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Unfettered Journey
A literary cross-genre adventure and love story, for the intelligent reader. Winner of 7 book awards. (Winner in new, adult, debut, visionary, spiritual, and science fiction categories.)
" Unfettered Journey is an existential adventure for the mind and a lot more besides."
- Carly Newfeld, The Last Word, KSFR Santa Fe Public Radio
Unfettered Journey follows Joe, an AI scientist, as he pursues the secret of AI – and his own – consciousness. He travels to a small college to escape life’s frenetic pace and to find answers. But a mysterious woman on a personal mission interrupts his search. Fighting unjust forces, they are caught up by a malevolent plot. Their struggles against machines, men, and nature test the resilience of the human spirit.
Set in a richly imagined near future, this is a cross-genre novel combining thrilling action, adventure, and a love story. It traces an epic journey – from inside the human mind to the vastness of space, from AIs battling in the desert to the peace of a mountain refuge. It asks spiritual, social, and philosophical questions that will linger. How does the will to survive bring clarity to the human experience? What would you sacrifice to achieve social justice? How do we find meaning and purpose in a world dominated by technology?
" Unfettered Journey is an existential adventure for the mind and a lot more besides."
- Carly Newfeld, The Last Word, KSFR Santa Fe Public Radio
Unfettered Journey follows Joe, an AI scientist, as he pursues the secret of AI – and his own – consciousness. He travels to a small college to escape life’s frenetic pace and to find answers. But a mysterious woman on a personal mission interrupts his search. Fighting unjust forces, they are caught up by a malevolent plot. Their struggles against machines, men, and nature test the resilience of the human spirit.
Set in a richly imagined near future, this is a cross-genre novel combining thrilling action, adventure, and a love story. It traces an epic journey – from inside the human mind to the vastness of space, from AIs battling in the desert to the peace of a mountain refuge. It asks spiritual, social, and philosophical questions that will linger. How does the will to survive bring clarity to the human experience? What would you sacrifice to achieve social justice? How do we find meaning and purpose in a world dominated by technology?
527 pages, Paperback
Published September 5, 2020
14 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
About the author
Gary F. Bengier
12 books160 followersWe all have many journeys. Gary’s began in a small Midwest town, where he could play unfettered in the woods, finding an early love for nature and learning self-reliance. The space program and the night skies hooked him on astronomy. After finishing college, the wide world beckoned, and his fascination with science drew him to California to participate in the booming tech industry. Now he still stares upward, wondering what it all is about.
After a career in Silicon Valley, Gary pursued passion projects, studying astrophysics and philosophy. He’s spent the last two decades thinking about how to live a balanced, meaningful life in a rapidly evolving technological world. This self-reflective journey infuses his novels with insights about our future and the challenges we will face in finding purpose.
Before turning to writing speculative fiction, Gary worked in a variety of Silicon Valley tech companies. He was eBay’s Chief Financial Officer and led the company’s initial and secondary public offerings. Gary has an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MA degree in philosophy from San Francisco State University. He has two children with Cynthia, his wife of forty-seven years. When not traveling the world, he raises bees and makes a nice Cabernet at the family’s Napa vineyard. He and his family live in San Francisco.
After a career in Silicon Valley, Gary pursued passion projects, studying astrophysics and philosophy. He’s spent the last two decades thinking about how to live a balanced, meaningful life in a rapidly evolving technological world. This self-reflective journey infuses his novels with insights about our future and the challenges we will face in finding purpose.
Before turning to writing speculative fiction, Gary worked in a variety of Silicon Valley tech companies. He was eBay’s Chief Financial Officer and led the company’s initial and secondary public offerings. Gary has an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MA degree in philosophy from San Francisco State University. He has two children with Cynthia, his wife of forty-seven years. When not traveling the world, he raises bees and makes a nice Cabernet at the family’s Napa vineyard. He and his family live in San Francisco.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
September 13, 2020
Unfettered Journey by Gary F. Bengier probes us to learn the philosophical aspects of nature, subconscious, and AI. The year 2161, after the Climate war, there is a lack of natural resources. People rely on bots and modern technology. The government divides remaining humans into levels, in simple terms, it is like caste, where some people relish, and other's suffering.
The story portrays a different layer of emotions and urges. Even after the awful extinction, people think about themselves first, and the division was there in the form of levels. The book questions an age-old topic of God and religion, and if there is a creator which is described as She, not He by the author. The book is filled with impactful messages and conversations that assist you to think about the future we are heading. If you're looking for some speculative sci-fi book recommendations, here is the one you should read. I recommend it.
Read a detailed review here -https://www.bookscharming.com/2020/09...
The story portrays a different layer of emotions and urges. Even after the awful extinction, people think about themselves first, and the division was there in the form of levels. The book questions an age-old topic of God and religion, and if there is a creator which is described as She, not He by the author. The book is filled with impactful messages and conversations that assist you to think about the future we are heading. If you're looking for some speculative sci-fi book recommendations, here is the one you should read. I recommend it.
Read a detailed review here -https://www.bookscharming.com/2020/09...
September 12, 2022
I entered a giveaway for this book and was excited to read it based on a blog post linked on the author's goodreads page stating that there was a "strong, kick-ass female protagonist". Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I can identify who that character was.
This review will spoil parts.
Books like Unfettered Journey:
Walden:
If reading "What shall I learn of beans... or beans... of me?" blew your mind, this is the book for you.
Into the Wild and Hatchet- The MC goes through a similar journey, but in a fictional future.
Brave New World:
MC learns to see his future world through a new lens.
Ball Lightning:
Features crazy intense PhD-level concepts that you don't need to understand in the slightest for the plot to still make sense.
The Telling and The Cure:
The main plot of the book rests in seeing the world through the MC's point of view, not the actual events that happen in the book.
The Good:
The MC of the book spends the greater part of the story inside his own head, waxing philosophical about the nature of self. I did end up putting the book aside multiple times to go dive into a wikipedia article relating to some postulation or theorem to try and understand the arguments and debates the MC was having in his head/with other characters, but the good news is, you don't actually have to do that! You can have zero knowledge of any philosophy at all, because none of it is actually relevant to the major plot lines of the book!
The only "deep thinking" you'll need to understand is the liar's paradox: "This sentence is a lie". (If it's lying, that means it's not a lie. But if it's not a lie, then it's truthfully claiming it's a lie. Round and round you go.) If you can wrap your head around that kind of a concept, you can just kinda breeze past all the other philosophy of the book and will enjoy it equally fine.
The book has a very soft and gentle tone to it. Because the MC spends so much time in his head, the concrete activities and events in the book take on a cloudy, hazy quality- like the MC wasn't paying very close attention, and neither are you, the reader. I felt that made the book easy to just slide through very quickly-nothing jarred me away from the story, save my need to go wiki a few terms that weren't explained.
Half of the book takes place in a somewhat realistic idea of a sci-fi future, the other half takes place in an area with no technology beyond inclined planes, levers, and axles. The dichotomy of the two halves and how the MC fares in both worlds is interesting, from a writing-decision perspective. My favorite aspect of sci-fi is connecting the future aspects back to the modern day, and watching the MC detach from his future tech held a very definite vibe of the author wanting to disconnect from our modern day tech and it was well woven into the book.
The Bad:
I wish I had never seen the author's blog post about having a strong female character, because waiting for that character to show up soured my attitude more and more the closer I got to the end.
I was also rather disappointed that the main conflict/villain of the book turned out to be a rather generic sci-fi trope after so much of the book revolved around grappling with deep concepts and morality. It had a very "Scooby-doo pulls the mask off the old man" reveal feel to it, and I lost any feeling of emotional punch afterwards.
There were points where the philosophical thoughts end up so thickly unnecessary... there's legitimately a scene where the MC wanders around outside, touches a tree, and has a huge epiphany that doesn't actually become relevant to the plot, as far as I could tell. Had I come into the book knowing that the plot was actually just an excuse to put some college credits to use, I would have been better prepared for what to expect from the story. While it was nice that most of the philosophy wasn't plot relevant, and therefore you don't need a doctorate to read it... taking out all the paragraphs that don't move the plot forward in a meaningful way would turn the novel into a pamphlet.
