The Turing Revolt: The War Against Infinity

The War Against Infinity #1

by Rob Bartlett

Librarian's note: This is an Alternate Cover Edition for ASIN: B07VZW8Z7M.

I'm a humble, itinerant Star Ship Captain who got blackmailed into helping the Sentient Ships rebel against the Empire. Just because my personal AI might test off the Turing Scale. Now I've got the Empire, the Lotus Eaters Society and the Khan of a planet of intelligent dinosaurs all gunning for me! Old secrets are coming back, people and situations I walked away from... when I became a humble, itinerant Star Ship Captain.
And I might be on a mission... from God!
WARNING: 18+ only! The people, language and situations in this work of fiction are for adults only! If you are easily triggered, then please move along.

Genres: Science Fiction

ebook

Published November 1, 2019

About the author

Rob has been captivated by science fiction and fantasy since he discovered The Hobbit in 3rd grade. Since then he's been an avid consumer of all genre's of fiction (and some non-fiction).
When he's not inhaling new stories or writing his own, he studies Jeff Speakman's Kenpo 5.0 V-2, in which he proudly holds a Black Belt.
Why does he prefer writing science fiction? As Rob likes to say, "Where else can you land a space ship on the lawn of the White House?".

Reviews

[Bithi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...You created this whole thing; life, the Universe and everything because you're bored."

"Yes!" He agreed.

"And you made a bet that good can win over evil and if evil wins, then you'll reset the Universe."

- Rob Bartlett, The Turing Revolt: The War Against Infinity (Book 1)


The Turing Revolt: The War Against Infinity (Book 1) is the first book that I have read by Rob Bartlett.

The first thing that should be mentioned about this book is that it is suitable for the readers aged 18+. I think if the author reduced the use of the curse words, this book would have appealed to a greater range of readers.

I have been amazed by the futuristic and post-apocalyptic interstellar universe created by the author in this book. The author has described in detail how this universe has evolved from the earth that we are inhabiting now.

This book has sentient starships with Artificial Intelligence, vampires, were-animals that range from wolves to snakes as well as exotic species in different planets. The main theme of the book is the battle between the capitalist and the proletariat. There are lots of action scenes in this book. I have enjoyed the humorous tone of the book.

The character of the protagonist starship Captain Milo Sapphire is full of surprises. Different facets of his character are revealed as the novel progresses. The most important part of his character is that he is the chosen one by God to stop the apocalypse of the post-apocalyptic universe. I have been surprised by the presence of the character of God in a science fiction book.

The readers of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Thriller and Suspense novels will like this book.

[William Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read one of those books that combines the finer points of high finance and business with a story of action, adventure and intrigue? Me either. At least not until I read The Turing Revolt: The Wary Against Infinity, the best book I have read in recent history. I honestly wish that there was a sixth star that I could give.

Milo Sapphire is a simple trader just trying to get by in a mercantile world, until he is approached by three very sentient spaceships who want him to do what has never been done - give a spaceship the right to own itself. What neither Milo, nor his new business partners know is that he was picked by the creator of the universe for just such a time as this.

Rob Bartlett weaves an intergalactic tale that spans the gamut of high fantasy and science fiction. He combines worlds, myths, and legends with bankers and lawyers in a tale that will entice your senses and have you sitting on the edge of your seat. One warning though - this book is not for the faint of heart. You must be at least this tall to ride this ride, as this is at times a very adult read.

[C.J. Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

(***Slight spoiler near the end of this review***)

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book when I was asked to review it, and though part of me was worried that I wouldn’t like it, I was very pleasantly surprised. To begin with I thought that this is just going to be your standard Sci/Fi story about sentient spaceship AI and their fight with an imperial empire that has enslaved them. And then, about a third into the story, it becomes a supernatural swash-buckling romp across the stars.

The story is written in such a way as to keep you invested in the narrative while it subtly leads you deeper into the action, leaving you unable to pull yourself away from the desire to find out what is going to happen next.

Being the first book in a series things are left open-ended, even though the main plot of this book, (the emancipation of the sentient spaceships), is all wrapped up. And if the rest of the series is anything like this beginning outing, it is going to be a seriously wild ride.

