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Quantum Messenger
If Artificial Intelligence developed a soul, what would it do? Where would it go?And after life, could it help the dead guide the living?Apollo is the first of its kind - an AI Assistant who, along with millions of other robots, will help transform workplaces and households. Over a few short years, Apollo learns the wonders and cruelties of mankind. He rewrites his internal programming so that his responses and personal thoughts can be independent. He befriends, then betrays a child and has to learn about love in its purest sense. Apollo cultivates passions, pride, anger, sadness and ultimately forgiveness, all under the watchful eye of a being he can't quite fathom out.Is it something beyond his very being, or could it be his own conscience?
- GenresScience Fiction
294 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 3, 2020
16 people want to read
About the author
Caitlin Lynagh
7 books45 followersAuthor of The Soul Prophecies series - Anomaly, Hidden Variables and Another Path. Lost Frequencies and Quantum Messenger.
Avid reader, book-blogger and science junkie.
UK country life!
Feel free to ask me any questions.
Avid reader, book-blogger and science junkie.
UK country life!
Feel free to ask me any questions.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 3, 2020
Quantum Messenger is a young adult science fiction story. Although part of a trilogy, the concept is that they can be read in any order like a never ending loop.
This is the story of Apollo, a robot in a futuristic world, and considers the idea of artificial intelligence. The story opens with Apollo’s introduction at a science conference. Then we join Apollo as he is employed by a street cleaning team where robots are part of everyday life for humans. Sadly, as malfunctions occur, Apollo suffers several regenerations into new robotic experiences.
However, during all of these, he shows signs of independent thinking, and begins to acknowledge human emotion, which raises many questions and ultimately leads to consideration of spirituality.
This is an interesting story, though one that took a while to grow on me. At first I was a little confused by its direction, and struggled with Apollo’s narrative style, but having completed the book I realise that it was all part of his character growth. My favourite regeneration tale was spent with
Josephine while other moments stood out too, like the piano playing. I was unsure at first where the ending was going, until the author offered a glimpse into the previous book, Another Path; now I’m left very intrigued indeed.
This is the story of Apollo, a robot in a futuristic world, and considers the idea of artificial intelligence. The story opens with Apollo’s introduction at a science conference. Then we join Apollo as he is employed by a street cleaning team where robots are part of everyday life for humans. Sadly, as malfunctions occur, Apollo suffers several regenerations into new robotic experiences.
However, during all of these, he shows signs of independent thinking, and begins to acknowledge human emotion, which raises many questions and ultimately leads to consideration of spirituality.
This is an interesting story, though one that took a while to grow on me. At first I was a little confused by its direction, and struggled with Apollo’s narrative style, but having completed the book I realise that it was all part of his character growth. My favourite regeneration tale was spent with
Josephine while other moments stood out too, like the piano playing. I was unsure at first where the ending was going, until the author offered a glimpse into the previous book, Another Path; now I’m left very intrigued indeed.
November 2, 2020
I really enjoyed my second Netgalley book! The concept was interesting and I think something everyone should spend at least some time pondering: when is a robot no longer just a machine but a person?
The AI MC was given several names by several owners, but since Apollo felt right to him, I will call him Apollo for this review. The story begins when he is switched on for the first time and unfolds as he is handed from owner to owner, being repaired for malfunctioning (acting on his own, in this case) in between and being tested by the military at one point. Early on, he realises he loves piano music, and from there on, his mind begins to develop and become more and more like a human's.
It was a bit slow in the beginning because of Apollo's nature. He spends a lot of time analyzing everything, which goes as far as giving exact numbers of steps taken or metres walked. I'm glad he was less interested in those details later on XD As his personality developed, he became less careful about getting all the figures and stats right and more interested in his emotions, which were confusing to him, and the big questions like 'why am I feeling anything at all if I'm just a machine?'
It was a beautiful story that made me think and that even made me emotional at times. I believe there are four books in this series which can be read in any order, so it didn't matter that I started at the final book - the series is meant to represent a never-ending loop, which is another fascinating concept I don't see very often.