Reading the book and watching the Black Lives Matter protests concurrently highlighted a very jarring, stark contrast in how the real protests and the fictional protests in the story were described. In essence, the fictional protesters were asking for the exact same things as BLM (or, in essence, every protest for civil rights and equality from the beginning of time), but the MC of the book came from a highly privileged position and had a total disinterest in the protest until it was linked to something he wanted and even then, his polite interest never truly felt like he understood what people wanted. This critique was highly situational, and I don't think it would have hit so incredibly negatively if I was not actively watching the real life version of what was written play out in such a different way. (But it would still be bad, regardless of when you read it.)
The Ugly:
The only female character who features prominently throughout the book:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
This review will spoil parts.
Books like Unfettered Journey:
Walden:
If reading "What shall I learn of beans... or beans... of me?" blew your mind, this is the book for you.
Into the Wild and Hatchet- The MC goes through a similar journey, but in a fictional future.
Brave New World:
MC learns to see his future world through a new lens.
Ball Lightning:
Features crazy intense PhD-level concepts that you don't need to understand in the slightest for the plot to still make sense.
The Telling and The Cure:
The main plot of the book rests in seeing the world through the MC's point of view, not the actual events that happen in the book.
The Good:
The MC of the book spends the greater part of the story inside his own head, waxing philosophical about the nature of self. I did end up putting the book aside multiple times to go dive into a wikipedia article relating to some postulation or theorem to try and understand the arguments and debates the MC was having in his head/with other characters, but the good news is, you don't actually have to do that! You can have zero knowledge of any philosophy at all, because none of it is actually relevant to the major plot lines of the book!
The only "deep thinking" you'll need to understand is the liar's paradox: "This sentence is a lie". (If it's lying, that means it's not a lie. But if it's not a lie, then it's truthfully claiming it's a lie. Round and round you go.) If you can wrap your head around that kind of a concept, you can just kinda breeze past all the other philosophy of the book and will enjoy it equally fine.
The book has a very soft and gentle tone to it. Because the MC spends so much time in his head, the concrete activities and events in the book take on a cloudy, hazy quality- like the MC wasn't paying very close attention, and neither are you, the reader. I felt that made the book easy to just slide through very quickly-nothing jarred me away from the story, save my need to go wiki a few terms that weren't explained.
Half of the book takes place in a somewhat realistic idea of a sci-fi future, the other half takes place in an area with no technology beyond inclined planes, levers, and axles. The dichotomy of the two halves and how the MC fares in both worlds is interesting, from a writing-decision perspective. My favorite aspect of sci-fi is connecting the future aspects back to the modern day, and watching the MC detach from his future tech held a very definite vibe of the author wanting to disconnect from our modern day tech and it was well woven into the book.
The Bad:
I wish I had never seen the author's blog post about having a strong female character, because waiting for that character to show up soured my attitude more and more the closer I got to the end.
I was also rather disappointed that the main conflict/villain of the book turned out to be a rather generic sci-fi trope after so much of the book revolved around grappling with deep concepts and morality. It had a very "Scooby-doo pulls the mask off the old man" reveal feel to it, and I lost any feeling of emotional punch afterwards.
There were points where the philosophical thoughts end up so thickly unnecessary... there's legitimately a scene where the MC wanders around outside, touches a tree, and has a huge epiphany that doesn't actually become relevant to the plot, as far as I could tell. Had I come into the book knowing that the plot was actually just an excuse to put some college credits to use, I would have been better prepared for what to expect from the story. While it was nice that most of the philosophy wasn't plot relevant, and therefore you don't need a doctorate to read it... taking out all the paragraphs that don't move the plot forward in a meaningful way would turn the novel into a pamphlet.
Reading the book and watching the Black Lives Matter protests concurrently highlighted a very jarring, stark contrast in how the real protests and the fictional protests in the story were described. In essence, the fictional protesters were asking for the exact same things as BLM (or, in essence, every protest for civil rights and equality from the beginning of time), but the MC of the book came from a highly privileged position and had a total disinterest in the protest until it was linked to something he wanted and even then, his polite interest never truly felt like he understood what people wanted. This critique was highly situational, and I don't think it would have hit so incredibly negatively if I was not actively watching the real life version of what was written play out in such a different way. (But it would still be bad, regardless of when you read it.)
The Ugly:
The only female character who features prominently throughout the book:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
February 7, 2022
Largely, this book, to borrow from Bettlejuice (1988), reads like stereo instructions. It’s incredibly dry and evokes images of a collection of textbook excerpts. There are oversimplified complex ideas bandied about to either show off how much the author already knows or how much research has been done. This feels very much like a book written for the author rather than any potential reader. Or maybe a really niche audience — of which I am not.
Frankly, I need more nuance, more depth, and — above all — showing and not telling.
The overall plot itself is almost too absurd and increasingly convoluted to relay here. There are too many plot elements trying to co-exist in this story, and the impression it leaves is that of a short story collection that has lost all sense of self and joined hands to create one large, disjointed tale.
The characters themselves were replete with incredibly stilted dialogue — even the awkward exchanges that are either greeting-card-level oversimplified or info-dump for a wide variety of science/philosophical/theoretical concepts. In addition, there are strange interjections in the text that represent the main character's thoughts (usually just a sentence or two), delineated by a centered ellipsis and then blockquote-style thoughts with another ellipsis underneath to indicate this thought has ended. The best part of these is how robotic the main character sounds, even through his own thoughts. At even around 20%, I had hit such a wall with this unnatural style that it made me hope that he would indeed turn out to be a robot. At least that would make some sense of the obtuse angle of describing the main character's love interest when she's introduced into the story and the utterly ridiculous initial interactions they share. I mean...I just can't. It's the kind of stuff they joke about on Twitter....
In fact, I'd rather him have turned out to have been a robot searching for proof of his own consciousness — that would've made more sense for the early idea of the plot rather than what ended up happening.
Even down to the world-building elements, which are firmly in place but completely empty of meaning — in the sense that he seems to have a new future-name for future things, but nothing is truly fleshed out or detailed. Much of this future seems to exist only in the author’s head and not quite landing truly whole in the novel.
Another book where I liked the vaguest notion of the idea of the plot, but not much at all of the execution of these ideas.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book, nor the content of my review.
Frankly, I need more nuance, more depth, and — above all — showing and not telling.
The overall plot itself is almost too absurd and increasingly convoluted to relay here. There are too many plot elements trying to co-exist in this story, and the impression it leaves is that of a short story collection that has lost all sense of self and joined hands to create one large, disjointed tale.
The characters themselves were replete with incredibly stilted dialogue — even the awkward exchanges that are either greeting-card-level oversimplified or info-dump for a wide variety of science/philosophical/theoretical concepts. In addition, there are strange interjections in the text that represent the main character's thoughts (usually just a sentence or two), delineated by a centered ellipsis and then blockquote-style thoughts with another ellipsis underneath to indicate this thought has ended. The best part of these is how robotic the main character sounds, even through his own thoughts. At even around 20%, I had hit such a wall with this unnatural style that it made me hope that he would indeed turn out to be a robot. At least that would make some sense of the obtuse angle of describing the main character's love interest when she's introduced into the story and the utterly ridiculous initial interactions they share. I mean...I just can't. It's the kind of stuff they joke about on Twitter....
In fact, I'd rather him have turned out to have been a robot searching for proof of his own consciousness — that would've made more sense for the early idea of the plot rather than what ended up happening.
Even down to the world-building elements, which are firmly in place but completely empty of meaning — in the sense that he seems to have a new future-name for future things, but nothing is truly fleshed out or detailed. Much of this future seems to exist only in the author’s head and not quite landing truly whole in the novel.
Another book where I liked the vaguest notion of the idea of the plot, but not much at all of the execution of these ideas.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book, nor the content of my review.
January 13, 2025
Over all: 3.5 star
The first half: 5 star
The second half: 2 star
The ending: 4 star
World building: 4 star
Plot: overall 3 star (the love story: 2 star)
Characterization: overall 2 star (the male character is average, the female character a disaster)
I first heard of Unfettered Journey from Inquiring Minds, a science podcast I often listen to. Like the host Indre Viskontas, I am also fascinated by the topic of consciousness, free will and whether AI can become conscious. This book explores these topics.
