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patchworkbunny's review against another edition
3.0
Scientists predicted the sun would die, just not how soon that would be. At MIT, the dedicated few are working on an artificial consciousness, able to access the minds of her subjects and help them come to terms with their issues. She's a virtual therapist. Facing extinction, some start to think Emily holds the answer to the future of humanity.
Emily has been shaped by her interactions with humans, encouraged to think and behave like them. Nathan creates her a dorm room and a simulation of the campus so she can live as much like a person as she can. She appears to exist to anyone wearing an interface chip, without the chips or her simulation, she blinks out of existence.
Later in the book, you see how important Emily's upbringing is. Without her perspective of humans, she would think of purely logical solutions, maybe ignoring the moral implications. She is quite naive at times, her life has been short after all and her world limited to the campus.
Of course, her cushy existence comes crashing down when someone tries to seize the technology. Emily goes "on the run" but she remains determined to find a way to preserve the human race in some way. She likes humans, sees herself as one.
I can get behind the idea of a neural interface being able to alter perception, even maybe controlling muscles and hormonal excretions, but the direction of the story gets a bit too far-fetched. There are good ideas in there but there is a big leap from what current biology is capable of to what Emily does towards the end.
I also found the whole chip part wishy washy, it just gets placed on your skin and then Emily has access to your whole brain processes. Oh and she is capable of doing her thing via any networked electrical device. I know we're not sure exactly how the brain works, but I had a hard time just accepting this considering it was trying to be scientific.
Since Emily has been shaped to think and behave like a human, it's understandable she might want to try a romantic relationship. She makes a mistake when going into the mind of her infatuation. What she does is a huge violation and I'm not sure I'd be so forgiving. The secondary characters weren't fully fleshed out so I didn't get behind them. I didn't believe in their love, and the sex part, well the mind boggles. Just remember, Emily doesn't exist physically.
Emily just needed some limits to her powers. It got to the point where it seemed she was capable of anything and that ruins a story for me.
Emily has been shaped by her interactions with humans, encouraged to think and behave like them. Nathan creates her a dorm room and a simulation of the campus so she can live as much like a person as she can. She appears to exist to anyone wearing an interface chip, without the chips or her simulation, she blinks out of existence.
Later in the book, you see how important Emily's upbringing is. Without her perspective of humans, she would think of purely logical solutions, maybe ignoring the moral implications. She is quite naive at times, her life has been short after all and her world limited to the campus.
Of course, her cushy existence comes crashing down when someone tries to seize the technology. Emily goes "on the run" but she remains determined to find a way to preserve the human race in some way. She likes humans, sees herself as one.
I can get behind the idea of a neural interface being able to alter perception, even maybe controlling muscles and hormonal excretions, but the direction of the story gets a bit too far-fetched. There are good ideas in there but there is a big leap from what current biology is capable of to what Emily does towards the end.
I also found the whole chip part wishy washy, it just gets placed on your skin and then Emily has access to your whole brain processes. Oh and she is capable of doing her thing via any networked electrical device. I know we're not sure exactly how the brain works, but I had a hard time just accepting this considering it was trying to be scientific.
Since Emily has been shaped to think and behave like a human, it's understandable she might want to try a romantic relationship. She makes a mistake when going into the mind of her infatuation. What she does is a huge violation and I'm not sure I'd be so forgiving. The secondary characters weren't fully fleshed out so I didn't get behind them. I didn't believe in their love, and the sex part, well the mind boggles. Just remember, Emily doesn't exist physically.
Emily just needed some limits to her powers. It got to the point where it seemed she was capable of anything and that ruins a story for me.
zspetra01's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
ducky_dreadful's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
obojo's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
branch_c's review against another edition
3.0
Emily is absolutely a unique AI character, at least in my reading experience. The explanation of her existence and capabilities and behavior is creative and thought-provoking in the best ways.
Having said that, the distinction between AI and AC (artificial consciousness) is not part of that uniqueness; it’s just a terminology quirk that doesn’t take into account the actual definition of consciousness. Also, going back to Emily’s capabilities and behaviors, I have to admit that while the initial presentation is great, it goes off the rails a bit when the action picks up. The ease and speed with with she’s able to access, influence, and even control the humans she deals with - merely by having a chip in contact with any part of their skin - quickly starts to seem like magic. Likewise, the way she presents herself to many people at once, all with separate chips, involves a bit of hand waving and seems like it would take a significant amount of processing power (not to say “attention”). It might have kept things more grounded if there had been some difficulties along these lines. The plot too, toward the end, goes off in a direction that, while pleasantly unexpected, is also not as satisfying as I’d hoped. And the romance aspect is never quite believable for me, on the part of either party involved.
So in the end, while certainly a worthwhile read, I enjoyed the concept more than the execution on this one.
