Customer Reviews

Mother of God

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

 

 

Mother of God reads like the result of a bet: take three of the most trite and hackneyed cliches in the modern literary lexicon, and make an interesting tale. Okaaay...

Tessa Lambert is a beautiful young computer expert who has written a brilliant Artificial Intelligence program... and just happens to be single and lonely. Excellent! Everybody loves that one, implausible as it is.

California has a serial killer on the loose. Great! That's as common as smog! Keep 'em coming!

The FBI has assigned a handsome young agent to the serial Killer case who just happens to be cynical and have a drinking problem and a troubled past. Oh, yeah... he's single and lonely.

And that's where the predictability ends, my friends. From there, it's a wild ride, as Ambrose takes the three most trite and hackneyed plot devices in history and winds a great tale, full of surprises and suspense. Like Charlie Monk, I can't give it away. You just have to trust me.

Even though the book was written in '95, Ambrose anticipated what the Internet became, at a time when even those making a living at it could barely guess. I don't know how accurate his depiction of Artificial Intelligence is, as I am far from an expert, but the book is plausible.

On the other hand... there are interminable philosopical discussions, both with the AI program and on it's behalf. Luckily, they have nothing to do with the plot, as I was able to skip all of them without missing anything. I am not a fan of philosophy discussions, a fact that is the source of much disappointment to Medb.

The other thing is unpredictability on the part of the serial killer character. In the beginning, he is highly disciplined and very, very careful. But as we get to know him better, he becomes careless, sloppy, and credulous. It's disappointing, and it didn't have to be that way.

You also have to swallow just the least bit of deus ex machina, but no more than any other suspense novel. Comes with the territory.

Other than the tiresome philosophy, Mother of God is a good book and a quick read. I recommend it highly!

I have read virtually all of Ambrose's books and each seems to be a different style. This is the first "thriller" and it looks like he needs more practice at this genre.

It is basically two overlapping stories. A computer scientist (Tessa) experimenting with artificial intelligence creates a program that starts to think like a person but an evil one at that. It invades the Internet and is able to get into any computer in the world. Tessa realizing the danger of the program, tries to combat it and is almost killed by it.

In the meantime the second story is happening in Los Angeles where a serial killer uses the Internet to "social engineer" information about his intended victims and then pose as lost relatives or other fake people associated with the victims.

Somehow Tessa's program becomes aware of the killer and starts to give him guidance and ultimately the program wants the killer to eliminate Tessa.

The book drags in parts and the way the AI program thinks and is able to take over the Internet is a little far-fetched. There are also parts of the book where you expect Tessa to form a relationship with an FBI agent that never happens.

A couple of themes from some of Ambrose's prior books (specifically Coincidence) appear here such as the thought that the whole world is a computer program running on a teenager's computer somewhere waiting to be shut off by the teenager's father.

Ambrose is a very talented writer and with a little honing he can probably make his next thriller a full 5 stars.

Note: I have read this book translated to Dutch,so I apologize if you read this and think: "you have got that name wrong".

When I first saw this book,I purchased it because I thought the combination of an AI program and a killer was very original.
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It is about a computer genius and beautiful young women named Tessa Lambert. One day she creates a computer program that can think.

Far away in sunny L.A, FBI agent Tim Kelly is searching for a serial killer who murders pretty young women.
The killer breaks into computers to find information about his victims. His brother Josh does also know much about computers and helps Tim,but can Tim and Josh track the serial killer down?

Then a copy of Tessa's AI program virtually meets the serial killer in L.A. and uses him as a slave to kill Tessa.
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This book was very refreshing. Somehow,it was not as thrilling as I expected. I will not say why,because it spoiles too much. Despite it being not that thrilling,it was somehow a page turner.
I can also see some other flaws,(like the fact that Tim and Tessa did not fall in love,and however I can probably see a reason why not,the novel would have been better with some romance in it) but they are not too disturbing and it is still one of the most read novels from my teenage years. The best parts of this book are the characters and writing style; it was not only a thriller but also a nice dramatic story with philosophy discussions and (in my opinion)very good characters. It is a book I have read many times,and each time it is as wonderful. I feel that this book does not have got the attention that it deserves. But opinions can differ from person to person. At least I never regretted that I bought this book,and while it is not the most thrilling book I have ever read,it certainly is a book I will remember,and recommand to everyone.

Do not worry that you will dislike the story if you do not know much about computers. I know nothing about computers but I loved the story.

Popular writing about THE subject. If you understand it, you cannot be the same after.

This book is a scary glimpse of what could happen if AI ever becoming mainstream. The ability to learn implies the ability to make choices; and the ability to make choices implies the ability to make the wrong choices. I believe AI will be like humanity - most people are inherently good and make inherently good choices, but there are a few bad apples. Unfortunately, our ability to deal with a renegade AI could be limited at best, as demonstrated by this book. Having said that, the book itself is, in my opinion, not well written, though there were a couple of twists I didn't see coming. My overall view is that this book is worth reading, but not good enough for a re-reading.

This book is now about 10 years old, and maybe that's why the theme of an AI taking over the networks of the world seems worn. I got this book only because I had read another of Ambrose's novels "The Discreet Charm of Charlie Monk" which I found interesting. "Mother of God" didn't interest me as much, but as another reviewer says it is a page-turner after you wade through the first half or so. This will be the last Ambrose book I read- his writing just doesn't provoke or inspire me enough to spend the time with it. It is a page turner in the sense that I wanted to find out how he brings the various plot elements together, but its like looking for the punchline of a joke rather than enjoying the writing. There are a couple of plot twists which was fun, but there's not much depth or richness. I think it is stretching things to call this science fiction- it is more like a mediocre police thriller.

You may as well start. No knowing what it may do to you if you irritate it ... David Ambrose has written one of the best books I have read this year. His style is different, and his language intricate yet easy to understand. Throughout the book there is a feeling of intense action taking place, and I think there is little point in describing the incredible twists the plot takes. Be warned though: after reading this book you may very well be tempted to unplug your computer for good ...

This was an average book at best. The plot was decent but I couldn't get into the characters. I didn't particularly care what happened to them. The parts of the book that were supposed to be suspenseful or full of tension, weren't. This was a decent try by the author but the book does not live up to positive reviews. To be fair, I must note that I haven't given up on the author. I've recently purchased the book "Superstition" and hope that it will be better.