Full Circle: Electronic Afterlife, by Alfred R. Taylor
Book Review by Michael D. Griffiths
Have you read this book?
Full Circle: Electronic Afterlife, by Alfred R. Taylor is a self-published novel. It is odd in the fact that it takes place in the present, the future, and even the past. Mark Aaron is a historical researcher until the death of his body. His mind however stays intact and is placed into an android body in the far flung future. Why his mind was picked remains a mystery, even to the reader. The novel is mostly from his point of view, but does veer off to put us within the mind of the storys primary villain for a while. Later, we also experience things through the eyes of a pioneer woman when Mark and his fellow android and side kick Jane travel back into the Wild West.
The storys villain seeks to slow down the advance of mankind by sending android assassins into the past to kill key figures and do anything they can to hamper technological advancement. A strange choice considering the man has created the most advanced technology of his time, the self aware android. With the help of Jane, Mark sets out to journey back in time to stop the plans of this madman.
The author has a good grasp of technology and some of the androids quirks are rather enjoyable. He has also done a great deal of research into the period of time Mark journeyed to and it was realistic and at times even comic as Mark explored his nations past. In many ways this book was almost like reading five stories in one although some of the sections were short.
Downsides for some could include that the story was rather disjoined. The author fit a lot of detail into a novel and although it was one story, it did bounce around a lot. I also was not sure why the POV should have switched to the pioneer woman and why this was necessary. In the end, her motivation and story felt like it was left unresolved. Also, the wide sweeping plot to destroy civilization boiled down to only a small episode and the vast majority of assassins still lurked out there and would undoubtedly succeed in destroying our race. Whether this issue is planned to be dealt with in further books, is unknown.
Despite these issues it was an enjoyable read and at time funny as well. The author has a good grasp on what he seeks to discuss, but may have laid out a huge macro issue and then took his time focusing overmuch in the micro. I would recommend this book to time travel enthusiasts and people that enjoy the process of IA evolution.
The storys villain seeks to slow down the advance of mankind by sending android assassins into the past to kill key figures and do anything they can to hamper technological advancement. A strange choice considering the man has created the most advanced technology of his time, the self aware android. With the help of Jane, Mark sets out to journey back in time to stop the plans of this madman.
The author has a good grasp of technology and some of the androids quirks are rather enjoyable. He has also done a great deal of research into the period of time Mark journeyed to and it was realistic and at times even comic as Mark explored his nations past. In many ways this book was almost like reading five stories in one although some of the sections were short.
Downsides for some could include that the story was rather disjoined. The author fit a lot of detail into a novel and although it was one story, it did bounce around a lot. I also was not sure why the POV should have switched to the pioneer woman and why this was necessary. In the end, her motivation and story felt like it was left unresolved. Also, the wide sweeping plot to destroy civilization boiled down to only a small episode and the vast majority of assassins still lurked out there and would undoubtedly succeed in destroying our race. Whether this issue is planned to be dealt with in further books, is unknown.
Despite these issues it was an enjoyable read and at time funny as well. The author has a good grasp on what he seeks to discuss, but may have laid out a huge macro issue and then took his time focusing overmuch in the micro. I would recommend this book to time travel enthusiasts and people that enjoy the process of IA evolution.
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