Taylor, Dennis E. The Singularity Trap. Worldbuilders Press, 2018.
Dennis E. Taylor’s The Singularity Trap takes a well-worn science fiction premise and does something new with it. An ancient, alien artifact is lurking in the asteroid belt. When Ivan, a hapless computer programmer, touches it, it begins converting his body into a metallic android. Ivan is a likable bloke who uses his programming skills to outwit the artifact’s expert system. Taylor’s work also represents a recent trend in which an audio edition is its primary publishing venue. Bezos strikes again. 4 stars. ( )

I should've known that this book would end up being so much better than it's less-than-stellar description made it sound. If you're a fan of the Bobiverse, then you'll love this one, too. ( )

I'm really liking Taylor's stories. His Bobiverse trilogy was some of the most fun and thought-provoking SF I've read in a while. While this one doesn't quite hit the same highs, it's still a great read.

I think the reason for the loss of one star off the rating is only because there was a bit of a feeling of Taylor running over some of the same Bobiverse ground, albeit from a different angle. But still, the idea of what it means to be human, to be alive, to have your consciousness put into a machine...all stuff that was also examined in the previous trilogy.

And once again, there's coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. Taylor's characters drink damn near as much coffee as Stieg Larsson's. Okay, who am I kidding? Nobody drinks as much coffee as Stieg Larrson's characters. But Taylor's definitely in the running.

For all of that, Taylor was still able to bring a lot of new stuff to the table as well, so it's a minor quibble.

It's been a long time since I really looked forward to a SF author's next work. I'm glad I've found someone that gets me excited about SF again. ( )

Where the Bobbiverse novels relied on an equal mix of pop-culture nerdiness and solid SF idea exploration in the realm of a self-replicating AI who is still effectively "human", The Singularity Trap jumps on some of the same solid SF ideas and plotting but does it without most of the humor.

I can only assume this might piss off a few fans of the other books, but not me. It just proves that Taylor has the grit to back up his SF idea exploration with nothing more than good characterizations, big tech, and even better Fermi/Game Theory musings.

The novel begins with a mining ship finding something strange which can be surmised from the cover, but more than that, this is a novel of equations. Not math we have to do ourselves, of course, but equations such as survival equations, cost/benefit equations, moral equations, or even engagement equations. What happens when a crewmate is being transformed, full body-horror included, and we have to balance it against nearly unlimited wealth? How about the risk of contagion versus unlimited tech? At what point does a person stop being a person?

When does a troublesome species like humanity become too much trouble to bother with?

I won't spoil the hell out of this novel, but one thing is certain: it does a great job at laying out all the questions and deriving a ton of conflict out of them all. The mirroring is also quite good. At what point does a transformed species still remain its parent species? At what point does an AI stop being the consciousness of the alien and be the same kind of AI that it thinks its fighting? Between nanites and AI's on the BIG playing field, I can't tell the difference except in how they play their Game Theory.

So let's hear it for the Prisoner's Dilemma! :)

This might be a standalone novel or a series. It's primed for a series. And I hope so. I'm enjoying this as much as the Bobbiverse. :) ( )

3.5/5 stars, rounded up.

I loved the Bobiverse books and thought I'd try this one which is by the same author and has the same audio narrator. I thought this story interesting though there seemed to be a couple of big holes in the story-mostly regarding the political situation and governmental administration in the U.S.

Nevertheless, this was an interesting tale with a few Sci-Fi and Star Trek references which I enjoyed. I did miss the sense of humor I found in the Bob books, but this story didn't have a lot of room for comedy.

As usual, Ray Porter's narration was excellent and there were a few sound effects that I thought enhanced the story.

Recommended for fans of the Bobiverse books and other science fiction.

*I bought this audio from Audible with my own hard earned cash.* ( )