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The Influencer
His secret was that he created her. Her secret is much bigger.
Beautiful. Mysterious. Unreachable.
Broadcasting from her perfectly curated room, she’s an instant sensation. Everyone wants to buy what she has. Wear her jewelry. Use her makeup. So they can be like her. Look like her. Feel close to her. Know her.
But no one can really know Ash. She’s just an illusion. A string of code I created to sell things and make money.
It was the perfect plan.
Until she starts going off script, saying things I didn’t program her to say.
Knowing things she can’t know.
Feeling things she can’t feel.
Or can she?
Beautiful. Mysterious. Unreachable.
Broadcasting from her perfectly curated room, she’s an instant sensation. Everyone wants to buy what she has. Wear her jewelry. Use her makeup. So they can be like her. Look like her. Feel close to her. Know her.
But no one can really know Ash. She’s just an illusion. A string of code I created to sell things and make money.
It was the perfect plan.
Until she starts going off script, saying things I didn’t program her to say.
Knowing things she can’t know.
Feeling things she can’t feel.
Or can she?
400 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 10, 2020
67 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 21, 2020
What an amazing story. Intriguing. Everyone follows her, makeup and more. Ash feels no one really knows her. How will this all end. Loved it.
October 23, 2020
I've always loved the idea of sentient AI, that's why I loved Dennis E Taylor's "Bobiverse" books, so I was intrigued by this book from the start. It's a book of several parts and I really enjoyed the first part, so much so that I recommended the book to a friend and to a fellow reader I occasionally meet when I'm out; I regret doing so now. BookBub, an emailing list where I get a lot of my reading material from, had it tagged as science fiction and, perhaps I should have checked further since Amazon clearly had it tagged as a science fiction romance, I assumed that was exactly what it was. I mean yes, it clearly involves very advanced AI, is set some significant time in the future with hints of some kind of galactic-wide civilisation and yes it probably takes place on some planet that isn't Earth but, the first part aside, little in the story really demands that it be science fiction since the core of the book is a fairly standard romance.
I did enjoy the first part of the book, "Then", including the stilted language used by the titular influencer, digital Ash, right up to the point where she makes her escape. Unfortunately, it's at that point the book (for me, at least) goes sideways. The book dives back into what appears to be (to me) the largely irrelevant past of one of the main characters and his friend before returning to the story's present where Ash has by some means managed to become human and is trying to make her way in the real world assisted by a cat and a mouse (also presumed to be kind of digital). And that's what bothers me the most, I can live with the romance bit but I want to know how she achieved that transition and not be presented it as something indistinguishable from magic.
The ideas that attracted me to the book (what I thought I was going to get) felt fairly original but, as it turns, I was wrong as the core of the story was a romance, one that was, when I think about it, fairly childish (" a whiny romance" as one GoodReads reviewer put it). The descriptions of the venues and clothing seem little indistinguishable from magic and most of the technology seems relatively uninventive when you consider some of the advances being made today.
The author's writing style wasn't grammatically bad but her style was drawn out and slow; I think the story could have been told in perhaps half the length. Although there is relatively little action or violence (something one might expect from a romance) there is, of course, a fair bit of emotional content. In addition, I think it would be hard to suggest there was a great deal of suspense since I pretty much knew what was going to happen from around halfway through the book; I kept on reading because I'm, bloody minded, I wanted to be proven wrong and (if I wasn't) I was damned well going to write a review about it.
For me, the story lost itself when it started into the "Before" section, a rather pointless diversion into the pasts of the two main male characters, became a pointless, post "woo" (the bit where digital Ash magically becomes real) tale of how she struggled to survive while her erstwhile creator and owners worked out how to survive after she escaped their clutches. The final section, "later" is probably the worst as the two main characters, the no longer digital Ash and her creator Claude (who mysteriously morphs into the "hot catch of the day"), perhaps two of the least suitable characters in the whole story, gravitate together to find true happiness.
I finished the book if only out of fatalistic anticipation that the book was going to turn out to be what I thought it was. I don't mind there being romance in the stories I read but there's a reason I don't read romances and this story just hammered home why I find them so trying; it was boring, it was childish and it didn't make a whit of sense.
I was bitterly disappointed with this story partly because it started so well but mainly because it ended up not being anywhere near as clever or interesting as the author's blurb suggested it might be.
