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Freedom Club Saul Garnell 9780984906109 Books

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Freedom Club Saul Garnell 9780984906109 Books

Set in 2085, the world is technology dependent. More and more, humans have come to rely on their Sentients to run things, everything from large financial structures to household schedules. Sumeet, who was top of his class, and excellent in his chosen field, eventually finds himself not satisfied. Shinzou offers up his advice and a possible job, both of which give Sumeet pause. The Freedom Club pushes for simpler, less tech-infused lives, but how does one explain that to a Sentient?

This book offered up a lot of food for thought. The plot was intricate and the cast interesting. Also, if one wanted to do some inferring, there was a deeper message about dependence on technology. The story starts off with a little historical flashback to 1600s Japan and the last remaining Christians. This flashback is explained later in the book. In fact, these little historical flashbacks happen regularly throughout the book, showing various members of the Freedom Club throughout history.

The tale then launches into a mystery crime story with a virus taking down payment systems. Phoenix is the first city hit and Hugo is the cop assigned to look into it. He suspects an anti-tech group might be behind it, but he will have a hard time proving it. He hesitantly teams up with Shinzou for info swapping. This opening is what hooked me on the story – I like a good SF crime story. Little did I know things would get so intricate.

So there’s a bunch of corporate maneuvering with international companies (such as Takahana Biovores and Chando company), which wasn’t nearly as interesting as what Hugo the Cop was doing, but it set a stage for me to get to know several other characters, including a few Sentients. The Sentients, like Henry who is Shinzou’s friend, are a type of AI. They interact with the physical world via avatars that allow them to walk and talk. In fact, if someone isn’t paying close attention, they can appear quite human in their mannerisms. Shiro is another Sentient who plays a pivotal role in the story. His personality is quite different from Henry’s. Rather late in the tale, we learn how the AIs are made and let me just say, wow! I wasn’t expecting that!

There’s other cool tech on display in this thinking SF story as well. I was pretty interested in the biovores, which are like minuscule biologically active machines that can be used for good purposes, like curing blood born diseases in humans. There are also several virtual reality scenes where we get to see what the ‘homes’ of the Sentients are like for when they are not in avatar mode interacting with humans. AI has also freed humans from many domestic chores, like cooking. Now, it is an oddity to go to a restaurant and have humans cook, and some even consider it unsanitary.

Wrapped up in this very excellent SF story, is a message about technology, becoming too dependent on it, and how living simpler lives can provide greater freedom. The story is written so that I, as the reader, didn’t feel any judgement from the author one way or another. Indeed, there are both good and bad characters on either side of that line in this book. Some members of the Freedom Club have taken it too far (both in the past and in the story’s present) and have essentially become terrorists against technology. I found it all very interesting to have this deep question (does tech set us free or chain us?) spirally through the main plot.

My one criticism of the book is a biggie. There are several female characters, all with minor roles, throughout the book. However, there are no major female characters that are plot central and there are no female Freedom Club members. Yep. That’s right. The Freedom Club is one big sausage fest. No ladies what so ever. I really hope this is some horrible oversight by the author. Accidental misogyny is easier to swallow than intended misogyny.

The book is diverse in other ways. The plot takes us around the world to Japan, India, and the American Southwest. There’s some Europeans represented at one of the corporate companies. Various ages are also represented in our major characters.

The ending takes us to the brink of another ‘terrorist’ attack. I really didn’t know how things would fall out. I was surprised with the ending and by choices made by a few of the Sentients. I found the ending both realistic and satisfying. It will be interesting to see if the author does a sequel.

The Narration: Fred Wolinsky did a very nice job with this book. There were a ton of accents needed (Japanese, Hindi, American, German, French, etc.). Hi Japanese accent started off a little rough but quickly got smoother. He had distinct voices for all characters, even when 2 or more were of the same country. For the few female characters, he had believable voices. I especially liked his elderly voice for Shinzou and his skeptical cop voice for Hugo.


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Freedom Club Saul Garnell 9780984906109 Books Reviews

Wandering in a wilderness of elves, witches, dragons and zombies, I stumbled into an oasis of thought provoking speculation. You may not agree with the message but the concepts will cause you to stretch your mind. The historical vignettes add an interesting background to the main theme. It is worth the trip.
Well I have not picked up a Sci-fi book for many years, but after recommendation from a friend I started reading Saul Garnell's Freedom Club and ... was hooked again. As I used to work in the Artificial Intelligence domain years ago, I was very impressed by the creative extrapolation of current AI and Biotech into a scary future. Also loved the jumps back in history, which in the beginning was a bit confusing, but when you keep reading it all falls into place later. Overall a fantastic read I find. Looking forward to his next book.
A dystopian future in a style reminiscent of Philip K Dick. An original author whom has crafted a compelling and entertaining vision of a future that exposes and highlights the best and worst of humanities potential and ex-machina.
I am excited to find such an original thinker who has the intelligence and insight to challenge and entertain those fortunate enough to have come across his works.
Excellent story with well though out characters and several interesting story arc's. Love the throw-backs to fictionalized historical events which create context within the overall story; The book overall questions the current understanding of technology; what it means to be free and how we are all connected in this ever changing world.

It is evident the author has done a lot of research and brings it out in the lives and events of the characters.
It was a bit hard for me to read it because I am not into Sci-Fi, so I had to read three or four pages and go back .... but if you are a Sci-Fi fan and you like history, go for it !
I Didn't understand all that the author was trying to transmit to the reader. I may have to read it again. Just when I thought I understood the writing took a turn. This happened several times while I was reading. I'm not usually unable to get the gist of an author's message. I think the message was garbled.
Sorry, but this didn't keep my interest. From the cover I figured it'd be right up my alley, but it wasn't. There were too many characters, too many confusing names of characters, too much talk of financial programs and dull conversations, etc. It was just too much work for my tired brain. The actual writing was okay so you may want to give it a try.
Set in 2085, the world is technology dependent. More and more, humans have come to rely on their Sentients to run things, everything from large financial structures to household schedules. Sumeet, who was top of his class, and excellent in his chosen field, eventually finds himself not satisfied. Shinzou offers up his advice and a possible job, both of which give Sumeet pause. The Freedom Club pushes for simpler, less tech-infused lives, but how does one explain that to a Sentient?

This book offered up a lot of food for thought. The plot was intricate and the cast interesting. Also, if one wanted to do some inferring, there was a deeper message about dependence on technology. The story starts off with a little historical flashback to 1600s Japan and the last remaining Christians. This flashback is explained later in the book. In fact, these little historical flashbacks happen regularly throughout the book, showing various members of the Freedom Club throughout history.

The tale then launches into a mystery crime story with a virus taking down payment systems. Phoenix is the first city hit and Hugo is the cop assigned to look into it. He suspects an anti-tech group might be behind it, but he will have a hard time proving it. He hesitantly teams up with Shinzou for info swapping. This opening is what hooked me on the story – I like a good SF crime story. Little did I know things would get so intricate.

So there’s a bunch of corporate maneuvering with international companies (such as Takahana Biovores and Chando company), which wasn’t nearly as interesting as what Hugo the Cop was doing, but it set a stage for me to get to know several other characters, including a few Sentients. The Sentients, like Henry who is Shinzou’s friend, are a type of AI. They interact with the physical world via avatars that allow them to walk and talk. In fact, if someone isn’t paying close attention, they can appear quite human in their mannerisms. Shiro is another Sentient who plays a pivotal role in the story. His personality is quite different from Henry’s. Rather late in the tale, we learn how the AIs are made and let me just say, wow! I wasn’t expecting that!

There’s other cool tech on display in this thinking SF story as well. I was pretty interested in the biovores, which are like minuscule biologically active machines that can be used for good purposes, like curing blood born diseases in humans. There are also several virtual reality scenes where we get to see what the ‘homes’ of the Sentients are like for when they are not in avatar mode interacting with humans. AI has also freed humans from many domestic chores, like cooking. Now, it is an oddity to go to a restaurant and have humans cook, and some even consider it unsanitary.

Wrapped up in this very excellent SF story, is a message about technology, becoming too dependent on it, and how living simpler lives can provide greater freedom. The story is written so that I, as the reader, didn’t feel any judgement from the author one way or another. Indeed, there are both good and bad characters on either side of that line in this book. Some members of the Freedom Club have taken it too far (both in the past and in the story’s present) and have essentially become terrorists against technology. I found it all very interesting to have this deep question (does tech set us free or chain us?) spirally through the main plot.

My one criticism of the book is a biggie. There are several female characters, all with minor roles, throughout the book. However, there are no major female characters that are plot central and there are no female Freedom Club members. Yep. That’s right. The Freedom Club is one big sausage fest. No ladies what so ever. I really hope this is some horrible oversight by the author. Accidental misogyny is easier to swallow than intended misogyny.

The book is diverse in other ways. The plot takes us around the world to Japan, India, and the American Southwest. There’s some Europeans represented at one of the corporate companies. Various ages are also represented in our major characters.

The ending takes us to the brink of another ‘terrorist’ attack. I really didn’t know how things would fall out. I was surprised with the ending and by choices made by a few of the Sentients. I found the ending both realistic and satisfying. It will be interesting to see if the author does a sequel.

The Narration Fred Wolinsky did a very nice job with this book. There were a ton of accents needed (Japanese, Hindi, American, German, French, etc.). Hi Japanese accent started off a little rough but quickly got smoother. He had distinct voices for all characters, even when 2 or more were of the same country. For the few female characters, he had believable voices. I especially liked his elderly voice for Shinzou and his skeptical cop voice for Hugo.