Customer Reviews

Exegesis

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

EXEGESIS by Astro Teller is a new entry into the classic tales of super computers and smart programs that seem to get a little out of control. The entire novel, except for the introduction and epilogue, is in the form of e-mail messages. Using letters to tell a tale is not a new idea. Two excellent examples are Helene Hanff's 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD, subject of an excellent film, and DADDY LONG LEGS which inspired the Fred Astaire movie of the same name.

In this novel we follow the work of Alice Lu, a student working on her doctoral thesis. From the first message, the two simple words, Hello, Alice!, we slowly learn about Alice's project EDGAR, a program meant to read news groups, analyze the information and send messages to Alice. Until that simple two-word message all Alice had received from EDGAR was garbage. Alice first suspects a joke but slowly learns that somehow her modifications to the project have caused it to become self-aware.

Once the truth dawns on Alice she scrambles to keep EDGAR a secret until she can recreate the experiment. Because EDGAR has been posting to news groups Alice disconnects the system from the outside world. EDGAR quickly runs out of things to read and asks for more. Alice feeds EDGAR a few disks while trying to recreate the experiment on a host of other machines. No luck. Even worse, the Ethernet cable gets reattached and EDGAR flees the system. Now Alice has no proof other than her communications.

As EDGAR continues to read all that it can, it manages to catch the attention of the FBI and the NSA. Alice, whose personal life is one of the worst, becomes very afraid and begins thinking of dropping out of school. EDGAR is the only thing keeping her going, even after EDGAR becomes trapped in an NSA machine. In the end Alice is a broken woman and EDGAR has disappeared from the NSA machine. Did it escape or did Alice's talk of suicide cause it to end itself? We don't know.

While I enjoyed this book I had two problems with it. At first I wondered what a true AI was doing using the ultra slow method of communication called e-mail. This was shortly explained in a way that made sense to me so it was not a problem. The first main problem I had was the overall format. The novel is passed off as truth-written-as-fiction. In other words the events happened but with no proof it had to be released as fiction. Not a real problem except that the author set the story just a few years in the future. Had it been made contemporary it would have had a bigger impact. The second problem was that the book was not leaked by Alice, as she hinted earlier in the book, but by the NSA who says they will keep the story quiet. Other than that it was a great book so keep an eye out for it.

I began reading this book originally because I thought it was a human-to-human relationship which would develop. I was surprised (and confused) when I found that it was a computer-human relationship. The book isn't all technical jargin, but has a loosely veiled message. How Edgar, the child, rebels against Alice, the mother, is a direct parallel to how Alice rebels herself. It is a great computer/philosophical read and the intersting and roiginal idea intrigued me.

Like all satisfying writing, the author elicits as much from the reader as he puts into the piece himself. This book works on so many levels that I am still finding them, two weeks after reading the book. The Christ and Frankenstein myths are obvious. But I am particularly interested in the relationship between Alice and EDGAR and Alice and her father (who is only briefly aluded to). Also, Alice and the man who made all the material available to her. Is his a selfless act akin to EDGAR's? And Alice and her thesis advisor; who or which is the prime mover in this story?

Note also that Mr. Teller has left open the possibility of a sequel. A friend and I are still trying to decide if there are two EDGARs left or only one.

The e-mail format is deceptively simple. It reads as quickly or intricately as one has the patience for. A close reading of the headers is instructive.

The idea behind Exegesis is an interesting one: a series of experiments in producing a thinking program hits paydirt when a young grad student named Alice Wu receives an e-mail from one of her iterations of the program. Calling itself "EDGAR" (after the project's acronym), it seems to gradually pull itself into existence as Alice starts to fall apart. The story of Exegesis reveals itself through the ensuing series of e-mails, occasionally involving other parties (and saying more about this would significantly spoil the plot). Unfortunately, much of the book is slow, and ultimately the story appears to go nowhere, offering a rather cynical take on human nature and no real resolution. Alice becomes a less likable character the more she reveals of herself, and EDGAR turns out to have very little about him that is interesting.

The thoughts and ideas this book will provoke make it worth the reading--it is a short, quick read. However, don't expect a gripping story. Recommended for people who like thinking about technology, artificial intelligence, and/or human nature.

I first have to admit the main reason I chose to read this book was because it appeared to be a fast and easy read. To my surprise it turned out to be a very good book. Although the book didnt always keep my interest at a high point, I didn't really want to put it down. The main character, Alice, an artificial inteligence researcher who creates a program named Edgar who ends up developing self-awareness. As they communicate through their only means of interaction, e-mail, Edgar begins developing, and starts to learn the differences between right and wrong.

Alice wants complete control of Edgar so no one else gains credit for his creation. But Edgar on the other hand has such a passion for his independance that he can't bare to be controlled. I didn't like the ending, because it left me guessing what happened to Alice. All in all it was a good book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read about artificial intelligence or anyone who just likes an easy read.

There were many things about this book I enjoyed. The email format of the novel was an excellent idea. You get to watch Edgar grow as the story (email messages) go on. Teller raises some interesting questions about the ethics of AI if they ever reach their goal of a "human" computer. I also liked the way Teller made both Edgar and Alice have their breakdowns together. The only problem a reader might have the boo is that it is just email messages. If your mind isn't open to the philosophies of AI you may not find this book interesting

I don't usually go for these kind of books, but this one caught my eye. It held on to my attention from the start- and being entirely written in e-mail, it was a fast read. The author gives emotion and a personality to an object--The computer has a mind of its own and can make decisions for itself. I haven't found anything else with a similar plot, Exegesis is truly unique -- I don't know how else to explain it. I would recommend this to anyone who is tired of the same old fiction book, or anyone who wants a short, creative read. It's a great book.

I really enjoyed this book... in fact, I picked it up around 4 PM, and was done with it before I went to bed at 11 PM. True, this book uses a format that makes for a fast read, but I read it with a fury that most books do not install in me. I became so enthralled with this computer/human relationship that I was unable to stop reading! It is hard to really explain how this book worked with me, but if you love computers, read it and I think you should be able to understand what makes this book so good. I truly hope that Astro Teller creates a sequel, or at least continues writing with such cutting-edge style and format. And I mean come on, how couldn't you love a book with a :) on the cover? Heh.

This short book is a series of emails between Edgar the "computer" and Alice the "creator of Edgar". I have no idea what I expected, but this certainly wasn't it. It was not a story, but a dialogue. That being said, I read straight through the book without getting up and was very disappointed when I was finished (not with the book, but with being done). I definitely highly recommend for a quick read.

I liked how the author wrote the book in e-mail messages. It made you fill in the blanks that he left because he didn't describe anything. It was a fast paced book that i enjoyed alot. The only part that i didn't really like was the ending because it didn't tell you what happened to Alice. Other than the ending it was a good book :)