The first half is my favorite. It reads like an adult academia fiction, in which professors and researchers argue with each other about their various theories. Lots of talks about philosophy, consciousness, intelligence, physics (space-time) and free will. The book reminds me of Sophie’s World.
There are more plots in the second half, but also a lot of tropes. . The battle scene is badly written. The book is saved by its ending.
Gary F. Bengier is a technologist and once was the CFO of eBay. Through the voice of the protagonist, Joe, the author argues for the existence of free will (different from Sam Harris and many modern scientists who hold a determinism view) and against the idea that AI can be conscious. The latter is refreshing as I have read too many science fictions where robots revolt against humans after becoming conscious. Robots do not need consciousness to do damage.
The first half: 5 star
The second half: 2 star
The ending: 4 star
World building: 4 star
Plot: overall 3 star (the love story: 2 star)
Characterization: overall 2 star (the male character is average, the female character a disaster)
I first heard of Unfettered Journey from Inquiring Minds, a science podcast I often listen to. Like the host Indre Viskontas, I am also fascinated by the topic of consciousness, free will and whether AI can become conscious. This book explores these topics.
The first half is my favorite. It reads like an adult academia fiction, in which professors and researchers argue with each other about their various theories. Lots of talks about philosophy, consciousness, intelligence, physics (space-time) and free will. The book reminds me of Sophie’s World.
There are more plots in the second half, but also a lot of tropes. . The battle scene is badly written. The book is saved by its ending.
Gary F. Bengier is a technologist and once was the CFO of eBay. Through the voice of the protagonist, Joe, the author argues for the existence of free will (different from Sam Harris and many modern scientists who hold a determinism view) and against the idea that AI can be conscious. The latter is refreshing as I have read too many science fictions where robots revolt against humans after becoming conscious. Robots do not need consciousness to do damage.
July 17, 2022
I went into this expecting to enjoy it. I saw the glossary at the back and thought, great, I love reading about all these concepts. Well. The execution left a lot to be desired.
First, some things I *did* like:
1) The relatively adult behavior of everyone involved. This is also a con in that the low level of conflict became ridiculous (does no one EVER get irritable?), but I do enjoy when I’m not subjected to contrived conflict or adults behaving like teenagers.
2) I appreciated Evie and Joe’s conflicted feelings on killing animals for food given their dire situation. The fact that vegetarian and certainly vegan lifestyles are so accessible because of our modern world is something I’ve pondered.
The bad news:
1) Biggest and worst problem for me as a woman reader is the horrendous handling of women in this story. It’s all the worse because I think this author thought he was writing something feminist. Evie’s role was maddening. She’s supposedly a leader of this anti-levels movement but her main role is to die for it. We never see her actual leadership of this movement.
Once Joe and Evie are in the Empty Zone, they end up with highly gendered work division with Joe asking, “is this equitable?” once in an attempt to make up for it. And the fact that she forgot she wouldn’t have birth control?? After the first pregnancy there’s NO discussion of prevention or fear??
But before all that we have to suffer through Joe’s pining for both Evie and Freyja. I reflected on this, and I think I would have tolerated Joe’s attraction toward Evie so much more if there had been *any* reflection from him on the power dynamics at play. She’s depending on him to hide her, this is not the time to obsess over a possible romance with her. I’m kind of stunned this was written this way in 2020.
2) The writing was so clunky, so repetitive. I will never forget Evie has hazel eyes because it came up probably 30 times. The philosophical “discussions”, especially at the beginning, were more regurgitation of theories than any representation of real people talking. Joe’s internal monologue was so cringey and awkward. They read like theatrical asides, not like anyone’s actual thoughts.
3) The diversity was … not there? No one’s race is explicitly mentioned as far as I remember, but the vast majority of folks seemed coded White to me. Also straight. It’s hard for me to imagine any protest movement like the anti-levels one not having BIPOC at the center. Unless racism is just solved in this theoretical future??
4) Lastly, the characters were all incredibly flat, perhaps Zable most of all. It at least makes some sense with Peightan by the end. But Joe is an insubstantial lead character whom we know almost nothing about. I actually had convinced myself he was a robot at the beginning because I had so little information about his past or family or anything. At one point when Evie and Joe are walking in the desert, there’s a paragraph that says they discussed things like music and family, and I was like ?? Why are you not showing me this discussion so I can actually get to know these characters?
So yeah, I hated it. 😉 Only finished it because it was a book club read.
First, some things I *did* like:
1) The relatively adult behavior of everyone involved. This is also a con in that the low level of conflict became ridiculous (does no one EVER get irritable?), but I do enjoy when I’m not subjected to contrived conflict or adults behaving like teenagers.
2) I appreciated Evie and Joe’s conflicted feelings on killing animals for food given their dire situation. The fact that vegetarian and certainly vegan lifestyles are so accessible because of our modern world is something I’ve pondered.
The bad news:
1) Biggest and worst problem for me as a woman reader is the horrendous handling of women in this story. It’s all the worse because I think this author thought he was writing something feminist. Evie’s role was maddening. She’s supposedly a leader of this anti-levels movement but her main role is to die for it. We never see her actual leadership of this movement.
Once Joe and Evie are in the Empty Zone, they end up with highly gendered work division with Joe asking, “is this equitable?” once in an attempt to make up for it. And the fact that she forgot she wouldn’t have birth control?? After the first pregnancy there’s NO discussion of prevention or fear??
But before all that we have to suffer through Joe’s pining for both Evie and Freyja. I reflected on this, and I think I would have tolerated Joe’s attraction toward Evie so much more if there had been *any* reflection from him on the power dynamics at play. She’s depending on him to hide her, this is not the time to obsess over a possible romance with her. I’m kind of stunned this was written this way in 2020.
2) The writing was so clunky, so repetitive. I will never forget Evie has hazel eyes because it came up probably 30 times. The philosophical “discussions”, especially at the beginning, were more regurgitation of theories than any representation of real people talking. Joe’s internal monologue was so cringey and awkward. They read like theatrical asides, not like anyone’s actual thoughts.
3) The diversity was … not there? No one’s race is explicitly mentioned as far as I remember, but the vast majority of folks seemed coded White to me. Also straight. It’s hard for me to imagine any protest movement like the anti-levels one not having BIPOC at the center. Unless racism is just solved in this theoretical future??
4) Lastly, the characters were all incredibly flat, perhaps Zable most of all. It at least makes some sense with Peightan by the end. But Joe is an insubstantial lead character whom we know almost nothing about. I actually had convinced myself he was a robot at the beginning because I had so little information about his past or family or anything. At one point when Evie and Joe are walking in the desert, there’s a paragraph that says they discussed things like music and family, and I was like ?? Why are you not showing me this discussion so I can actually get to know these characters?
So yeah, I hated it. 😉 Only finished it because it was a book club read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2022
Would not have finished this if hadn't been for book club.
This book came across as incredibly pretentious, and read more like a philosophy/math textbook than a novel. It felt like the author was using it as a platform for showing how smart he is through Joe rather than writing something where characters spoke and thought like actual people.
So many conversations were unnecessary, and I'm not sure what the plot or end goal of this was. Was it about a fight for true equality among people in this future society? Was it about what makes us human as technology becomes more advanced? Was it about where we draw the line in AI into personhood? I don't know! All of these topics seem to be touched on but I'm not sure which was meant to be the overall theme. One topic of focus for the novel would have been more satisfying than getting thrown back and forth between these through jerky philosophical "conversations." Overall it felt unnecessarily dense with philosophical and mathematical discussions that did not relate to the plot or move it forward at all, was so stereotypically sexist in some parts I had to stop reading out of secondhand embarrassment. I loathed being in Joe's head and having to hear his "profound" thoughts and how perfect women's figures were all the time.
I didn't care for the scientific discussions that so heavily spanned the first half of the book and tuned out for them because it was all over my head. This was not an approachable book for these topics, and made the experience unpleasant to try and parse through. The later half was more tolerable because it was focused on the characters and their attempt to survive an inhospitable environment, but by then the book had already left a bad taste in my mouth so all I could focus on was the unlikelihood of their survival and questionable actions/decisions made. I'm not even sure what really happened in the end but I do know that wasn't necessary for the ending to work. Literally nothing would have changed without that. What was the point?
