I enjoy sci-fi that explores the relationship and co-evolution of biological and digital intelligence. If you do too, then I highly recommend this audio book. Ken Lozito is embarking on what could be a great series, and Phil Thron does a good job giving voice to the characters. DEFINITELY worth the credit.
The nits – One can forgive authors for not perfectly predicting the exact path and pace that technology will advance. You need look no further than Asimov’s Foundation series or his short story The Last Question to understand the brilliance was in the human story – not his ability to predict every granular detail of the future. Technology has advanced much faster in some areas (e.g. computing power, graphic rendering, networking, voice recognition, hardware miniaturization, etc) than his stories anticipated. The brilliance of his work was less his technological predictions, and more his insights into human nature within the context of those technical advancements as mankind colonizes the stars.
The same can be said of Ken Lozito’s work here – the human story is compelling. However, there were multiple instances during the audiobook where I stumbled over the dialogue because it felt the characters were being too descriptive when referring to technology. This storytelling device makes sense when referring to a technology that is inventive and likely unfamiliar to listeners. But modern readers/listeners live in a world completely dependent upon “data repositories,” but we don’t call them that because branded and/or colloquial terms have arisen naturally in our culture.
So when I hear characters refer to something as though I as a reader am unfamiliar with the concept, I stumble out of the world for a moment and think to myself “they wouldn’t have said that.” I wanted to provide this feedback because I like this author and this work, and I would like to see this trend addressed.
That said, I’m not a published author and have never written, let alone sold a book. I’m sure it’s difficult to tell a story so far in the future without making everything sound like magic. But there it is.
Looking forward to the next in the series!
Edit: Thank you for bundling the prequel novella into this audiobook. A very enjoyable story that provided some great insights into this new universe.