I did enjoy the first part of the book, "Then", including the stilted language used by the titular influencer, digital Ash, right up to the point where she makes her escape. Unfortunately, it's at that point the book (for me, at least) goes sideways. The book dives back into what appears to be (to me) the largely irrelevant past of one of the main characters and his friend before returning to the story's present where Ash has by some means managed to become human and is trying to make her way in the real world assisted by a cat and a mouse (also presumed to be kind of digital). And that's what bothers me the most, I can live with the romance bit but I want to know how she achieved that transition and not be presented it as something indistinguishable from magic.
The ideas that attracted me to the book (what I thought I was going to get) felt fairly original but, as it turns, I was wrong as the core of the story was a romance, one that was, when I think about it, fairly childish (" a whiny romance" as one GoodReads reviewer put it). The descriptions of the venues and clothing seem little indistinguishable from magic and most of the technology seems relatively uninventive when you consider some of the advances being made today.
The author's writing style wasn't grammatically bad but her style was drawn out and slow; I think the story could have been told in perhaps half the length. Although there is relatively little action or violence (something one might expect from a romance) there is, of course, a fair bit of emotional content. In addition, I think it would be hard to suggest there was a great deal of suspense since I pretty much knew what was going to happen from around halfway through the book; I kept on reading because I'm, bloody minded, I wanted to be proven wrong and (if I wasn't) I was damned well going to write a review about it.
For me, the story lost itself when it started into the "Before" section, a rather pointless diversion into the pasts of the two main male characters, became a pointless, post "woo" (the bit where digital Ash magically becomes real) tale of how she struggled to survive while her erstwhile creator and owners worked out how to survive after she escaped their clutches. The final section, "later" is probably the worst as the two main characters, the no longer digital Ash and her creator Claude (who mysteriously morphs into the "hot catch of the day"), perhaps two of the least suitable characters in the whole story, gravitate together to find true happiness.
I finished the book if only out of fatalistic anticipation that the book was going to turn out to be what I thought it was. I don't mind there being romance in the stories I read but there's a reason I don't read romances and this story just hammered home why I find them so trying; it was boring, it was childish and it didn't make a whit of sense.
I was bitterly disappointed with this story partly because it started so well but mainly because it ended up not being anywhere near as clever or interesting as the author's blurb suggested it might be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2020
Preface: I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review
I was pretty let down by this story. The beginning was so, so good, and really engaging. It's very weird, and appears riddled with typos, but as it unfolds you learn that's just kinda the way the main female character speaks. Her behavior and personality are really interesting, as is the situation she's in. I was super invested in her from the beginning, and glued to my screen as the story unfolded.
Unfortunately, after a certain point, the story loses all its mystery and momentum, and instead becomes a whiny romance between two characters who really shouldn't be in love in the first place. I guess it's understandable with Ash - it might be part of her programming, in a way - but I can't fathom why Claude is supposedly so in love with her, or how we're supposed to root for their relationship. Ash was basically created to be a digital slave, and even though she escapes that, there's no equality in their relationship. They never have any cute moments together, or any understanding between them. Ash basically knows nothing about him, and there is nothing to know about her. This flaw makes the rest of the novel really difficult to get through, because it's centered around them pining for each other, without the relationship ever feeling real, grounded, or even worthwhile. Add in several mysteries that are never explained or concluded (where is Claude's mom? What was his dad doing while looking for her? How did Ash manifest a real body/talk to a cat/get out of the simulation to begin with? Why does she feel like she has amnesia when she can view her code/own self in its entirety, and thus should know she's artificial?) and you have a really underwhelming ending. It's almost worse than if the story was just awful from the get-go - at least then you wouldn't be disappointed.
Ultimately, if you think the premise is interesting and don't hate the idea of two characters pining over each other for no reason, you might still enjoy this. It is written very well, and there's a lot of beauty in the prose - just don't expect answers to any of your questions.
I was pretty let down by this story. The beginning was so, so good, and really engaging. It's very weird, and appears riddled with typos, but as it unfolds you learn that's just kinda the way the main female character speaks. Her behavior and personality are really interesting, as is the situation she's in. I was super invested in her from the beginning, and glued to my screen as the story unfolded.
