The Terminal Experiment

I've spent most of my life reading science fiction; I've read almost everything written before 1980, and a huge chunk of what's come since then. What I've loved most about the genre -- after the guilty pleasures of space opera -- is its capacity to take the unanswerable questions and try to answer them. Too often, the questions we want to know the answers to -- what is the meaning of life? Why are we here? What happens... Read Full Review

I don't read novels often, but this one was a must. I had trouble putting it down. I borrowed it from a friend, and now i'm going to buy it cause i want to read it again.

I love both mysteries and SF, but all too often examples of each genre have characteristic flaws. Mediocre SF either has no ideas or concentrates on its ideas and ignores the character and plot. Mediocre mysteries have a great plot that falls flat at the end with an unbelievable denouement. Sawyer manages to avoid both problems and also make an uplifting statement about the human condition. I was thoroughly engaged... Read Full Review

When Science Fiction is at its best, the technology is so accurate that only small extensions make it "fiction" instead of "fact". That is definitely the case with the Artificial Intelligence technology utilized in this book. We may not be at the point of actually creating fully thinking simulations, but so MUCH of the technology is right, it is no suspension of belief by the reader to believe that this has been achieved in... Read Full Review

The vitriol displayed in some of the reviews of this book amazes me. While the writing style may not give Updike or Bellow anything to worry about, when compared to some of the so-called giants in this genre, like Asimov, Clarke, and Niven, it holds up quite well. Yes, there are some lapses such as: about 5 too many Star Trek references; a tendency to take today's media figures and just age them, instead of creating new... Read Full Review