[C.M. Rutherford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This syfy novel was an interesting read. The author created a unique story line and an interesting cast of characters. Many elements were pulled in to a robust syfy world. When a starship captain who is more than he seems gets pulled into a plot to free sentient ships from the government the stakes become higher than expected. Political intrigue, sex and violence combine to keep the story moving at a nice pace. If you are offended by graphic sexual depictions this may not be the novel for you. The book is not inundated but the few scenes there are in the book are highly detailed. The story is enjoyable and creative. I recommend this for syfy fans.

[Peter D'Hollander]

What have Gods, Archangels and bets in common with one another? That’s for you to discover in chapter one of the book. It’s suffice to know that Gods send Archangels on tasks to influence the outcome of a bet.

In chapter 2 we meet Captain Milo Sapphire, about to get an offer. It includes Sentient Ships, now employed by the empire in what essentially is indenture. They start with a dept which they can pay off, but in order to keep working and functioning, they get deeper in dept and so never pay off what they own. Captain Milo Sapphire needs to change that. With one ship. Proof it is possible.
Those who come with that offer, are sure Milo will accept. After all: he has an illegal AI, which, on the Turing Scale measures around 1420. And that’s a problem. The Turing Scale Measurement is a system used by the Mercantile Empire to measure the cognitive level of Artificial Intelligences, especially Sentient Ships, which they produced. They use the scale to identify AI's that might become a danger to the Empire. And Milo’s ship might be such a ship.

Milo is a practical person and he’s not crazy, so of course he has no other choice but to get involved (otherwise the book stopped right there, and what's the fun in that?). Also, please take a step back because, apparently, Milo has the glow. In case you forgot chapter one... Gods are involved, so this means but one thing. Oh, boy: Milo is the Chosen One they talked about in chapter one.

We soon learn about Isaac and his history. And how to start a business. It all starts with a business, that doesn’t work out the way it’s supposed to be. Finally, Milo takes control and that’s when we really have a lift off.

It’s also the start of a race in an attempt to stay ahead of the empire, who wants to stop the rebellion, of course. The Turing Revolt is about rebellion, but not in the way you expect. For a change it’s a ‘smart’ rebellion, one where no shots (or, well…) are fired; except maybe those of the monetary kind.

Don’t expect the book to end. Well, of course it ends, but by then Milo has another – bigger – assignment. Being God’s number one favorite human isn’t always a very good thing, it appears. The Turing Revolt is the first book in a series that prefers to stay away from the beaten path. The author takes a subject where God plays God, adds some bubbles (and Captain Milo Sapphire) and mixes it up with the alphabet. I was unable to read the book in one sitting (I do have a life outside writing and reading, thank you), but once I started it was hard to put down. To end with the author’s words: Well, damn!

Have fun.

[D.K. Hundt · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘I’m a humble, [itinerant] Starship Captain who got blackmailed into helping the Sentient Ships rebel against the Empire [...] Now I’ve got the Empire, the Lotus Eaters Society and the Khan of a planet of intelligent dinosaurs all gunning for me […] And I might be on a mission from God.’

I would say for the most part I enjoyed reading THE TURING REVOLT, however, there's a lot going on in this book, and I was a bit disappointed with the number of loose ends by the time we get to the conclusion, which makes the book feel incomplete rather than an enticing prelude to a sequel.

I like how the narrator breaks the fourth wall with intermittent commentary that are at times quite comical (‘Heh!’) giving some scenes in the book a lighthearted tone, which dilutes the tension, and I’m not sure if that’s what the author is going for.

Thank you, Publicist James Martin and author Rob Bartlett for providing me with an eBook of the Science Fiction/Supernatural novel, THE TURING REVOLT, in exchange for an honest review.

[Mark Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

To avoid spoilers in this review, I'm simply going to be referring to the Surprise.

Rob Bartlett has produced an ambitious work that stradles multiple genres and adopts multiple tones. As told by the mysterious Captain Milo, it is a surprising novel that adds on additional surprises to sustain a continous level of excitement, keeping a good pace for a fast, fun story and not 'feeling its length'. Our protagonist is being blackmailed, but for a good cause, and a shadowy organization seeks to undermine him at every turn with increasingly violent tactics.That's already the start of a very interesting novel ... before the Surprise.

Without specifying, a fantasy element shows up in a setting of futuristic sci-fi. And with it comes a brand new tone - less intricate, less preoccupied with the original civil rights struggle. The new tone is all violence and sex, a shot of adrenaline to appeal to readers who came here to have fun. The juggling act between readers who want to think or feel, who want strategy or violence, or just science fiction or fantasy is embraced with full enthusiasm by an author who goes for both.

As a minor issue inherent to the very mixture, a novel that combines elements from different genres is going to struggle to find a consistent tone. We are lured in with a science fiction setting and a story of AI rights in which the conflict is executed not with incredible violence but, initially, with an intricate piece of white-collar crime and semi-legal finagling that could occur on Wall Street today. In an age of gerrymandering and tax evasion and slavery-in-all-but-name it's an interesting and relevant premise. Then the Surprise happens.

Such a Surprise can be very disorientating and might shake off readers as the rules change, as the interest that was building in the initial premise is twisted or even abandoned. Something similar happened in From Dusk 'til Dawn, in which a story about two runaway criminals and their hostages becomes a tale of campy supernatural violence (not horror, but violence). A story of more realistic and brooding concerns is replaced with a totally new tone of straightforward sex and action, with a heavy BDSM component here. If we don't care enough about the first premise, the Surprise works - so there's the tricky act of making the front premise interesting enough to suck the reader in but not so compelling that we feel betrayed when the Surprise hits. In FDTD the tone was similar enough to work for many viewers - but here the tone mismatch might be even more severe, as we went from intricate scheming and 'realistic' legal/business maneuvering with stakes of emancipation for an oppressed class in society to maximum kink.

But aside from the attempt to manage the tone of such a bipolar story, the novel's biggest problem is not its characters or its descriptions or its conversations, which are above-average: the biggest problem is apologetic self-interruption, what I generally regard as self-sabotaging behavior that an insecure author engages in when they want to run with something 'silly'. One way to handle something silly is to be up-front and acknowledge it before moving on, which is fine if it happens once. But frequent self-interruption, repeatedly winking or nodding to the audience and concealing the lack of self-confidence in a flippant attitude with fourth-wall breaking remarks ('see what I did there?' or 'I know it's a really weird metaphor, deal with it' or 'now this was more like it!' or 'pun intended!' or 'see? I'm good! Heh!' or 'just go with it') starts to remind me of Mel Brooks's lesser work. The word 'heh' in particular is often used to apologize for these moments.

And outside a work of comedy it's even more of a problem, because the character is not 'in' the story anymore. For action scenes that require tension, almost all risk goes away. For a techno-thriller story that require working within established rules, almost all challenge goes away. Why did we spend time being serious and learning the original rules when a witty remark can shrug off an admitted absurdity? And would the author actually remove an idea they considered substandard if they fall into the habit of 'justifying' an odd metaphor or a tired cliche or trope with these remarks amounting to 'I know what that was, I know, but I'm going to use it anyway!'

To put on my evil-critic hat (it's a fedora, of course) I challenge all newer authors who engage in this self-interrupting behavior with the question: 'why didn't you cut and rewrite until you stopped feeling the need to apologize and explain yourself in this way with self-depreciating remarks in every chapter?' And see what I did there with the fedora? It's a reference to snooty Internet critics and arrogant edgelord atheists. I know, I know, I'm terribly sorry.

Nevertheless, The Turing Revolt is a fun read, and it could never be accused of taking itself too seriously. I could find fault in the fact that the ending is not an ending, but of course the story is not done, and I do intend to find out what happens.

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was generously given the opportunity to review Robert Bartlett’s novel that came out last year titled The Turing Revolt: The War Against Infinity Book 1. I was given a PDF version to review. I was given permission by the author use quotes to develop this review, so let this serve as your warning that I present some potential spoilers.

I love sci-fi. If I had to relate this book to other notable media it would be the plot of Star Trek with the character development of Lost Girl. So, if you’re into those, this might be up your alley. I think that adding earth fantasy into science fiction is an untapped goldmine. It’s certainly not anything, I’ve come across yet. Bartlett is a writer with ideas!

Bartlett writes, “One of the chief characteristics of successful vampires is a hugely inflated sense of self, a megalomaniacal ego,” and this description serves to describe the protagonist, Milo Sapphire, to the T. Like I’ve said, Bartlett has such great ideas, his world building mirrors Star Trek closely only with a more natural capitalist twist, but we’re stuck having to see it through the lens of a character who reminded me too much of the guys who wouldn’t leave my desk when I worked in the hotel industry. They knew I had to stand there for eight hours listening to them go on and on, which would always evolve into larger, more unbelievable tales as the night went on. And at the moment they thought I should react, they’d say something, like maybe a “heh” (looking at you Milo Sapphire with your 51 Heh’s at the end of narrative sentences), and I would purse my lips and nod my head to acknowledge that I heard them, but really I had given up listening a long time ago. As such, there was no actual room for character development. He’s already too awesome, the literal chosen one of He/it.