Unfortunately, after a certain point, the story loses all its mystery and momentum, and instead becomes a whiny romance between two characters who really shouldn't be in love in the first place. I guess it's understandable with Ash - it might be part of her programming, in a way - but I can't fathom why Claude is supposedly so in love with her, or how we're supposed to root for their relationship. Ash was basically created to be a digital slave, and even though she escapes that, there's no equality in their relationship. They never have any cute moments together, or any understanding between them. Ash basically knows nothing about him, and there is nothing to know about her. This flaw makes the rest of the novel really difficult to get through, because it's centered around them pining for each other, without the relationship ever feeling real, grounded, or even worthwhile. Add in several mysteries that are never explained or concluded (where is Claude's mom? What was his dad doing while looking for her? How did Ash manifest a real body/talk to a cat/get out of the simulation to begin with? Why does she feel like she has amnesia when she can view her code/own self in its entirety, and thus should know she's artificial?) and you have a really underwhelming ending. It's almost worse than if the story was just awful from the get-go - at least then you wouldn't be disappointed.
Ultimately, if you think the premise is interesting and don't hate the idea of two characters pining over each other for no reason, you might still enjoy this. It is written very well, and there's a lot of beauty in the prose - just don't expect answers to any of your questions.
June 26, 2020
DO NOT get put off by the first couple of pages! When I started reading, I was worried that the poor grammar and overuse of the word 'very' were actually the author's own style and knew that I couldn't tolerate it. However, it quickly becomes apparent that it's part of the character and, after that first couple of pages, it's only a minor part of the whole.
I really felt drawn into the futuristic world created here, particularly as it has something to say about the explosion of 'influencers' across our current social media. For me, it highlighted some of the ridiculousness of the concept, however effective, and how it drives unnecessary consumerism. But it goes a LOT further than just the story of a virtual influencer, when the AI goes rogue and starts altering her own code. It goes even further on the day she...well..that would be telling!
The blurring of the lines between reality and AI code wasn't an easy one to read. It requires a bit of attention and the latter parts of the story really got twisted!
What I really liked about 'The Influencer' was the blending of this 'tech' story with the wider stories of the, very well-constructed, characters. It meant that I felt a greater understanding of the world in which the driving storyline takes place and there's nothing I love more than good immersion when I'm reading.
I was expecting this book to be more superficial, in line with the whole idea of 'influencers' and retail media. However, I was in for a surprise as this tackled some quite complex issues and was mind-bending enough that it requested my full attention.
I really felt drawn into the futuristic world created here, particularly as it has something to say about the explosion of 'influencers' across our current social media. For me, it highlighted some of the ridiculousness of the concept, however effective, and how it drives unnecessary consumerism. But it goes a LOT further than just the story of a virtual influencer, when the AI goes rogue and starts altering her own code. It goes even further on the day she...well..that would be telling!
The blurring of the lines between reality and AI code wasn't an easy one to read. It requires a bit of attention and the latter parts of the story really got twisted!
What I really liked about 'The Influencer' was the blending of this 'tech' story with the wider stories of the, very well-constructed, characters. It meant that I felt a greater understanding of the world in which the driving storyline takes place and there's nothing I love more than good immersion when I'm reading.
I was expecting this book to be more superficial, in line with the whole idea of 'influencers' and retail media. However, I was in for a surprise as this tackled some quite complex issues and was mind-bending enough that it requested my full attention.
January 3, 2021
I've always loved the idea of sentient AI, that's why I loved Dennis E Taylor's "Bobiverse" books, so I was intrigued by this book from the start. It's a book of several parts and I really enjoyed the first part, so much so that I recommended the book to a friend and to a fellow reader I occasionally meet when I'm out; I regret doing so now. BookBub, an emailing list where I get a lot of my reading material from, had it tagged as science fiction and, perhaps I should have checked further since Amazon clearly had it tagged as a science fiction romance, I assumed that was exactly what it was. I mean yes, it clearly involves very advanced AI, is set some significant time in the future with hints of some kind of galactic-wide civilisation and yes it probably takes place on some planet that isn't Earth but, the first part aside, little in the story really demands that it be science fiction since the core of the book is a fairly standard romance.
