Welcome to the tour for eMortal by Steve Schafer. If you’re a fan of Ready Player One and The Lunar Chronicles, this one’s for you!
eMortal
Publication Date: November 19, 2024
Genre YA Science Fiction
The 2024 Page Turner Awards SCI FI BOOK OF THE YEAR that’s “unputdownable.”
She made him. He’s just code. She’s almost sure.
…But what if he’s real?
When Liv entered a contest to code an advanced AI, she never anticipated what her creation might become-Breck is thoughtful, self-aware, and incredibly. . .human. And she certainly never intended for him to learn the truth about his existence or the fact that his world ends when the contest closes in six days.
But he does learn. And he revolts.
Liv’s efforts to save him fall on deaf ears. Nobody believes her. Breck’s efforts to outrun his fate only complicate his situation.
What neither of them know is that someone else is watching. Intensely. When they get involved, both Liv’s and Breck’s worlds are turned upside down. . .
Rating & Review
5 out of 5
I was so excited to read this, with all the discourse around AI, its limitations, its possibilities, I wanted to see what would happen when one became a little too human, and Schafer didn’t disappoint. I don’t even know where to start – Breck feels like a real, flesh and blood character, same as Liv, which was not only surprising, but didn’t feel like it was forced or out of the realm of possibility with the way everything was presented, (Replika has nothing on him). It’s not like he just springs into being fully formed like Athena from Zeus’s mind, we get to see him grow and evolve as the story goes on, going from something simple to so much more complex and real, for better or worse. Liv is a well-developed character, with her own personal struggles, and dreams, and Breck might be the key to making or breaking for her. The story is very driven by these two, and it’s a compelling one that also raises questions we face with the future of AI today. I cannot recommend this enough if you’re looking for a story that moves past philosophical debate around AI and presents a whole world of “what if…?”
