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A.I. Gang #4
Forever Begins Tomorrow
Preparing for a death-defying showdown with the mysterious Black Glove, the A. I. Gang of kid geniuses are disgusted when the adult world refuses to take them seriously and are forced to save the planet by themselves. Original.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 30, 2008
Okay, so here's a boring story:
1) Todd Kahuna beat me up in fourth grade.
2) Todd Kahuna got a detention and a stern talking-to.
3) For Christmas that year, Kahuna was stuck with me for the gift-exchange thing teachers were doing that year. He asked me, "Whaddya want? Better be cheap, or I'll beat you up again." I meekly responded, "A book?" He nodded. Good choice.
4) Kahuna gave me "The A.I. Gang: Operation Sherlock."
5) I read it. And reread it. Awesome stuff. A group of kids get stuck on a top secret base on an island off the coast of North Carolina, where their parents (all scientists) go to work on a secret project: to instill artificial intelligence into a computer of their own construction. It references Descartes, Euclid, Pythagoras, Paracelsus, and comprehensive memory/isolated cells. It's got your typical kids-clowning-around language. It's got (gasp!) a secret spy working in the background, and the only ones who know about the spy are (gasp!) the kids!
6) I immediately bugged my parents to buy me the sequels: The Cutlass Clue (by Jim Lawrence, not as good), and Robot Trouble (which I wound up poring over during a good deal of our trip to Florida the following spring).
7) I never got around to reading the final book, which is where the world comes to the brink of nuclear war, the spy's identity is revealed, and Rachel and Hap have unprotected sex. (OK, maybe that last one was wishful thinking) Plus, the computer comes alive.
8) Last week, while stuck late at school supervising kids who were doing anything but working, I chanced to wonder: This is the 21st century. I bet I can get a copy of that damn book off the Internet dirt cheap.
9) I did so.
10) I received it last night, and read it in the space of an hour. I am now sated. The journey I took at the age of nine is now completed.
Exciting. Yes. My life is and was exciting.
1) Todd Kahuna beat me up in fourth grade.
2) Todd Kahuna got a detention and a stern talking-to.
3) For Christmas that year, Kahuna was stuck with me for the gift-exchange thing teachers were doing that year. He asked me, "Whaddya want? Better be cheap, or I'll beat you up again." I meekly responded, "A book?" He nodded. Good choice.
4) Kahuna gave me "The A.I. Gang: Operation Sherlock."
5) I read it. And reread it. Awesome stuff. A group of kids get stuck on a top secret base on an island off the coast of North Carolina, where their parents (all scientists) go to work on a secret project: to instill artificial intelligence into a computer of their own construction. It references Descartes, Euclid, Pythagoras, Paracelsus, and comprehensive memory/isolated cells. It's got your typical kids-clowning-around language. It's got (gasp!) a secret spy working in the background, and the only ones who know about the spy are (gasp!) the kids!
6) I immediately bugged my parents to buy me the sequels: The Cutlass Clue (by Jim Lawrence, not as good), and Robot Trouble (which I wound up poring over during a good deal of our trip to Florida the following spring).
7) I never got around to reading the final book, which is where the world comes to the brink of nuclear war, the spy's identity is revealed, and Rachel and Hap have unprotected sex. (OK, maybe that last one was wishful thinking) Plus, the computer comes alive.
8) Last week, while stuck late at school supervising kids who were doing anything but working, I chanced to wonder: This is the 21st century. I bet I can get a copy of that damn book off the Internet dirt cheap.
9) I did so.
10) I received it last night, and read it in the space of an hour. I am now sated. The journey I took at the age of nine is now completed.
Exciting. Yes. My life is and was exciting.
June 23, 2023
This was an exciting series. I loved how the kids thought to scan in things like the bible and other sources that introduced ethics, philosophy, etc. that made the computer do more than just think logically but able to grasp morals and emotions.
December 5, 2011
These books just keep getting worse and worse. The writing is disappointing for Bruce Coville- I expect more out of him. Near the end of the 2nd book in the series, Robot Trouble, I was just reading it to get through it. For Forever Begins Tomorrow, I just wanted to complete reading the trilogy- but I wasn't looking forward to it at all. My predictions were accurate.
The big, dramatic scene pictured on the cover didn't last that long and it happened in the middle of the book. It was maybe the most exciting part of the book, though, as most of the rest was waiting for something interesting to happen.