This book came across as incredibly pretentious, and read more like a philosophy/math textbook than a novel. It felt like the author was using it as a platform for showing how smart he is through Joe rather than writing something where characters spoke and thought like actual people.
So many conversations were unnecessary, and I'm not sure what the plot or end goal of this was. Was it about a fight for true equality among people in this future society? Was it about what makes us human as technology becomes more advanced? Was it about where we draw the line in AI into personhood? I don't know! All of these topics seem to be touched on but I'm not sure which was meant to be the overall theme. One topic of focus for the novel would have been more satisfying than getting thrown back and forth between these through jerky philosophical "conversations." Overall it felt unnecessarily dense with philosophical and mathematical discussions that did not relate to the plot or move it forward at all, was so stereotypically sexist in some parts I had to stop reading out of secondhand embarrassment. I loathed being in Joe's head and having to hear his "profound" thoughts and how perfect women's figures were all the time.
I didn't care for the scientific discussions that so heavily spanned the first half of the book and tuned out for them because it was all over my head. This was not an approachable book for these topics, and made the experience unpleasant to try and parse through. The later half was more tolerable because it was focused on the characters and their attempt to survive an inhospitable environment, but by then the book had already left a bad taste in my mouth so all I could focus on was the unlikelihood of their survival and questionable actions/decisions made. I'm not even sure what really happened in the end but I do know that wasn't necessary for the ending to work. Literally nothing would have changed without that. What was the point?
March 4, 2021
Book Review:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I won a copy of Unfettered Journey by Gary F. Bengier via #Goodreads. This was a novel that delves into our world in the year 2161 and the philosophy of artificial intelligence and technology and its implications for knowledge and understanding of intelligence, ethics, consciousness, the nature and limitations of human knowledge, and free will. We also travel into a world where caste systems still exist and our fight for equality continues. We learn the importance of community and how it can influence humans towards positive or negative behaviors. Along with all this we are witness to a beautiful love story that transcends and survives time and it’s journeys from a desert to outer space and remain intact.
Let’s begin with Joe Denkensmith one of the main character’s who is an Artificial Intelligence scientist and works for the AI ministry. He is in search of the meaning of consciousness and having purpose in life and thus dislikes bots because he feels they have no vision of purpose. Joe starts off his fact finding search by deleting Raidne “A NEST chip buried below his left temporal lobe and connected to his ear.” Raidne is considered a “Personal Intelligent Digital Assistant.” Joe looks at AI as having no “conscious and thus no thinking.” In order to realize his own truths Joe takes a leave of absence and travels to a small college to work as a teacher of applied mathematics. He feels he needs to find answers to the questions swirling in his head.
Joe in his search of answers encounters our other main character Evie. Thus begins an adventure that traverses place and time. Evie is a strong, intelligent women who is not at the same level as Joe but is the leader of a movement that wants to end the worlds caste system. She desires equality and is willing to die for her beliefs. Evie and her followers are in danger and Joe finds himself wanting to help her and her followers. He sees the injustices Evie and her followers in the “lower levels”have had to endure.
Evie and Joe in their need to right the wrongs of a world filled with injustices fall deeply in love and must overcome dangers brought on by both humans and AI. Well as I always say time for you to find out how their love story twists and turns.
I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a fantastical futuristic sci-fi love story. I give this novel a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Enjoy!!!
@garyfbengier
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I won a copy of Unfettered Journey by Gary F. Bengier via #Goodreads. This was a novel that delves into our world in the year 2161 and the philosophy of artificial intelligence and technology and its implications for knowledge and understanding of intelligence, ethics, consciousness, the nature and limitations of human knowledge, and free will. We also travel into a world where caste systems still exist and our fight for equality continues. We learn the importance of community and how it can influence humans towards positive or negative behaviors. Along with all this we are witness to a beautiful love story that transcends and survives time and it’s journeys from a desert to outer space and remain intact.
Let’s begin with Joe Denkensmith one of the main character’s who is an Artificial Intelligence scientist and works for the AI ministry. He is in search of the meaning of consciousness and having purpose in life and thus dislikes bots because he feels they have no vision of purpose. Joe starts off his fact finding search by deleting Raidne “A NEST chip buried below his left temporal lobe and connected to his ear.” Raidne is considered a “Personal Intelligent Digital Assistant.” Joe looks at AI as having no “conscious and thus no thinking.” In order to realize his own truths Joe takes a leave of absence and travels to a small college to work as a teacher of applied mathematics. He feels he needs to find answers to the questions swirling in his head.
Joe in his search of answers encounters our other main character Evie. Thus begins an adventure that traverses place and time. Evie is a strong, intelligent women who is not at the same level as Joe but is the leader of a movement that wants to end the worlds caste system. She desires equality and is willing to die for her beliefs. Evie and her followers are in danger and Joe finds himself wanting to help her and her followers. He sees the injustices Evie and her followers in the “lower levels”have had to endure.
Evie and Joe in their need to right the wrongs of a world filled with injustices fall deeply in love and must overcome dangers brought on by both humans and AI. Well as I always say time for you to find out how their love story twists and turns.
I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a fantastical futuristic sci-fi love story. I give this novel a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Enjoy!!!
@garyfbengier
March 25, 2021
I received a free copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. (Thank you, Mr. Bengier!)
I grew up on science fiction, and this book reminded me of what I loved about those stories: a distant and ecologically advanced future, and mankind's place in it. Joe Denkensmith is basically "burned out" on tech; he takes a sabbatical from his job and goes to a small, more rural college to connect with the professors there, hoping to clear his head and get back on track. The more he disconnects from the pervasive technology, the more he comes to see the bigger picture of how he fits in, and how our choices shape our lives.
I really enjoyed this novel. The characters are very likeable and well-fleshed out. The mathematical and philosophical matters the characters talk about were presented in practical, easy-to-understand terms.
I would recommend this book. I look forward to reading other works from this author!
I grew up on science fiction, and this book reminded me of what I loved about those stories: a distant and ecologically advanced future, and mankind's place in it. Joe Denkensmith is basically "burned out" on tech; he takes a sabbatical from his job and goes to a small, more rural college to connect with the professors there, hoping to clear his head and get back on track. The more he disconnects from the pervasive technology, the more he comes to see the bigger picture of how he fits in, and how our choices shape our lives.
I really enjoyed this novel. The characters are very likeable and well-fleshed out. The mathematical and philosophical matters the characters talk about were presented in practical, easy-to-understand terms.
I would recommend this book. I look forward to reading other works from this author!
November 20, 2020
Unfettered Journey is a genre-crossing thrill of a novel. From the deep desert to outer space, this book keeps you on your toes of what will come next. Simultaneously, it dives deep into a question that could very well be the question for the century: what is consciousness? Bengier clearly has a deep knowledge of many of these aspects and works diligently to delicately introduce complex stepping stones to the reader along the way.
December 11, 2020
A wonderful journey into a future world, still struggling with all that we deal with today. Humanity is resourceful, fragile & flawed. Our journeys are unique and are guided by our values, understanding & actions. A very enjoyable story that will help us all reflect on our meaning & existence. Looking forward to more from this author!
November 24, 2020
~About
Joe, an applied mathematician and AI scientist, is plagued by questions regarding human consciousness. On a sabbatical from his usual work, he travels to Lone Mountain College, where he encounters a protest against Level Acts that separate and demean people.
However, housing the protest’s leader, Evie in his temporary accommodation is a risky move, one which sees them both banished to a place known only as The Zone.
~Characters
Joe Denkensmith is highly intelligent, curious, determined, and admittedly a bit lost in life.
Evie, however, is a mysterious, passionate, idealistic young woman who contrasts Joe’s character nicely. Her rebellious nature rubs off on Joe over time, leading him to join in her pursuit of abolishing the Level Acts.
Fabri and Eloy are kind and hard working friends to Joe and Evie, having met in The Zone. As a couple, they demonstrated the better, more caring and helpful side of human nature.
On the other hand, Peightan, an obnoxious, sneering cretin of a man made for a truly infuriating villain. He represented a darker side of human nature. Everything he did and said really got on my nerves, so it was easy to hate him.
~Likes
There was much that I loved about Unfettered Journey. One of my core likes was how the relationship between Joe and Evie built up slowly as they came to trust in each-other more and more. Seeing how they persevered through ever more difficult struggles together gave me hope in humanity’s ability to form strong relational bonds.
In addition, the domed community Evie came from was a wondrous sounding place, full of human connection and compassion. Hand-made goods and caring members gave this little community a united and genuine vibe and made it sound like a place I’d love to live.
The sense of survival and human spirit (especially in the second half of the story) explored was absolutely beautiful to see. This is something I thought Evie’s character portrayed especially well, always standing up for what was right and just, no matter what it cost her.
Themes of life, love, loss and community feature prominently, as do the idea of the human spirit and a sense of unrelenting inner freedom.
~Memorable Quotes:
This book had a plethora of inspiring quotes, so obviously it was difficult to whittle down which ones to include in this review. Eventually, I settled on five because each seemed too important to leave out.
1) ‘You never know what pain other people might have. You see them walking about as if all is well, but you can’t see the stones inside their mercuries.’
This quote highlights the importance of not judging someone by what you can see. It encourages people to look deeper, to give people the benefit of the doubt, as much of a person’s past pain is hidden in their mind, where we fear to tread.
2) ‘Your worth comes from inside, from your character.’
This was one of the more important quotes for me. In the UK (and I’ve noticed in the US) there seems to be this idea that your worth is tied mainly to how much money you make or what you look like.
Realistically, our personal character and what we do with it determines our self worth, although this is not something we’re routinely told. It’s nice to have this statement reflected back to us, to remind us of what we’re really worth when we lose ourselves in the material world.
3) ‘The people who you surround yourself with help shape your path. Those choices and those people, influence character.’
Again, this quote details something I wasn’t taught growing up. The idea that who you surround yourself with matters is only just starting to dawn on me. While bad influences will lead you down treacherous paths, better influences will enrich your life beyond recognition.
4) ‘We never know how long our sliver of time is, so we need to use it wisely.’
Wise words from a wise man. It’s important to remember that there are no guarantees in life. The next day could be our last as we never know what fate holds in store for us.
5) 'We have the free will to act, to make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others- we can strive higher and be good examples to each-other. Like Evie, we can work with others to make the world better.’
This final quote was particularly powerful and emotive. It sets the entire tone for the story, drawing it to a perfect close. As long as we all strive to do better, we can change the world.
~Overview
Unfettered Journey was a powerful exploration of freedom, status, and what it means to have consciousness. I loved every moment.
Rated: 5 stars.
Recommended: To lovers of unique science fiction, who love a good underdog story.
April 12, 2021
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Unfettered Journey
Author: Gary F. Bengier
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 20
Stats
Editing: 9/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 10/10
Of the 20 readers:
18 would read another book by this author.
20 thought the cover was good or excellent.
20 felt it was easy to follow.
18 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 10 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 6 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
Of all the readers, 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
15 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
18 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
5 thought the author needs to work on ‘improving the blurb’.
Readers’ Comments
‘I very much enjoyed this futuristic novel. The AI elements were particularly interesting and thought-provoking. The cover also looked amazing although the blurb lacked a strong, simple ‘hook’. A fascinating read from a talented author.’ Male reader, aged 53
‘This book seemed very well researched and was cleverly plotted all the way to the end.’ Female reader, aged 34
‘This is not a short book. Could it be cut a little? Possibly. But, saying that, the author has plenty of room to develop the plot, characters and the theme. This novel is not simply a thriller; it’s also a love story and a philosophical analysis of, well, pretty much everything! I enjoyed it immensely although I do feel the author is trying to cover too much territory There’s probably material for three books in here!’ Male reader, aged 52
‘Loved it. Strong characters, amazing settings, and lots of tech stuff – I love tech stuff!’ Male reader, aged 55
‘The last techno novel I read was The Martian. I enjoyed this – almost – as much. The sort of novel you can get lost in.’ Male reader, aged 62
To Sum It Up:
‘A thrilling futuristic adventure, perfect for readers who enjoy ‘smart’ books. A FINALIST and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Title: Unfettered Journey
Author: Gary F. Bengier
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 20
Stats
Editing: 9/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 10/10
Of the 20 readers:
18 would read another book by this author.
20 thought the cover was good or excellent.
20 felt it was easy to follow.
18 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 10 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 6 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
Of all the readers, 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
15 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
18 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
5 thought the author needs to work on ‘improving the blurb’.
Readers’ Comments
‘I very much enjoyed this futuristic novel. The AI elements were particularly interesting and thought-provoking. The cover also looked amazing although the blurb lacked a strong, simple ‘hook’. A fascinating read from a talented author.’ Male reader, aged 53
‘This book seemed very well researched and was cleverly plotted all the way to the end.’ Female reader, aged 34
‘This is not a short book. Could it be cut a little? Possibly. But, saying that, the author has plenty of room to develop the plot, characters and the theme. This novel is not simply a thriller; it’s also a love story and a philosophical analysis of, well, pretty much everything! I enjoyed it immensely although I do feel the author is trying to cover too much territory There’s probably material for three books in here!’ Male reader, aged 52
‘Loved it. Strong characters, amazing settings, and lots of tech stuff – I love tech stuff!’ Male reader, aged 55
‘The last techno novel I read was The Martian. I enjoyed this – almost – as much. The sort of novel you can get lost in.’ Male reader, aged 62
To Sum It Up:
‘A thrilling futuristic adventure, perfect for readers who enjoy ‘smart’ books. A FINALIST and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
February 5, 2021
I was asked by Farrow Communications if I would be interested in a science fiction thriller with a love story and I was very intrigued. Although math and science are topics I stay far away from, I have great respect for the compelling mathematical and even philosophical minds, topics, and dialogue in this book. As an employee of a liberal arts college, I understand the faculty dynamics and competitiveness illustrated in the book and found the discussion of AI consciousness to be a fascinating topic.
It is the year 2161, after the Climate War, and the planet is lacking natural resources. As people rely on bots and technology more and more the divide between humans becomes greater with the Levels Act which is similar to the caste system.
Professor Joe Denkensmith feels as if he has hit a brick wall about his theory on AI consciousness and is hoping his sabbatical at the Lone Mountain College will reset his direction. Working with the renowned Dr. Eli Jardine, Dean of the College and his colleagues is an honor, and he is both excited and intimated by academic excellence around him.
I like the idea of Joe not only exploring AI consciousness but his own as well. He is smart, competitive, and a rule follower until he meets the rebellious and vibrant Evie who is on a mission to abolish the Level Acts. Their journey together is gradual as they build trust with each by exploring their beliefs and conduct and eventually appreciating each other's strengths.
An Unfettered Journey has captivating prose and questions about free will, social justice, and religion. It is an engaging blend of speculative fiction, science fiction, suspense thriller, and romance that questions the future of humanity and technology. Recommend highly!
Thank you to Mr. Bengier for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.
It is the year 2161, after the Climate War, and the planet is lacking natural resources. As people rely on bots and technology more and more the divide between humans becomes greater with the Levels Act which is similar to the caste system.
Professor Joe Denkensmith feels as if he has hit a brick wall about his theory on AI consciousness and is hoping his sabbatical at the Lone Mountain College will reset his direction. Working with the renowned Dr. Eli Jardine, Dean of the College and his colleagues is an honor, and he is both excited and intimated by academic excellence around him.
I like the idea of Joe not only exploring AI consciousness but his own as well. He is smart, competitive, and a rule follower until he meets the rebellious and vibrant Evie who is on a mission to abolish the Level Acts. Their journey together is gradual as they build trust with each by exploring their beliefs and conduct and eventually appreciating each other's strengths.
An Unfettered Journey has captivating prose and questions about free will, social justice, and religion. It is an engaging blend of speculative fiction, science fiction, suspense thriller, and romance that questions the future of humanity and technology. Recommend highly!
Thank you to Mr. Bengier for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.
September 20, 2020
This debut novel has really hit a sweet spot between a romance and a perilous, imaginative, and futuristic adventure. Set in the not so distant future, the plot revolves around a young scientist's exploration of consciousness in a very convincing and imaginative world where robots are ubiquitous, functioning via artificial intelligence, and dozens of recognizable technologies are posited with logical and interesting trajectories. The story ponders how quite likely technological innovations will steer future society as an overlay on issues of civil unrest, government oppression, income inequality, social stratification; in other words, it is very relatable.
The plot grapples with many age-old philosophical inquiries of the self, but also challenges the reader to reflect on the impacts of innovation on relationships, self-expression, and our work environment. There were many moments where I found myself thinking, "oh yeah - of course that is what would happen!"
Beyond providing a glimpse of a futuristic world, Gary has also incorporated into the plot an impressive rendering of what might happen were one to be suddenly stripped of the conveniences and comforts of all technology when its main characters are thrust into a world where their survival will depend on their wits, cooperation and imagination. Here too there are remarkable imaginings of how one might navigate the natural world in survivalist mode.
Gary clearly draws on a profound well of experience in science, technology, astronomy, cuisine, wine, husbandry, travel, philosophy, and personal reflection in creating his robustly imagined world. He generously gifts his readers with wit, clever reveals, and even manages to provide painless guidance through many thorny philosophical musings. The bright writing and pacing of the story depicting this creative future world, the perilous adventure, combined with an unexpectedly sweet love story make this a fun and compelling novel. This is a wonderful debut! I wholeheartedly recommend it!
The plot grapples with many age-old philosophical inquiries of the self, but also challenges the reader to reflect on the impacts of innovation on relationships, self-expression, and our work environment. There were many moments where I found myself thinking, "oh yeah - of course that is what would happen!"
Beyond providing a glimpse of a futuristic world, Gary has also incorporated into the plot an impressive rendering of what might happen were one to be suddenly stripped of the conveniences and comforts of all technology when its main characters are thrust into a world where their survival will depend on their wits, cooperation and imagination. Here too there are remarkable imaginings of how one might navigate the natural world in survivalist mode.
Gary clearly draws on a profound well of experience in science, technology, astronomy, cuisine, wine, husbandry, travel, philosophy, and personal reflection in creating his robustly imagined world. He generously gifts his readers with wit, clever reveals, and even manages to provide painless guidance through many thorny philosophical musings. The bright writing and pacing of the story depicting this creative future world, the perilous adventure, combined with an unexpectedly sweet love story make this a fun and compelling novel. This is a wonderful debut! I wholeheartedly recommend it!
September 23, 2020
I was given an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.Opening with the phrase, " It was time for him to embrace his freedom."
the reader is instantly taken on a journey with the perfect mix of romance, science fiction, adventure, and a philosophical curiosity of free will and the existence of God.
Bengier’s writing is futuristic yet relatable with it’s discussions of protests and social equality, and very captivating.
the reader is instantly taken on a journey with the perfect mix of romance, science fiction, adventure, and a philosophical curiosity of free will and the existence of God.
Bengier’s writing is futuristic yet relatable with it’s discussions of protests and social equality, and very captivating.
July 27, 2021
When I started this book I expected it was going to be a science-fiction look at where technology may take human life in the near future. It was that... but so much more. It is truly cross-genre. An ongoing theme is a quest to understand consciousness in the human mind... and our place in the universe. This includes some challenging reading related to classical theories of physics, philosophy, evolution, spiritual existence, and more. It is a thriller with a very tender love story entwined. But ultimately, this book is about social justice. Powerful.
January 20, 2022
Did not finish, it took six months to get to 40%. I wanted more sci-fi and a less philosophy. It was such an interesting idea that I’m sure this checks the box for a lot of folks, but it’s not for me right now.
September 7, 2020
I was drawn in from the very beginning and couldn't put it down. The characters, story, and message were so well crafted and engaging. Fascinating story and excellent writing. Highly recommended!!
April 1, 2021
Set in the future, a scientist wipes everything cleansnd moves forward. Will he be involved in the evil plot of humans afflictions? A great read , has a little bit of everything technology, spiritually, human emotions enjoy
December 30, 2020
Unfettered Journey by Gary F Bengier written in 2020 is comparable to what 1984 by George Orwell was back in 1949.
Joe is a wonderful scientist who works mostly with Artificial Intelligence. His main goal is to create not just a sentient robot but fully conscious intelligent life. This lofty goal requires him to dive deep into not only what makes up human consciousness but also physics, especially regarding the universe. His project prompts him to take a sabbatical at another college to pursue these studies.
It is on his way back to his temporary home that Joe runs into Evie in a stream running though campus. Against his better judgment Joe offers her a place to hide from the police that are looking for anyone involved in a protest against the levels act on campus. Little dose he know but Evie is not only a member of the resistance against the levels act but a leader of the group. Much to his surprise Joe finds himself in a world of inequality that he never quite noticed before, but that he is ready to fight alongside Evie to change even if it could mean being rejected from society.
So much of this book was enjoyable. There was amazing moments of personal growth for Joe, and Evie’s growth was just as amazing though a bit more subtle. Then there was the ongoing fight aginst the government for equality among all the citizens no matter where they started out in life. Finally Joe and Evie discovering their peace and strength in nature was perfect for a lack of a better way to put it. The entire book is a bit scientific and technical which made it into a long read. Thankfully readers don’t have to fully understand the scientific theories to enjoy the book. Also there is a glossary in the back where readers can brush up on the main points.
The depth of this book alone make it ideal for adults, however young adults and teens are able to read it as well. It is a slow read and one that is going to take multiple reads to get the full benefit from it, especially if you are interested in the scientific aspect of the book. I rate this book 4 out of 4. The scope of people that this book can appeal to is a major bonus. No matter if a reader can understand physics or not there is still a rich story to discover in these pages. It is clear that the book was exceptionally well thought out and written with care.
Release Date: September 7, 2020
Joe is a wonderful scientist who works mostly with Artificial Intelligence. His main goal is to create not just a sentient robot but fully conscious intelligent life. This lofty goal requires him to dive deep into not only what makes up human consciousness but also physics, especially regarding the universe. His project prompts him to take a sabbatical at another college to pursue these studies.
It is on his way back to his temporary home that Joe runs into Evie in a stream running though campus. Against his better judgment Joe offers her a place to hide from the police that are looking for anyone involved in a protest against the levels act on campus. Little dose he know but Evie is not only a member of the resistance against the levels act but a leader of the group. Much to his surprise Joe finds himself in a world of inequality that he never quite noticed before, but that he is ready to fight alongside Evie to change even if it could mean being rejected from society.
So much of this book was enjoyable. There was amazing moments of personal growth for Joe, and Evie’s growth was just as amazing though a bit more subtle. Then there was the ongoing fight aginst the government for equality among all the citizens no matter where they started out in life. Finally Joe and Evie discovering their peace and strength in nature was perfect for a lack of a better way to put it. The entire book is a bit scientific and technical which made it into a long read. Thankfully readers don’t have to fully understand the scientific theories to enjoy the book. Also there is a glossary in the back where readers can brush up on the main points.
The depth of this book alone make it ideal for adults, however young adults and teens are able to read it as well. It is a slow read and one that is going to take multiple reads to get the full benefit from it, especially if you are interested in the scientific aspect of the book. I rate this book 4 out of 4. The scope of people that this book can appeal to is a major bonus. No matter if a reader can understand physics or not there is still a rich story to discover in these pages. It is clear that the book was exceptionally well thought out and written with care.
Release Date: September 7, 2020
February 15, 2021
I am bursting with pride to offer my thoughts about friend Gary Bengier’s first book, “Unfettered Journey.” But first a small digression to share that Gary is the true Renaissance Man. I don’t want to reveal too many personal details without his consent and it has been a few years since we have spent much time together but what can’t this man do? With “Unfettered Journey” Gary offers one more example of his enormous talent and challenges us to stretch our creative and intellectual capabilities to just keep up with the philosophical musings. My reading typically spans a couple genres: mystery, thriller and new fiction. I rarely wander into the sci-fi realm and when Gary shared he was due to publish a book, I don’t think we even discussed the genre. That said, sci-fi is not a genre that occupies many of my Goodreads entries. When Gary’s advance copies became available, I found myself completely preoccupied with world and domestic events, to the point where I seemed unable to consume much else. I just couldn’t seem to concentrate and this is not the book to read if you are having trouble concentrating. Why? It asks that we actually use our brain for more than a sound bite or two.