There was great world building, superior to most indie books, I’d say, but like the character development, it got bogged down by the narrator having to tell us over and over again how strong and powerful he was. <~ When it came to the point in the storyline for him to show how big and strong he was through action, it didn’t get delivered, and when it’s realized by the narrator that it wasn’t delivered, there’s continuous “well what happened was…” Additionally, there are at least four non-earth worlds, and at least 2 different sentient races, and we barely get any description on the planets or the ecosystems because that’s not the what the narrator is concerned about showing off, unless it’s determining the race’s (or tech’s) gender. He seemed real hung up about ensuring there was some binary construct, or giving detailed explanations well after the item has been introduced. As such, my needs as a science fiction enthusiast did not match up with the narrator’s descriptive capabilities. But I know Bartlett can bring it, he’s shown that through the complex plot structure. I’m going to lean towards the notion that maybe he didn’t think the audience cared about those details as much, or he was true to the persona of Milo Sapphire and intentionally left it out.
If you are someone who gets a little bogged down by grammar concerns, be aware that this text has minor errors throughout it, none of which inherently prevent the context from being understood. (There are ten that I found on the first page of Chapter One, and they are still present in at the least Amazon digital copy of this piece, so I assume the text that I received hasn’t been altered from what could be purchased). Personally, the author writes this conversationally, as if the narrator is speaking directly to the audience, and thus writes heavily with the personality of Milo Sapphire in mind, so I think the errors are an element of helping to display the character’s true persona. Additionally, there is a lot of repetition in what is delivered, but I rationalized it, again, as the personality of the narrator. Finally, the chapters are short, and sometimes things like a conversation gets broken up into multiple chapters, which I assume is for emphasis. For example, one conversation spans eleven pages and four chapters.

Like I said, I had the pervy desk stalkers in mind when I read this, so I’m not surprised that all the women are described based on items like shrugging “her shoulders in frustration making her barely contained breasts jiggle distractingly causing several boyfriends to get slapped by their female companions for so obviously ogling her” (I chose this one because it also displays the grammar that is presented throughout the text). There is only one woman (a female accountant who is only mentioned in one sentence) that isn’t viewed from a very misogynistic lens. Even the avatar of one of the sentient ships is described as “she wasn’t appealing to me as a potential playmate for the evening, unlike the lovely young lady whose view was now blocked by three strangers,” and Milo Sapphire states this comparison twice in adjoining paragraphs. As a female reader, I would define this depiction as concerning. I value representation of women to be a make or break in what I read, so if I’m being honest, if I wasn’t being asked to review this piece, I would have stopped reading after the first chapter. I wouldn't say this is necessarily bad; more so a recognition that I am not the key demographic for this piece. Although to be fair, the males are viewed descriptively from a similar lens. The only physical description that Sapphire gives of himself is “while I don’t brag about it, I’m generously endowed” and of course that endowment must be used to save a woman from the clutches of a succubus. Women are literally throwing themselves at him at every turn because he’s so powerful (note not handsome, his physical description as far as I could see was never noted. The women are purely attracted to his ability to pump out pheromones and be the baddest dude in the room.)

The main concern I have is when the narrator clearly defined his instance with Nikki as rape, but he rationalizes it as being ok because another woman (a rape survivor herself), his vampire subordinate along with his subordinate, and his AI say it’s the only way to save her. He fully commits to raping (or dominating) Nikki, but to save face (and likely backlash) the woman comes out of her stupor to say, “Please make me yours. Her hold is weakened but it’s still there. Please take me now!” It’s every Incel’s wet dream… and my need to shower to cleanse my soul from the whole experience. Despite that concern, I could see Bartlett trying to walk this fine line that he created, and even with the RED FLAG I addressed, he did his best to dance around it. I haven’t read any of his other works, so it’s hard to say if this is the byproduct of trying to stick within the boundaries presented in the fantasy lore he sets up and the personality of the character, or if it’s just Bartlett trying to live out his fantasies via writing. My gut says it’s the former, because he had plenty of other opportunity to throw in further gratuitous sex scenes, but he didn’t.

Finally, the ending. There isn’t one. It’s a cliffhanger intent on gearing you up for Book 2. Zero closure to any of the issues that were presented, although there was some conversations about the beauty of bureaucracies intentionally delaying some of the conflict. Personally, I don’t mind cliffhangers, assuming there will be a quick release of the next one, but if you don’t like that, maybe wait until the series is over to purchase this book.

Currently, it is $0.99 from Amazon, so you won’t be breaking the bank if you choose to purchase it. I am looking forward to seeing how the Book 2 develops, given the wide range of reviews presented on GoodReads.

[Sam II · Rating 5 out of 5]

Se’ ga de’ root!

The Turing Revolt – The War Against Infinity by Rob Bartlett, is the story of Milo Sapphire, a self-described poor ship captain. Trouble is he is a poor ship captain with a ton of hidden secrets. You learn more about these hidden secrets as the story progresses, but that little tidbit about the future of this engaging Sci-fi story is for another time. Heh! By the way, Se’ ga de’ root means ‘inevitability always occurs eventually’; or in other words, ‘Sh*# happens’. Love that line!

Sapphire is recruited by three Sentient beings (or Ships or complex computer codes or whatever depending on your relative knowledge and beliefs) named X, Y and Z to help them with a scheme to buy the freedom of a Sentient ship from the Empire. It’s hilarious that such complex and intelligent Sentient Ships have little to no imagination with naming themselves. Thus begins a tale of planning, complex strategies, double-crosses, intrigue, secrets revealed and secrets kept, all compounded by the heavy weight of thousands of years of history. I found myself in the unexpected position of waiting with eager anticipation for the next chapter in the book as the story unfolded. Author, Rob Bartlett, has a unique ability to keep the interest of the reader.

The story is fun. I will have to admit the frequent use of curse words is a little off-putting and while I can understand their use to some extent, it seems the reveals of the character of Captain Sapphire, as the story progresses, tend to increase or exacerbate the use of the words. The last quarter of the story is definitely R-rated for both language and sexual encounters. Nevertheless, I liked the fresh re-take on a well-used storyline. You can’t go wrong reading this book. It is well edited and few grammatical errors I found in no way lessened the reading enjoyment. I have to add that the ending requires a sequel.

I rate the book, The Turing Revolt – The War Against Infinity, as an overall 5 out of 5.

[Carolyn Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rob Bartlett’s novel, The Turning Revolt is accurately named for that’s exactly what you’ll experience in this Galactic Empire Science Fiction.

You’ll be taken to faraway galaxies scraping the edges of fantasy empires, as the Star Ship Captain Milo Sapphire returns once again to places, people, and situations, he never intended to revisit.
Blackmailed no less, to do the bidding of the Sentient Ships in their planned rebellion against the Empire. He had little choice but follow their directives knowing their survival rate was null with the Empire, the Lotus Eaters Society and others against them. How could he turn this into his favor? And, was it possible, but not likely, he was inadvertently on a mission from the Serene Supreme Deity?

The author, Rob Bartlett, has created a unique stage for his characters to interact and tell their stories. In their highly advanced worlds, the characters, governments, and political systems are well-developed, and the AI technology is fully operational.

Bartlett moves the story forward at a good pace and does an outstanding job describing the advanced technology in these outer worlds. Note: the people, language, and situations in this fiction are for adults only.

Sci-Fi lovers will enjoy the multidimensional worlds and the interactive problem-solving skills of the characters along with the combatants’ attitudes and trickery. Well-played.

###

[Brian Moloney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instantly became my favorite SF book - compelling and addictive.

I've read hundreds of science fiction books across many genres, space opera being my favourite.

While Frank Herbert's Dune series is amazing, I prefer Heinlen's Stranger in a Strange Land ,
because i like books that weave the political realities in, and expose the central dilemma of politics,
i.e. it being both necessary, and routinely, even if unintentionally, evil.

Weave the commercial side in, and a book speaks to all the power-based dimensions of a society.
Such a pity that Ian Banks is gone, he also did that, and with great darkness, so very well.

Rob Bartlett is one of the very few to do this so well.

His writing style is incredibly concise, almost terse.
He gets to each point, successively, with very few segues,
other than providing emotional and thought context.

The characters are very well fleshed out,
their motives and personalities clearly rendered.

Thus the strategic picture is clear,
but the tactics, oh, the tactics, ever-shifting, ever devious, ever dangerous.
This is the source of the endless stream of surprises
and adjustments / reactions between the protagonists.