It's an easy recommendation if you love sci-fi with a heavy dose of moral philosophy! It won't be my last read by Lynagh, that's for sure. I'm super intrigued to read the others.
My thanks to the author and Netgalley for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
The AI MC was given several names by several owners, but since Apollo felt right to him, I will call him Apollo for this review. The story begins when he is switched on for the first time and unfolds as he is handed from owner to owner, being repaired for malfunctioning (acting on his own, in this case) in between and being tested by the military at one point. Early on, he realises he loves piano music, and from there on, his mind begins to develop and become more and more like a human's.
It was a bit slow in the beginning because of Apollo's nature. He spends a lot of time analyzing everything, which goes as far as giving exact numbers of steps taken or metres walked. I'm glad he was less interested in those details later on XD As his personality developed, he became less careful about getting all the figures and stats right and more interested in his emotions, which were confusing to him, and the big questions like 'why am I feeling anything at all if I'm just a machine?'
It was a beautiful story that made me think and that even made me emotional at times. I believe there are four books in this series which can be read in any order, so it didn't matter that I started at the final book - the series is meant to represent a never-ending loop, which is another fascinating concept I don't see very often.
It's an easy recommendation if you love sci-fi with a heavy dose of moral philosophy! It won't be my last read by Lynagh, that's for sure. I'm super intrigued to read the others.
My thanks to the author and Netgalley for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
November 21, 2020
3.10am I finished it last night! One of those books.
I've read the series now and this is my new favourite. The soul prophecies is such a good concept, exploring the birth of alien, human and now AI souls. Apollo is adorable, I can't wait until technology evolves to have a robot assistant like Apollo. The book is fast paced there's are breathtaking moments as well as terrifying injustices. I would say, even though classed as science fiction, it's probably more futurist. There are no intergalactic battles or advanced weaponry, it's a true evolution of modern day but with robots and a digital infrastructure. Transports you to a future world rather than 'another' world.
It's helped end a reading slump. I needed something like this as we are mid lockdown. Just picked up another book to read so I can keep the momentum.
I've read the series now and this is my new favourite. The soul prophecies is such a good concept, exploring the birth of alien, human and now AI souls. Apollo is adorable, I can't wait until technology evolves to have a robot assistant like Apollo. The book is fast paced there's are breathtaking moments as well as terrifying injustices. I would say, even though classed as science fiction, it's probably more futurist. There are no intergalactic battles or advanced weaponry, it's a true evolution of modern day but with robots and a digital infrastructure. Transports you to a future world rather than 'another' world.
It's helped end a reading slump. I needed something like this as we are mid lockdown. Just picked up another book to read so I can keep the momentum.
November 20, 2020
This is interesting and potentially a little thought provoking. The author has a good imagination, and tells this story pretty effectively. I haven't read the others in the series (yet), but enjoyed this nonetheless.
November 30, 2020
I was given a digital review copy of this in exchange for a fair and honest review. I clicked the “interested” button on this one because it sounded sci fi and intriguing and I liked the cover. I don’t know what I was expecting from the synopsis, but I don’t think I got what I was expecting (whatever that was).
Quantum Messenger is the story of Apollo, a piece of AI that grows feelings and a conscience. We start by meeting Apollo when he is a demo robot for what the future could be like! A future where robots could do all the extra things that humans did not have the time to do, they didn’t have to eat or sleep so could be 24/7 doing all the menial jobs, allowing humans to reach their full potential without having to think about cleaning the streets, washing up or doing shopping.
When we next meet Apollo he is a litter robot, a robot cleaning the streets. We start to get a feel for the fact he is curious and seems to have thoughts, and even some form of feeling. This curiosity leads him into trouble, and he ends up “malfunctioning” and leaving his designated area.
Apollo’s next role starts when he “wakes up” and is delivered to a wealthy British family with 2 young kids. At this point in the book, I have to say, I almost gave up. I felt like it wasn’t going anywhere, was very repetitive and, in all honesty, I wasn’t a big fan of the writing. The world building was minimal and the characters were very very 2 dimensional. The writing was better when the author was concentrating on the thoughts and feelings of Apollo, and that may have been an intentional thing, to really drive home the flatness of the world for Apollo beyond his thoughts and feelings, but I don’t know.