I think what disappointed me most was that I was expecting something like this out of these brainy kids, but was highly disappointed. And not only that, the identity of Black Glove was also very predictable. I had actually considered him but then decided against it because I thought Mr. Coville would go with someone actually surprising.
All in all, a really bad book.
The big, dramatic scene pictured on the cover didn't last that long and it happened in the middle of the book. It was maybe the most exciting part of the book, though, as most of the rest was waiting for something interesting to happen.
I think what disappointed me most was that I was expecting something like this out of these brainy kids, but was highly disappointed. And not only that, the identity of Black Glove was also very predictable. I had actually considered him but then decided against it because I thought Mr. Coville would go with someone actually surprising.
All in all, a really bad book.
May 11, 2022
So, as I wrote elsewhere, this was a series I loved as a nerdy computer camp kid in the 1980s, and it holds up pretty well - a near-future world on the brink, a secret project on a remote island in the South Pacific to develop A.I., the genius children of some of the scientists on the project who decide to create their OWN A.I., and sinister forces at work (including a terrorist known only as Black Glove!). This was originally book 4 of the series, but in modern reprintings is considered book 3 (the original 2nd book was by a different author and has been removed from the series). Anyway, this is the conclusion - the stakes loom larger than ever, events from the previous books having moved the world even closer to the brink of nuclear Armageddon, and if A.I. is possible, would it even care? And who is Black Glove? A pretty good conclusion, although I must admit the end is more than a bit "deus ex machina" (in perhaps the most literal sense ever - sorry if that's a bit of a spoiler, but I'm middle aged, and this came out when I was a little kid) . . . anyway, looking forward to reading it with my own kids . . .
May 26, 2019
Not what I expected
I have read only a handful of books by Bruce Coville. Of the ones I have read this trilogy was the most disappointing. I loved Into the Land of the Unicorns. I enjoyed Moongobble and me. The Goblins in the Castle, The Mystery Shop, and Diary of a Mad Brownie were all fun, exciting stories. While this one kept me guessing, the computer lingo had me confused and the ending just wasn’t believable. I don’t know, maybe this one was just too far fetched and not tied together well enough for me. That being said it was intriguing enough for me to read all 3 books.
I have read only a handful of books by Bruce Coville. Of the ones I have read this trilogy was the most disappointing. I loved Into the Land of the Unicorns. I enjoyed Moongobble and me. The Goblins in the Castle, The Mystery Shop, and Diary of a Mad Brownie were all fun, exciting stories. While this one kept me guessing, the computer lingo had me confused and the ending just wasn’t believable. I don’t know, maybe this one was just too far fetched and not tied together well enough for me. That being said it was intriguing enough for me to read all 3 books.
November 12, 2018
I enjoyed the conclusion to the AI Gang trilogy. I mean, it’s young adult fiction, and not that great from a critical standpoint. But who cares? I was reading to find out what happens next, good literature or not. The end didn’t throw anything I wasn’t expecting, but again, who cares? It’s junk food and I enjoyed it. If you liked the first two, read the conclusion.
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
February 13, 2025
I knew it from the start Dr. Hwa was evil and no better than a fanatic.
Ending was weird and obviously biased toward "AI" is good because the gangs' parents developed it so what could go wrong right? Anyways it not a completely unfounded scenario and the book did have some decent arguments about the way AI will evolve.
Ending was weird and obviously biased toward "AI" is good because the gangs' parents developed it so what could go wrong right? Anyways it not a completely unfounded scenario and the book did have some decent arguments about the way AI will evolve.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2025
Fun conclusion for the gang and their adventures with the evil Black Glove.
It's a good thing they reached the singularity before the widespread adoption of the Internet, or ADAM would most certainly have ended up a Nazi! 🤣
It's a good thing they reached the singularity before the widespread adoption of the Internet, or ADAM would most certainly have ended up a Nazi! 🤣
April 29, 2021
Enjoyable final work for the series. Tied up lots of loose ends.
December 29, 2015
Fanttastic. Truly fantastic. The villain was precisely who I thought it was, but it turns out that the villain was not the point of the book. I don't know how Coville manages to teach children good life lessons without being completely moralistic...but he's really good at it. I enjoyed this trilogy completely and the feeling of hope it ended on. Recommend.
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January 31, 2016Classic. This series shows its age but was SO formative for me. I love all three books in it.
May 10, 2015
25/25
October 31, 2021
Great conclusion to the series. Satisfying character arcs, interesting end to the mystery.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews