great dive into post-human ethics

wow, what a great story.
always a huge fan of anything that really gets into the details of what moral and ethical considerations might look like to a post-human consciousness.
the story glossed over a lot of "hard sci-fi", however when you consider it was written nearly 30 years ago, the author did a great job of anticipating tech we're just starting to see come around. (not the true GMI, but expert systems.)
The story combines, sci-fi, romance, murder mystery, and thriller.
I just texted some of my closest friends a link to the book, so yes! I would definitely recommend this book.

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great story

really enjoyed the story. found the reader a bit distracting, could hear him taking breaths and such.

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Thoroughly enjoyed this one!

RJ Sawyer is a greatly under appreciated writer in my view. Well worth exploring even for typically non sci-fi readers who appreciate being provoked by brilliant “what-if” ideas. Enjoyed the narration.

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Very creative AI novel

Great AI concept and experiment. Love the Canadian setting, and page turning action of the story.

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Certainly got me thinking.

Can always trust that RJS (what does the J stand for now? No matter.) will contrive an interesting story that doesn’t let you off the hook without wondering how this part or that part of the story fits in to where it’s all going. Hmmm. 35 words.

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Imaginative Discussions Surrounding The Concept Of "Death"

Robert J. Sawyer offers a thoughtful Science Fiction-fed exploration of hypotheses regarding the human soul - using the experiences of inventor of the "Soul Wave Detector" 'Dr. Peter Hobson' (an obsessive biomedical researcher/entrepeneur) to drive the story. The posits that result from the definitive demonstration of a soul's existence (regarding when the soul enters a fetus or expresses in Near Death Experiences, among others) are fascinating.
..aaaand then Sawyer goes off-script: As part of his experimentation with the abstractions, Hobson uploads three simulacra of himself to the internet: pursuing concepts of "life after death", immortality ("denied death"), and a "Control" sim that is solidly "in the moment". An odd AI-driven murder mystery ensues.
The writing is capable, but the author's text becomes bogged down in mundanity, is almost unbearably weighty/cerebral, or comes across as oddly silly. Sawyer's schizophrenic writing style had me confused.

Paul Hecht contributed to my "meh" assessment of the book with subpar narration, too. He is undoubtedly a professional - exhibiting great diction, timbre, and cadence - but his voice-acting is uninspired and Recorded Books Inc. editors allow mouth noises and loud breathing to overwhelm the recording (stick with your device/car speakers for this one.. earbuds will just leave you feeling grossed out).

Altogether, 'The Terminal Experiment' rates 5 stars out of 10. As a 'Plus' selection, it wasn't a crazy way to while away a couple of quiet afternoons, I guess.. but spend your Credit elsewhere should they ask for one.

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