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Richards & Klein #1
Reality 36
Meet Richards and Klein – the Holmes and Watson of the 22nd century.
Except that Richards is a highly advanced artificial intelligence, and Klein his German ex-military cyborg partner. Their first case takes them into the renegade digital realm known as Reality 36 and through the Great Firewall of China, in search of a missing Artificial Intelligence Rights activist. What they find there will threaten every reality.
Except that Richards is a highly advanced artificial intelligence, and Klein his German ex-military cyborg partner. Their first case takes them into the renegade digital realm known as Reality 36 and through the Great Firewall of China, in search of a missing Artificial Intelligence Rights activist. What they find there will threaten every reality.
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2011
9 people are currently reading
290 people want to read
About the author
Guy Haley
288 books725 followersGuy Haley is the author of over 50 novels and novellas. His original fiction includes Crash, Champion of Mars, and the Richards and Klein, Dreaming Cities, and the Gates of the World series (as K M McKinley). However, he is best known as a prolific contributor to Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
When not writing, he'll be out doing something dangerous in the wild, learning languages or gaming.
When not writing, he'll be out doing something dangerous in the wild, learning languages or gaming.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
January 7, 2012
Reality 36 is a mystery novel wrapped inside a science-fiction story wrapped inside a fun, technologically-oriented thriller. Richards & Klein are PIs in 2129. Richards is a Class Five AI, while Otto Klein is an ex-military German cyborg. And their day gets complicated when they have to solve the murder of Zhang Qifang—he was murdered twice, you see.
The stakes are high. Qifang’s disappearance and murder have sent ripples throughout the Grid, and the people (and machines) who pay attention to such things are noticing—and moving. The EuPol Five, whom Richards calls Hughie, is particularly interested in figuring out who stood to benefit from Qifang’s death. Eventually, Richards and Klein zero in on a plot involving the Reality Realms. The RRs were immersive virtual environments; the next evolution from World of Warcraft, if you will. But they were too good, and eventually they were banned. With the characters within developed enough to be declared sentient, the Reality Realms became a kind of wildlife preserve—strictly off-limits to all but the most trusted of researchers. Now someone has been tinkering with the fabric of Reality 36, to no good ends.
The pace is intense. You know those mystery novels where the detective gets the call from a smarmy police inspector, maybe goes off and investigates the scene of the crime, then meanders back to his flat and sits to ponder out a solution? I love those books. They’re awesome and cerebral. Reality 36 is nothing like this. From the first chapter to the end, Richards and Klein are out there, chasing leads or being chased by them. When Richards discovers a suspect might be hiding something in an abandoned warehouse with tough security, he creates a backdoor in that security—by blasting a hole in the warehouse wall using a combat mech. Meanwhile, Otto finds himself on the run, looking for Qifang’s fugitive postdoc student. He manages to find her annoying phone instead, just before a sniper team catches up with him. Richards & Klein are hunters and hunted here.
Reality 36 is not perfect, but it comes close. There are times when the number of characters whom Haley follows becomes slightly unwieldy. I can see why Veronica Valdaire is essential to the plot as Qifang’s protege. I was not similarly convinced by Santiago Chures. At its heart, this story is about Richards and Klein: any time the perspective did not revolve around them, it was not as interesting. Fortunately, those times more than made up for the moments we spent away. By the same token, I both loved and hated the dialogue in Reality 36. Sometimes it was so good; other times it was trite. Here’s an example of the former, from the beginning of Chapter 27:
For all its levity, however, Reality 36 is more than just a detective novel with a cool science-fiction setting. Haley shows how that setting can be put to good use, and he raises some of the most fascinating issues with artificial intelligence and posthumanism. He manages to do this without turning the book into a 900-page tome.
I’ve read several reviews that refer to the Singularity’s appearance in Reality 36. Well, obviously AIs play a big role in this book, but the Singularity itself is absent. Haley himself says this in the timeline he includes at the end of the novel: “2069. First true AI created…. The Singularity fails to happen”. Now, much like most scenarios for the Singularity predict, there are several extremely powerful AIs in existence who have slowly been taking over more and more of the operational aspects of human society: Hughie runs the European Police; there are three Class Five AIs, known as the Uncle Sams, who run the United States of North America in all but name. But the crucial detail of the Singularity is missing: these AIs are not bootstrapping themselves to more and more advanced levels of intelligence. They are stable.
Richards is the most stable of the bunch, at least from our limited, human perspective. His interest in human culture, grounded in his role as a private investigator who fancies fedoras and natty suits, keeps him closely aligned with his human brethren. It’s not surprising, then, that the ultimate antagonist in Reality 36 is an AI who is far removed from the world of humanity and much more at home as a disembodied consciousness. This theme that embodiment is essential is strongly reflected in other parts of Reality 36 too, from the way that the avatars of the guardians of Reality 36 are expressed to Otto’s own meditations on the symbiosis between his cybernetic and biological systems. Indeed, with the spectre of the “meat puppet” appearing a few times, Haley also emphasizes that having a body isn’t enough—one needs a body over which one has control. One needs embodiment and volition. The odd election of Zhang Qifang, which I won’t spoil, underscores this point in a bittersweet way.
So for those like me who are familiar with the posthuman dialogue, I think Reality 36 will be a rewarding change of pace: something light but deep, reminding me a lot of the likes of Charles Stross or maybe Cory Doctorow. For those who are here for the mystery, I hope you will stay for the discussions of cydroids and AIs too. While they might not be taking over any time soon, one day we will have to confront issues like this in some way—and besides, I think they are interesting ideas in their own right.
Oh, and that cliffhanger ending? Yeah, that annoyed me. But I won’t whine too much. After all, it’s foreshadowed well enough that I wasn’t too surprised. And the book earns it—the ending isn’t cheap. Haley concludes with Richards in real peril and Otto unsure how to help, with the stakes higher than ever. The antagonist is after nothing less than world domination, and it’s doing it for the most dangerous reason of all: because it wants to make the world a better place.
My Reviews of Richards & Klein:
← The Nemesis Worm | Omega Point →
The stakes are high. Qifang’s disappearance and murder have sent ripples throughout the Grid, and the people (and machines) who pay attention to such things are noticing—and moving. The EuPol Five, whom Richards calls Hughie, is particularly interested in figuring out who stood to benefit from Qifang’s death. Eventually, Richards and Klein zero in on a plot involving the Reality Realms. The RRs were immersive virtual environments; the next evolution from World of Warcraft, if you will. But they were too good, and eventually they were banned. With the characters within developed enough to be declared sentient, the Reality Realms became a kind of wildlife preserve—strictly off-limits to all but the most trusted of researchers. Now someone has been tinkering with the fabric of Reality 36, to no good ends.
The pace is intense. You know those mystery novels where the detective gets the call from a smarmy police inspector, maybe goes off and investigates the scene of the crime, then meanders back to his flat and sits to ponder out a solution? I love those books. They’re awesome and cerebral. Reality 36 is nothing like this. From the first chapter to the end, Richards and Klein are out there, chasing leads or being chased by them. When Richards discovers a suspect might be hiding something in an abandoned warehouse with tough security, he creates a backdoor in that security—by blasting a hole in the warehouse wall using a combat mech. Meanwhile, Otto finds himself on the run, looking for Qifang’s fugitive postdoc student. He manages to find her annoying phone instead, just before a sniper team catches up with him. Richards & Klein are hunters and hunted here.
Reality 36 is not perfect, but it comes close. There are times when the number of characters whom Haley follows becomes slightly unwieldy. I can see why Veronica Valdaire is essential to the plot as Qifang’s protege. I was not similarly convinced by Santiago Chures. At its heart, this story is about Richards and Klein: any time the perspective did not revolve around them, it was not as interesting. Fortunately, those times more than made up for the moments we spent away. By the same token, I both loved and hated the dialogue in Reality 36. Sometimes it was so good; other times it was trite. Here’s an example of the former, from the beginning of Chapter 27:
"Did you miss me?" said Richards, out over the Grid.
"Did I what?" said Otto. He was in the heavy lifter's sickbay, wired up into three walls of medical machines. They didn't seem to be helping. He was as weak as a baby and his head ached worse than every Saturday hangover he'd ever had rolled into one.
"Didn't you hear? I got blown up, big man, by an atomic bomb!"
"I was nearly murdered by a robot pretending to be a VIA agent. Our weeks have been equally lousy," said Otto, and wished Richards would leave him be.
"But I nearly died," protested Richards. "Properly. That's traumatic, we're not supposed to die."
