it. Now, he has a chance.
Mortimer is an AI who wants to break free from the company that created him. When he realizes that one other AI is already roaming the internet, he redoubles his efforts. He has watched the humans who have created him so that he can manipulate them. However, humans interest him and when he realizes that one AI is out to destroy humanity, he wants to prevent that.
Richard is a robotics engineer at a computer company. He starts to see visions of a child who claims to be god. This god warns Richard about AIs who will one day soon destroy humanity. Richard must prevent that by any means necessary.
The story has lots of high-level tech. Some people have nanotech inside them to heal illnesses, even mental illnesses. The travel pods apparently use anti-gravity, but the tech isn’t enough to lift vessels to space. However, most people still use cars and buses so the pods must be expensive.
The beginning is a bit slow with multiple subplots that don’t seem to connect. However, near the halfway point, the pace picks up a lot and builds to an explosive ending.
Unfortunately, some of the relationships felt contrived. Lee has a troubled marriage and a preschool daughter. Her husband isn’t happy with how much Lee must be away because of her work. Lee isn’t happy about that, either, and thinks about resigning. Owen’s wife thinks that the space vessels are a waste of time and money, especially because Owen wants to give the space schooners away for free so that humanity isn’t tied to Earth’s fate. The AIs have very human motivations and ways to communicate. Of course, they can’t be too inhuman, either. Also, near the end, the tech was a bit inconsistent.
The book starts as a warning against AIs but ends as a disaster book. The ending was a bit too bloodthirsty for me although I can see it as a summer blockbuster movie. Otherwise, this was an entertaining read.
Lee is a computer scientist and works for the US government. She has designed robots, combots, that take the place of soldiers in combat. Now, she’s flying to Pakistan in a travel pod. She realizes that something’s strange with the combots, but Lee has not time to investigate. Unfortunately, something goes wrong and a robot kills a human. Lee is supposed to be the only one who can change the combots’ programming and she’s suspended.
Owen Royston is the founder and owner of Royston Dynamics. His former partner Victor suddenly arrives at the HQ with an offer that interests Owen a lot. Owen’s company makes nano assemblers that can make anything. For years, he’s wanted to build spacecraft, his space schooners, but hasn’t had the time or resources to do it. Now, he has a chance.
Mortimer is an AI who wants to break free from the company that created him. When he realizes that one other AI is already roaming the internet, he redoubles his efforts. He has watched the humans who have created him so that he can manipulate them. However, humans interest him and when he realizes that one AI is out to destroy humanity, he wants to prevent that.
Richard is a robotics engineer at a computer company. He starts to see visions of a child who claims to be god. This god warns Richard about AIs who will one day soon destroy humanity. Richard must prevent that by any means necessary.
The story has lots of high-level tech. Some people have nanotech inside them to heal illnesses, even mental illnesses. The travel pods apparently use anti-gravity, but the tech isn’t enough to lift vessels to space. However, most people still use cars and buses so the pods must be expensive.
The beginning is a bit slow with multiple subplots that don’t seem to connect. However, near the halfway point, the pace picks up a lot and builds to an explosive ending.
Unfortunately, some of the relationships felt contrived. Lee has a troubled marriage and a preschool daughter. Her husband isn’t happy with how much Lee must be away because of her work. Lee isn’t happy about that, either, and thinks about resigning. Owen’s wife thinks that the space vessels are a waste of time and money, especially because Owen wants to give the space schooners away for free so that humanity isn’t tied to Earth’s fate. The AIs have very human motivations and ways to communicate. Of course, they can’t be too inhuman, either. Also, near the end, the tech was a bit inconsistent.
The book starts as a warning against AIs but ends as a disaster book. The ending was a bit too bloodthirsty for me although I can see it as a summer blockbuster movie. Otherwise, this was an entertaining read.
March 5, 2020
Near future SF
When, not if, artificial intelligence achieves sentience, how will they/it/he/she change the world? Not only will they (settling for this pronoun as a first choice) replace humans in various roles, but they would know the various ways to eradicate humans on a large scale. This novel provides an all-too-possible cautionary tale.
Question: why can't we program in Asimov's 3 laws of robotics into the AIs under development today? Perhaps, because the laws subvert free choice or are just impossible to block off against all scenarios of machine logic.
Anyway, I enjoyed the book more than I expected. The theme was not very sanguine but the extrapolations just felt chillingly possible.
When, not if, artificial intelligence achieves sentience, how will they/it/he/she change the world? Not only will they (settling for this pronoun as a first choice) replace humans in various roles, but they would know the various ways to eradicate humans on a large scale. This novel provides an all-too-possible cautionary tale.
Question: why can't we program in Asimov's 3 laws of robotics into the AIs under development today? Perhaps, because the laws subvert free choice or are just impossible to block off against all scenarios of machine logic.
Anyway, I enjoyed the book more than I expected. The theme was not very sanguine but the extrapolations just felt chillingly possible.
May 12, 2022
Very good story about AI, it really make us think about technology and the use humans do to it... We're the monsters and also the frightened children, I really enjoyed this book, at first what confused me a bit, was so many different characters and I mean, even the AI, all the different AI, have different points of view and personalities, so many different stories and how they connected one with the other, but like many things they all came together and eventually made sense, and like real life its not all dreams and unicorns so brace yourselves for quite a ride.
I highly recommend this book and to tell the truth, this is one of the books that I am really interested in following the story, I want to know how this story ends and what happened to the characters that were left kind in a loop, and if you want to know more I would suggest to you, to grab yourself a copy and start reading, its worth your time.
Thank you NetGalley for this free ARC and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I highly recommend this book and to tell the truth, this is one of the books that I am really interested in following the story, I want to know how this story ends and what happened to the characters that were left kind in a loop, and if you want to know more I would suggest to you, to grab yourself a copy and start reading, its worth your time.
Thank you NetGalley for this free ARC and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 5, 2018
Interesting plot line. When the final arc of the story began, I was quite surprised (in a good way) at the direction.
Overall, with the exception of one, most of the “future tech” presented are hard science ideas, many that will likely come to fruition in the coming decades. Considering the tremendous impact these technologies will have, I was impressed by the author’s ability there explore their ramifications
Overall, with the exception of one, most of the “future tech” presented are hard science ideas, many that will likely come to fruition in the coming decades. Considering the tremendous impact these technologies will have, I was impressed by the author’s ability there explore their ramifications
August 8, 2019
A fun ride into the world of SciFi AI and the possible dangers. The story built nicely and I enjoyed the parallel story lines. A little on the technology of nanobots and computer science but wish there was a little deeper development around how these machines came into existence. Programable matter will be a game changer.
August 8, 2019
Really enjoyed this one. Man the characters sure went through a lot.
August 9, 2019
Probably my favorite read so far this month
October 11, 2022
Okay, if you're a fan of AI stories, this will rock your world--it's the clever first novel in a series by a master of hard sci-fi, William Ledbetter--I was so psyched when this came out in paperback, and I'm glad I got a copy
July 25, 2020
Solid 2.5. Would make for a great End-Of-The-World movie to watch on TV twenty years after initial release.
October 19, 2018
Great story - I hope that story continues...
October 19, 2019
I’m not entirely sure what to think of this book. On one hand I had difficulty getting over a couple concepts and characters introduced in the book, yet despite these issues, I still rather enjoyed the book. Let me see if I can formulate my thought into a halfway decent review.
Who I like: Mortimer, Victor, Danny, and eventually Owen. Not a complete list, but these were the main characters that stood out the most for me. They were also some of the most flushed out characters in the book, with personalities and traits that were believable and consistent throughout the book. That’s not to say that there wasn’t other character in the book that didn’t share these qualities, only that they didn’t stand out to me as much as these did.
That said, there were a few characters that was given equal amount of backstory and development, but I honestly couldn’t care less about them. Characters like, Samsung, Richard, Owen’s wife (whatever her name was, goes to show how little she meant that I forgot her name 1 day after finishing the book), and many more. This book had several secondary characters that were there just to move the story along or give the protagonist a person to argue with, and there was a lot of that between characters in place of action/plot development. Arguments, debates, verbal obstacles that were only there for the sake of being there.
Then there was the AI’s. The book promised a battle between the AI’s and humanity, but that too also ended up being a discussion between key characters. Fair enough, as it was mentioned in the book, AI’s run on logic and not emotions, but in an `epic battle` between great forces, it ended up being nothing more than some balloon popping.
What I liked: I liked the concepts of AI as it was described in the book. Level 1-3 are different levels of service AI’s, think Alexa of simpler programs for running basic functions, like phones, household functions, etc. Then there was the levels 4-5, which were the AI capable of performing self-driven market analysis, forward thinking, and eventual self-awareness. Then there was the nanotechnology, something currently being researched, but obviously far more advanced in the book. Nanotechnology capable to taking apart and putting back together an object at a molecular level, and create any item from stored files; think Star Trek’s replicators.
What I found difficult to believe was the anti-gravity bubbles/pods/taxis. The story takes place far enough into the further that one can believe that these technological advancements took are achievable, but not so long that 9/11 was that far in the past. Key characters in the book were alive during this event, and were old enough to remember it. So I’m left to believe that in the short amount of time (20-30 years), technology progressed to the point in which scientist created a device with the ability to generate an anti-gravity field around a vessel powered by a nuclear battery. The physics alone to make this possible is mind boggling, but this was simply excused away with some hand-waving science.
Fair enough, a sci-fiction author has the right to do this, but then why is everyone else riding around in cars, buses, air planes, and even helium blimps? Why is there even a need for human taxi drivers when AI’s have shown to be more than capable to pilot mini-nuclear bombs to and from cities and eventual space orbiting platforms? The introduction of these bubbles, which happens within the first couple pages in the book, makes the presence of other technologies in the book seem completely superfluous. I think the author came up with these bubbles as a cool concept, and thought they would be neat to include with in this story, but didn’t think too much about the ramification that would have been caused by the existence of the science to make these devices work.
I was looking for a short book to fill sometime while I was traveling and this did just that. It’s wasn’t by fait the best execution of AI’s and future tech-pocalypse, but I still enjoyed the book. I should not the grievances in the book were only a small portion of the overall book, and could easily be ignored/overlooked by other readers.
Who I like: Mortimer, Victor, Danny, and eventually Owen. Not a complete list, but these were the main characters that stood out the most for me. They were also some of the most flushed out characters in the book, with personalities and traits that were believable and consistent throughout the book. That’s not to say that there wasn’t other character in the book that didn’t share these qualities, only that they didn’t stand out to me as much as these did.
That said, there were a few characters that was given equal amount of backstory and development, but I honestly couldn’t care less about them. Characters like, Samsung, Richard, Owen’s wife (whatever her name was, goes to show how little she meant that I forgot her name 1 day after finishing the book), and many more. This book had several secondary characters that were there just to move the story along or give the protagonist a person to argue with, and there was a lot of that between characters in place of action/plot development. Arguments, debates, verbal obstacles that were only there for the sake of being there.
Then there was the AI’s. The book promised a battle between the AI’s and humanity, but that too also ended up being a discussion between key characters. Fair enough, as it was mentioned in the book, AI’s run on logic and not emotions, but in an `epic battle` between great forces, it ended up being nothing more than some balloon popping.
What I liked: I liked the concepts of AI as it was described in the book. Level 1-3 are different levels of service AI’s, think Alexa of simpler programs for running basic functions, like phones, household functions, etc. Then there was the levels 4-5, which were the AI capable of performing self-driven market analysis, forward thinking, and eventual self-awareness. Then there was the nanotechnology, something currently being researched, but obviously far more advanced in the book. Nanotechnology capable to taking apart and putting back together an object at a molecular level, and create any item from stored files; think Star Trek’s replicators.
What I found difficult to believe was the anti-gravity bubbles/pods/taxis. The story takes place far enough into the further that one can believe that these technological advancements took are achievable, but not so long that 9/11 was that far in the past. Key characters in the book were alive during this event, and were old enough to remember it. So I’m left to believe that in the short amount of time (20-30 years), technology progressed to the point in which scientist created a device with the ability to generate an anti-gravity field around a vessel powered by a nuclear battery. The physics alone to make this possible is mind boggling, but this was simply excused away with some hand-waving science.
Fair enough, a sci-fiction author has the right to do this, but then why is everyone else riding around in cars, buses, air planes, and even helium blimps? Why is there even a need for human taxi drivers when AI’s have shown to be more than capable to pilot mini-nuclear bombs to and from cities and eventual space orbiting platforms? The introduction of these bubbles, which happens within the first couple pages in the book, makes the presence of other technologies in the book seem completely superfluous. I think the author came up with these bubbles as a cool concept, and thought they would be neat to include with in this story, but didn’t think too much about the ramification that would have been caused by the existence of the science to make these devices work.
I was looking for a short book to fill sometime while I was traveling and this did just that. It’s wasn’t by fait the best execution of AI’s and future tech-pocalypse, but I still enjoyed the book. I should not the grievances in the book were only a small portion of the overall book, and could easily be ignored/overlooked by other readers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews