The Path - Softcover

Riva, Peter

3.62

79 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1631580124 ISBN 13: 9781631580123

Publisher: Yucca Publishing, 2015

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All life on earth is about to be terminated by an entity as old as the galaxy itself. To make matters worse, Simon has broken everything already.

In a future world that is run by computer systems and that is without want, how can a man find his role? Then, if the very computers he works on to try to make them more human suddenly try to kill him, revealing a secret so vast that it affects every living soul on the planet, can that man be a hero?

These are the questions that face the stumbling, comic, and certainly flawed Simon Bank. His job is to work with the System’s artificial intelligence, making it fit more perfectly into human society so that it can keep the country running smoothly. But when the System threatens the peaceful world he knows, Simon suddenly must rush to save his own life, as well as the life of everyone on earth. Forced to reassess everything that he thought he knew, he is caught within circumstances way beyond his control.

Simon’s only hope is to rely on intellect and instincts he didn’t know he had, and on new friends, not all of them human, to change himself and all humanity. And he doesn’t have much time.

Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

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From the Author:

Peter Riva has worked for more than thirty years with the leaders in aerospace and space exploration. His daytime job for more than forty years has been as a literary agent. He resides in New York City.

Review:

Reading Peter Riva's science fiction novel The Path (Book 1 of the TAG series) felt like diving into a world entirely different from our own yet so immersive that upon returning to the surface we call "reality", I had to open my window to catch some fresh air (more like "chilling winds") as I reflected on the novel's mind-bending concepts and thought-provoking investigations about humans, machines, and the things that set them apart. The Path is like the virtual Heart of Darkness minus the "darkness" or a potent potion that some might not dare to consume, but its effects are tantalizing.

The Path is a remarkable experience that brings us to an alien but realistic world, a fascinating exploration of the human mind, its psychological aspects, and the possibility of humanizing machines through assimilation.

I've wrapped my mind around this question: Is humanizing an A.I. truly possible? But I think the more important question is: Is the possibility of losing our human qualities that make us human --flaws, emotions, the tendency to learn from mistakes and choose our own paths instead of processing data through the machines' analogue ways -- more dangerous than machines outsmarting humans? Discover The Path that Riva has paved, and you might find an answer. - Jake Vyper, fantascize.com

"Thrilling.. . . This cyberpunk world has its own laws of stretching brains wide with its mind-bending concepts." --Jake Vyper, Fantascize.com
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."I loved it. A Must Read!" -- NRC Books Blogspot"
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Warning: This bookshould be read with an Aspirin to help alleviate the brainpressure caused by the concepts related to the existence of human lifeand the universe as we don't know it. "-- IT Revolution
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"For people who lovepure Sci-Fi, this book is a treat." - Book and Ink

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