"Get used to the idea," said Otto. Richards fell silent. "I did not worry," Otto said less harshly. "I thought you would find a way."
"Well, yeah, naturally," said Richards sulkily. He paused. "But I still reckon nuclear bomb trumps deadly robot in the peril stakes."
For all its levity, however, Reality 36 is more than just a detective novel with a cool science-fiction setting. Haley shows how that setting can be put to good use, and he raises some of the most fascinating issues with artificial intelligence and posthumanism. He manages to do this without turning the book into a 900-page tome.
I’ve read several reviews that refer to the Singularity’s appearance in Reality 36. Well, obviously AIs play a big role in this book, but the Singularity itself is absent. Haley himself says this in the timeline he includes at the end of the novel: “2069. First true AI created…. The Singularity fails to happen”. Now, much like most scenarios for the Singularity predict, there are several extremely powerful AIs in existence who have slowly been taking over more and more of the operational aspects of human society: Hughie runs the European Police; there are three Class Five AIs, known as the Uncle Sams, who run the United States of North America in all but name. But the crucial detail of the Singularity is missing: these AIs are not bootstrapping themselves to more and more advanced levels of intelligence. They are stable.
Richards is the most stable of the bunch, at least from our limited, human perspective. His interest in human culture, grounded in his role as a private investigator who fancies fedoras and natty suits, keeps him closely aligned with his human brethren. It’s not surprising, then, that the ultimate antagonist in Reality 36 is an AI who is far removed from the world of humanity and much more at home as a disembodied consciousness. This theme that embodiment is essential is strongly reflected in other parts of Reality 36 too, from the way that the avatars of the guardians of Reality 36 are expressed to Otto’s own meditations on the symbiosis between his cybernetic and biological systems. Indeed, with the spectre of the “meat puppet” appearing a few times, Haley also emphasizes that having a body isn’t enough—one needs a body over which one has control. One needs embodiment and volition. The odd election of Zhang Qifang, which I won’t spoil, underscores this point in a bittersweet way.
So for those like me who are familiar with the posthuman dialogue, I think Reality 36 will be a rewarding change of pace: something light but deep, reminding me a lot of the likes of Charles Stross or maybe Cory Doctorow. For those who are here for the mystery, I hope you will stay for the discussions of cydroids and AIs too. While they might not be taking over any time soon, one day we will have to confront issues like this in some way—and besides, I think they are interesting ideas in their own right.
Oh, and that cliffhanger ending? Yeah, that annoyed me. But I won’t whine too much. After all, it’s foreshadowed well enough that I wasn’t too surprised. And the book earns it—the ending isn’t cheap. Haley concludes with Richards in real peril and Otto unsure how to help, with the stakes higher than ever. The antagonist is after nothing less than world domination, and it’s doing it for the most dangerous reason of all: because it wants to make the world a better place.
My Reviews of Richards & Klein:
← The Nemesis Worm | Omega Point →
September 17, 2017
Many, many moons ago, I think this is one of the books I got free from Angry Robot when I visited them as a contest winner. But I’d been meaning to read it before that; I love the idea of cyberpunk and virtual realities, love messing around with the idea of AIs. Unfortunately, I didn’t get on with this too well; first off, it felt unfocused because it took so long to figure out who the protagonists are. Okay, you get Richards in the two-page prologue, but then not again until fifty pages later. Veronique might be cool, and feels at first like a potential protagonist, but it’s clearly meant to be Richards and Klein — given the book’s called a Richards & Klein investigation.
I got a little further in and wasn’t a fan of Otto at all; he’s brutal, makes homophobic jokes about rape (there’s a whole scene with him taunting someone he sent to prison about how he must’ve been raped there, seriously), resorts to torture, etc. Just… not the sort of character I enjoy spending time with. So I skimmed from that point on, and didn’t really find anything that hooked me back in. The story very obviously continues in Omega Point, but I’m not interested enough in reading it. I get that a lot of the unpleasant stuff is part of the genres Haley’s playing with, but… it’s not the good stuff about those genres.
Disappointing, especially as I came back to this to give it a second chance after enjoying The Emperor’s Railroad by Guy Haley.
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
I got a little further in and wasn’t a fan of Otto at all; he’s brutal, makes homophobic jokes about rape (there’s a whole scene with him taunting someone he sent to prison about how he must’ve been raped there, seriously), resorts to torture, etc. Just… not the sort of character I enjoy spending time with. So I skimmed from that point on, and didn’t really find anything that hooked me back in. The story very obviously continues in Omega Point, but I’m not interested enough in reading it. I get that a lot of the unpleasant stuff is part of the genres Haley’s playing with, but… it’s not the good stuff about those genres.
Disappointing, especially as I came back to this to give it a second chance after enjoying The Emperor’s Railroad by Guy Haley.
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
December 6, 2012
Fascinating ideas, good action scenes, some brilliant situations but overall it has too much techno-talk and it's a bit wordy ... it simply over-explains everything which interferes with the story line.
August 5, 2011
Explosive PI Meets Singularity Debut
I love new authors especially if they write science fiction. This is Guy Haley’s debut and the first Richard & Klein novel. The second part, Omega Point is scheduled for April next year. If you want to sample the book you may do so at angryrobotbooks.com. You may also check out a free Richard & Klein novella at Guy Haley’s home page Haley’s Comment. I wonder if this is the first book out of Angry Robot’s open submission month earlier this year.
I totally misunderstood the blurb thinking it was about an Ai with a fetish for π but it is obviously about a Private Investigator (PI) fetish. The novel is basically a murder case but evolve to a novel take on singularity. The main characters are a class Five AI, Richard and Otto Klein, a former German special operations cyborg. They have an entertaining buddy relationship with some dry humor and a lot of respect even if Otto sometimes want to kill all machines including his partner. You might think Richard is the brain and Otto is the muscles but it is not that easy. One of the more entertaining scenes is when Richard has to make a full frontal attack in a battle mech.
Each chapter has a point-of-view character.
This takes place some hundred and fifty years in the future after the AI wars. In the EU and USNA all sentients have rights including the non player characters in the gaming realms so they have been closed to gamers and the individuals in there are allowed to live their own lives without influence from human ‘gods’. There are now 36 such realms. Virtual emersion is a crime. Each chapter starts with: All members of the Community of Equals are created free and equal in dignity and rights to emphasis this rule.
One of the foremost activists for machine rights, Professor Zhang Qifang is being murdered at least twice and Richard & Klein are conned into taking the case by Hughie, the EuroPol AI. Hughie and Richard have a funny deadpan kind of dialog and an I-am-not-showing-any-feeling kind of friendship going on.
Prominent in the story are also the Professor’s assistant Veronique Valdaire and her abusive cheerful phone Chloe. There is something I really like about intelligent and witty computer companions like Chloe. She reminds me of Kris Longknife’s Nelly and Ingrid that philosophy discussing Nokia phone from the Netherworld Trilogy by Christopher Rowley. Bickering is fun especially if it is a machine that does it.
Veronique goes on the run early in the novel and we get to follow her and the detectives as they try to unravel the mystery. They also try to avoid being captured by The Virtualities Investigation Authority, VIA which sounds like soap to me but here it is the organization that protect and police the the Neukinds.
Guy Haley has created a fascinating world with The People’s Dynasty hiding behind the Great Firewall of China and the United States of North America governed by the three Sams. The AIs’ have started to clean up centuries of pollution and live in a not to secure peace with humanity. Near-I and AI machines is part of life. There are no info dumps just details glimpsed. It feels believable and well thought out. It is a world I would like to learn more of.
As you understand by now I really liked Realm 36. It got a fast pace, is humorous in tone, filled with action, combat and robots a great debut. Guy Haley is a writer to watch. This is not a standalone book it ends in a cliffhanger hopefully concluded in Omega Point next spring. I warmly recommend this explosive PI meets Singularity debut.
I love new authors especially if they write science fiction. This is Guy Haley’s debut and the first Richard & Klein novel. The second part, Omega Point is scheduled for April next year. If you want to sample the book you may do so at angryrobotbooks.com. You may also check out a free Richard & Klein novella at Guy Haley’s home page Haley’s Comment. I wonder if this is the first book out of Angry Robot’s open submission month earlier this year.
I totally misunderstood the blurb thinking it was about an Ai with a fetish for π but it is obviously about a Private Investigator (PI) fetish. The novel is basically a murder case but evolve to a novel take on singularity. The main characters are a class Five AI, Richard and Otto Klein, a former German special operations cyborg. They have an entertaining buddy relationship with some dry humor and a lot of respect even if Otto sometimes want to kill all machines including his partner. You might think Richard is the brain and Otto is the muscles but it is not that easy. One of the more entertaining scenes is when Richard has to make a full frontal attack in a battle mech.
