"Store the body at sub-zero temperatures; store the mind in a quantum computer—and reunite them at some point in the future. It was a perfect solution not just for those seeking to beat death, like my grandpa, but also for astronauts like Jürgen and me planning to go on a centuries-long interstellar voyage. Except, damn it all, something went horribly, horribly wrong."

Set in the future, humans have perfected cryogenics. The trick is that the mind and the body have to be stored separately and the mind downloaded from the quantum computer back into the body when the body is defrosted. We meet two groups of people - astronauts who were meant to be frozen for a long space voyage to a distant star and prisoners wh were meant to serve a 20 year prison senence in 10 months in a sped up simulation. Hower, things don't quite go as promised and everyone wakes up on or around an earth they don't recognise 500 years later. These are their stories, told through a series of interviews, as they share who they are.

I was immediately intrigued when I saw the concept. The book may be short but it covers quite a lot in it pages. But because of its length a lot of these things unfortuanately aren't looked at much deeper than surface level (altough some points like COVID in this case both 19 and the new 50 disease were brought up multiple times, still not nearly as deeply as many other books look at pandemics though). I wasn't aware of the interview structure before I started. Although it maybe makes things a bit more fragmented than they would otherwise have been (each interview is quite short!), the fact that this isn't done through dialogue (i.e. it's just one character talking at a time without interruptions) means it mostly reads as any other story would. This started as an audio format and there were definitely times when I could tell that this was written with that in mind. There are times when it becomes more stream of concious and I imagine those parts work much better inan audion format as that kind of rambling tone doesn't necessarily transate as strongly to a print format - this is not the majority of the book though. Just parts here and there. But overall, this was an interesting book and I'm glad I read it! I'm definitely a little curious about what happes to our characters next.

I recieved a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own. ( )

The Downloaded by Robert J. Sawyer is a so-so light science fiction novel set in 2059 featuring cryogenic freezing and quantum computers.

"In 2059 two very different groups have their minds uploaded into a quantum computer in Waterloo, Ontario. One group consists of astronauts preparing for Earth’s first interstellar voyage. The other? Convicted murderers, serving their sentences in a virtual-reality prison. But when disaster strikes, the astronauts and the prisoners must download back into physical reality and find a way to work together to save Earth from destruction."

The plot and, sadly, the writing are just okay in The Downloaded, and, honestly it was disappointing. Science fiction is a genre I generally enjoy, but what I really like is hard science fiction with all the facts and details concerning the real science supporting the story line. That is absent here, perhaps because it is a very short book. What is present is another lecture wrapped around a short story. The light plot and tedious lecture series insured I would lose interest quickly.

Yet again I need to caution an author to keep their personal political/social views on contemporary topics to themselves as it diminishes and dates the novel. There were multiple examples of this lecturing on several different topics, including numerous times those who didn't mask or vaccinate for COVID were demonized. I'm reading fiction for entertainment and escapism. If I want a lecture on social topics, I'll select the nonfiction books and topics. Thanks to Shadowpaw Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/04/the-downloaded.html ( )

A disaster disrupts the cryogenic storage/mental uploads of a group of astronauts headed to a distant planet and a group of convicts serving their sentences digitally. Novella-length audiobook; Sawyer does better for me when playing with ideas in more extended form. Attempted rape and a reasonably graphic murder scene (remembered by one of the convicts). ( )

As much as I want to say I enjoyed this book, which I did through approximately half, I was deterred from fully liking it by its politically pushed finish. The story itself was really good, but I really didn't need to feel right or wrong reading it depending on which side of the political spectrum I was on. ( )

This is a short book that presents a situation and solutions. In the not too distant future a ship is launched to the stars. The crew are physically frozen with their minds uploaded into virtual reality sims so they an enjoy themselves for the 400 years of travel. Except it doesn't work out that way. The ship never left, because an EMP blast destroyed civilization after uploading but before departure. The crew awakens at a flight center near Toront0. Also housed at that facility were criminals participating in a new form of incarceration in virtual reality. How will these two groups live together? How will they interact with any people they might find?

It's a good premise but written in a lazy style of interview transcripts between the downloaded crew and ex-cons and a post-human Martian who pops in to see what's going on. The book takes no time at all to read and is not particularly satisfying.

However, when I was getting ready to upload my review onto another site, the first entry to pop-up was an audio presentation from last year. I think that the play came first and now this paperback has been added. Perhaps the interview format derives from the play, not from laziness after all.

I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley.com. ( )