Having said that, the distinction between AI and AC (artificial consciousness) is not part of that uniqueness; it’s just a terminology quirk that doesn’t take into account the actual definition of consciousness. Also, going back to Emily’s capabilities and behaviors, I have to admit that while the initial presentation is great, it goes off the rails a bit when the action picks up. The ease and speed with with she’s able to access, influence, and even control the humans she deals with - merely by having a chip in contact with any part of their skin - quickly starts to seem like magic. Likewise, the way she presents herself to many people at once, all with separate chips, involves a bit of hand waving and seems like it would take a significant amount of processing power (not to say “attention”). It might have kept things more grounded if there had been some difficulties along these lines. The plot too, toward the end, goes off in a direction that, while pleasantly unexpected, is also not as satisfying as I’d hoped. And the romance aspect is never quite believable for me, on the part of either party involved.
So in the end, while certainly a worthwhile read, I enjoyed the concept more than the execution on this one.
moomin333's review against another edition
4.0
Emily Eternal was a really unique book with a writing style and humor that reminded me a little bit of The Martian. I found the concept really interesting – “Emily” is an Artificial Consciousness designed to interface with humans using a tiny chip worn on their neck. Once she’s connected with them, she appears visible and touch-able like any other human, but she’s inside their mind as a true empath. She was designed to help process trauma through talk therapy sessions. She does so by reviewing the memories clients and is able to see the disconnect between what really happened (like watching a video of the true event) and what they only remember. Honestly, a book focused even just on this practice would have been truly interesting, but then they took it a huge step further and involved an even crazier plot twist within the first few pages: the sun is dying and there are only a few weeks left before solar flares disable all electronics on the planet, diseases spread, mass extinction begins, etc.
I loved that this book had the romance element and I very much enjoyed all of the characters and little, unpredictable twists. I didn’t enjoy the end as it was a little too far-fetched, but I’d gladly read more by this author!
I loved that this book had the romance element and I very much enjoyed all of the characters and little, unpredictable twists. I didn’t enjoy the end as it was a little too far-fetched, but I’d gladly read more by this author!
booksandlemonsquash's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed Emily Eternal - it wasn’t quite what I expected having read a short excerpt from the start, but much more in line with the blurb. (I know, I know, obvious!!) I really liked the way the Artificial Consciousness melded with futuristic “real” life in this, and how the science worked. Most of it seemed plausible, given we don’t know how far in the future it’s set. My biggest science issue was actually how they created Emily, and I totally get why that’s not included - you’d need an entire book just on the theory of an AC! Hehe.
I really liked Emily, and how she seemed both human and not, and the concept of not being able to control when she the “present” was fab, you could sense that it was frustrating for her. And how she interacted without everyone was fantastically done. There’s a great scene where she knows she’s being petty but still storms put properly to prove a point, and I love it.
I didn’t love the romance element, though once it had played out I liked their interactions. It was surprisingly well played, given the circumstances.
I was also a little frustrated not really knowing more of the motivations behind Argosy - we see a very small amount and then it’s quickly rushed away. That’s probably my main niggle, as it meant I didn’t really get the depth I wanted.
That said, the plot is fast paced and well written, and I loved the bio-elements (my favourite bits are right at the end, and so I don’t want to spoil, but I love the ending so hard).
I also loved Jason and Mayra, especially Mayra - she rocked! Even though we only see their perspectives through Emily’s eyes, they are much needed in keeping it human and grounded.
Definitely worth a read if you like science fiction!
I thoroughly enjoyed Emily Eternal - it wasn’t quite what I expected having read a short excerpt from the start, but much more in line with the blurb. (I know, I know, obvious!!) I really liked the way the Artificial Consciousness melded with futuristic “real” life in this, and how the science worked. Most of it seemed plausible, given we don’t know how far in the future it’s set. My biggest science issue was actually how they created Emily, and I totally get why that’s not included - you’d need an entire book just on the theory of an AC! Hehe.
I really liked Emily, and how she seemed both human and not, and the concept of not being able to control when she the “present” was fab, you could sense that it was frustrating for her. And how she interacted without everyone was fantastically done. There’s a great scene where she knows she’s being petty but still storms put properly to prove a point, and I love it.
I didn’t love the romance element, though once it had played out I liked their interactions. It was surprisingly well played, given the circumstances.
I was also a little frustrated not really knowing more of the motivations behind Argosy - we see a very small amount and then it’s quickly rushed away. That’s probably my main niggle, as it meant I didn’t really get the depth I wanted.
That said, the plot is fast paced and well written, and I loved the bio-elements (my favourite bits are right at the end, and so I don’t want to spoil, but I love the ending so hard).
I also loved Jason and Mayra, especially Mayra - she rocked! Even though we only see their perspectives through Emily’s eyes, they are much needed in keeping it human and grounded.
Definitely worth a read if you like science fiction!