Each chapter has a point-of-view character.
This takes place some hundred and fifty years in the future after the AI wars. In the EU and USNA all sentients have rights including the non player characters in the gaming realms so they have been closed to gamers and the individuals in there are allowed to live their own lives without influence from human ‘gods’. There are now 36 such realms. Virtual emersion is a crime. Each chapter starts with: All members of the Community of Equals are created free and equal in dignity and rights to emphasis this rule.
One of the foremost activists for machine rights, Professor Zhang Qifang is being murdered at least twice and Richard & Klein are conned into taking the case by Hughie, the EuroPol AI. Hughie and Richard have a funny deadpan kind of dialog and an I-am-not-showing-any-feeling kind of friendship going on.
Prominent in the story are also the Professor’s assistant Veronique Valdaire and her abusive cheerful phone Chloe. There is something I really like about intelligent and witty computer companions like Chloe. She reminds me of Kris Longknife’s Nelly and Ingrid that philosophy discussing Nokia phone from the Netherworld Trilogy by Christopher Rowley. Bickering is fun especially if it is a machine that does it.
Veronique goes on the run early in the novel and we get to follow her and the detectives as they try to unravel the mystery. They also try to avoid being captured by The Virtualities Investigation Authority, VIA which sounds like soap to me but here it is the organization that protect and police the the Neukinds.
Guy Haley has created a fascinating world with The People’s Dynasty hiding behind the Great Firewall of China and the United States of North America governed by the three Sams. The AIs’ have started to clean up centuries of pollution and live in a not to secure peace with humanity. Near-I and AI machines is part of life. There are no info dumps just details glimpsed. It feels believable and well thought out. It is a world I would like to learn more of.
As you understand by now I really liked Realm 36. It got a fast pace, is humorous in tone, filled with action, combat and robots a great debut. Guy Haley is a writer to watch. This is not a standalone book it ends in a cliffhanger hopefully concluded in Omega Point next spring. I warmly recommend this explosive PI meets Singularity debut.
December 4, 2011
Reality 36 by Guy Haley is a really cool mash-up of a sort that doesn't happen often enough. It's a science fiction mystery. And not just any kind of mystery, but an old school detective kind of mystery, except that neither of the detectives are from any type of school that Sam Spade would have recognized.
The detective firm in Reality 36 has the name "Richards & Klein" on its doors, which exist in both real and virtual space. The year is 2129, and the world has definitely moved on from 2011. That's both good and bad. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a story.
The Mr. Klein, of Richards & Klein, is Otto Klein. He's ex-military. It's not even uncommon today for ex-military personnel to go into security work in some way, or at least not uncommon according to TV and the movies. But Otto Klein is an ex-military cyborg. That's definitely more 2129 than 2011.
And Richards, well, Richards is an AI. Yes, that's Artificial Intelligence. But in 2129, AIs beyond a certain level are citizens, as are other creatures that don't currently exist. Richards is a Class 5 AI, one of the most powerfully intelligent AIs remaining that didn't go insane. There are AIs running lots of things in 2129. There are 3 AI Uncle Sams running the fractured government of North America. They substitute bureaucracy for power. I'm still snickering over that one.
What is Reality 36 itself? Reality 36 is one of the game worlds that has been closed since the AIs that populate the game worlds were determined to be, you guessed it, self-aware and sentient.
How do Richards & Klein get involved? A simple murder that turns out to be not so simple. A man is killed. A human, not an AI. But a very important man to the AIs. The man who argued, lobbied and fought for AIs to be granted citizenship. Professor Zhang Qifang is found dead on a yacht. And in a London alleyway. And in his apartment in Los Angeles. And captured alive but with a faulty memory. When all the living and dead clones turn up (plus the one dead "real" Professor), it turns out that the situation is even messier than they thought.
And that whoever the villain is, he, she or it is targeting Richards & Klein specifically. And anyone who can help, will help them, or might be reasonably predicted to help them is in danger. And only an AI could make those kind of predictions. But which one has gone rogue? Who watches the watchers?
Verdict: Reality 36 is a kind of cybergeek technothriller with its roots back in noir fiction. If any of those types of stories appeal to you (they do to me) you will enjoy this book. Richards loves to adopt the personas of Sam Spade/Raymond Chandler-era detectives whenever possible (I'm certain he would have empathized with Captain Picard's holodramas of Dixon Hill). Klein is the world-weary side of the equation, older, wanting to retire, but not ready to hang up his guns just yet, still making up for the bad things he witnessed.
Richards is also an anti-hero. He seems to be the only Level 5 who still has a sense of "play" for want of a better world. He definitely does do work, but only on his own terms, which makes him the only one with the power and the ability to stop the rogue. So he and his partner are the targets from the beginning. Watching them run through the "maze" is a fantastic introduction to the new universe that Haley has created.
But for a very new-fangled story (the AIs are even called neukind), this book has an extremely old-fashioned ending. It's a total cliffhanger! Richards leaps into the virtual eye of the storm and the story continues in the next book, Omega Point. Dammit. I want to know what happens next.
Escape Rating B+: I couldn't quite manage to stay up to finish it--but I finished over breakfast the next morning!
The detective firm in Reality 36 has the name "Richards & Klein" on its doors, which exist in both real and virtual space. The year is 2129, and the world has definitely moved on from 2011. That's both good and bad. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a story.
The Mr. Klein, of Richards & Klein, is Otto Klein. He's ex-military. It's not even uncommon today for ex-military personnel to go into security work in some way, or at least not uncommon according to TV and the movies. But Otto Klein is an ex-military cyborg. That's definitely more 2129 than 2011.
And Richards, well, Richards is an AI. Yes, that's Artificial Intelligence. But in 2129, AIs beyond a certain level are citizens, as are other creatures that don't currently exist. Richards is a Class 5 AI, one of the most powerfully intelligent AIs remaining that didn't go insane. There are AIs running lots of things in 2129. There are 3 AI Uncle Sams running the fractured government of North America. They substitute bureaucracy for power. I'm still snickering over that one.
What is Reality 36 itself? Reality 36 is one of the game worlds that has been closed since the AIs that populate the game worlds were determined to be, you guessed it, self-aware and sentient.
How do Richards & Klein get involved? A simple murder that turns out to be not so simple. A man is killed. A human, not an AI. But a very important man to the AIs. The man who argued, lobbied and fought for AIs to be granted citizenship. Professor Zhang Qifang is found dead on a yacht. And in a London alleyway. And in his apartment in Los Angeles. And captured alive but with a faulty memory. When all the living and dead clones turn up (plus the one dead "real" Professor), it turns out that the situation is even messier than they thought.
And that whoever the villain is, he, she or it is targeting Richards & Klein specifically. And anyone who can help, will help them, or might be reasonably predicted to help them is in danger. And only an AI could make those kind of predictions. But which one has gone rogue? Who watches the watchers?
Verdict: Reality 36 is a kind of cybergeek technothriller with its roots back in noir fiction. If any of those types of stories appeal to you (they do to me) you will enjoy this book. Richards loves to adopt the personas of Sam Spade/Raymond Chandler-era detectives whenever possible (I'm certain he would have empathized with Captain Picard's holodramas of Dixon Hill). Klein is the world-weary side of the equation, older, wanting to retire, but not ready to hang up his guns just yet, still making up for the bad things he witnessed.
Richards is also an anti-hero. He seems to be the only Level 5 who still has a sense of "play" for want of a better world. He definitely does do work, but only on his own terms, which makes him the only one with the power and the ability to stop the rogue. So he and his partner are the targets from the beginning. Watching them run through the "maze" is a fantastic introduction to the new universe that Haley has created.
But for a very new-fangled story (the AIs are even called neukind), this book has an extremely old-fashioned ending. It's a total cliffhanger! Richards leaps into the virtual eye of the storm and the story continues in the next book, Omega Point. Dammit. I want to know what happens next.
Escape Rating B+: I couldn't quite manage to stay up to finish it--but I finished over breakfast the next morning!
August 16, 2022
I first found Haley with A Champion of Mars, which I loved. Reality 36 is fun and out there in a similar way, but much more scattered. Like many books about the middle-near future, it tries to show us what the whole world is like, occasionally losing track of characters and plot. Haley does have something interesting to say about different ways of being a legal person (human, AI, brain-scan, and more). I ended up more interested in the back-story of the real-feeling virtual worlds and their embargo than in the main story, itself.
