Items related to Halo (Legend Books)
Synopsis
Hired to oversee the experimental procedure that Aleph--the artificial intelligence that runs Halo Station--is certain will save Jerry Chapman, one of Halo's creators, Mikhail Gonzales encounters chaos. Reprint.
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From Publishers Weekly
Maddox's first novel offers a provocative mixture of virtual reality, artificial intelligence and mystical philosophy. While raising interesting questions about the nature of perception, cognition and self-awareness, however, he fails to explore them fully. The corporate space station Halo is run by Aleph, a machine intelligence that has evolved from a much simpler computer system. One of those integral to Aleph's leap to sentience has been on the verge of death for years, kept alive only by Aleph's efforts; now Aleph and its human partners in Halo's Interface Collective have begun an experiment to preserve the dying man's consciousness in the computer, independent of his failing body. But SenTrax, Halo's corporate owner, is wary of the project and of Aleph's power in general, and sends Mikhail Gonzales to investigate. Gonzales quickly becomes involved in the experiment, and he and the Collective members strive to complete their work before SenTrax shuts them down. The story's tension is uneven, and motivations are not well defined. Scenes occurring within the computer are distinguished by vivid imagery and poetic turns of phrase, but Madddox falls back on vague mysticism rather than offering specific ideas about the nature of intelligence.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Free-lance data-auditor Gonzales is given a contract by the Sentrax Corporation to monitor goings-on aboard Halo, an orbiting colony controlled by an artificial intelligence named Aleph. Seems that badly injured Jerry Chapman will dies unless Aleph can preserve his mentality inside its own computer reality. Assisting Aleph and Gonzales are computer reality interface expert Diana Heywood and Halo's Interface Collective, an association of talented weirdos. Gonzales's Sentrax boss, Traynor, opposes the project and pulls the plug just as Aleph, Gonzales, Diana, Jerry, and the Collective are hooked together. Aleph, annoyed, retaliates by switching off the functions that sustain human life aboard Halo; thus Traynor and Sentrax are forced to back down. Neither ambitious nor original--in fact, mediocre in every respect. Maddox may have talent, but on this showing it's impossible to tell. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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- PublisherLegend
- Publication date1991
- ISBN 10 0712629890
- ISBN 13 9780712629898
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Rating
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Halo
Seller: Manyhills Books, Traralgon, VIC, Australia
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good (ex-library). Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Hardcover. 216 pages. *** PUBLISHING DETAILS: Century, UK, 1991. *** CONDITION: The book itself is in good (ex-library) condition and comes in very good dust jacket. More specifically: Text and spine/cover marked with Library stamps, in all other respects in very good condition throughout. Edges of boards have superficial wear. Dust jacket has light creasing. Dust jacket is unclipped. Dust jacket is protected in clear, plastic sleeve. Pages are lightly tanned. 1st end page has been removed. *** ABOUT THIS BOOK: The latter half of the twenty-first century: a time when artificial intelligence is going to transform humanity. Halo charts the evolution of an intelligent computer as it gains self-awareness and accelerates humanity into a profound technological revolution. With its themes of A.I., virtual reality, humans physically bound to intelligent machines, human desire and thought taking new, unanticipated forms, genetic engineering and matter transformed at molecular levels, Halo is intensely modern science fiction. *** Quantity Available: 1. Category: Science Fiction & Fantasy; ISBN: 0712629890. ISBN/EAN: 9780712629898. Inventory No: 21050422. Seller Inventory # 21050422
Quantity: 1 available
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Halo
Published by
Century (Legend), GB, 1991
ISBN 10: 0712629890
ISBN 13: 9780712629898
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Richard Sylvanus Williams (Est 1976), WINTERTON, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardback. Condition: nrFine. Dust Jacket Condition: nrFine DW. 1st UK Edition. White cloth. Book is in fine condition BUT page edges are lightly browned. Dustwrapper/dustjacket is in nearly fine condition with only slightest signs of wear and/or age. Seller Inventory # kb413.345
Quantity: 1 available