The relationship that Apollos builds with the family starts to move the story forward slightly but still its difficult to see where this is going, beyond the “robot can think” aspect. Its doesn’t feel like it builds at all. The one strand that does stand out is Apollo’s love to piano music. That being said, it feels very forced and as though there HAS to be and interest that stands out for him. Something human he wants other than just humanity itself. By the time we’re 40% of the way through the book we’re onto the next incarnation of Apollo as a delivery robot and he’s still searching for the illusive piano music that only Findlay can play.
And again, as sure as day leads to night, Apollo “malfunctions” due to his very very very slowly growing humanity. And we go to the next role, and the next role, and the next role, until we reach the point where he is not in a humanoid shaped body and meets an elderly lady who tried to reason with him and he ends up loving.
Overall I *think* I enjoyed this book. It wasn’t bad but I don’t think I would pick it up again. I spent a lot of it a bit confused as to what was happening and feeling like nothing was happening. I did enjoy parts of the writing, I’d be interested to pick up something in another genre by the author but not this one. Also, I wasn’t aware until afterwards and reading some of the reviews that this was part of a series. From the research I did this could be read as a stand-alone thank goodness. Some comments from the author saying that the series can all be read alone or together and there is no right or wrong order as they all fit together and are cyclic intrigues me (not enough to pick up another one though unfortunately).
Overall this is a 2.5/5 for me, but for the sake of GoodReads I’m dropping it to a 2 because they don’t do half stars and I don’t fee like this is a 3 out of 5.
Quantum Messenger is the story of Apollo, a piece of AI that grows feelings and a conscience. We start by meeting Apollo when he is a demo robot for what the future could be like! A future where robots could do all the extra things that humans did not have the time to do, they didn’t have to eat or sleep so could be 24/7 doing all the menial jobs, allowing humans to reach their full potential without having to think about cleaning the streets, washing up or doing shopping.
When we next meet Apollo he is a litter robot, a robot cleaning the streets. We start to get a feel for the fact he is curious and seems to have thoughts, and even some form of feeling. This curiosity leads him into trouble, and he ends up “malfunctioning” and leaving his designated area.
Apollo’s next role starts when he “wakes up” and is delivered to a wealthy British family with 2 young kids. At this point in the book, I have to say, I almost gave up. I felt like it wasn’t going anywhere, was very repetitive and, in all honesty, I wasn’t a big fan of the writing. The world building was minimal and the characters were very very 2 dimensional. The writing was better when the author was concentrating on the thoughts and feelings of Apollo, and that may have been an intentional thing, to really drive home the flatness of the world for Apollo beyond his thoughts and feelings, but I don’t know.
The relationship that Apollos builds with the family starts to move the story forward slightly but still its difficult to see where this is going, beyond the “robot can think” aspect. Its doesn’t feel like it builds at all. The one strand that does stand out is Apollo’s love to piano music. That being said, it feels very forced and as though there HAS to be and interest that stands out for him. Something human he wants other than just humanity itself. By the time we’re 40% of the way through the book we’re onto the next incarnation of Apollo as a delivery robot and he’s still searching for the illusive piano music that only Findlay can play.
And again, as sure as day leads to night, Apollo “malfunctions” due to his very very very slowly growing humanity. And we go to the next role, and the next role, and the next role, until we reach the point where he is not in a humanoid shaped body and meets an elderly lady who tried to reason with him and he ends up loving.
Overall I *think* I enjoyed this book. It wasn’t bad but I don’t think I would pick it up again. I spent a lot of it a bit confused as to what was happening and feeling like nothing was happening. I did enjoy parts of the writing, I’d be interested to pick up something in another genre by the author but not this one. Also, I wasn’t aware until afterwards and reading some of the reviews that this was part of a series. From the research I did this could be read as a stand-alone thank goodness. Some comments from the author saying that the series can all be read alone or together and there is no right or wrong order as they all fit together and are cyclic intrigues me (not enough to pick up another one though unfortunately).