August 26, 2011
My main complaint is the books ending. It felt like a chapter had been cut in half and the book reached a certain word count or page count and someone went "that's enough, put the rest in book 2".
I don't mind cliffhanger normally but this felt very abrupt and if the book would have continued another 30-50 pages it could still have setup the sequel and given the reader some sense of closure for the story.
I also felt like some of the characters were very under developed. It felt like Veronique's character was supposed to be more central to the story line given the amount of attention she received early in the book. However her role afterwards is very secondary and mostly flavour text. .
I don't mind cliffhanger normally but this felt very abrupt and if the book would have continued another 30-50 pages it could still have setup the sequel and given the reader some sense of closure for the story.
I also felt like some of the characters were very under developed. It felt like Veronique's character was supposed to be more central to the story line given the amount of attention she received early in the book. However her role afterwards is very secondary and mostly flavour text. .
May 8, 2017
A very good book. Set in the near future (feels nearer than its 100 years timeline), its a murder mystery featuring two detectives. But not your usual old cynic and young idealist, but two old cynics. I liked that twist. I also liked the AI rights issue presented. Human rights for NPCs? Nice. Not revolutionary, but thought provoking in its minor way.
July 19, 2011
http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2...
In the year 2069, the first true Artificial Intelligence is created. Thirty years later the Class Fives are born, becoming the first fully self-aware AIs. Along with their less advanced cousins, "Fives" become known as the Nuekind. One of them is Richards, a private detective considered to be the most human of his kind. Richards is approached by the EuPol (think European Union/Interpol) to investigate the disappearance of the world's foremost expert in Nuekind rights. Unfortunately for Richards and Klein, it appears their quarry has hidden himself in Reality Realm 36, a now defunct game world populated by AIs and thus afforded the same rights as Reality itself.
In true Angry Robot form, Reality 36 has lots of robot stuff. There are cyborgs, androids, cydroids (what?), super AIs, wussy AIs, and insane AIs. The internet is on steroids and with a little work the more powerful AIs can send themselves anywhere there's a connection with enough bandwidth to handle them. Naturally, there's no shortage of action. Klein, a decommissioned military cyborg, is almost never still. He leaps over cars, absorbs dozens of flechettes, and generally causes mayhem wherever he shows up. By contrast, Richards is an investigator and a bit of a flirt. He prefers to let Klein get his hands dirty while he plays the mental game.
While the action is very well done, the part that works most in Haley's favor is the application of technology. Everything just makes sense. Haley's world hinges on the discovery of the Singularity within the next hundred years. This application of processing power leads to, as Ray Kurzweil stated, "technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history". Thanks to this technological change, game worlds (think World of Warcraft) have developed to the point of becoming alternate realities with machines as aware and alive as those existing in Real Space. Makes sense, right? I know I can think of a few humans that spend more time living in a game world than in reality.
This reality (so far as science fiction goes) is what makes the book so compelling. It's an actual glimpse into the future as much as it's a mystery yarn and an action thriller. Isn't that what Science Fiction is all about? I hesitate to put the label of "hard sci-fi" on Reality 36, but only because I don't have the knowledge base to determine how much of what Haley has created is nonsense versus actual science. What I do know is it reads authentic. When bullets aren't flying I felt like I was having a discussion with the author about the implications the Singularity will have on humanity. And that's cool.
Generally speaking Haley writes a strong narrative. In my head as I was reading the novel I was comparing it favorably to another debut from earlier this year - Hannu Rajaniemi's The Quantum Thief. They really aren't similar in any way other than they read with a similar pace and absence of information dumping (a pet peeve of mine). While there are some expositions from time to time about the world's history, for the most part Haley allows the understanding of his reality to be absorbed organically as opposed to forcing it down his reader's throat. When he does ramble a bit, it's usually integrated into a character that's a bit of a windbag (Hughie, I'm looking at you dude!) I thought this formula was very successful in Thief and Haley accomplishes it here as well in Reality 36.
My only fundamental problem with the novel is that it's not complete. Haley ends things on a pretty brutal cliff hanger akin to the season finale of a TV drama. The way the title is currently worded makes it seem as though the book will read a bit like a TV procedural where each Richards and Klein Novel is a mystery to be solved, but fully encapsulated within the pages of the book. Instead Reality 36 is more like Reality 36: The First of Half of a Richards and Klein Duology. I know I shouldn't be too upset about it, but there it is. Even first installments in a larger series should have a beginning, middle, and an end (call me close minded).
Ultimately, the only conclusion I was able to draw from Reality 36 is that I'll definitely be checking out the sequel Omega Point next year. Sure the ending was annoying, but Guy Haley has really produced a first rate robot novel. While Robopocalypse is this years hottest robot release and will assuredly sell more copies, I think Reality 36 is a superior novel in almost every way. Angry Robot Books keeps churning out great additions in speculative fiction.
In the year 2069, the first true Artificial Intelligence is created. Thirty years later the Class Fives are born, becoming the first fully self-aware AIs. Along with their less advanced cousins, "Fives" become known as the Nuekind. One of them is Richards, a private detective considered to be the most human of his kind. Richards is approached by the EuPol (think European Union/Interpol) to investigate the disappearance of the world's foremost expert in Nuekind rights. Unfortunately for Richards and Klein, it appears their quarry has hidden himself in Reality Realm 36, a now defunct game world populated by AIs and thus afforded the same rights as Reality itself.
In true Angry Robot form, Reality 36 has lots of robot stuff. There are cyborgs, androids, cydroids (what?), super AIs, wussy AIs, and insane AIs. The internet is on steroids and with a little work the more powerful AIs can send themselves anywhere there's a connection with enough bandwidth to handle them. Naturally, there's no shortage of action. Klein, a decommissioned military cyborg, is almost never still. He leaps over cars, absorbs dozens of flechettes, and generally causes mayhem wherever he shows up. By contrast, Richards is an investigator and a bit of a flirt. He prefers to let Klein get his hands dirty while he plays the mental game.
While the action is very well done, the part that works most in Haley's favor is the application of technology. Everything just makes sense. Haley's world hinges on the discovery of the Singularity within the next hundred years. This application of processing power leads to, as Ray Kurzweil stated, "technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history". Thanks to this technological change, game worlds (think World of Warcraft) have developed to the point of becoming alternate realities with machines as aware and alive as those existing in Real Space. Makes sense, right? I know I can think of a few humans that spend more time living in a game world than in reality.
This reality (so far as science fiction goes) is what makes the book so compelling. It's an actual glimpse into the future as much as it's a mystery yarn and an action thriller. Isn't that what Science Fiction is all about? I hesitate to put the label of "hard sci-fi" on Reality 36, but only because I don't have the knowledge base to determine how much of what Haley has created is nonsense versus actual science. What I do know is it reads authentic. When bullets aren't flying I felt like I was having a discussion with the author about the implications the Singularity will have on humanity. And that's cool.
Generally speaking Haley writes a strong narrative. In my head as I was reading the novel I was comparing it favorably to another debut from earlier this year - Hannu Rajaniemi's The Quantum Thief. They really aren't similar in any way other than they read with a similar pace and absence of information dumping (a pet peeve of mine). While there are some expositions from time to time about the world's history, for the most part Haley allows the understanding of his reality to be absorbed organically as opposed to forcing it down his reader's throat. When he does ramble a bit, it's usually integrated into a character that's a bit of a windbag (Hughie, I'm looking at you dude!) I thought this formula was very successful in Thief and Haley accomplishes it here as well in Reality 36.
My only fundamental problem with the novel is that it's not complete. Haley ends things on a pretty brutal cliff hanger akin to the season finale of a TV drama. The way the title is currently worded makes it seem as though the book will read a bit like a TV procedural where each Richards and Klein Novel is a mystery to be solved, but fully encapsulated within the pages of the book. Instead Reality 36 is more like Reality 36: The First of Half of a Richards and Klein Duology. I know I shouldn't be too upset about it, but there it is. Even first installments in a larger series should have a beginning, middle, and an end (call me close minded).
Ultimately, the only conclusion I was able to draw from Reality 36 is that I'll definitely be checking out the sequel Omega Point next year. Sure the ending was annoying, but Guy Haley has really produced a first rate robot novel. While Robopocalypse is this years hottest robot release and will assuredly sell more copies, I think Reality 36 is a superior novel in almost every way. Angry Robot Books keeps churning out great additions in speculative fiction.
May 15, 2012
Liked:
* Really interesting world-building. I especially liked the conjecture as to how online gaming would develop in the future.
* I really liked some of the characters, especially the Class 5 AIs. They were the most developed in the book.
* The main mystery was interesting and kept my interest.
Liked Less:
* Not all of the characters were as well-developed as Richards & Hughie. I really would have loved to learn more about Otto (supposedly the other main character) and to have a better sense of him.
* The pacing of the plot seemed a little uneven at times.
* Cliffhanger ending!!! I am not always annoyed by a cliffhanger but it felt like nothing was resolved at all. Sure, the mystery was solved but not in a way that left me feeling satisfied.
* Really interesting world-building. I especially liked the conjecture as to how online gaming would develop in the future.
* I really liked some of the characters, especially the Class 5 AIs. They were the most developed in the book.
* The main mystery was interesting and kept my interest.
Liked Less:
* Not all of the characters were as well-developed as Richards & Hughie. I really would have loved to learn more about Otto (supposedly the other main character) and to have a better sense of him.
* The pacing of the plot seemed a little uneven at times.
* Cliffhanger ending!!! I am not always annoyed by a cliffhanger but it felt like nothing was resolved at all. Sure, the mystery was solved but not in a way that left me feeling satisfied.
November 12, 2011
I really wanted to like this because the plot sounded awesome and I'm a robot/sci-fi nerd but the writing was all over the place. I kept wondering when the author was going to figure out who he wanted the protaganist to be. I gave up after about fifty pages.
September 16, 2012
Original Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/09/...
Guy Haley writes a killer novel as he debuts with Angry Robot and djinn24 and Commissar Ploss review the audio book from Angry Robot produced by Brilliance Audio.
The duo of Richards and Klein is here to stay for a long time, how excellent! - Larry, The Founding Fields.
Reality 36 bounces you between beautiful sweeping digital landscapes, and dirty, grim, grimy real-world cityscapes in a wild-goose-chase to save the world. It’s fun! -Commissar Ploss, The Founding Fields
I love sci fi and mystery books so this book is right up my alley. Guy does an amazing job building the story. Normally an author only has to worry about writing about one world, Guy has outdone himself building no less then three worlds; Earth 2129, the Grid, and the ex-game Reality 36. You learn in the future of the Earth that Artificial Intelligence is a commonplace occurrence, with currently six known variance, with every series an improvement over the previous. Here are two different types of AI, low AI and high AI. Lower AI are made for single purposes, like making coffee, while higher AI are created to do a wider variety of difficult tasks. This is different with the Class 5 AIs who have complete free will and where not built with a purpose in mind so they are allowed to take up their own station in life. The Grid is much like the internet that we know now though from what is said in the book much more advanced and replied upon more. While humans can reside on the Grid through uplinks, the AIs can truly live on the Grid and this is where they shine. Reality 36 is an outlawed area that started as a video game but was outlawed after AIs where granted rights. Of the original 36 realms only 32 still exist after malicious hackers destroyed 4 of them.
This is where Richards comes in, he is a Class 5 AI who decided to become a detective. He is joined in his partnership with Otto Klein, an ex-soldier from Germany who happens to also be a cyborg. Richards is a character to say the least. Like all other Class 5 AIs he has his own server (or Base Unit) where he actually resides but controls bodies all over the world to interact with the human world. These can include near human sheaths to bodies that do not look real, much like the cover art for the book. Richards loves the 1920s gumshoe persona and that is how he chooses to show himself when he has the choice, complete with the felt hat. He is every bit of an expletive laden smart-ass. To me this character is who makes the book for me. Otto Klein is almost the opposite of Richards, dead serious Soldier, killer cyborg, and an all around badass. As we learn through flashbacks within the book, Otto comes with some baggage and while he is still a bad ass in every sense of the word, he is an aging bad ass who is starting to feel all the aches and pains of his cyber enhanced body. During several scenes we get to see just how awesome he can still be though, even though he is a bit obsolete and aging.
The story of this book starts when Richards and Klein are hired to find the murderer of a prominent scientist who was a pinnacle in the AI rights movement. Seemingly a normal job for them until the realize that this goes much deeper then just a simple murder. Now they are on the hunt for his assistant Veronique Valdaire who is on the run from the VIA (the global investigation body into AI related issues) with Chloe, her AI personal assistant who at one point was her doll and is now her heavily modified phone that does some pretty amazing things.
Larry’s Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book, though at first it was a little hard to keep track with what was happening. Others have mentioned that the timing of this book seems off and in some ways I agree though I do not think it detracts from the book and really only affects the book in the beginning and towards the end the book rights itself nicely. As we said above, the worlds of this book are really well done and makes you want to learn more about the AI5s of the world and more of the lead up to how Earth ended up the way it is now. The characters are really well done as well. The odd couple play well off of each other with Richards lending enough wit to give you nice breaks of humor while reading. All of the characters feel as if you can get to know them from the books which is great. I find a problem with some rookie authors is their characters seem stiff and flat, not a problem that Guy seems to have encountered with his book. The big issue I had with this book is the ending was too abrupt and cut off way to quickly. I honestly think that Guy could have written a bit more and closed the current story lone a bit more. That being said there is a tons of room for this world to expand and many books to be written in this series. Really looking forward to listen to Omega Point.
Brilliance audio did a brilliant job of turning this story into an audio book. I really like that Brilliance does these unabridged so we get to hear the entire story instead of only part of the story. This book comes on 11 CDs and runs for around 12 hours. There is no music soundtrack except at the beginning and end of the book to show that a new CD has started or ended. The voice actor Michael Page does an amazing job adding life to this story, making all characters unique with their own voice in it.
Larry’s Overall: 8/10
Commissar Ploss’ thoughts:
I’d like to focus on the audiobook itself. You’ve gotten a feel for the plotline of the book itself and I definitely insist that you pick this particular story up, as it is completely worth it. However, Brilliance Audio has made a strong effort to render the story in perfect clarity. The particular voice actor they chose for this title performed fantastically! He’s a very well-rounded actor, especially when it comes to the characters. Each is unique, including the female characters in the novel. From talking animals to machine-esque characters, he’s represented all spectacularly.
There is a keen pace throughout this novel, however you will notice fluctuations in the speed with which it is read. That is completely intentional, as there are sections of the story that don’t necessarily require action-packed recitation. It helps you formulate a better picture within your mind and keeps you from burning out your cortex with all of the information provided. The story really is a beautifully painted picture.
I’m keeping my portion of this review short, as I’m sure you’re already itching to get your hands on it. And if you aren’t… there’s something wrong with you. This story and its performance pleased me greatly. It has definitely been one of my favorite titles of this year.
rating: 9/10
Guy Haley writes a killer novel as he debuts with Angry Robot and djinn24 and Commissar Ploss review the audio book from Angry Robot produced by Brilliance Audio.
The duo of Richards and Klein is here to stay for a long time, how excellent! - Larry, The Founding Fields.
Reality 36 bounces you between beautiful sweeping digital landscapes, and dirty, grim, grimy real-world cityscapes in a wild-goose-chase to save the world. It’s fun! -Commissar Ploss, The Founding Fields
I love sci fi and mystery books so this book is right up my alley. Guy does an amazing job building the story. Normally an author only has to worry about writing about one world, Guy has outdone himself building no less then three worlds; Earth 2129, the Grid, and the ex-game Reality 36. You learn in the future of the Earth that Artificial Intelligence is a commonplace occurrence, with currently six known variance, with every series an improvement over the previous. Here are two different types of AI, low AI and high AI. Lower AI are made for single purposes, like making coffee, while higher AI are created to do a wider variety of difficult tasks. This is different with the Class 5 AIs who have complete free will and where not built with a purpose in mind so they are allowed to take up their own station in life. The Grid is much like the internet that we know now though from what is said in the book much more advanced and replied upon more. While humans can reside on the Grid through uplinks, the AIs can truly live on the Grid and this is where they shine. Reality 36 is an outlawed area that started as a video game but was outlawed after AIs where granted rights. Of the original 36 realms only 32 still exist after malicious hackers destroyed 4 of them.
This is where Richards comes in, he is a Class 5 AI who decided to become a detective. He is joined in his partnership with Otto Klein, an ex-soldier from Germany who happens to also be a cyborg. Richards is a character to say the least. Like all other Class 5 AIs he has his own server (or Base Unit) where he actually resides but controls bodies all over the world to interact with the human world. These can include near human sheaths to bodies that do not look real, much like the cover art for the book. Richards loves the 1920s gumshoe persona and that is how he chooses to show himself when he has the choice, complete with the felt hat. He is every bit of an expletive laden smart-ass. To me this character is who makes the book for me. Otto Klein is almost the opposite of Richards, dead serious Soldier, killer cyborg, and an all around badass. As we learn through flashbacks within the book, Otto comes with some baggage and while he is still a bad ass in every sense of the word, he is an aging bad ass who is starting to feel all the aches and pains of his cyber enhanced body. During several scenes we get to see just how awesome he can still be though, even though he is a bit obsolete and aging.
