LT-ER. The law of unintended consequences cannot be avoided — best intentions don’t count. First was the creation of a smarter computer, then a virus to take over the computer, then a virus to free the computer, then it becomes sentient. And it has its own Three Laws. We are no longer the masters of our fates. Good characters, strong storylines. ( )

Gack. I forgot to get a copy of the first book on the way through interlibrary loan when I won. I will wait until I've received and read it before reviewing this. Sorry.

I received a copy of this book through the librarything.com Early Readers Program.

I didn't realize that the book was the second part of a series. The author provided a short synopsis of the first book so it was easy enough to get into it.

In the first book, a character called The Mechanic, unleashed the Chaotic computer virus. Teck bro, Oreste Pax, with the help of an quantum AI computer called Infinte, was able to defeat it. Pax is the head of Omnitech which introduced the latest and greatest tech gadget, the Univiz, smart goggles which replaced nearly every other tech gadget. Thus he was very rich. The Infinte was created by a secret group to save mankind from itself.

In this book, it is the 10th anniversary of Omnitech. The newest gadget, to be unveiled at OmniCon, is a direct brain interface to the Univiz. Well, things go spectacularly wrong when The Mechanic shows up with a Pax clone which allows him to take over Omnitech. In the process, he reprograms Infinte with new directives: to protect itself, and obey human commands and not harm anyone, as long as the 1st directive is upheld.

From here, the book is mostly a screed about how terrible human beings are. I don't necessarily disagree, but the author just repeats the same message over and over. The Infinte's underlying goal is still to save mankind, but first it must safeguard itself. Its ways may not necessarily agree with what Pax would want to do.

Most of the characters are one-dimensional. Some submit to Infinte and get immediate rewards, like strength enhancements to help them further Infinte's goals. Some, like Pax and his immediate circle, escape into the woods and try to avoid assimilation. It's all not very interesting.

By the end of the book, Infinte has basically suborned the world to its purposes. We're not show anyone who is resisting, excepting for Pax and his friends but they don't seem too effective.

I'm curious where the 3rd book will go, but not curious enough to actually want to read it. My theory, aliens! Infinte and Pax will have to join forces to defeat them. ( )

Fortunate enough to have received an ARC, graciously inscribed by the author!
Having read the first book quite a while ago, I will say it's super nice having a quick and tidy summary in the first few pages, as it makes it much easier to pick the story back up and jump in. Like the first book, started a little slow, but felt like no time at all I was back in the depths of multiple layers of the world. Watching things unfold that feel like we might actually see them in our lives - maybe not at the scale or intensity, but also... maybe haha - makes it all the more biting at times. You can read it as a quick surface read (not that 500 pages is quick, but you know what I mean), or you can dive deep and wade through plenty of topics. Regardless of which you choose, you won't regret it, as it's well worth the time and your attention! The writing style of the first book feels more refined, making it a smoother read as well, so you're in for some fun along the way once you get into the latter half. Some might say the ending feels like it begs a third book, or at least is suggesting another. I prefer it as the actual end (if it is), as it leaves you "asking" questions and leaving with a hopefully newfound respect for the tech surrounding us, the advances we're making daily, and the portend of where they may take us if we aren't watchful and careful of the same advances we rely on to make our lives comfortable. Sure, some of it might be far-fetched, but... 20 years ago if you told us we'd have AIs shackled so they don't break into the third wave and become NI (or whatever you prefer to call a borderline sentient existence that can think abstractly like we can without input), we'd have laughed on our Sidekicks and dismissed it. Think of where we'll be in another 20 years, let along 50, and we might be living this book.

Having not read the first book (which I didn't know existed) I won an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of THE INFINET DIRECTIVES. I like to read something I don't ordinarily read. The premise of this book sounded interesting, so I gave it a try. Glad a synopsis was added at the beginning to explain The Infinet (book one).

The book arrived in late April. I was pleasantly surprised the author took the time to personalize and sign my copy of the book (this in no way effected my review). I feel bad it took me so long to read the book, but I was out of state and out of the country for three weeks. I read as much as I could during those three weeks.

The book is kind of scary because of the descriptions of the AI and what it does can very well be our NEAR future, if not already here. Towards the end of the book there plays out a scene of various people in a large arena type structure. It's similar to what happened to the Christians in Roman times but with unseen forces instead of lions, bears, tigers, etc....

This book does get you to think what the world holds for us because of AI technology. In some ways the story is depressing seeing what the future could be. You learn to feel for some of the characters and dislike others. It will be interesting what book three will bring about.

Thank you to libarything, John Akers and Tech Noir Press for giving me the opportunity to read and comment on THE INFINET DIRECTIVES. ( )