In 2059, the crew of a starship scheduled to travel to a planet in a different star system, have their consciousness uploaded to a quantum computer and their bodies placed in cryosleep for the long journey. Also uploaded in the same Canadian facility are a group of convicts who chose to serve their sentences in a virtual prison. When something goes horribly wrong, everyone is downloaded to their waking body500 years in the future. While the facility is intact, the outside shows signs of a plent-wide disaster. The astronauts and ex-cons must learn how to work together in order to survive.

This short novel is a quick read, told in alternating points of view. The narrative gimmick has many of the characters answer questions from an unnamed interviewer. The characters are all interesting, though at times, their voices seem a bit too similar. But the keep the story moving forward and there's a real sense of them as people just trying to deal with the unexpected reality in which they find themselves. ( )

Good production and fun story that could've been a bit longer. Good performances by the cast with exploration of some of the issues that might be encountered should we be able to upload/download consciousness into a virtual reality in the future. ( )

"Store the body at sub-zero temperatures; store the mind in a quantum computer—and reunite them at some point in the future. It was a perfect solution not just for those seeking to beat death, like my grandpa, but also for astronauts like Jürgen and me planning to go on a centuries-long interstellar voyage. Except, damn it all, something went horribly, horribly wrong."

Set in the future, humans have perfected cryogenics. The trick is that the mind and the body have to be stored separately and the mind downloaded from the quantum computer back into the body when the body is defrosted. We meet two groups of people - astronauts who were meant to be frozen for a long space voyage to a distant star and prisoners wh were meant to serve a 20 year prison senence in 10 months in a sped up simulation. Hower, things don't quite go as promised and everyone wakes up on or around an earth they don't recognise 500 years later. These are their stories, told through a series of interviews, as they share who they are.

I was immediately intrigued when I saw the concept. The book may be short but it covers quite a lot in it pages. But because of its length a lot of these things unfortuanately aren't looked at much deeper than surface level (altough some points like COVID in this case both 19 and the new 50 disease were brought up multiple times, still not nearly as deeply as many other books look at pandemics though). I wasn't aware of the interview structure before I started. Although it maybe makes things a bit more fragmented than they would otherwise have been (each interview is quite short!), the fact that this isn't done through dialogue (i.e. it's just one character talking at a time without interruptions) means it mostly reads as any other story would. This started as an audio format and there were definitely times when I could tell that this was written with that in mind. There are times when it becomes more stream of concious and I imagine those parts work much better inan audion format as that kind of rambling tone doesn't necessarily transate as strongly to a print format - this is not the majority of the book though. Just parts here and there. But overall, this was an interesting book and I'm glad I read it! I'm definitely a little curious about what happes to our characters next.

I recieved a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own. ( )

The Downloaded by Robert J. Sawyer is a so-so light science fiction novel set in 2059 featuring cryogenic freezing and quantum computers.

"In 2059 two very different groups have their minds uploaded into a quantum computer in Waterloo, Ontario. One group consists of astronauts preparing for Earth’s first interstellar voyage. The other? Convicted murderers, serving their sentences in a virtual-reality prison. But when disaster strikes, the astronauts and the prisoners must download back into physical reality and find a way to work together to save Earth from destruction."

The plot and, sadly, the writing are just okay in The Downloaded, and, honestly it was disappointing. Science fiction is a genre I generally enjoy, but what I really like is hard science fiction with all the facts and details concerning the real science supporting the story line. That is absent here, perhaps because it is a very short book. What is present is another lecture wrapped around a short story. The light plot and tedious lecture series insured I would lose interest quickly.

Yet again I need to caution an author to keep their personal political/social views on contemporary topics to themselves as it diminishes and dates the novel. There were multiple examples of this lecturing on several different topics, including numerous times those who didn't mask or vaccinate for COVID were demonized. I'm reading fiction for entertainment and escapism. If I want a lecture on social topics, I'll select the nonfiction books and topics. Thanks to Shadowpaw Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/04/the-downloaded.html ( )

A disaster disrupts the cryogenic storage/mental uploads of a group of astronauts headed to a distant planet and a group of convicts serving their sentences digitally. Novella-length audiobook; Sawyer does better for me when playing with ideas in more extended form. Attempted rape and a reasonably graphic murder scene (remembered by one of the convicts). ( )