The story of this book starts when Richards and Klein are hired to find the murderer of a prominent scientist who was a pinnacle in the AI rights movement. Seemingly a normal job for them until the realize that this goes much deeper then just a simple murder. Now they are on the hunt for his assistant Veronique Valdaire who is on the run from the VIA (the global investigation body into AI related issues) with Chloe, her AI personal assistant who at one point was her doll and is now her heavily modified phone that does some pretty amazing things.
Larry’s Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book, though at first it was a little hard to keep track with what was happening. Others have mentioned that the timing of this book seems off and in some ways I agree though I do not think it detracts from the book and really only affects the book in the beginning and towards the end the book rights itself nicely. As we said above, the worlds of this book are really well done and makes you want to learn more about the AI5s of the world and more of the lead up to how Earth ended up the way it is now. The characters are really well done as well. The odd couple play well off of each other with Richards lending enough wit to give you nice breaks of humor while reading. All of the characters feel as if you can get to know them from the books which is great. I find a problem with some rookie authors is their characters seem stiff and flat, not a problem that Guy seems to have encountered with his book. The big issue I had with this book is the ending was too abrupt and cut off way to quickly. I honestly think that Guy could have written a bit more and closed the current story lone a bit more. That being said there is a tons of room for this world to expand and many books to be written in this series. Really looking forward to listen to Omega Point.
Brilliance audio did a brilliant job of turning this story into an audio book. I really like that Brilliance does these unabridged so we get to hear the entire story instead of only part of the story. This book comes on 11 CDs and runs for around 12 hours. There is no music soundtrack except at the beginning and end of the book to show that a new CD has started or ended. The voice actor Michael Page does an amazing job adding life to this story, making all characters unique with their own voice in it.
Larry’s Overall: 8/10
Commissar Ploss’ thoughts:
I’d like to focus on the audiobook itself. You’ve gotten a feel for the plotline of the book itself and I definitely insist that you pick this particular story up, as it is completely worth it. However, Brilliance Audio has made a strong effort to render the story in perfect clarity. The particular voice actor they chose for this title performed fantastically! He’s a very well-rounded actor, especially when it comes to the characters. Each is unique, including the female characters in the novel. From talking animals to machine-esque characters, he’s represented all spectacularly.
There is a keen pace throughout this novel, however you will notice fluctuations in the speed with which it is read. That is completely intentional, as there are sections of the story that don’t necessarily require action-packed recitation. It helps you formulate a better picture within your mind and keeps you from burning out your cortex with all of the information provided. The story really is a beautifully painted picture.
I’m keeping my portion of this review short, as I’m sure you’re already itching to get your hands on it. And if you aren’t… there’s something wrong with you. This story and its performance pleased me greatly. It has definitely been one of my favorite titles of this year.
rating: 9/10
August 1, 2022
Interesting future, engaging AI and cyborg interfaces with potential, and a not so subtle mystery of a guy who keeps getting killed.
Always the premise of "What if AI surpasses us in sentience" to be found here. Without Asimov's 3 laws, why would the Class 5's bother to keep humans around in the future? Nice to surmise that AI would gain human rights and protections. Yet we have the same planetary governmental structures (albeit compiled continentally) after nearly a century, and China is the bad guy-ish against robots/AI, lol.
Klein's gruff demeanor, Richards' smarmy 90's attitude (would fit on the Frasier TV Cast), even Hughie, well Hughie was good enough as a blathering point of discussion. But that damn talking phone ...argh.
Felt like the not so distant future of one of our multiverses. The tech heavy reveal needed something more, like why the first four randomly numbered worlds met their demise and no one in power took notes to prevent it from happening more than once. I mean is this just happening in Google's server farm today? What effect would shutting them all down, as Richards demanded near the end, actually have?
There was plenty of world building, decent conflicts, and cyberpunk-isms to satisfy. Not a fan of the cliffhanger ending so much. But needs must.
Thanks for reading.
Always the premise of "What if AI surpasses us in sentience" to be found here. Without Asimov's 3 laws, why would the Class 5's bother to keep humans around in the future? Nice to surmise that AI would gain human rights and protections. Yet we have the same planetary governmental structures (albeit compiled continentally) after nearly a century, and China is the bad guy-ish against robots/AI, lol.
Klein's gruff demeanor, Richards' smarmy 90's attitude (would fit on the Frasier TV Cast), even Hughie, well Hughie was good enough as a blathering point of discussion. But that damn talking phone ...argh.
Felt like the not so distant future of one of our multiverses. The tech heavy reveal needed something more, like why the first four randomly numbered worlds met their demise and no one in power took notes to prevent it from happening more than once. I mean is this just happening in Google's server farm today? What effect would shutting them all down, as Richards demanded near the end, actually have?
There was plenty of world building, decent conflicts, and cyberpunk-isms to satisfy. Not a fan of the cliffhanger ending so much. But needs must.
Thanks for reading.
June 28, 2018
While this book is well-written, it didn't catch my interest. I just didn't like the main characters. That along with a depressing story made for a tedious read.
August 11, 2018
I suspect that I had set my expectations for this to be better from the blurb. It was "ok" at best I'll come back and read the second one at some point, as I see it right now that isn't a priority.
June 21, 2023
Review forthcoming.
September 2, 2025
THIS IS FOR THE SERIES
Describing AI in stories usually follows the predictable patterns laid out by Colossus The Forbin Project, Hal9000, and Gibson's work to a lesser degree.
There is another path that starts with M5 on Star Trek, and follows WTQuick, this series, Neal Asher, the TV show Person Of Interest.This view of AI is mich more interesting and probably more accurate
Haley's AI are not another the European Colonialost Slaver fever dream that underlies the mainstream 's prediction of an infinite intelligence, unconstrained by biological drives and perception bias. These either ignore humanity totally or only interact if interested
And thereby hangs a tale.
It's fascinating, well written, and innovative. The only flaw is that so few know about the works.
Read them.
Describing AI in stories usually follows the predictable patterns laid out by Colossus The Forbin Project, Hal9000, and Gibson's work to a lesser degree.
There is another path that starts with M5 on Star Trek, and follows WTQuick, this series, Neal Asher, the TV show Person Of Interest.This view of AI is mich more interesting and probably more accurate
Haley's AI are not another the European Colonialost Slaver fever dream that underlies the mainstream 's prediction of an infinite intelligence, unconstrained by biological drives and perception bias. These either ignore humanity totally or only interact if interested
And thereby hangs a tale.
It's fascinating, well written, and innovative. The only flaw is that so few know about the works.
Read them.
May 8, 2017
Reality 36 put me in mind of an unstable dystopic version of Iain M Banks's Culture.
Perhaps the prequel to the Culture, before the AIs stabilized themselves and the world, and created post scarcity.
Haley manages to work with a bunch of clichés with such subtlety that you forget how old they are.
Perhaps the prequel to the Culture, before the AIs stabilized themselves and the world, and created post scarcity.
Haley manages to work with a bunch of clichés with such subtlety that you forget how old they are.
April 1, 2012
I picked this up at Elliot Bay books, where it was faced on the shelf, because the cover blurb was interesting and because they have an awesome SF section and I figured if someone had bothered facing this, it was worth a look.
The characterization in this book is excellent, and of particular interest is the characterization of the artificial intelligences, which, while they often present themselves in human manners, are distinctly non-human. The setting is detailed and fascinating, and the events of the book clearly tie in to a well-thought-out history that stretches back over a hundred years.
The pacing is... okay. Frankly, the book could have been faster-paced, and I would have enjoyed it more.
The language is smooth, and the author does a good job of switching between multiple viewpoints. However, I often found myself irritated at the choice to include particular words; it felt like the author was getting in my face, trying to convince me he'd thought things through and done his research. Yes, it's great to know how your technology works, but I'm skeptical that the characters would have been paying as much attention to the underpinnings as the word choices implied, and if it wasn't the character paying attention, then it was the author drawing my attention to it, which I found to be unhelpful and distracting. Perhaps less of that would have helped a bit with the pacing problems.
