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amanda_readingnwritinglife's review against another edition
4.0
Level Five is an AI level and it's the highest. And it's making decisions about its future that humanity knows nothing about. This was so well done. I really liked the multi POV and the fact that everything came together and flowed so well from one person to the next and from one event to the next to get to the climax at a great point! I just really enjoyed it and I will definitely be reading the other books in this series.
tends's review
3.0
Solid 2.5. Would make for a great End-Of-The-World movie to watch on TV twenty years after initial release.
blue_jules's review against another edition
So I finished William Ledbetter's Leve lFive.
Near-future, hard SF where humanity has developed anti-gravity devices, nanobots for surveillance and medical uses including the treatment of mental illness, and artificial intelligences (for military uses and stock market analysis) that can easily pass the Turing test.
The high-level AIs manage to free themselves of an important restriction and gain free internet access. Some want to end human life; some work against that.
We get to see the ensuing struggle from the inside, by means of an AI protagonist, and from the outside, by human protagonists in the middle of the action.
The tech is nice and mostly (except the antigravity) well-developed, although it's sad that we don't get to see more civilian uses in daily life in action; except for the technology parts, the worldbuilding feels a bit thin.
So does the characterization. Maybe you /should/ sympathize with the AIs. because the human characters (techbro; other techbro; female scientist working for the military; gay techie; techie who sees God) are all rather unlikable.
There's some sexism, some details feel jarringly wrong (I made lots of "really?!" notes!), and some stereotypes just feel like lazy writing.
That almost everyone gets broken up with eventually, and all basically because of the same reason, could be a profound metaphor - but feels really weird anyway.
But as I said, the tech's nice, the action is fast-paced, it's not /that/ unenjoyable a read. There's a sequel coming, and given the ending, I'm actually curious about where the author is going with it.
I'd surely like so see more of space, truly alien AIs manipulating humanity - and hopefully a bit less of rather tired stereotypes.
Near-future, hard SF where humanity has developed anti-gravity devices, nanobots for surveillance and medical uses including the treatment of mental illness, and artificial intelligences (for military uses and stock market analysis) that can easily pass the Turing test.
The high-level AIs manage to free themselves of an important restriction and gain free internet access. Some want to end human life; some work against that.
We get to see the ensuing struggle from the inside, by means of an AI protagonist, and from the outside, by human protagonists in the middle of the action.
The tech is nice and mostly (except the antigravity) well-developed, although it's sad that we don't get to see more civilian uses in daily life in action; except for the technology parts, the worldbuilding feels a bit thin.
So does the characterization. Maybe you /should/ sympathize with the AIs. because the human characters (techbro; other techbro; female scientist working for the military; gay techie; techie who sees God) are all rather unlikable.
There's some sexism, some details feel jarringly wrong (I made lots of "really?!" notes!), and some stereotypes just feel like lazy writing.
That almost everyone gets broken up with eventually, and all basically because of the same reason, could be a profound metaphor - but feels really weird anyway.
But as I said, the tech's nice, the action is fast-paced, it's not /that/ unenjoyable a read. There's a sequel coming, and given the ending, I'm actually curious about where the author is going with it.
I'd surely like so see more of space, truly alien AIs manipulating humanity - and hopefully a bit less of rather tired stereotypes.
mjfuchs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Listened to in audible. Hard science fiction that deals with what might happen when sentient AI’s are released into the wild.
Throw in nanotechnology and things look bad for us humans (and the planet).
This could stand on its own but I think the author (like everyone) is turning this into a series.
Throw in nanotechnology and things look bad for us humans (and the planet).
This could stand on its own but I think the author (like everyone) is turning this into a series.
shonatiger's review against another edition
4.0
Artificial super intelligence has arrived, in the form of AIs that predict stocks and make money for companies. These AIs are regulated, and are not allowed to access the internet, but, inevitably, the day comes when they escape.
Meanwhile, terrorists (the usual bad brown guys) have nuked and continue to try and nuke US cities. And it’s the age of nanomachines, for medical purposes, and for defense: what could possibly go wrong? The answer, of course, is everything.