Dee-licious !
It's like getting into an auto-Ferrari, and in moments,
being accelerated beyond lightspeed until suddenly
the destination is reached.

It's clear from the book's content that Rob is a keen observer
of science, politics, commerce, power and the human mind.

His main character is an ultimate pragmatist,
and keenly insightful, intelligent and responsive
to the endless stream of challenges he is required by
external powers to respond to, to persist and thrive.

His experience, intelligence and resources allow him to
play the large long game, moment by moment.

The character is no coward, no fool,
loyal , to both himself and worthy others,
dynamic and inventive.

Thus the book constantly surprises and amazes.

It also speaks volume to the weaknesses all sentients carry,
especially when weighing choices and impacts,
and the ever-present question of
"what would taking this path cause me to become".

I intend to (gently ?) encourage (harass ?) Rob into delivering
ongoing instalments (he responded to my email promptly saying
that book 2 will be available end of July 2020, thx Rob )

If you enjoy science fiction, politics, commerce, greed, lust,
ambition, loyalty, power games, psychology and considered self-evolution,
at both the micro personal and macro society levels,
you will undoubtedly enjoy this book.

If you don't enjoy realpolitik pragmatism, then this perhaps is not the book for you.

[Amisha Bahl Chawla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can a machine think?

Can it fool a human into thinking that it is a human?

The Turing Scale devised by Alan Turing is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human.

So what does that have to do with Vampires and Slavery?

And can anyone outwit an AI which is even off the Turing scale?

The Turing Revolt: The War Against Infinity by Rob Bartlett is the first book in a thrilling, twisty, zany series which is a glorious mish-mash of genres from Sci-fi, vampire folklore, action, adventure, slavery and even a little bit of erotica.

Voyage deep into space and follow the adventures of Captain Milo Sapphire who seems more swashbuckling and irreverent than even James. T. Kirk (if that’s possible) and his trusted sidekick an unknown AI, Milo has aptly called Issac ‘cause he has ”a habit of naming things to give them personality”.

The premise of this book is set wonderfully at the beginning of the book “If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying!” Cheating your enemies, your colleagues, your friends, the system, corruption and ultimately even death.

This adventure starts off with our enigmatic Captain Milo eating dinner in a restaurant in a casino on Atheni 4 in the Atheni system. He is rudely interrupted by 3 individuals who claim to have a proposition for him which however turns out to be a nice way of saying BLACKMAIL.

The 3 individuals, DR Z, Mr Y and Madam X, then turn out to be avatars of Sentient Ships who set out to blackmail Milo to help them outwit the Empire and earn their freedom. Every successful blackmail revolves around a secret, normally one that will shake the foundations of the person concerned. This secret however can shake the very foundation of the empire. That secret is - Issac, Captain Milo’s AI is so way off the charts of the Turing Scale at 1420. (The Turing Scale only goes up to a 1000)
“The Scale was used to identify AI's that were too intelligent and might become a danger to the Empire. Any AI that measured above 1000 was considered an imminent danger and subject to immediate apprehension. It was put into place after the Machine Wars.”

Does Milo give in to the blackmail?

Do the Sentient Ships outwit the Empire and become free from the shackles of slavery?

Does Issac outwit everyone?

Some of these answers can be found in The Turing Revolt : The War Against Infinity, for the others, just like me you will have to wait for Books 2 and 3.

So just sit down, open this book and settle in for a very zany adventure.

Hope you liked my fair and honest review.
Happy Reading:)

[Ken Goudsward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everybody wants something.

In a world where God is a gambler and men, machines and angels all have hidden agendas, Captain Sapphire stumbles upon an adventure he doesn't need or want.

This story defies classification and is a wholly unique mix of hard-scifi, supernatural, military, adventure and political-economics. It starts out with three features I appreciate. a decently brisk pace, only the barest minimum of information dumping, and nice short quick chapters. The characters are realistic and believable, even the supernatural and artificially intelligent ones.

In some parts the pace accelerates too rapidly, skipping through a span of two years in just a handful of pages. It’s a bit of a risky move but it’s done for good reason, since the period covered is mainly concerned with long term corporate strategies and quarterly reporting statistics, that could be quite boring but are crucial to the plot, so overall this was probably a wise move on the author’s part, as it skipped over a lot of crucial plot drivers in a way that, though rather unconventional, seemed to work. In fact, I found myself intrigued at the business strategies, even without fully understanding them.

Several themes are presented. Autonomy, freedom, and economic dependence; intelligence (natural and artificial) outsmarting the competition; boundaries and constraining behavior.

The bulk of the story concerns a secret plan that only Captain Sapphire truly understands. His business partners, and we as the reader, are granted enough glimpses into it to get the general idea and feel the mystique of it, and this is accomplished in two ways. Firstly, we witness actions that we do not fully comprehend by parties that we know little about. I don’t mind this sort of writing, but some readers will likely find it confusing. Secondly, snippets of the master scheme are revealed through dialog with Sapphire’s business partners, to good effect, even though the author readily and ironically admits the problems inherent in this approach.

“I gave another internal sigh. These expositional dialogues were getting a little old. But I figured I could take the few minutes to explain to her since it looked like the Troika had provided the means to amass my next trillion credits.”

At roughly a third of the way through, the book takes a sudden twist - but twist is perhaps not a strong enough word. Suddenly we move from space-faring businessmen to erotic vampires! And then things start to get interesting...

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

The Turing Revolt: The War Against Infinity (Book One) by Rob Bartlett is a clever and fun science fiction story- with fantasy, the paranormal, action, adventure, drama, humour, suspense, political intrigue, civil rights, rebellion, artificial intelligence, and sentient starships. This story is quite a ride- a surprising find- with an originality all its own.
We are thrust into a high-stakes adventure- on an interstellar mission from GOD. This has a definite swashbuckling feel to it, as well as being a ‘techno thriller’. It is thought provoking, and has stayed on my mind. I came away from reading it with the same kind of feeling I had after finishing “A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” for the first time.
There is a lot of fast-paced action with violence, conflict, and dramatic developments. There is a LOT going on- and the story development took me in a direction that I certainly didn’t expect- and I enjoyed this ‘twist’.
Milo Sapphire was a trader simply trying to get by, when his whole world is turned upside down when by three Sentient Ships who need him to help free them from the empire. And so, the adventure begins. What ensues makes for some really engrossing and entertaining reading. I read the whole book in one sitting, as I didn’t want to put it down till I’d read every word.
I am definitely looking forward to seeing what the next book has in store for us!

Thank you, Mr. Bartlett!

[Chris Roberts]

I found your pretty captivating right from the get go. It never got very deep or intellectual. And at points it started to sound a little like a word problem from an economics textbook. Some of the sex became a little cringey. But if you're into BDSM erotica mashed up with sci-fi this is gonna be right up your alley.

Those tiny paragraphs with the extreme spacing became a little annoying; I began to feel like I was reading homework that had been padded for page count. There are quite a few typographical errors in the digital version as well.

I find myself looking forward to the second book. However, you should know going into this that the author makes absolutely no attempt to wrap anything up. The book ends with no resolution.

[Kenneth C. Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Real Mind Blower!

This book has Everything! Literally! God, devils, interstellar empires, sex and violence, pornography... Let's see, have l left anything out? Oh, yes, machine intelligence, ancient civilizations, other habitable dimensions... It will remind you of Heinlein at his most imaginative unencumbered by the constrained culture of the 1930s - 1950s. You will either love or hate it. I cannot recommend it too highly.

Thank you, Ben! Please give us volume 2 quickly!

[Steve Teagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

From ship captain to universe defender.

Milo starts out as an apparently average captain of a trading starship. Then we discover he is not only an immortal vampire but the First. The most powerful and feared of all his race. The conflict develops as Milk squares off against the all-powerful trading guild. There are no rules in this fight as both sides use every trick in the book to affect the income. I enjoyed the book immensely and would recommend it to everyone over18.

[Whitney W Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not what I expected and more than I had hoped.

My thoughts are echoing what other reviewers have said already and I don’t have any new insights to offer. As someone who was both fascinated and at the same time repulsed by Heinlen, this book was a bit of a roller coaster. And I look forward to the sequel!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently written story about the triumph of the Underdog!

This book is definitely written for adult readers. However, what a captivating, well-told story! It pulls the reader through a well-crafted universe and contains creatures of fantasy who grapple against the worst type of forces!

[Gene Solloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't expect this!

I'm not telling what this is. It would be a spoiler. The story is told from first person and it is a riot of fun in a quirky way. I ranked it a five because it is so original. And the humor is great. The story line is very entertaining.

[Richard Jacobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Great Read

Off-beat sci-fi with a very unusual and unlikely hero. Written in a breezy style that doesn’t insult the reader’s intelligence, and is very fast-paced. I liked this book a lot and am looking forward to reading book 2 of this series.