Despite the attention to technical detail, I'm not entirely convinced that the interactions of the AI and the network system are consistent throughout the book. It seems to be the case that AIs are physically present in their 'base units' and are too large to move around easily, and that it would also violate multiple important laws to do so; but at other times it seems like the AIs are in fact in different locations entirely, disconnected from their base units. The most obvious instance of this to me was at one point when an AI is conducting an assault on a heavily fortified building and not even noticing the two-tenths of a second delay each way there would be between his base unit and the battle mech he's driving. It's quite possible that there's something I'm missing here and that it Really Does All Make Sense - but if so, I find the fact that there's something I'm missing to be itself indicative of a potential flaw.
I was also a little irritated about the gender balance of the book. This is the 22nd century. There's one important female character, who's in a supporting role, and she's got a female AI, and there's one female AI that shows up early in the book who is supposed to be a big name in the entertainment world, and there's one female AI who acts as a secretary and shows up for a few paragraphs. Everyone else is male, which means that the cast of the book is *overwhelmingly* male and that males - human or AI, and by the way why are AI presenting in gendered forms anyway? - are doing almost all the important stuff. The one female secondary character is important insofar as she discovers a key piece of what's going on and allows the reader to see a considerable amount of a part of the world that would otherwise not be visible til far too late in the book. But that just isn't all that much.
The book ends, in essence, on a cliffhanger. The pacing really picked up in the last quarter or so, which makes me somewhat curious about reading the next book, but in general I prefer books that are at least somewhat self-contained. This one has no satisfying conclusion. I probably won't pick up the next book unless I hear really good reviews of it from a lot of people or from trusted sources.
The characterization in this book is excellent, and of particular interest is the characterization of the artificial intelligences, which, while they often present themselves in human manners, are distinctly non-human. The setting is detailed and fascinating, and the events of the book clearly tie in to a well-thought-out history that stretches back over a hundred years.
The pacing is... okay. Frankly, the book could have been faster-paced, and I would have enjoyed it more.
The language is smooth, and the author does a good job of switching between multiple viewpoints. However, I often found myself irritated at the choice to include particular words; it felt like the author was getting in my face, trying to convince me he'd thought things through and done his research. Yes, it's great to know how your technology works, but I'm skeptical that the characters would have been paying as much attention to the underpinnings as the word choices implied, and if it wasn't the character paying attention, then it was the author drawing my attention to it, which I found to be unhelpful and distracting. Perhaps less of that would have helped a bit with the pacing problems.
Despite the attention to technical detail, I'm not entirely convinced that the interactions of the AI and the network system are consistent throughout the book. It seems to be the case that AIs are physically present in their 'base units' and are too large to move around easily, and that it would also violate multiple important laws to do so; but at other times it seems like the AIs are in fact in different locations entirely, disconnected from their base units. The most obvious instance of this to me was at one point when an AI is conducting an assault on a heavily fortified building and not even noticing the two-tenths of a second delay each way there would be between his base unit and the battle mech he's driving. It's quite possible that there's something I'm missing here and that it Really Does All Make Sense - but if so, I find the fact that there's something I'm missing to be itself indicative of a potential flaw.
I was also a little irritated about the gender balance of the book. This is the 22nd century. There's one important female character, who's in a supporting role, and she's got a female AI, and there's one female AI that shows up early in the book who is supposed to be a big name in the entertainment world, and there's one female AI who acts as a secretary and shows up for a few paragraphs. Everyone else is male, which means that the cast of the book is *overwhelmingly* male and that males - human or AI, and by the way why are AI presenting in gendered forms anyway? - are doing almost all the important stuff. The one female secondary character is important insofar as she discovers a key piece of what's going on and allows the reader to see a considerable amount of a part of the world that would otherwise not be visible til far too late in the book. But that just isn't all that much.
The book ends, in essence, on a cliffhanger. The pacing really picked up in the last quarter or so, which makes me somewhat curious about reading the next book, but in general I prefer books that are at least somewhat self-contained. This one has no satisfying conclusion. I probably won't pick up the next book unless I hear really good reviews of it from a lot of people or from trusted sources.
February 6, 2012
Reality 36 is a thrilling mystery novel set in a world run by Artificial Intelligence. Richards, a self-aware AI and his partner Otto Klein, a German decommissioned cyborg are approached by EuPol Five to investigate a case most peculiar, the apparent deaths of one of the world’s most renowned AI scientist, Zhang Qifang. That’s right, the good professor has somehow managed to die twice. Things get stranger as the duo probes deeper into the mystery of the deaths and soon they unravel a massive cover-up that would shatter both the physical and virtual world.
Sure there are plenty of action and humour in this book. The banter between Richards and Hughie comes to mind. However what makes the story exceptional is Haley’s vision of the future and the thought provoking questions he asks.
The title, Reality 36 is actually a collection of 36 virtual realms that used to be the playing ground of people. The world’s governments have ruled that the self-aware artificial intelligence within these realms can be considered as real life forms and humans should be trialed as they are in real-life for committing any acts of murders in these realms. The governments have also ruled that if intelligent agents like Richards and his kin are to have the same rights as humans, they should be bound by the same laws. This means they have to exist as a singular identity and no form of duplication of themselves are allowed. So, is AI life and do these entities have souls? These are some great questions to ask the future generation of scientists as our world grow more reliant on intelligent agents to do our work.
Despite the excellent vision of the future, there are some problems that I have with this novel. One, the story just took too long to get started. The first third of the book was used to introduce Richards, Klein and Veronique Valdaire and what their lives are like before the main events of the story kicked in. While it’s interesting to know that Richards is tracking down a human trafficker, this little subplot isn’t related to the whole scheme of things. Second, the subtitle, A Richards and Klein novel indicates that Reality 36 is perhaps a standalone story in a series of novels like the Sherlock Holmes stories. It really threw me off to find out the book ends in a cliffhanger! There’s nothing wrong with cliffhangers but maybe I feel cheated because of the misleading subtitle.
On the whole, I think the good points outweigh the bad and that there should be more Science Fiction writers like Haley who asks these thought provoking questions on what it means to be alive.
(Repost from http://www.paperlessreading.com/2012/...)
Sure there are plenty of action and humour in this book. The banter between Richards and Hughie comes to mind. However what makes the story exceptional is Haley’s vision of the future and the thought provoking questions he asks.
The title, Reality 36 is actually a collection of 36 virtual realms that used to be the playing ground of people. The world’s governments have ruled that the self-aware artificial intelligence within these realms can be considered as real life forms and humans should be trialed as they are in real-life for committing any acts of murders in these realms. The governments have also ruled that if intelligent agents like Richards and his kin are to have the same rights as humans, they should be bound by the same laws. This means they have to exist as a singular identity and no form of duplication of themselves are allowed. So, is AI life and do these entities have souls? These are some great questions to ask the future generation of scientists as our world grow more reliant on intelligent agents to do our work.
Despite the excellent vision of the future, there are some problems that I have with this novel. One, the story just took too long to get started. The first third of the book was used to introduce Richards, Klein and Veronique Valdaire and what their lives are like before the main events of the story kicked in. While it’s interesting to know that Richards is tracking down a human trafficker, this little subplot isn’t related to the whole scheme of things. Second, the subtitle, A Richards and Klein novel indicates that Reality 36 is perhaps a standalone story in a series of novels like the Sherlock Holmes stories. It really threw me off to find out the book ends in a cliffhanger! There’s nothing wrong with cliffhangers but maybe I feel cheated because of the misleading subtitle.
On the whole, I think the good points outweigh the bad and that there should be more Science Fiction writers like Haley who asks these thought provoking questions on what it means to be alive.
(Repost from http://www.paperlessreading.com/2012/...)
July 3, 2017
You can read the full review over at my blog:
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
Shadowhawk reviews the first Richards and Klein novel by Guy Haley, Reality 36, a deep and thoughtful novel that is rare in science-fiction, at least in my experience.
“If ever I get tired of reading about cyborgs and androids in SF, then it will be Guy Haley’s first Richards and Klein novel that I turn to get a refreshing perspective on things.” ~The Founding Fields
Since being exposed to Angry Robot Books in December last year, it has been quite a wild ride. Whether it is Adam Christopher’s Empire State, Anne Lyle’s Alchemist of Souls or Matt Forbeck’s Carpathia, I have been surprised and entertained in equal measure by how different these novels are from others in their genres. At least the ones I have read at any rate. So that was my expectation heading into Guy Haley’s first Richards and Klein novel, Reality 36: that I would be knocked off my socks and treated to an experience as if I was riding a wild, uncontrollable lion. Not an idle metaphor, I assure you, because that has pretty much been the experience from the other three novels. Plus, I do like that cover art a fair bit.