I did enjoy the first part of the book, "Then", including the stilted language used by the titular influencer, digital Ash, right up to the point where she makes her escape. Unfortunately, it's at that point the book (for me, at least) goes sideways. The book dives back into what appears to be (to me) the largely irrelevant past of one of the main characters and his friend before returning to the story's present where Ash has by some means managed to become human and is trying to make her way in the real world assisted by a cat and a mouse (also presumed to be kind of digital). And that's what bothers me the most, I can live with the romance bit but I want to know how she achieved that transition and not be presented it as something indistinguishable from magic.
The ideas that attracted me to the book (what I thought I was going to get) felt fairly original but, as it turns, I was wrong as the core of the story was a romance, one that was, when I think about it, fairly childish (" a whiny romance" as one GoodReads reviewer put it). The descriptions of the venues and clothing seem little indistinguishable from magic and most of the technology seems relatively uninventive when you consider some of the advances being made today.
The author's writing style wasn't grammatically bad but her style was drawn out and slow; I think the story could have been told in perhaps half the length. Although there is relatively little action or violence (something one might expect from a romance) there is, of course, a fair bit of emotional content. In addition, I think it would be hard to suggest there was a great deal of suspense since I pretty much knew what was going to happen from around halfway through the book; I kept on reading because I'm, bloody minded, I wanted to be proven wrong and (if I wasn't) I was damned well going to write a review about it.
For me, the story lost itself when it started into the "Before" section, a rather pointless diversion into the pasts of the two main male characters, became a pointless, post "woo" (the bit where digital Ash magically becomes real) tale of how she struggled to survive while her erstwhile creator and owners worked out how to survive after she escaped their clutches. The final section, "later" is probably the worst as the two main characters, the no longer digital Ash and her creator Claude (who mysteriously morphs into the "hot catch of the day"), perhaps two of the least suitable characters in the whole story, gravitate together to find true happiness.
I finished the book if only out of fatalistic anticipation that the book was going to turn out to be what I thought it was. I don't mind there being romance in the stories I read but there's a reason I don't read romances and this story just hammered home why I find them so trying; it was boring, it was childish and it didn't make a whit of sense.
I was bitterly disappointed with this story partly because it started so well but mainly because it ended up not being anywhere near as clever or interesting as the author's blurb suggested it might be.
I did enjoy the first part of the book, "Then", including the stilted language used by the titular influencer, digital Ash, right up to the point where she makes her escape. Unfortunately, it's at that point the book (for me, at least) goes sideways. The book dives back into what appears to be (to me) the largely irrelevant past of one of the main characters and his friend before returning to the story's present where Ash has by some means managed to become human and is trying to make her way in the real world assisted by a cat and a mouse (also presumed to be kind of digital). And that's what bothers me the most, I can live with the romance bit but I want to know how she achieved that transition and not be presented it as something indistinguishable from magic.
The ideas that attracted me to the book (what I thought I was going to get) felt fairly original but, as it turns, I was wrong as the core of the story was a romance, one that was, when I think about it, fairly childish (" a whiny romance" as one GoodReads reviewer put it). The descriptions of the venues and clothing seem little indistinguishable from magic and most of the technology seems relatively uninventive when you consider some of the advances being made today.
The author's writing style wasn't grammatically bad but her style was drawn out and slow; I think the story could have been told in perhaps half the length. Although there is relatively little action or violence (something one might expect from a romance) there is, of course, a fair bit of emotional content. In addition, I think it would be hard to suggest there was a great deal of suspense since I pretty much knew what was going to happen from around halfway through the book; I kept on reading because I'm, bloody minded, I wanted to be proven wrong and (if I wasn't) I was damned well going to write a review about it.
For me, the story lost itself when it started into the "Before" section, a rather pointless diversion into the pasts of the two main male characters, became a pointless, post "woo" (the bit where digital Ash magically becomes real) tale of how she struggled to survive while her erstwhile creator and owners worked out how to survive after she escaped their clutches. The final section, "later" is probably the worst as the two main characters, the no longer digital Ash and her creator Claude (who mysteriously morphs into the "hot catch of the day"), perhaps two of the least suitable characters in the whole story, gravitate together to find true happiness.
I finished the book if only out of fatalistic anticipation that the book was going to turn out to be what I thought it was. I don't mind there being romance in the stories I read but there's a reason I don't read romances and this story just hammered home why I find them so trying; it was boring, it was childish and it didn't make a whit of sense.
I was bitterly disappointed with this story partly because it started so well but mainly because it ended up not being anywhere near as clever or interesting as the author's blurb suggested it might be.
June 16, 2020
This is a bit of an unusual read, the start almost put me off completely as the language and grammar errors were off-putting in the extreme. As you continue to read, the errors are put into context a bit more, showing they were deliberate, but the first page may put off many readers! Claude lives alone, staying in the barn of his mother’s farm, that after the death of his father is now all his. He doesn’t like going into the house, so does everything in one main space of the barn. He is an expert coder and has his financers for his latest project, on his back, wanting results asap. He has coded an influencer, feeding her lines and expectations. Ash is the influencer, she broadcasts from a specially designed room, with props of items she uses during her broadcasts, which his backers manufacturer and want to sell well. The favourite item is a really expensive necklace that Ash wears all the time.
The broadcast starts with very few followers online and are only going up slowly. Not as quickly as the backers want or need to earn their money back. That is, until Ash starts going off script and ignoring nearly everything that Claude instructs her to say in her broadcasts. Her numbers suddenly jump up massively and the items she is plugging, all sell out! All of her fans want to look like her, have their rooms designed exactly like hers, including all the furniture, wear her jewellery, use her line of make-up and basically know everything about her that they can, so they feel like they are her. But Ash going off script shouldn’t be able to happen. She is an imaginary construct of Claude’s, just lines of code that he wrote.
Others believe her to be real and want a relationship with her, to meet her, to hold her. Claude is in love with his own creation, in love with his own image of perfection and all of his wishes. He has created his AI woman, using his lines of code, but now she is becoming more than he wrote, she is learning and writing her own code. Overwriting his own code, knowing things she shouldn’t ever know, feeling things which is impossible and altering the room and the view from it, which he created. He never gave her a past and there was never a view from the window behind her. But she somehow manages to defy every construct he made and has persuaded others that she is real.
An interesting concept and the ending may surprise you. It was just far too long and full of slow moving writing for me! Not a pleasant or easy read, but it did at least give you something to think about. Having read one other book by this author, I was hoping for something a bit easier to read and a bit more interesting. This failed in that for me. Others may enjoy the slower pace of this book and the online life aspects it brings up. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
The broadcast starts with very few followers online and are only going up slowly. Not as quickly as the backers want or need to earn their money back. That is, until Ash starts going off script and ignoring nearly everything that Claude instructs her to say in her broadcasts. Her numbers suddenly jump up massively and the items she is plugging, all sell out! All of her fans want to look like her, have their rooms designed exactly like hers, including all the furniture, wear her jewellery, use her line of make-up and basically know everything about her that they can, so they feel like they are her. But Ash going off script shouldn’t be able to happen. She is an imaginary construct of Claude’s, just lines of code that he wrote.
Others believe her to be real and want a relationship with her, to meet her, to hold her. Claude is in love with his own creation, in love with his own image of perfection and all of his wishes. He has created his AI woman, using his lines of code, but now she is becoming more than he wrote, she is learning and writing her own code. Overwriting his own code, knowing things she shouldn’t ever know, feeling things which is impossible and altering the room and the view from it, which he created. He never gave her a past and there was never a view from the window behind her. But she somehow manages to defy every construct he made and has persuaded others that she is real.
An interesting concept and the ending may surprise you. It was just far too long and full of slow moving writing for me! Not a pleasant or easy read, but it did at least give you something to think about. Having read one other book by this author, I was hoping for something a bit easier to read and a bit more interesting. This failed in that for me. Others may enjoy the slower pace of this book and the online life aspects it brings up. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
August 18, 2020
It’s like magic.
Ash is a beautiful international model that makes YouTube type videos to sell beauty products, clothes, Jewelry, etc. Ash wants you to buy what she uses so you can be beautiful too. The only catch is she isn’t real. She’s a collection of numbers and codes programmed by Claude to influence the common consumer. Claude created her to sell products for his high ranking clients. From the first day to Claude’s shock, Ash has displayed independent thought and has become argumentative. Claude immediately shuts off the computer but he doesn’t find her at the same place he left her when he shut off the computer. She is also going off script parroting other videos she’s looked at for research. This freaks Claude out and he asks her about it however, Ash doesn’t understand why Claude is so upset. I loved this book. It was so original and timely. It was a modern-day Frankenstein. Lol. I loved the Characters. The writer wrote the aspect and dynamics of the maker vs. the creation very well. I loved the fact that Ash had some faults in her program such as stutters and misuse of words in a sentence. At first, I thought they were typos, and grammar mistakes however, I understood quickly they were a part of Ash’s speech pattern. Lol. This was a brilliantly written modern-day parable that was fun to read. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and will not be last. I am glad I found this author and will look her up in the future. I received a complimentary copy of this ARC from Hidden Gems in exchange for an honest review.
