The first book of the series was almost named Soul Machine in reference to the Lamassu computer. The name is referenced by Andy's emulation in the second book.
This is my favorite of the four books. It has my favorite cover. It
has my favorite antagonist setup. I love the idea of a computer so
powerful that it can actually affect the minds of people around it and
even their physical surroundings in a merging of reality and the virtual
realm, where almost anything is possible. It has my favorite chapter,
'Dreaming in Digital.' It's like a lucid dream
where the dreamer has total control. It almost felt like an experimental
writing assignment and it ended up being something truly intimate,
surreal and disturbing. It showcases the tragedy of the tragic villain
which I always prefer over the random bastard villain.
The
whole story is told in three main perspectives, all three experiencing their
own trials in a robot apocalypse scenario. We have the impromptu command
center where high ranking Apex officials are pulling strings to
minimize damage done by the villain and ultimately formulating a game
plan to stop her. There's the villain who basically gets to sit back and
fool around, watching everyone scramble. Then there are the people in
between. The three transients who are just trying to figure out how to
survive on the streets in the chaos.
This was a good
chance to show off Travis' military training and leadership. I don't
know about others but I think it's really cool to see ANYONE applying
their professional knowledge no matter the situation or the profession
but especially military training in a crisis. Trish knows where to get weapons. Solomon is an expert on vehicles and has a trump card power. All three characters have their own personal back story chapter mostly highlighting the issues they're dealing with.
Solomon's story is interesting because it shows the corner of the ecto lore that I hadn't really gone over, what it's like to actually become an ecto. How exactly does it all work?
But of course I like Trish's story the most. From a writing standpoint, the thing that makes her appealing is the fact that she's a kid and easily the youngest character. Her perspective and experiences are by nature going to be radically different from most others in the story so it gives a much needed balance. When you force a kid into an adult dominated situation it has the potential to become like a comedic relief. Kids do stupid things and there doesn't need to be a reason for it. It gives me an excuse for silliness which I always want because it's no fun being serious all of the time, even when the world is ending.
I remember when I was younger and went to my friend's house. He lived next to a creepy abandoned house that still had all of the former owner's stuff. He'd tell me bogus ghost stories he made up about the place and then we'd go jump the backyard fence and screw around with whatever we found over there.
I had another friend who lived on a ranch near a creek and the woods. One time after the sun went down, we went outside, got on quadrunners and split up to go look for mountain lions. Why in the hell would anyone do this?
Yet another time I was at a friend's house with another friend. It was 2 AM and we were hungry so we rode bikes to the nearby McDonald's. It was a ruralish area. The restaurant wasn't open. Some cops pulled into the parking lot and told us we were out past curfew. Not one of us even knew a curfew existed. It's not like the idea of a curfew was unfounded since we had just come from TP-ing someone's front yard tree about 20 minutes prior. The cops escorted us home, idling slowly behind our bikes. Then they woke up my friend's parents. They were extatic. Never got in trouble for the toiletpaper though. Again, a completely senseless act. What was the point? These kinds of things are important to remember so that when you're children do the same, you don't try to remove them from the gene pool for the good of humanity. This was the kind of content that I tried to recall when writing Trish.
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