Customer Reviews

We Think, Therefore We Are

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

 

 

These fifteen new tales that make up the A.I. themed anthology are well written engaging stories that for the most part entertain yet also have the reader thinking what the future will hold with the rapid speed of information technology advancements. The Introduction by Paul McAuley references the past (Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics), the present has The Matrix trilogy) and the future (Vernor Vinge's theory that AI will go where humans cannot imagine). With a nod to Clarke's Hal of 2001 fame, the entries are overall engaging and thought provoking. "Tempest 45" by Stephen Baxter has an AI fail to perform its mission to stop a hurricane from devastating Florida, but the investigation leads to so much more. Brian Stableford's "Highway Code" will remind the audience of Spielberg's AI as an intelligent big truck drives the roads alone for years until a major accident occurs. A salvager in space falls in love with his AI while waiting for the arrival of a missionary ship coming home from a visit with God ("Salvage Rites" by Eric Brown or what is the "Dragon King of the Eastern Sea" by Chris Roberson. Although somewhat limited in exploring what could be due to the short story format, the compilation is superb as the authors contribute diverse tales with some seemingly weird like Marly Youmans' "The Chinese Room" adding depth and variety to the anthology.

Harriet Klausner

A pretty measly 3.10 average. Way too many weak stories to be found, here. The most notable writers Reed, Di Filippo, Stableford, Watson etc. don't let us down, but don't do much other than that, except in the one case, and Baxter's is maybe a 3.25.

I'd recommend starting at the end and going backwards, in fact, or you possibly might toss the book. This is a 2.75 book for sure. I'll round to three being generous, thanks to Stableford, Reed, Di Filippo and Roberson.

We Think Therefore We Are : Tempest 43 - Stephen Baxter
We Think Therefore We Are : The Highway Code - Brian Stableford
We Think Therefore We Are : Salvage Rites - Eric Brown
We Think Therefore We Are : The Kamikaze Code - James Lovegrove
We Think Therefore We Are : Adam Robots - Adam Roberts
We Think Therefore We Are : Seeds - Tony Ballantyne
We Think Therefore We Are : Lost Places of the Earth - Steven Utley
We Think Therefore We Are : The Chinese Room - Marly Youmans
We Think Therefore We Are : Three Princesses - Robert Reed
We Think Therefore We Are : The New Cyberiad - Paul Di Filippo
We Think Therefore We Are : That Laugh - Patrick O'Leary
We Think Therefore We Are : Alles In Ordnung - Garry Kilworth
We Think Therefore We Are : Sweats - Keith Brooke
We Think Therefore We Are : Some Fast Thinking Needed - Ian Watson
We Think Therefore We Are : Dragon King of the Eastern Sea - Chris Roberson

AI Heroic Solution.

3 out of 5


Long haul robots must roll, except in case of volcano rescue.

4 out of 5


Monkship cyborg fanatic AI girlfriend sacrifice.

3 out of 5


Killer story factory.

3 out of 5


Useless, they is.

2.5 out of 5


AI he alive, too squiggly.

2.5 out of 5


Do the Paleozoic Maparama with me.

3.5 out of 5


Bad poetry, minions.

2 out of 5


Download, or upload hot time.

3.5 out of 5


Galactic monoculture boredom fix fight.

3.5 out of 5


Bold form convo.

2.5 out of 5


Taswegian alien robot why.

3 out of 5


Hosting Accord instance murder multiple.

3.5 out of 5


Suicide Mastrioshka unexistence clone share.

3.5 out of 5


Fire Star AI murder mystery elimination is a cracker.

3.5 out of 5




3 out of 5 (1 out of 5 for georestrictions)

stories of artificial intelligence are almost always enjoyable and this book contains varied stories of many different kinds of artificial intelligence. this is not a hard-scifi book but should be enjoyed in an avid manner nonetheless. obtain from a library and you will be not disappointed.

I love ideas. New concepts. This book has a set of them, sometimes one, sometimes several in each short story. Thankfully none of them are overly pretentious, mostly they are intriguing and at least one downright comedic. I especially liked the self-aware Road Train, travelling the world delivering stuff while carefully trading off conflicting road rules. And the 'master constructors' who got so bored they decided to reinvent humans to create some disorder and fun around the place. Makes you think, which is good.

I have found this a pretty good collections of stories. I like that they are mostly contemporary and topical, but do lack some more detailed creativity. All in all, not too bad given other choices.