In “Unfettered Journey,” Gary creates a whole new world and even language. It struck me much like my first viewing of James Cameron’s “Avatar,” wondering how on earth the writer Gary was able to track all of the new machines and concepts occupying the world in 2061. He considerately provided a glossary for us to help keep up with the terms but it was fairly easy to acclimate. My initial thought was that “Unfettered Journey” has a definite graphic novel feel. The characters are broad yet given much to introspection.
But what caused my reading to pick up momentum was my growing attachment to protagonists Joe and Evie. I am thinking it’s no coincidence that the plot accelerated for me half-way through the book as Joe and Edie were banished. I loved this part of the story which is titled “Journey Backward and Forward”. The Eden imagery becomes more pronounced especially with the lead in quote from Genesis. My engagement and reading speed really picked up to culminate in the last book part “The Journey Onward” or the big end.
And how serendipitous that I finished reading this book on Valentine’s Day and teared up a bit to read Gary’s acknowledgement of his “dear wife, Cynthia” with whom he has found purpose and adventure!
Will we hear more from Joe Denkensmith? I sure hope so. He just may have made a sci-fi convert out of me.
In “Unfettered Journey,” Gary creates a whole new world and even language. It struck me much like my first viewing of James Cameron’s “Avatar,” wondering how on earth the writer Gary was able to track all of the new machines and concepts occupying the world in 2061. He considerately provided a glossary for us to help keep up with the terms but it was fairly easy to acclimate. My initial thought was that “Unfettered Journey” has a definite graphic novel feel. The characters are broad yet given much to introspection.
But what caused my reading to pick up momentum was my growing attachment to protagonists Joe and Evie. I am thinking it’s no coincidence that the plot accelerated for me half-way through the book as Joe and Edie were banished. I loved this part of the story which is titled “Journey Backward and Forward”. The Eden imagery becomes more pronounced especially with the lead in quote from Genesis. My engagement and reading speed really picked up to culminate in the last book part “The Journey Onward” or the big end.
And how serendipitous that I finished reading this book on Valentine’s Day and teared up a bit to read Gary’s acknowledgement of his “dear wife, Cynthia” with whom he has found purpose and adventure!
Will we hear more from Joe Denkensmith? I sure hope so. He just may have made a sci-fi convert out of me.
August 7, 2020
A fascinating story that is both an adventure and a philosophical exploration, full of surprises and delight. A fun read!
April 17, 2021
Unfettered Journey is a heavily science based fiction intertwined with philosophy.The story has been laid out amazingly that is most incomparable.The philosophy and the depth of this book is quite phenomenal.You will never think that science and philosophy goes hand in hand,but such perfect contrast of these two topics in this book,makes the story shine.Our hero,Joe Denkensmith is an average, simple guy.He is an AI scientist and mathematician. Troubled by his work which was stuck at a dead-end, he decides to take a sabbatical at Lone Mountain College.There our story begins. He meets Evie Johnson,a young spirited and strong women. She is the leader of a protest against the social hierarchy system called The Levels Act. But after an attack on the protesters,she is forced to hide out in Joe's apartment as he somewhat rescues her. Then,their story continues. To read Joe become an actual hero from an average guy and Evie being a strong independent is absolutely delightful.
The first part was really hard for me to read as it was loaded with science words.As I'm not someone who reads science stuff at all. That's the only con for me about this book and the reason for why I wasn't really getting into it in the first place.The next parts were full of story which was the reason I liked this book.The END is heartbreaking 😭.Although the story was amazing,I didn't enjoy the fullest only because science and philosophy isn't my thing.But, I kept my expectations low and didn't expect myself to enjoy the book as much as I did.So, this book is an amazing one for Sci-fi lovers at best.
Thank you so much to the author's team for giving me the opportunity to review this book.
The first part was really hard for me to read as it was loaded with science words.As I'm not someone who reads science stuff at all. That's the only con for me about this book and the reason for why I wasn't really getting into it in the first place.The next parts were full of story which was the reason I liked this book.The END is heartbreaking 😭.Although the story was amazing,I didn't enjoy the fullest only because science and philosophy isn't my thing.But, I kept my expectations low and didn't expect myself to enjoy the book as much as I did.So, this book is an amazing one for Sci-fi lovers at best.
Thank you so much to the author's team for giving me the opportunity to review this book.
June 6, 2021
Strange mixture of a soppy and melodramatic story with undergrad philosophy.
May 16, 2021
I am usually not a fan of science fiction. This was well written and kept my attention
September 8, 2020
REVIEW
“Unfettered Journey” by Gary F. Bengier
by renaissanceadmin • 2020-09-06 • 0 Comments
This is a story about one man’s journey to discover whether he has free will. Also to find a meaning for his life, which pretty much amounts to the same thing. The author is a philosopher, the main character is a university prof and he searches at a university, so strap yourself in for an intense bout of ideas.
This book is near-future Sci-Fi, heavy to the philosophy. It has a good anti-dystopian rebellion plotline, a really sweet love story, and a few spates of great action. However, here is a taste of what you are likely to encounter:
The scientific world-building is great, with ideas like, “brain immersives and brain-machine interface technology,” sprinkled throughout.
The philosophical schools and precepts are myriad, from David Hume’s ideas about causality, through Schrödinger’s cat and just about every famous philosopher of the past two centuries, and at the bottom (or top?) the nature of God. Oh yes, and string theory as well.
And then the whole scene changes, whisking us to a survival ordeal in the wilderness. I have to say that this part of the story is much more appealing, although the main character uses his time away from the cares of the modern world to ponder deep philosophical subjects in peace.
A note about editing your genre to the level of knowledge of your public. Readers who understand and appreciate a phrase like “the fulgent light of day” know that “shined” is what you did to your shoes, and “shone” is what the sun did. To people this educated, “all right” is two words.
Highly recommended for those cramming for the Philosophy 101 final exam. Other than that, I’m not sure how many readers would be interested enough in the story to wade through the philosophy. I certainly enjoyed the interplay of ideas — they reminded me fondly of discussions of Existentialism in grad school — but there were places where I couldn’t follow the logic, and (here’s the key part) wasn’t motivated to spend the time to try.
“Unfettered Journey” by Gary F. Bengier
by renaissanceadmin • 2020-09-06 • 0 Comments
This is a story about one man’s journey to discover whether he has free will. Also to find a meaning for his life, which pretty much amounts to the same thing. The author is a philosopher, the main character is a university prof and he searches at a university, so strap yourself in for an intense bout of ideas.
This book is near-future Sci-Fi, heavy to the philosophy. It has a good anti-dystopian rebellion plotline, a really sweet love story, and a few spates of great action. However, here is a taste of what you are likely to encounter:
The scientific world-building is great, with ideas like, “brain immersives and brain-machine interface technology,” sprinkled throughout.
The philosophical schools and precepts are myriad, from David Hume’s ideas about causality, through Schrödinger’s cat and just about every famous philosopher of the past two centuries, and at the bottom (or top?) the nature of God. Oh yes, and string theory as well.
And then the whole scene changes, whisking us to a survival ordeal in the wilderness. I have to say that this part of the story is much more appealing, although the main character uses his time away from the cares of the modern world to ponder deep philosophical subjects in peace.
A note about editing your genre to the level of knowledge of your public. Readers who understand and appreciate a phrase like “the fulgent light of day” know that “shined” is what you did to your shoes, and “shone” is what the sun did. To people this educated, “all right” is two words.
Highly recommended for those cramming for the Philosophy 101 final exam. Other than that, I’m not sure how many readers would be interested enough in the story to wade through the philosophy. I certainly enjoyed the interplay of ideas — they reminded me fondly of discussions of Existentialism in grad school — but there were places where I couldn’t follow the logic, and (here’s the key part) wasn’t motivated to spend the time to try.