Overall this is a 2.5/5 for me, but for the sake of GoodReads I’m dropping it to a 2 because they don’t do half stars and I don’t fee like this is a 3 out of 5.
October 3, 2020
The final book in a series, this can be read as a stand-alone title. I appreciate books that form a series but do not require you to read previous titles in order to understand what is happening. The titles in this series are connected by theme.
Before I speak about the book I have to acknowledge the beautiful cover, what a stunning and arresting image, that alone could convince me to pick up this book!
But onto the book itself now. It centres around Apollo, a robot (one of many) that has been created to assist humankind in all manner of ways. Only, this particular Apollo seems to be somewhat different to the others, and in a fundamental way. This Apollo feels things that the others do not, he doesn't understand it all himself, and so this book is his story and his journey as he navigates through everything.
I really enjoyed this book. I think I liked it so much because I love books that make me feel uncomfortable, and by this I mean a story that presents a pretty frightening reality that doesn't currently exist but really could one day. It's not hard to imagine a world with many Apollos running around, and it's also not difficult to imagine one or two of those Apollos going rogue. It's certainly a topic that can spark conversation and this book lends itself to that well.
The description is beautiful, and the world building is spot on. It was effortless to picture what the author was creating.
The chapters are relatively short and I think this works well and results in a pace that is just right, neither rushed or dragged out at any point. It's a book that could easily be enjoyed in only a couple of sittings.
This young adult science fiction piece is a great read and I can't recommend it enough. I think those that are new to the genre would particularly appreciate this one because it's easy to understand, meaning it can provide an introduction to the science fiction world that is not overwhelming.
*I received a complimentary e-copy in exchange for my honest review*
Before I speak about the book I have to acknowledge the beautiful cover, what a stunning and arresting image, that alone could convince me to pick up this book!
But onto the book itself now. It centres around Apollo, a robot (one of many) that has been created to assist humankind in all manner of ways. Only, this particular Apollo seems to be somewhat different to the others, and in a fundamental way. This Apollo feels things that the others do not, he doesn't understand it all himself, and so this book is his story and his journey as he navigates through everything.
I really enjoyed this book. I think I liked it so much because I love books that make me feel uncomfortable, and by this I mean a story that presents a pretty frightening reality that doesn't currently exist but really could one day. It's not hard to imagine a world with many Apollos running around, and it's also not difficult to imagine one or two of those Apollos going rogue. It's certainly a topic that can spark conversation and this book lends itself to that well.
The description is beautiful, and the world building is spot on. It was effortless to picture what the author was creating.
The chapters are relatively short and I think this works well and results in a pace that is just right, neither rushed or dragged out at any point. It's a book that could easily be enjoyed in only a couple of sittings.
This young adult science fiction piece is a great read and I can't recommend it enough. I think those that are new to the genre would particularly appreciate this one because it's easy to understand, meaning it can provide an introduction to the science fiction world that is not overwhelming.
*I received a complimentary e-copy in exchange for my honest review*
November 4, 2020
The plot is set in the future, where robots and AI's are integrated seamlessly into human civilizations. The story follows one AI, named Apollo, who started developing thoughts and questions of his own despite being shut down and reprogrammed repeatedly.
Apollo watched and studied human behavior. He wondered about human emotions. He noticed how people were growing apart with the advancement of technology. When human cruelty and hatred set upon destroying him he started hating humankind. But eventually became more compassionate and empathetic under Josephine's influence. It was like having a front row seat in an AI's guide to humanity.
"I need no reason to exist, but do I want to exist? How can I enjoy the world when I can't move and I can't choose? I can't even listen to Finley's playing, is there any point in existing?"
The story was quite different from the usual AI-practically-becomes-a-superhuman-and-destroys-everything. It Started out great. The plot was good. The narration was good. The story had a huge potential until it .... did not.
It was sci-fi at first. Then abruptly changed track and became a fantasy. Author started introducing soul, colorful orbs inside human bodies (which only Apollo can see), robotic afterlife, stone basins that can see future and what not. I can't believe at one point a god like figure said,
"You cannot be contained Apollo, you can move between life and death at will. You’re crying because your body here has not taken on the form of a robot, it has taken on a human form."
