Review of Brian, Created Intelligence
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Meena Raj
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- Latest Review: Brian, Created Intelligence by AJ Pagan IV
Review of Brian, Created Intelligence
[Following is a volunteer review of "Brian, Created Intelligence" by AJ Pagan IV.]
Lost in the riveting adventures of AJ Pagan IV’s Brian, Created Intelligence is a science fiction novel that plunges directly into ethical questions while painting a picture of the distant future that feels both excitingly original and all too close to home. About a group of outstanding scientists—Ellie Parsons, Tom Marshall, and Drake Bracco—who managed to grow a human brain named Brian in a lab. Though it is an incredible breakthrough, it leads to a storm of action as a government agent, Jonathan Volt, seeks to gain control of Brian due to what he says are ethical and legal infractions. It is in this kind of background that is laid the foundation for a moral, ambitious, and survival story.
I believe the best thing about this book is the characterization that was done. Being portrayed as a rather brilliant woman, Ellie can still be sulky, short-tempered, and entirely too eager to challenge the laws of physics and chemistry. Tom is the calm character on the other side, and Drake’s on-screen concern for Brian makes the tale more realistic. Even the grown man antagonist, who is Jonathan Volt, has civil reasoning for his heinous actions that are made comprehensible even though he is as much a stereotype as they come. The best lessons of the show are ethical—questions whether humanity can create artificial life and whether it should—give the story a strongly philosophical tinge.
The science, which is explained in this book, is not trivial, but the author manages to explain it in an easy and enjoyable manner. With spinning holographic neural diagrams and colorful data streams, the description of the further development of the brain brings the reader into the world of the future. Nevertheless, some passages, particularly those explaining complex procedures, such as scientific activities, seem rather exhaustive and could potentially discourage the readers who are hardly interested in biotechnology.
On the downside, it is possible to find that it is not quite clear at times when presenting some new terms or a concept, especially if it is quite new. For instance, a brief at the end of the book defining such concepts as ‘synaptic grafting” or ‘cognitive sequencing’ would also have remarkably been useful, especially to those new to this genre. The editing was perfect; I didn't notice any grammatical mistakes.
Despite these minor shortcomings, for those who have not had the chance to meet the book’s author, Brian, Created Intelligence stays an outstanding book devoted to scientific perspective with ethical subtext. That is why one can qualify it as a book that adds excitement, staking, psychic motion, and moving passion to the genre of science fiction. I highly personally encourage its reading as well and give it the rating of 4 out of 5 stars as a science fiction novel.
******
Brian, Created Intelligence
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Lost in the riveting adventures of AJ Pagan IV’s Brian, Created Intelligence is a science fiction novel that plunges directly into ethical questions while painting a picture of the distant future that feels both excitingly original and all too close to home. About a group of outstanding scientists—Ellie Parsons, Tom Marshall, and Drake Bracco—who managed to grow a human brain named Brian in a lab. Though it is an incredible breakthrough, it leads to a storm of action as a government agent, Jonathan Volt, seeks to gain control of Brian due to what he says are ethical and legal infractions. It is in this kind of background that is laid the foundation for a moral, ambitious, and survival story.
I believe the best thing about this book is the characterization that was done. Being portrayed as a rather brilliant woman, Ellie can still be sulky, short-tempered, and entirely too eager to challenge the laws of physics and chemistry. Tom is the calm character on the other side, and Drake’s on-screen concern for Brian makes the tale more realistic. Even the grown man antagonist, who is Jonathan Volt, has civil reasoning for his heinous actions that are made comprehensible even though he is as much a stereotype as they come. The best lessons of the show are ethical—questions whether humanity can create artificial life and whether it should—give the story a strongly philosophical tinge.
The science, which is explained in this book, is not trivial, but the author manages to explain it in an easy and enjoyable manner. With spinning holographic neural diagrams and colorful data streams, the description of the further development of the brain brings the reader into the world of the future. Nevertheless, some passages, particularly those explaining complex procedures, such as scientific activities, seem rather exhaustive and could potentially discourage the readers who are hardly interested in biotechnology.
On the downside, it is possible to find that it is not quite clear at times when presenting some new terms or a concept, especially if it is quite new. For instance, a brief at the end of the book defining such concepts as ‘synaptic grafting” or ‘cognitive sequencing’ would also have remarkably been useful, especially to those new to this genre. The editing was perfect; I didn't notice any grammatical mistakes.
Despite these minor shortcomings, for those who have not had the chance to meet the book’s author, Brian, Created Intelligence stays an outstanding book devoted to scientific perspective with ethical subtext. That is why one can qualify it as a book that adds excitement, staking, psychic motion, and moving passion to the genre of science fiction. I highly personally encourage its reading as well and give it the rating of 4 out of 5 stars as a science fiction novel.
******
Brian, Created Intelligence
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Brian, Created Intelligence by AJ Pagan IV