October 21, 2020
This was a very difficult book to categorize. It is at once Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Action-Adventure and Romance all rolled into one great read. Enter a world where following a horrific climate war, every person is assigned to a Level and their entire lives are dictated by the limits of that level. The higher the level, the more rights the person has. As you might suspect, this leads to a revolutionary movement that leads to people being banished to an inhospitable no-man's land from which nobody has yet returned. The unlikely couple - Joe and Evie - end up being set up by an evil law enforcement group and banished. Thus begins the journey and the meat of the book.
The author is obviously very well educated and well read. If I have any negative comments about the book, it is that I felt it was overly invested with heavy intellectual discussions between the characters. Not that these were not interesting, but I thought that in some cases they didn't seem to fit in. When Joe and Evie were trekking across the wastelands in search of water and food, they become engaged in a deep philosophical discussion. Had I been in that situation, I think I would be focusing on more basic topics of discussion, but that's just me. That said, I do still enjoy a good intelligent discussion on subjects beyond the mundane and did feel as though I was stimulated by many of these talks.
Unfettered Journey is the story of unassuming people trying to cope with the unrealistic restraints of their society. Is this our own future? Can we prevent falling into the same fate as Joe and Evie? Or have we already become trapped inside a socioeconomic prison of our own design? These are heady questions and will require greater minds than mine to solve. In the meantime, read this book. You'll be left with a cornucopia of food for thought.
The author is obviously very well educated and well read. If I have any negative comments about the book, it is that I felt it was overly invested with heavy intellectual discussions between the characters. Not that these were not interesting, but I thought that in some cases they didn't seem to fit in. When Joe and Evie were trekking across the wastelands in search of water and food, they become engaged in a deep philosophical discussion. Had I been in that situation, I think I would be focusing on more basic topics of discussion, but that's just me. That said, I do still enjoy a good intelligent discussion on subjects beyond the mundane and did feel as though I was stimulated by many of these talks.
Unfettered Journey is the story of unassuming people trying to cope with the unrealistic restraints of their society. Is this our own future? Can we prevent falling into the same fate as Joe and Evie? Or have we already become trapped inside a socioeconomic prison of our own design? These are heady questions and will require greater minds than mine to solve. In the meantime, read this book. You'll be left with a cornucopia of food for thought.
August 14, 2020
Unfettered Journey is set in the future, after the Climate Wars. It’s the story of a scientist, Joe, who works for the AI Ministry and specializes in artificial intelligence, specifically looking at creating robot consciousness. He hits a wall in his research and decides to take a sabbatical at Lone Mountain College, a small California college. Rather than the former caste system, a system of “levels” exist, and people cannot marry outside of their level. At the college, Joe is unwittingly drawn into an anti-level movement.
The world is as richly imagined as the Bladerunner movie. Robots hover everywhere and provide all services humans need. Personal Intelligent Physical Assistants (Pipabots) are assigned to each person and take care of the mundane issues humans face daily. People, due to the shortage of actual jobs (caused by the proliferation of robots), work only 12 hours a week. They have a corneal connection call the NEST, which functions as a computer screen and brings up “the latest fashions from Chicago. A rising-star painter from Atlanta.” The leading story, though, is about a “woman tragically killed in Texas, the seventh accidental death this year.”
There are long passage of philosophical discussion, and I was torn by these. I enjoyed reading about ideas I hadn’t thought about since studying philosophy in college. On the other hand, I skimmed some of them, feeling they slowed down the pacing of the novel.
Overall a book that kept me reading and the story was fascinating.
The world is as richly imagined as the Bladerunner movie. Robots hover everywhere and provide all services humans need. Personal Intelligent Physical Assistants (Pipabots) are assigned to each person and take care of the mundane issues humans face daily. People, due to the shortage of actual jobs (caused by the proliferation of robots), work only 12 hours a week. They have a corneal connection call the NEST, which functions as a computer screen and brings up “the latest fashions from Chicago. A rising-star painter from Atlanta.” The leading story, though, is about a “woman tragically killed in Texas, the seventh accidental death this year.”
There are long passage of philosophical discussion, and I was torn by these. I enjoyed reading about ideas I hadn’t thought about since studying philosophy in college. On the other hand, I skimmed some of them, feeling they slowed down the pacing of the novel.
Overall a book that kept me reading and the story was fascinating.
January 1, 2021
Many of you that come to this blog know I appreciate speculative fiction.
Well, I did something this week, I seldom do. I picked up a novel and starting reading the first page it opened to which was not at the beginning of the book.
I'd entered into an action scene that read like a great outdoor adventure where one garners knowledge about hard-wired behaviors that enhance our ability to cope.
It was a Naturalist writing style that seemed real and raw, and I found it difficult to trek back to the beginning because I was engaged by the expression and exposition in this book that was teaching nature does what it wants.
I eventually did make my way back to the beginning and in Chapter 3 found Jardine chuckle while stating, "Creating intelligence is hard. Creating wisdom is even harder."
One might think the intersection of technology and humanity is when we realize there is a difference between hypothesis and scientific theory and recognize that cognitive collaboration is needed to thoughtfully fulfill functions that are supported by lines of evidence.
If you acknowledge there is uncertainty and that science is an ongoing process and are searching for a book that uses connections for story weaving about Artificial Intelligence then you will not want to miss this read.
I received a copy of this book from the author Gary Bengier through Alyssa Longo with Farrow Communications.
Well, I did something this week, I seldom do. I picked up a novel and starting reading the first page it opened to which was not at the beginning of the book.
I'd entered into an action scene that read like a great outdoor adventure where one garners knowledge about hard-wired behaviors that enhance our ability to cope.
It was a Naturalist writing style that seemed real and raw, and I found it difficult to trek back to the beginning because I was engaged by the expression and exposition in this book that was teaching nature does what it wants.
I eventually did make my way back to the beginning and in Chapter 3 found Jardine chuckle while stating, "Creating intelligence is hard. Creating wisdom is even harder."
One might think the intersection of technology and humanity is when we realize there is a difference between hypothesis and scientific theory and recognize that cognitive collaboration is needed to thoughtfully fulfill functions that are supported by lines of evidence.
If you acknowledge there is uncertainty and that science is an ongoing process and are searching for a book that uses connections for story weaving about Artificial Intelligence then you will not want to miss this read.
I received a copy of this book from the author Gary Bengier through Alyssa Longo with Farrow Communications.
October 21, 2020
What is free will? Do we have free will?
In a futuristic world where technology is advanced and AI intelligence is abundant, Joe is plagued with questions. What is free will? Do we have it based on everything we rely on? Joe goes on a quest for answers. He gets way more than he bargained for.
Sometimes it’s good to step out of your comfort zone and try a new book in a genre you don’t normally read. Unfettered Journey is that book for me. Initially when I read the synopsis, I thought this is a totally different read than I’m used to. My interest was piqued and I looked forward to reading it.
I will admit, I didn’t know what to expect. This story had plenty of mathematical talk along with theories and philosophies. Not my usual go to when reaching for a book but I felt challenged to step back and ponder about certain philosophies. As I read, an interesting plot emerged. Some twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat. That ending was jaw dropping. What a ride!
As a whole, this story is interesting and thought provoking. I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I took a chance on it. This is a wonderful debut! I give this 4 stars.
**Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official. For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng**
In a futuristic world where technology is advanced and AI intelligence is abundant, Joe is plagued with questions. What is free will? Do we have it based on everything we rely on? Joe goes on a quest for answers. He gets way more than he bargained for.
Sometimes it’s good to step out of your comfort zone and try a new book in a genre you don’t normally read. Unfettered Journey is that book for me. Initially when I read the synopsis, I thought this is a totally different read than I’m used to. My interest was piqued and I looked forward to reading it.
I will admit, I didn’t know what to expect. This story had plenty of mathematical talk along with theories and philosophies. Not my usual go to when reaching for a book but I felt challenged to step back and ponder about certain philosophies. As I read, an interesting plot emerged. Some twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat. That ending was jaw dropping. What a ride!
As a whole, this story is interesting and thought provoking. I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I took a chance on it. This is a wonderful debut! I give this 4 stars.
**Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official. For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng**
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