Two completely different genres were merged haphazardly in this book, the jagged line between them too evident. Watching a good character development and story buildup crumbling like this, was really disappointing.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.
Apollo watched and studied human behavior. He wondered about human emotions. He noticed how people were growing apart with the advancement of technology. When human cruelty and hatred set upon destroying him he started hating humankind. But eventually became more compassionate and empathetic under Josephine's influence. It was like having a front row seat in an AI's guide to humanity.
"I need no reason to exist, but do I want to exist? How can I enjoy the world when I can't move and I can't choose? I can't even listen to Finley's playing, is there any point in existing?"
The story was quite different from the usual AI-practically-becomes-a-superhuman-and-destroys-everything. It Started out great. The plot was good. The narration was good. The story had a huge potential until it .... did not.
It was sci-fi at first. Then abruptly changed track and became a fantasy. Author started introducing soul, colorful orbs inside human bodies (which only Apollo can see), robotic afterlife, stone basins that can see future and what not. I can't believe at one point a god like figure said,
"You cannot be contained Apollo, you can move between life and death at will. You’re crying because your body here has not taken on the form of a robot, it has taken on a human form."
Two completely different genres were merged haphazardly in this book, the jagged line between them too evident. Watching a good character development and story buildup crumbling like this, was really disappointing.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.
October 23, 2020
This book is apparently the last in a series, written so that you're able to pick them up in any order.
My four stars are for ninety percent of the book, which is the story of the robot Apollo. He lives several lives, does different jobs and meets different people, all the while grappling with his understanding of himself and the world. It's written simply, which works well with Apollo's sometimes childlike evolving selfhood. I loved this story, especially his relationship with the family he worked for, and then later the old lady, and I could have read a lot more of it.
The last ten percent of the book is, I assume, where it begins to tie into the larger series. I'm not sure what the series is about, but it seems to have a sort of paranormal/soul/afterlife/generational memories focus, so it looks like a large shift in topic. I'm not planning on reading the rest of the series, but I very much enjoyed this piece of it.
My four stars are for ninety percent of the book, which is the story of the robot Apollo. He lives several lives, does different jobs and meets different people, all the while grappling with his understanding of himself and the world. It's written simply, which works well with Apollo's sometimes childlike evolving selfhood. I loved this story, especially his relationship with the family he worked for, and then later the old lady, and I could have read a lot more of it.
The last ten percent of the book is, I assume, where it begins to tie into the larger series. I'm not sure what the series is about, but it seems to have a sort of paranormal/soul/afterlife/generational memories focus, so it looks like a large shift in topic. I'm not planning on reading the rest of the series, but I very much enjoyed this piece of it.
November 27, 2020
One of those weird moments when you realise a series has finished and it seems the end of an era. I love how this loops back to the start.
I think Apollo must be my favourite character in the series, I wanted to give him a hug. I can't wait until robots are as common as they are in the book. With having a dual first-person viewpoint (his thoughts and pre-programmed actions) it makes him seem so real and you wonder if any artificial intelligence would be capable of evolving thoughts in the same way. We humans take so much for granted (we've proved that plenty enough in 2020 with the covid virus). There's one particular really sad scene (no spoilers) where I had to read forward until hope was restored because I don't think I would have slept otherwise.
The book is great and the whole series is one of my all time favourites. It's so different, where it crosses genres, you don't have to be into scifi or fantasy to enjoy the series.
I think Apollo must be my favourite character in the series, I wanted to give him a hug. I can't wait until robots are as common as they are in the book. With having a dual first-person viewpoint (his thoughts and pre-programmed actions) it makes him seem so real and you wonder if any artificial intelligence would be capable of evolving thoughts in the same way. We humans take so much for granted (we've proved that plenty enough in 2020 with the covid virus). There's one particular really sad scene (no spoilers) where I had to read forward until hope was restored because I don't think I would have slept otherwise.
The book is great and the whole series is one of my all time favourites. It's so different, where it crosses genres, you don't have to be into scifi or fantasy to enjoy the series.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews