Customer Reviews

The DEUS MACHINE: THE DEUS MACHINE

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read about 100 books a year, and have done so for over 30 years. The Deus Machine is definitely near the head of my Top Ten List. If you are interested in computers, artificial intelligence, a different and intriguing take on recombinant DNA, or just want a really great read, get a copy of The Deus Machine. (And watch out for the Needle Hounds!)

My only complaint is that the title no longer is available in hardcopy. Pierre's second work, The Third Pandemic (also truly excellent), can still be had in its hardcover version.

During my recent Spring cleaning, Pierre Ouellette's masterpiece came on top and I was reminded how I had loved this book. I was still a University student when I picked up the paperback edition and I remember reading it from start to finish withing 24h (OK, yes, it was exam time and I WAS procrastinating, but still, I did this only once more, with Connely's Poet).

DEUS MACHINE is one of those rare SF books that stay with you because they are well thought out, their story unfolds effortlessly yet surprisingly, their science is solid and their predictions ring so close to home that you can hear their echo for years.

Sentient AI and explosive evolutionary speciation; corporate greed and human stupidity - all wrapped up in crystal clear writing and emerging rhythm. Too bad the writer stopped after two books (the other one is The Third Pandemic of equal merit).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Deus Machine is a great story for anyone interested in the possible
convergence of Artificial Intelligence and Genetic Engineering. I
found this title on a reduced price rack and bought it because of
the catchy cover art, but I'm recommending it because it is a
fantastic thriller written with a technical expertise of both the
computer science and biological engineering research fields and
a deep understanding of human motivations. The vivid pictures of
new lifeforms that the author paints with his words are truly
unique and subtlely familiar. If it has any flaw, it is only that
it was over too quickly.

This is one of those fabulous books you remember for a long time, but one that not many people have heard about. I have no idea why this did not become a best seller. If it had been written by Crighton, it would have been one of his biggest sellers. It's a story of a computer becoming self-aware and it's mission to destroy humanity through the use of bio-engineering. Excellent Book

Definately one of the better books I've read.

The author manages to mix computer and bio technology into
a gripping story line.

This book will grab you and be very difficult to put down.

TERIFI C read..starts out very slow and just when you wonder if it is worthwhile to keep on reading it really takes off and grabs you. Why have I never heard of this author before? This should have been on the best-seller list. READ IT, you won't be sorry.

The prose in this book is wonderful and it is obviously the product of intense research. The pace is fast and the characters are interesting. The fact that this is Mr Ouellette's first novel is unbelievable. I highly recommend.

Pierre Ouelette's sobering sci-fi vision of the future "The Deus Machine" was written in 1993 and takes place in the area of Portland, Oregon in 2005. The "Downturn" has thrust the U.S. into a deep economic depression with rampant unemployment and civil unrest directed toward an ineffective government.

A brilliant computer systems analyst known as "The Architect" has created a form of self correcting and evolving artificial intelligence known as DEUS. This network nexus is able to think, emote and essentially functions as a living entity.

A shadowy group of high ranking paramiltary types by tying in the DEUS networks company called ParaVolve with a venture capital firm Vencap and with a Mexican Pharmaceutical firm is attempting to make huge profits by creating an arsenal of bioweaponry.

The Architect seeing the danger inherent in his creation has installed within it a bomb to destroy it. When the paramiltary group headed by a shady, murderous peodphile known as Counterpoint learn of this, they recruit another brilliant but unemployed computer technologist Michael Riley to disarm the bomb.

Little did they know but the DEUS network working in concert with other computer networks in the linking companies has designed and generated a mutant virus which escapes into the enivironment. The effect of this virus is the creation of frightening, predatorless alien life forms which give off toxic viruses lethal to all living things including humans. Soon the rampaging virus creates a vast biologically re-engineered tangled jungle of weird plants and animals known as the Mutant Zone which swallows up everything in it path.

Riley, his biologist girlfriend Jessica, an 8 year old neighbor Jimi and the humanlike represntation of the DEUS network known as "Mouthball" are all that are standing between the utter destruction of mankind by the spreading Mutant Zone.