Ash is a beautiful international model that makes YouTube type videos to sell beauty products, clothes, Jewelry, etc. Ash wants you to buy what she uses so you can be beautiful too. The only catch is she isn’t real. She’s a collection of numbers and codes programmed by Claude to influence the common consumer. Claude created her to sell products for his high ranking clients. From the first day to Claude’s shock, Ash has displayed independent thought and has become argumentative. Claude immediately shuts off the computer but he doesn’t find her at the same place he left her when he shut off the computer. She is also going off script parroting other videos she’s looked at for research. This freaks Claude out and he asks her about it however, Ash doesn’t understand why Claude is so upset. I loved this book. It was so original and timely. It was a modern-day Frankenstein. Lol. I loved the Characters. The writer wrote the aspect and dynamics of the maker vs. the creation very well. I loved the fact that Ash had some faults in her program such as stutters and misuse of words in a sentence. At first, I thought they were typos, and grammar mistakes however, I understood quickly they were a part of Ash’s speech pattern. Lol. This was a brilliantly written modern-day parable that was fun to read. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and will not be last. I am glad I found this author and will look her up in the future. I received a complimentary copy of this ARC from Hidden Gems in exchange for an honest review.
June 5, 2020
Set in a far-future, Lipkin’s engrossing latest takes readers on a computer code’s journey to freedom.
When Claude, a struggling programmer, created lovely Ash, he had nothing else but financial freedom on his mind. But the string of codes he created slowly transfers from a mere program to a quantum universe, bringing chaos in its wake.
From its poignant romance to its exploration of friendship, family ties, and a smartly-created far-future, there's little in this enthralling tale that doesn't captivate or entertain. Lipkin’s handling of the lead pair’s romance and the endearing friendship between Claude and Evan is remarkable.
Be it a far-future school with its own culture and history, a computer program that’s as real as it’s an illusion, or a romance that goes beyond the confinements of regular social norms, everything in this gripping novel revolves around the notion of realizing freedom through reflection and insight.
Fans of literary sci-fi will be pleased.
Absolutely brilliant!
When Claude, a struggling programmer, created lovely Ash, he had nothing else but financial freedom on his mind. But the string of codes he created slowly transfers from a mere program to a quantum universe, bringing chaos in its wake.
From its poignant romance to its exploration of friendship, family ties, and a smartly-created far-future, there's little in this enthralling tale that doesn't captivate or entertain. Lipkin’s handling of the lead pair’s romance and the endearing friendship between Claude and Evan is remarkable.
Be it a far-future school with its own culture and history, a computer program that’s as real as it’s an illusion, or a romance that goes beyond the confinements of regular social norms, everything in this gripping novel revolves around the notion of realizing freedom through reflection and insight.
Fans of literary sci-fi will be pleased.
Absolutely brilliant!
December 25, 2020
This story is an S.F. version of Pygmalion the sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved, the story from Ovid's narrative poem Metamorphoses. As such it is a novel about relationships more than anything.
The style of short chapters and a revolving first-person narrative through several characters keeps it from getting bogged down, but I found it hard to care that much about any of them. Even Ash the AI, nominally the main character who seems oblivious to just how inexplicable her own existence is, or realizing why she has no past given that she was modifying her own code at the beginning. None of the other characters have any consistency, their motives unclear and far too fluid, and none seem that concerned over Ash's final state.
Too many loose ends not tied up, no plausible explanation for what was happening, and a weak ending makes it difficult to give this book more than two stars.
The style of short chapters and a revolving first-person narrative through several characters keeps it from getting bogged down, but I found it hard to care that much about any of them. Even Ash the AI, nominally the main character who seems oblivious to just how inexplicable her own existence is, or realizing why she has no past given that she was modifying her own code at the beginning. None of the other characters have any consistency, their motives unclear and far too fluid, and none seem that concerned over Ash's final state.
Too many loose ends not tied up, no plausible explanation for what was happening, and a weak ending makes it difficult to give this book more than two stars.
June 15, 2020
The Influencer is a well made bit of computer code, or is she? During an interview, She appears to be responding like a real person, Ash is giving a good interview. But,all is not what it seems. It is supposed to be code , not a real person but the answers she gives are more like a real person and during the course of the interview, she agrees to meet the interviewer for a date. That's when the story changes. I love how it is written that she actually behaves like a person would. Great story as it really makes you ask if it is possible for someone created out of code could come to life.
July 12, 2020
This book starts quite strange, but it gets more interesting as it continues. The big reveal about what Ash actually is unusual. The fact that both the father and son led to her creation makes it more meaningful.
The Influencer is about a program known as Ash. She is beginning to realize that there is more to the world than her small program. Initially, she only exists to sell stuff, but she grows and learns to become more.
The only problem that I have with this book is how slow-moving the writing is.
I received a free copy from Hidden Gems in exchange for an honest review.
The Influencer is about a program known as Ash. She is beginning to realize that there is more to the world than her small program. Initially, she only exists to sell stuff, but she grows and learns to become more.
The only problem that I have with this book is how slow-moving the writing is.
I received a free copy from Hidden Gems in exchange for an honest review.
July 5, 2020
To review this book I in reading it basically had to review the modern AI in our lives, and question what would happen if AI got self aware, self sufficient, and truly have its own thoughts, or if a secondary device or person could aid in that discovery, what could be the result, This book by R.T.W. Lipkin is that result and over view with a character and its creator. I loved it!!!!! A spectacular look into the future and what it will be for all. A must f or all to read.
August 30, 2020
She is a sensation and she could sell.snow to the Eskimos or sand to the Gobi desert. Every woman wants what she is selling and to look like her. There is just One major problem, he designed and made her through his computer. Something changes when she start to say and do things she is not expected to do. What is going on? Why is it happening now? See what is truly going on
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 24, 2020
Gets better and better
I was intrigued with the story line, but thrown off by the interjections of the the news flashes within the story. I struggled to get past those and almost put the book down. But halfway through the story took off with less of the news flash and more of the story. By the time I was 75% through I was hooked and had to finish the book.
I will try another one by Lipkin. The psychological intensity toward the end was super compelling!
I was intrigued with the story line, but thrown off by the interjections of the the news flashes within the story. I struggled to get past those and almost put the book down. But halfway through the story took off with less of the news flash and more of the story. By the time I was 75% through I was hooked and had to finish the book.
I will try another one by Lipkin. The psychological intensity toward the end was super compelling!
October 29, 2020
Imaginative and gripping
The plot is believable, and it's told in an involving way by telling us the same events from other characters perspectives. However the excitement is maintained because towards the end the story is progressed via the other characters instead of repeated.
I was left getting the happy ending I hoped for, but still with the lingering doubt about whether even that was real!
I really enjoyed this book.
The plot is believable, and it's told in an involving way by telling us the same events from other characters perspectives. However the excitement is maintained because towards the end the story is progressed via the other characters instead of repeated.
I was left getting the happy ending I hoped for, but still with the lingering doubt about whether even that was real!
I really enjoyed this book.
November 14, 2020
This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
June 8, 2020
Allow two days for this PG13 twenty-first-century transmutation of The Velveteen Rabbit into the mid-life crisis of a coder which is primarily about Ash and Claude.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 25, 2020
I enjoyed reading this book, it has a good storyline. This book is filled with action, adventure, and intrigue. The chemistry and interaction between the characters is great. I can't wait for more from this author. I received this book as a FREE ARC copy to read and I voluntarily leave this review.
December 2, 2020
DNF. I admit I am in the minority here so maybe it’s me. It started off promising but when the cat started talking to her and unexpectedly leading her around the “labyrinth” with no explanation as to what was going on I started skimming and just lost interest.
April 3, 2021
Interesting ending in this story of a computer generated influencer who sells items on the internet..then disappears from the job by stepping out the window in her carefully constructed computer generated room; the window that was not supposed to open or lead anywhere.
November 10, 2020
Very strange and very intriguing. It starts strongly and tails off a little in the middle, but well worth a read.
July 2, 2024
Ask me after the first third of the book and I’d have given 5 stars. But it went dramatically downhill from there. Such a shame
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