Incredible

Absolutely perfect. This was quite simply one of the best books -- sci-fi or otherwise -- I've read in a long time. Yes, there's a fascinating sci-fi plot involving the creation of digital simulations of the protagonist's brain, and they stir up a fascinating mess that will delight any lover of intelligent science fiction. But it's the complex, fully fleshed-out characters, lightning fast pacing and genuinely compelling writing that got to me the most, which is why I strongly recommend this book to lovers of great novels as well as to lovers of great sci-fi. While not a deeply devoted sci-fi fan myself, I do enjoy science fiction novels, and I think the few dozen best books in the genre are as good as the best books of ANY genre. But sci-fi gets a bit of a bad rap among mainstream readers, because it does seem like far too often the "sci" gets in the way of the "fi," particularly in the hands of less skilled practitioners, making some of them feel more like interesting textbooks than thrilling novels. But The Terminal Experiment manages to do both, and I find that to be very rare. When it all DOES come together in one book, like it does here, it more than repays your time spent reading it, re-reading it, and writing long recommendations to fellow readers in hopes that they, too have been looking for just such an ideal book. Very highly recommended.

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32 people found this helpful

preoccupied with his religious ponderings

Like much of what this author does, it is well written and thoughtful, original and often very interesting. That said, if you aren't a religious person, particularly those who are atheist, will find the endless examination of religion, God, the after life, etc to be a bit dull - like examining the scientific roots of a fairy tale. This really isn't meant as a criticism, but much of his work seems increasingly preoccupied with religion, and tries to put a scientific spin on it. I found it distracting in the last of the neanderthal series, and it is the whole basis of this one.

However, if you are the religious sort, and interested in that, and you like sci-fi and a well written story with lots of thoughtful, unique concepts to ponder, this is a great book.

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26 people found this helpful

Are your moral choices bound?

Part (not inconceivably far in the future) sci-fi, part murder mystery.. with a sprinkling of morality (and what ifs...)

Most summaries you will come across talk about the character's striving to "capture/reproduce" a soul - and the choices (or rather inevitable paths) that distinguishes life and the afterlife.

I see this as a study of morals... what would you do if you were "you" but immortal or incorporeal. How would this change your relationship with others.. the world.. your morals and self beliefs?

Peter Hobson (main character) wants to study life after death so creates copies of his own personality (captured with advanced sensor and stored on a computer):
- one is a control,
- one simulates immortality and
- one simulates incorporeality

Unfortunately, they "escape" and one of these "souls" starts to murder people in Peter's life. All clues start to point to Peter..

We follow Peter's quest to track down the killer and are introduced to what we may wish to do, but are bound by our imposed morals, ties to our corporeal self and fear of mortality .

Would you actually kill someone if you could not be caught.. if you were immortal.. had no physical body..

I have to recommend this - it was one the books that brought me back to sci-fi and I originally bought to read. I could not put it down and finished it in a weekend - am excited that it is back as an audible book.

It is one of the few books I am happy to come back to again and again - and the other is Ends Game (by Orson Scott Card)

NOTE: this was originally a serial in ANALOG magazine under the title "Hobson's Choice".

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20 people found this helpful

fa

Please see review from David, from Glenview, IL; he's said it very well. Only thing to add: I hesitated about this listen because, judging from some of the publisher's comments, etc, I feared the religious overtones might be strong, obnoxious, and pro "intelligent design." I was very wrong! This book is full of ideas, debates about ideas, and great fun. If you like great sci-fi (as opposed to fantasy -- when will they stop being lumped together on the shelves!) I believe you'll enjoy this read.

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16 people found this helpful

Really not worth it...

Although this book had a couple of interesting ideas, it was really not worth it. The characterization was weak, the story predictable, the philosophy sophomoric, the situations contrived, and the clich?s countless. This was a murder mystery without any mystery (and without a compelling sleuth). The pre-telling of later events give the whole plot away early in the book (for the clever reader), making plodding on to the predictable conclusion quite tedious.

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7 people found this helpful

It was "meh"

If you have extra credits, it is worth the listen. The technology (which is the centerpiece of the story) is on such weak foundations that to me much of the story lacked credibility and kept me from engaging. The characters were well written and the overall premise interesting, but there are so many GREAT books out there leave this one for a long summer vacation when you leave your critical thinking hat at home.

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3 people found this helpful

a good book, full of ideas, but bad narrator

Where does The Terminal Experiment rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

it ranks in the middle of my history of reads, may be in the future this will change, but in the 20+ books that i listened to on audible, this is in the bottom 10, because of the narrator more than the story,

What did you like best about this story?

the author has a lot of nice ideas, they were new to me, and dare i say enlightening, I keep reading about the religious point of view about the book, but I can barely see it. it's light and might be needed sometimes now when we are all questioning everything

How did the narrator detract from the book?

this is the worse part, despite being a very good sound, and a pretty good actor, it was awful how the narrator kept gulping while reading, I actually heard the drink he was drinking, I'm not talking sipping, he was GULPING. i almost stopped listening to the book many times, almost 10 times because of that, and listening to him taking deep breathes reminds you of a sinking man who is trying to take his last breath. It was pretty disgusting. But the story kept pulling me back.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No Spoilers

Any additional comments?

The book is good, if you don't mind the annoyance from the narrator, get it, other wise get the paper copy or the kindle version.

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2 people found this helpful

Murdering AI

The Terminal Experiment by Robert J Sawyer is an early exploration of artificial intelligence (AI) running amok across the internet. Peter Hobson (named for the reference to Hobson's choice) is an engineer who develops a device that demonstrates when brain activity completely ceases (in order to establish death for organ harvesting) and discovers evidence of an electrical field that seems to leave the body upon death. Dubbed the 'soulwave' this appears to establish some form of afterlife beyond death. To study this phenomena further, with the aid of a colleague who dabbles in artificial intelligence, Peter develops AI versions of himself, one purely intellect, one imbued with the notion of immortality, and the third serving as a control. Soon, crimes begin to appear that are linked to Peter and he concludes that one of the AIs is acting upon his own feelings and must figure out which one is the culprit before the police close in on him. At the same time, the AIs replicate themselves across the internet seeking to roam beyond his reach.

For its time, Sawyer was quite prescient in his notions of AI as well as the distributive and exploding power of the internet. While the idea of mapping individual neurons may be ambitious, embedding concepts into their own neural nets that can be selectively deleted is intriguing and offers the opportunity to discuss unique approaches such as how certain situations are viewed in the face of immortality. At the same time, Sawyer sets up an engaging police procedural as the crimes occur and are investigated.

The narration is well done with a solid range of voices and good character distinction. Pacing is fine.

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1 person found this helpful

Excellent story and narration was superb.

Excellent and very intriguing story line. Narrator did a superb job in reading the book and making the characters very individualistic.

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Much more than SciFi

This novel is so much more than a great science fiction tale. The author uses a very suspenseful and engaging mystery to discuss the nature of death, the question of life after death, the capacity of man to forgive adultery, and finally, where does murder really begin. Sawyer is very adept in examining these topics while keeping the reader completely engaged.

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1 person found this helpful