Customer Reviews

The AI War

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Across three universes, AI's battle humans for domination. The origins of the AI war go back millions of years to another universe, and involve "more than human" telepathic, transmuts who were apparently computer generated simulacra created by the "Founders" who have "moved on". The high tech concepts, and ancient martial arts and military action blend together to form an exciting read

I have enjoyed this series since the 80's. For some reason, I don't know why, Berry decided to rename the main characters. J'Quel D'Trelna has far more appeal to me than Jaquel Detrelna. K'Ronar and S'Cotar became part of the rhythm of the story, Kronar sounds like something out of some Tarzan story. Scotar sounds like cooties. His edit destroyed the feel of the story. I still have three of the four books in paperback. I will track down the fourth. If I had done the edit, I would have changed the names on in Quadrant Blue Nine. That would have made a little cultural diversity.

This is very well done non-stop military sci-fi. If that is what you like, then up my ranking. It is impressive and exciting. For those of you wanting an all-around book, don't even waste your time. There is enough character development in the entire book to fill half a chapter in most. The characters (there are many) all have similar names, and you have to refer to the (necessary) dramatis personae repeatedly, unless you choose to simply not know who is who, in which case you would lose little. D'Trelna is fat, that is about as big a difference as you get. Another matter is these insectoids. They are really bad. For one thing, they are supposed to have been defeated at one point by humans, even though by my reckoning one of them is more valuable in a war effort than a hundred men. They can instantly move themselves and others from one place to another, read minds, and leap tall buildings in a single bound. There are some surprises, and the action is good. Read it if that is what you want. If you want to find the story very believable and care more than a little who wins/loses and lives/dies, pass it up.

"Space, the Final Frontier" Well not if you are a Science Fiction Writer, apparently. Space seems to have no end to the amount of stories that can be set up there and, in many time lines, or, as in the words of Buzz Lightyear, "To Infinity and Beyond".

Science Fiction in book form has not been something that has really interested me since I read the E.E. Doc Smith 'Lensman' Books way back in the early 70's and even then those books had been around for about 40 years prior to that. All that changed a couple of months ago when I picked up, on Kindle, the In Her Name series of books by Michael R Hicks. Even my wife has picked up a science fiction novel (!) recently by some chirpy chappie called Jason Halsted, and by all accounts, has thoroughly enjoyed it Ramblings of an Old Bird!

I then picked up The AI War by Stephen Ames Berry The AI War (Biofab)

To summarise, the battle cruiser Implacable is in Orbit over Terra when the Commodore is attacked in his quarters while sleeping. As he begins to question the intruder two shots ring out and he, the intruder falls dead.

The shooter turns out to be a Special Ops Intelligence Colonel, who, it turns out later on, is also something much more dangerous. He goes on to inform the Commodore that as the assassination attempt has failed Fleet Ops will be issuing orders for his arrest on treason and that the orders are being issued by AI Lifeforms that have infiltrated fleet.

The Commodore and his battle fleet were due too leave on a mission that Fleet Ops wants scrapped but Special Ops Intelligence wants to succeed and so the Colonel convinces him to leave for the mission immediately...

Thus begins the last AI war in the quadrant and this universe, as the Commodore and his crew find that they are placed on a 'destroy on site list', and they become the only ones to know that the vanquished AI's of centuries past who they have chased into an alternate universe have been rebuilding and re-arming while looking for a way to establish a 'worm hole' back to their mortal enemy to take their final revenge!

The book got a bit techy in places but if you are a fan of science fiction movies, nothing in the book was outside the realms of, or as unbelievable, as what happens on a cinema or TV screen. Over all it was a fast paced thriller as the the Commodore and his crew are chased across the galaxy by both 'friend and foe' trying not to kill their friends but desperately trying to find a way to save the galaxy from the invasion that is coming.

Lots of intrigue with plenty of twists and turns. It slowed down in places and some of the parts seemed to end abruptly as it jumped to another scene, but from a slow start, bearing in mind I am 'new' to the genre, I thoroughly enjoyed it and have downloaded a sample of his next book to look at, since completing the AI War.

I give it a 4 out of 5 rating for keeping my interest piqued

Good reading

from the back cover of the May 1987 TOR paperback edition
cover art by Ron Walotsky
The dreaded AI's have regrouped in an alternate universe and are preparing to launch their invincible Fleet. But war-weary humanity refuses to accept the threat as real.

Commodore J'Quel D'Trelna, commander of the battle cruiser Implacable, has been secretly ordered to violate an ancient restriction. He is to enter the quadrant known as Blue Nine and find the only weapon that can stop the AI's from overwhelming his universe. No ship has ever returned from this abandoned cube of space, but the AI's must be stopped...they have one imperative...destroy humanity.

Time is running short for the human race and this may be the final battle.