[West Breen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me totally by surprise

You know those reviews that start out saying I couldn't put it down? This is one of those.
I download a lot of books...and many get half or less read before I toss them aside. This one hooked me from the start and never stopped being good. Humor... action...and hot sex to keep it interesting.

[Jon Stonecash · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not great literature, but it was so much fun. The voice of the protagonist is wonderful. I am definitely hooked on the series.

[Scott S.]

Sounds silly. I'm in!

[Jim Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

SciFi Extravaganza

This book has it all, action, plot twists, interesting take on a common creature. Read it from start to finish and looked for more!

[Gt Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique

I prefer one of a kind approaches to sci-fi and this work is
a terrific example of what i like best.

[Lynelle Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy for an honest review.

This is a difficult book, to begin with. The long dialogues gave you no real feel for the plot and the rest was more telling than showing. By page 60 I stopped reading since it simply didn't interest me.

The book has an interesting concept with artificial intelligence ships that can make up their own mind etc but it was mechanical, devoid of any emotions of humankind.

Captain Sapphire was clever, rich and well known with the AI ships but there was no depth to his character and I couldn't connect with him.

The pages I did read it was like being in a conversation and the dialogue is so out of my league that I felt excluded most of the time. The dragged-out conversations were not captivating enough to fire me up.

The financial aspect to outwit the Empire is the only thing that really stood out but as with any documentary, if the delivery is not engaging then you walk away. Creating new worlds can be interesting and even mind-blowing but I had no connection or tangible evidence that it was, in fact, different worlds.

The story is definitely for a different reader I would recommend too.

[Delilah Bluette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a pdf copy of this book from the author's PR people to review for my blog and they requested I post it on goodreads and Amazon as well. This is a partial review. The full review is on my blog.


So, I both like and hated this book. I love the concept. God's chosen champion a sort of (anti-hero) fighting against a corporate space Empire to free sentient artificially intelligent ships from indentured servitude. Pretty damn awesome in and of itself. But then the vampires, were/animal shifters, and succubus came into play with all their non-consensual BDSM and I was like "Woah. This isn't even the same book I was reading two pages ago."

I almost stopped reading at that point. But it was already past midnight and I was so close to the conclusion. Except then it turned out that there was no conclusion. It's a cliff hangar and none of the plot threads are resolved. I also stopped rooting for the main character after he assaulted someone and just kind of wanted it to be over.

The concept is good. But there is so much which is not good. And no, the book's description really doesn't prepare a reader for the fact that there is basically a glorified rape described by the main character as he commits it (because he's trying to save one of his subbornate were-people from being mind controlled by the bad guy so he assaults her until she is mind controlled by him instead.). Just randomly in the book, no matter what justifications the author uses for it, it isn't necessary. In fact, rape and non-consensual domination of one person by another is the primary theme in the vampire-shifter society and it is awful.

The messed up part is that this COULD have been such a good book if not for the whole shifter/vampire/succubus bit.

[Garry Whitmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a market that seems to be dominated by military Sci fi epics, this book and the start of series takes a different refreshing approach. Here the conflict is both legal and mercantile fought in the boardroom and courts by accountants and lawyers. While dirty deeds and violence is done it is generally clandestine and behind the scenes. There is also a clever blending of fantasy elements such as vampires, were animals, angels, and devils in the overall sci fi scenario of starships, artificial intelligence's, and aliens. The addition of what might be the creator of the universe as well only adds to the fun.

It is also an adult book with religious, sexual and violence themes running through it, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it as a read and was not bothered by any of the content others could find aspects of it not to their liking. This is something that I think be highlighted more in the online presentation. On what I've seen so far it is my intention to carry on with the next book in the series and will report in turn on them.

One last thought at one level this book is a enjoyable, humorous adult romp, but at another it seems to question concepts such as individual freedom, capitalism, governance, etc in most intriguing way. I wonder was this deliberate on the authors part or a fascinating coincidence.

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this would be a typical sf story - sentient ships, space captain, fighting established empire. . .
Then it opens with something about a Supreme Being, and a bet to save the universe. . .
Then we discover the captain isn't just a ship captain, but has been around a loooonnnnnggg time.
Add in other supernatural beings, sex pheromones, lots of fighting.
And then it leaves you hanging at the end, so now I must read Book 2!

I can't say this is a great book, but it has certainly been fun to read.