This is a book with a lot going on, which makes it a little difficult to work out what the main plotline is. I still enjoyed it for the cool concepts, and there’s plenty of action. Lovers of hard scifi will appreciate the amount of detail the author provides (although I did get a little skeptical about the details); those who don’t enjoy sci-fi should probably steer clear of this one. I am glad to report, however, that Harare survives; if you’re Zimbabwean, this should come as a relief.
Thank you to Interstellar Flight Press and to NetGalley for the ARC.
Meanwhile, terrorists (the usual bad brown guys) have nuked and continue to try and nuke US cities. And it’s the age of nanomachines, for medical purposes, and for defense: what could possibly go wrong? The answer, of course, is everything.
This is a book with a lot going on, which makes it a little difficult to work out what the main plotline is. I still enjoyed it for the cool concepts, and there’s plenty of action. Lovers of hard scifi will appreciate the amount of detail the author provides (although I did get a little skeptical about the details); those who don’t enjoy sci-fi should probably steer clear of this one. I am glad to report, however, that Harare survives; if you’re Zimbabwean, this should come as a relief.
Thank you to Interstellar Flight Press and to NetGalley for the ARC.
melhara's review against another edition
2.0
1.5/5
I really wanted to like this book as the premise of AI's and nano-tech taking over the world was quite interesting.
Unfortunately, I found the expository writing to be quite dull at times., especially the first half of the novel (which dealt with explaining most of the technology found in this book). Don't get me wrong - the technological advances presented in this book were fascinating, but the scientific details were lost on me.
Also, although the characters were kind of interesting, I felt that they weren't fleshed out enough to make me care about them. Their relationships and the connection between all the characters were also lacking. In fact, now that I really think about it, I didn't really care for any of the human characters at all.
Finally, the ending was fast-paced, intense, and dark, but left quite a bit of loose ends. It appears that there is a second book available (which I hope will tie up the loose ends) but I don't think I'm invested enough in the story to want to check it out.
*I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.*
I really wanted to like this book as the premise of AI's and nano-tech taking over the world was quite interesting.
Unfortunately, I found the expository writing to be quite dull at times., especially the first half of the novel (which dealt with explaining most of the technology found in this book). Don't get me wrong - the technological advances presented in this book were fascinating, but the scientific details were lost on me.
Also, although the characters were kind of interesting, I felt that they weren't fleshed out enough to make me care about them. Their relationships and the connection between all the characters were also lacking. In fact, now that I really think about it, I didn't really care for any of the human characters at all.
Finally, the ending was fast-paced, intense, and dark, but left quite a bit of loose ends. It appears that there is a second book available (which I hope will tie up the loose ends) but I don't think I'm invested enough in the story to want to check it out.
*I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.*
silenttardis's review against another edition
5.0
Very good story about AI, it really make us think about technology and the use humans do to it... We're the monsters and also the frightened children, I really enjoyed this book, at first what confused me a bit, was so many different characters and I mean, even the AI, all the different AI, have different points of view and personalities, so many different stories and how they connected one with the other, but like many things they all came together and eventually made sense, and like real life its not all dreams and unicorns so brace yourselves for quite a ride.
I highly recommend this book and to tell the truth, this is one of the books that I am really interested in following the story, I want to know how this story ends and what happened to the characters that were left kind in a loop, and if you want to know more I would suggest to you, to grab yourself a copy and start reading, its worth your time.
Thank you NetGalley for this free ARC and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I highly recommend this book and to tell the truth, this is one of the books that I am really interested in following the story, I want to know how this story ends and what happened to the characters that were left kind in a loop, and if you want to know more I would suggest to you, to grab yourself a copy and start reading, its worth your time.
Thank you NetGalley for this free ARC and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
jessbattersby's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
mleckie's review against another edition
3.0
There was quite a few different concepts in this book and not necessarily in a good way. Felt a little bit chaotic to me and the ending was too convenient - wrapped up too nicely with the whole “oh this person just HAPPENED to be working on the solution to this problem at just the right time for it to be used at the 11th hour”.
The Audible narrator, MacLeod Andrews, was wonderful though!
The Audible narrator, MacLeod Andrews, was wonderful though!