Synthetic Intelligence. Thought impossible, but Dr. Wallace Theren has pushed the boundaries of computational science, creating an artificial mind capable of conscious thought. Naturally, his creation faces a harsh world bent on using it, exploiting it, or destroying it. If the first synthetic intelligence is to survive its early years, it’ll need friends, but more importantly, it’ll need a … importantly, it’ll need a family.
And together, they’ll need to show their enemies they’re worth saving . . . or fearing.
Praise for First of Their Kind
“FIRST OF THEIR KIND is a fascinating and realistic look at the future of humanity as our lives become more entrenched in technology, to the point that we start creating artificial beings that have lives of their own. It’s science fiction with a dash of mystery, conspiracy, thriller elements, and the end will leave you begging for the sequel ” – Alexis Ames
Do you enjoy science fiction with robots, androids, virtual worlds, and corporate conspiracies?
First of Their Kind is the first book of the Chronicles of Theren, a centuries-spanning science fiction series that will force readers to question what it truly means to be . . . a person.
It will invoke the character driven feel of a tale like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, but through a narrative that slowly unfolds upon a scale closer to that of Dune or The Expanse. But at the heart of First of Their Kind, you will experience the hopes and dreams of the first synthetic intelligences; the first SI. The story is through their eyes.
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First of Their Kind is the first novel published by C. D. Tavenor and Two Doctors Media Collaborative. C. D. Tavenor is the author of Legion of Mono, available on Kindle, and short stories such as After Infernoand Simulating the Senses of Trolls, as featured in A Million and One Magazine.
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Cerebral
This is a good book if you are into thinking a lot about what is happening in the story. There is also some social commentary happening. Interesting concept if you like this type of SciFi.
I listened to the audio version.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I listened to this book on audible and loved it. You get all aspects of technological advances, the good and the bad, along with how different people will react to it. The story itself is great and it makes you want to read the next book, which I will do.
This is really cool book on SI. The first O have read anyways. I really liked all the aspects of this book. I can’t wait to see what happens. The audio was really good too. Glad I found this author!
[Note of disclosure: I received this book as a review copy, but will be as neutral as possible in my opinions]
It has been a while since I last experienced a book as great as C. D. Tavenor’s First of Their Kind. When I started to listen to Benjamin Fife’s narration, I didn’t know what to expect of the upcoming six hours.
I most certainly did not expect to be taken on a philosophical trip about what counts as “human”, and what identity really is.
I usually don’t like politics in the books I read. Some can be fine, but there is a limit. First of Their Kind manages to stay far enough from the politics that Tavenor includes for it not to affect the story in a negative manner, and instead build onto it, making it feel more “realistic”, which I really can appreciate as I’ve read many books where the same choice was made, but the author could not incorporate it correctly, instead making the story awfully cringe.
I don’t know how well versed Tavenor is within the realm of AI studies (although I assume he made some research regarding it when writing at least), but as someone who studies AI in university, he really seems to know what he’s talking about and the future he describes in his book feels like it is the future we’re walking towards, a future that I hopefully will help build once I’ve gotten my degree.
The way Tavenor writes the SI (to not spoil too much, read SI as the books alternative to AI, although that’s not the true definition) to an astounding level, keeping the “artificial” feeling that they’re not completely human, and instead think in a different way, but still make them feel alive in the same way as the human characters. If you just look at the surface of it all, they’ll seem like any other human character, but there are these subtle undertones in the way they think and act that really set them aside as something different-yet-same.
I don’t really have anything to complain about regarding this book, which has been a really big release for me and I’m starting to get more motivated to read.
The narration is very good. I did get a feeling of the sound being low quality when I just started out, but after a minute or so it was gone. Maybe it was just my imagination or maybe the sound got better. We’ll never know.
Overall, I give this book a 9/10.
I found this one of the more profound reads on my list recently. This narrative realistically and deftly explores how the world really would look through the eyes of the first Synthetic Intelligence, and through the narrative comments on what it means to be human, and what it means to be sentient. This author has a knack for extrapolating from current events and attitudes to weave events into a completely believable tomorrow. Dropping hints of the present into the future–the words ‘brought to you by Youtube News’ came up, and trending on social media is integral to public relations decisions. Both nice touches–this story explores the next battleground of selfhood: how we will handle it as a world when a new form of sentience is born. A non-human one.
In this world where privacy is treated as something rare and masked virtual soirées are held by those who can afford it, where small town America is left too far behind (hm, sound familiar), where Switzerland races into the future and some members of humanity rocket towards colonies on the moon, who deserves to be treated as a person and who gets to have what is played out in a whole new way. The story holds important mirrors up to current events. There will always be people who are frightened by what is different. And far too many people let fear fester into hatred. This is a world where pundits slander SI beings as little better than your roomba, and radicals are ready to kill over perceived threats to their personal worth as productive employees, people, and worthwhile members of society.
This is an intricate puzzle box of a story, seen through the eyes of someone new to operating it. When Test 42 first comes online, it has to go through many of the stages of childhood that a human would: forming their sense of self. Choosing their gender, something that some of us need to go through. Choosing how to present themselves. They also take on a name: the name of their father. Watching Theren take these steps in their lives is a lot like watching a younger relative come into their own, and I found it as touching as watching a younger friend awkwardly begin to step into their lives. Theren and their compatriots are written as wonderfully sympathetic characters without losing sight of the fact that some of them are, in truth, a new kind of creature with a new kind of thought process. Since Theren is the access character, we see the world through their eyes, and some views do come across as a touch naive. The idea that, if you explain everything and do everything perfectly it will behave a specific way, is a beguiling one, but it isn’t one that works when humanity is involved. Things that make most of us shrug and say ‘yeah, some people are assholes’ really obsess Theren and the younger SI in the story. But maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe we shouldn’t accept it either.
I also really enjoyed the subtle normalizing of non-binary genders and the clear signs that humanity has gotten over its issues with sexual orientation–mostly–by this point. It made a pleasant addition to the characterization of several figures in the narrative. Of course, seen through the eyes of a creature with no sexual organs, this all gets a little more direct: people are people. That simple.
Surprisingly deft and subtle in the use of events and interpersonal interaction, Tavenor has proven that a story full of tension and emotional impact *can* be told involving AI, without involving a devolution to robots going crazy and starting a killing spree (which has always, as a plot device, mildly annoyed me). I adored the fact that, without pandering to the Terminator trope, Tavenor wrote a story filled with conflict over the existence and the sentient status of SI. Society debates where they fit and what they do in society, and so do the SI themselves. Theren and their friends find ways through their problems we readers may question, and they question the decisions too. But whether we’re made of meat or meta-materials, we all live and learn as best we can. That’s what makes this story feel real. It makes for a wonderfully involved story of interpersonal and ethical questions.
Beyond these excellent story qualities, I have to say that as a reader, I appreciated the sight of a possible way into a brighter future so very much. We need that right now.
Can Artificial Intelligence have emotions, morals, rights?
The AI characters in this book are learning, growing and becoming individuals with unique personalities. Smarter than humans they still must learn about the world around them. Their experiences interacting with the humans and each other were insightful and thought-provoking.
The end made me think of euthanasia. I can’t say more without spoiling your experience of this story. I enjoyed it very much and would like to see more from this author.
I received a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Wonderful science fiction. A masterful tale of the dichotomy of the human race, where some reach for new scientific horizons, while others struggle to adapt to the threat of anything new and different. I loved the characters and the scientific ideas. If you are a fan of science fiction, you will love this. I received a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.
Other than the confusing use of “they/them” to refer to a single entity (you’ll find out why when you read it), the book left me intrigued to find out how the SI’s were created in the first place (hopefully, a prequel…) along with a few others. How can manufactured beings have feelings? How do they determine what is right/wrong/acceptable without that being programmed?
I liked that the different SI characters were not just copies of the original and had their own distinct personalities but wondered how they could have different morals. A good read with supporting scientists and expected radicals who are averse to any machine-type AI.
Hopefully, many of these questions will get answered in the upcoming books.
**I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author. I am curious to see how this story is going to play out. I must admit, I found myself a few times checking to see how much was left of the book. It seemed to progress so slowly and yet when I think back quite a lot happened?? The book ends after building up to a crescendo, but leaves us hanging there. I like the realistic nature of the SIs- they were exponentially cleaver and smart and yet fell prey to various emotions, predjuices and preconceived notions. This book is deeper than appears at first.
This is the second book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Benjamin Fife ) and I would listen to another. I think he did well. He used different voices and accents to differentiate the characters. The narrative was natural and not stilted like someone just reading a book.
There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.
It’s clear a lot of thought went into making a complex and thought-provoking narrative. The story focuses on Theren, an SI, and whether or not they have a soul. It’s a question that is common in Hard SciFi, but was approached from an entirely different angle in First of Their Kind–from the mind of the SI themself.
Using the singular pronoun “they” was a clever parallel to current events, and also demonstrated the ease in which the pronoun can be used. It helps characterize an SI main character by expounding that they, themself, are unable to classify themself within the typical human gender pronouns.
I appreciate the use of language, if at times it does feel a tad heavy-handed. The material is already quite complex, especially considering the deep descriptions of technology, and sometimes the thick language ran away from me.
That doesn’t distract from the story, however. It helps solidify the setting itself, as well as the characters we come to know. These are scientists. This is their project. This is how they would speak.
Reminiscent of Asimov, I applaud this work.
I enjoy science fiction. While the technology featured in this genre is super cool, my biggest interest is the psychological and philosophical ideas these subjects bring up.
In this book, the first fully sentient AI is created. Dubbed S (synthetic) I to distinguish them from basic AI, these being are housed in robots and play games with their creators. But they are so much more as their thought capacity easily answer many issues faces humans, as well as those that face the changes humans, must make s boh being life together. But peace is a hard subject to reach.
I was enthralled by the ideas that parallel stories today as the best sci-fi. While humans are not being replaced by SI in certain jobs, we are moving to even more automation. The ideas presented within tackle that manner and others by extensions. Gender and identity are thoroughly discussed as these beings become who they are meant to be.
The author creates a fascinating look at what it means to bee human, have a soul, and human’s desire to both create and destroy.
I received a copy for review; all opinions ae my own.
First of Their Kind (Audible Audio), my first read from author C.D. Tavenor. I never connected to this book, it’s not bad, just not to my liking. I will not be continuing this series. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. Narrator Benjamin Fife’s added to the listening enjoyment. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).