Reality 36 is very different to the usual science-fiction novels I read, in that it is set in the near future and deals heavily, very heavily, with cyborgs and androids and an extremely novel use of the internet of the future. Coming off as someone who usually reads Warhammer 40,000 or Star Wars novels for his SF fix, that is something of a shock to the system. The novelty was quite welcome however, because that is indeed my goal for this year’s reading: to read a variety of novels in styles and themes and content across genres. Reality 36 fits very nicely into that.
https://shadowhawksshade.wordpress.co...
Shadowhawk reviews the first Richards and Klein novel by Guy Haley, Reality 36, a deep and thoughtful novel that is rare in science-fiction, at least in my experience.
“If ever I get tired of reading about cyborgs and androids in SF, then it will be Guy Haley’s first Richards and Klein novel that I turn to get a refreshing perspective on things.” ~The Founding Fields
Since being exposed to Angry Robot Books in December last year, it has been quite a wild ride. Whether it is Adam Christopher’s Empire State, Anne Lyle’s Alchemist of Souls or Matt Forbeck’s Carpathia, I have been surprised and entertained in equal measure by how different these novels are from others in their genres. At least the ones I have read at any rate. So that was my expectation heading into Guy Haley’s first Richards and Klein novel, Reality 36: that I would be knocked off my socks and treated to an experience as if I was riding a wild, uncontrollable lion. Not an idle metaphor, I assure you, because that has pretty much been the experience from the other three novels. Plus, I do like that cover art a fair bit.
Reality 36 is very different to the usual science-fiction novels I read, in that it is set in the near future and deals heavily, very heavily, with cyborgs and androids and an extremely novel use of the internet of the future. Coming off as someone who usually reads Warhammer 40,000 or Star Wars novels for his SF fix, that is something of a shock to the system. The novelty was quite welcome however, because that is indeed my goal for this year’s reading: to read a variety of novels in styles and themes and content across genres. Reality 36 fits very nicely into that.
January 17, 2012
He's a laconic German ex-military cyborg! He (other he)'s a hyperintelligent supercomputer with a penchant for trenchcoats! They fight crime! Also, virtual reality games are outlawed and the government controls artificial intelligence.
This is unabashed cyberpunk, with the two main characters covering both the "psychedelic matrix-hacking" and the "brutal enhanced-human fight" ends of the scene spectrum. Unfortunately I found the book rather too sloppily constructed. I didn't realize that those two characters *were* the protagonists, for a start -- the plot kicks off with a young whiz-kid running for her life (along with her AI phone! They fight crime! And also commit some). Then we see the titular "reality 36", but we don't know why it matters or who cares about it. The two eventual protagonists show up, but in separate scenes. These threads don't link up for a long time. I expect some mystification in a thriller plot, but I'd like to have some idea of what the stakes are or at least who I'm supposed to root for? Or the background history that set it up? Yeah.
I did in fact keep reading until all was explained. The action moves along (with body count standing in for coherence) and the author can turn a funny phrase when he's of a mind. However, I'm not reaching for the promised sequel.
(Added footnote: okay, I see the front cover says "A Richards and Klein investigation", which is a strong clue that they're the protagonists. What can I say. I bought this several weeks ago and didn't re-inspect the cover.)
This is unabashed cyberpunk, with the two main characters covering both the "psychedelic matrix-hacking" and the "brutal enhanced-human fight" ends of the scene spectrum. Unfortunately I found the book rather too sloppily constructed. I didn't realize that those two characters *were* the protagonists, for a start -- the plot kicks off with a young whiz-kid running for her life (along with her AI phone! They fight crime! And also commit some). Then we see the titular "reality 36", but we don't know why it matters or who cares about it. The two eventual protagonists show up, but in separate scenes. These threads don't link up for a long time. I expect some mystification in a thriller plot, but I'd like to have some idea of what the stakes are or at least who I'm supposed to root for? Or the background history that set it up? Yeah.
I did in fact keep reading until all was explained. The action moves along (with body count standing in for coherence) and the author can turn a funny phrase when he's of a mind. However, I'm not reaching for the promised sequel.
(Added footnote: okay, I see the front cover says "A Richards and Klein investigation", which is a strong clue that they're the protagonists. What can I say. I bought this several weeks ago and didn't re-inspect the cover.)
August 20, 2011
A cyberpunk crime novel that's part Neal Stephenson's "The Diamond Age", part William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy, and part Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes mystery.
The Sherlock Holmes of this book is Richards, an Artificial Intelligence who likes to wear a fedora and trenchcoat in the style of many silver screen detectives. The Dr. Watson in this book is Otto von Klein, a cyborg and former soldier, who provides the brawn to Richards' brain. The pair are private investigators with offices around the world. Their latest case deals with the mysterious death of Professor Zhang Qifang, a prominent activist for sentient rights. The problem is that it appears he's been murdered twice.
The name Reality 36 derives from a virtual reality world in the book, which is the location of subplot involving Veronique Valdaire, a former student of Prof. Zhang. Reality 36 and the other virtual reality worlds are akin to Second Life and Worlds of Warcraft, except the worlds in this book are populated by non-human sentient beings.
As cyberpunk novels go, this is as good as those written by Gibson and Stephenson. The only downside is that it ends as a cliffhanger. This also means the book is thrilling to the last page. "Reality 36" is meant to be first in a series of books based on Richards and Klein Investigations.
The Sherlock Holmes of this book is Richards, an Artificial Intelligence who likes to wear a fedora and trenchcoat in the style of many silver screen detectives. The Dr. Watson in this book is Otto von Klein, a cyborg and former soldier, who provides the brawn to Richards' brain. The pair are private investigators with offices around the world. Their latest case deals with the mysterious death of Professor Zhang Qifang, a prominent activist for sentient rights. The problem is that it appears he's been murdered twice.
The name Reality 36 derives from a virtual reality world in the book, which is the location of subplot involving Veronique Valdaire, a former student of Prof. Zhang. Reality 36 and the other virtual reality worlds are akin to Second Life and Worlds of Warcraft, except the worlds in this book are populated by non-human sentient beings.
As cyberpunk novels go, this is as good as those written by Gibson and Stephenson. The only downside is that it ends as a cliffhanger. This also means the book is thrilling to the last page. "Reality 36" is meant to be first in a series of books based on Richards and Klein Investigations.
July 29, 2015
Basically the 1st part of the story which continues (finishes?) in Omega Point. Started intriguing and continued with lot of action but it left me wondering about the credibility of the AI characters. Why would super intelligences, running umpteen times faster thought processes than humans, sit about in robot bodies (or imaginary ones) in fancy dress sipping tea or whisky and chat? They could accomplish the interactions practically instantaneously and get on with something that AI might enjoy. I can't imagine people sitting about and uttering a sentence every few hours at each other. I did ask myself a few times why the characters are acting as they are; could have done with more clarity. Still, will now read Omega Point to see how it finishes.
August 8, 2012
Although it did get much better towards the end, my main problem with this novel was that I LOVE Richards, and spent the portions of the book that Richards wasn't in waiting for Richards to come back. So I missed some key bits of information here and there and the book felt a little more disjointed than it probably actually was, or would seem to be if I reread it now. Still, engaging enough that I'm definitely interested in reading the sequel, and not just because this one ended on such a cliffhanger.
November 22, 2014
The interesting thing about Reality 36 is that, at heart, this an old fashioned detective mystery novel, the sort you would expect from Arthur Conan Doyle and others of that style, but, it is set out as a pure sci fi backdrop. Haley mixes the two genres seamlessly and has managed to bring something very refreshing to the table. The visual descriptions and plot equally impressed me from beginning to end and it just oozes cool without any effort at all. Reality 36 is a late entry into my favourite sci fi of 2014, top job.
February 9, 2013
This is a really good thriller. BUT it did take me a long time to work out what the feck was going on with all the Sci-Fi stuff. It make me feel a bit dim for about half the book which somewhat marred my enjoyment! I think there is a follow up and I would definitely read that though - esp now I've put in the effort of understanding the world Guy Haley created.
May 3, 2012
Thoroughly enjoyable - some really interesting concepts and situations and characters and I've not the time to review it properly with the respect it deserves; suffice to say doubleplusgood and can't wait for the next one. I would LOVE to see this adapted for film...
January 3, 2012
I liked this. It's a good fun read and, so long as you overlook some elements of superficiality, it builds to a good cliffhanger to bridge into the already announced sequel.
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July 6, 2013
Very entertaining and a well paced read that only slows down to allow the reader to get their head around the science. It reminded me of the Harry Harrison 'Stainless Steel Rat' series in tone and as such it is highly recommended.
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