Ouelette's imaginative novel displays an impressive scientific background but often bogs down into long sections of overly technical jargon which is boring. Overall the book postulates interesting concepts which might be part of our near future.

There's a reason why Hard Science Fiction is called Hard: it's hard to write a book that simultaneously contains plausible science, real people and an interesting, plausible plot. I'm afraid I found Deus Machine failed on the second and third counts. And that is a shame because there are some really wonderful ideas here. This is the first biotech novel I've ever read to capture the true potential (and horrible threat) that a total command of the genetic code would have. It contains an intriguing exploration of the creation of artificial sentience and a very believable look at near-future America. What we have here is a potentially engaging novel. But ultimately this potential is left unfulfilled.

To start with I found the writing style in Deus Machine dry to the point of being cold and alienating. Even the romantic scenes are flat and unemotional. This is a world populated by the dysfunctional, psychotic, dispossessed, depressed and drug dependant--a world where economic downturn, political ineptitude and the crumbling family structure have robbed Mankind of all joy and beauty. In particular I found the characters unsatisfying. Each character has one very specific event or condition that defines their motivations, actions and reactions. For the lead male it's having witnessed a violent shootout at a convenience store, the psychological effects of which destroy both his career and marriage. For the beautiful lead female it's having given birth to a terminally deformed child while she was a teenager. This leads her to become a workaholic biological engineer who's unable to make any emotional connection with other people (until the lead male comes into her life, etc.). The prime antagonist is a homosexual serial killer and power politics broker. His evil biotech henchman is obsessed with the human experiments performed by the Japanese during World War II. The genius computer scientist is an unashamed drug and alcohol addict with a severe authority complex. And on and on.

As far as structure goes, the author has a tendency to hop between disparate scenes that is quite frankly distracting. Yeah, we all know the different characters and scenes will eventually tie together but the author takes far too long in drawing these connections for my taste. And though the author refrains from overuse of fragmented sentences (a brutalization of English that has far too often been accepted by authors, editors and readers as a sign of Art), other structural problems were similarly annoying. The main character, for instance, has a flashback wherein he speaks with his then employer. This scene segues into another where the aforementioned employer meets with the prime antagonist, a meeting of which the main character is totally unaware. And then we are returned to the main character's flashback. Who's flashback is this anyway?

Even these flaws, however, pale when compared to the final discovery of what's-really-going-on. The idea is this (if you plan on reading the book and want to discover this yourself, please do not read the following paragraph): within our genetic code is programmed a safeguard against the building of devises that will allow the creation of custom-made life forms. In other words, when you try to build a biocompiler (a machine that will build a life form from the genes up), our genetic code will create new monsters to destroy the biocompiler or the computer designing such a devise. Where this idea came from, or why anyone would believe it is beyond me. With all the careful scientific extrapolation in this novel, such an implausible plot device is simply inexcusable. Yet precisely this postulation (without any hard proof whatsoever) is immediately accepted by all characters who are introduced to it. Furthermore, there is no explanation of how or why such a safeguard is encoded in our genes. And though obvious theological questions arise from such a postulation, no attempt is made to address them. No one asks, "Hey, does that mean God doesn't want us to create living beings?" How about, "You know, there's no way this code could have evolved by pure chance. Someone or some thing must have purposefully put it in our genes. Ergo, some greater power created all life on Earth!"

In the end, this novel is a complex exploration of emerging technologies that weaves its way to a very unsatisfying conclusion (the ultimate climax, a great build up to a feel-good ending, is disappointing and leaves one totally limp). It is a novel that pays great attention to cold fact and technical detail while turning a blind eye to the transparency of its characters and the implausible nature of its own ultimate premise. In a word: disappointing

This is a high-tech bio / computing thriller. There is much excitement and a good plot. Lots of technical jargon. My only complaint is that the ending is somewhat unbelieveable. Without giving anything away, I doubt all this would work so well the first time out.