Meet Emily - she can solve advanced mathematical problems, unlock the mind's deepest secrets and even fix your truck's air con, but unfortunately, she can't restart the Sun.
'A visionary work of science fiction' Blake Crouch, author of DARK MATTER
She's an artificial consciousness, designed in a lab to help humans process trauma, which is particularly helpful when the sun begins to die 5 billion years before scientists agreed it was supposed to.
So, her beloved human race is screwed, and so is Emily. That is, until she finds a potential answer buried deep in the human genome. But before her solution can be tested, her lab is brutally attacked, and Emily is forced to go on the run with two human companions - college student Jason and small-town Sheriff, Mayra.
As the sun's death draws near, Emily and her friends must race against time to save humanity. But before long it becomes clear that it's not only the species at stake, but also that which makes us most human.
PRAISE FOR M. G. Wheaton
'All I can say is 'wow' . . . nothing less than one of the best new books of the year' Pop Syndicate, on Cleaners
'Mark Wheaton is a magician. He misdirects you while performing tricks of genius. Don't try to figure out how he does it - just enjoy the show' Gary Dauberman, screenwriter for IT
'An exciting new voice' Michael Rowe, author of Enter, Night
'A gifted storyteller' Fangoria
'Wheaton never forgets that touch of humanity and wry humor' Ken Plume
'Wheaton is skilled at plotting, always keeping the revelations and twists coming' Kirkus Reviews, on Wages of Sin
Untitled
Emily is just your average artificial consciousness; deep-diving into the human mind and solving complex equations on the side is all part of a days work. When she's not directly connected to a human subject via an interface, Emily lives on a rendered, time-delayed overlay of the university where her servers are housed. Oh, and she's desperately trying to deduce a way to avoid the impending destruction of the sun, looming much earlier than the experts expected.
You've got to love a good 'end of the world as we know it' premise when it comes to Sci-Fi but Emily Eternal throws a government conspiracy into the mix when Emily reluctantly agrees to a last ditch effort to conserve the human race. Working alongside the team of skilled professionals who brought her into being and maintain her existence, the project goes along smoothly until Emily makes a discovery that throws her whole world into chaos.
Initially created five years prior as an advanced treatment method for those in need of psychological therapy, the highly developed empathy skills Emily displays during her whirlwind journey almost fool you into believing that she herself is human. I honestly had moments where I completely forgot that she was an artifical consciousness and as she interacts and relates to those around, her strong moral conscience becomes apparent which makes it incredibly off-putting when she has moments where unfeeling calculations and logic become necessary.
In amongst the chaos and mayhem that is the end of the world, there's a surprisingly unusual romance that blossoms. Whilst initially there were questionable components to this element of the story, it quickly becomes apparent that anything goes with D-Day looming. The connection forged between two of the novels characters has some genuinely touching moments interlaced with a tragic sense of desperation and the final countdown in the race against the 'Sunmaggedon' had some thoroughly unexpected twists and turns that kept me turning pages furiously.
There are some questionable elements to the science put forward in the novel but it wasn't a deal breaker for me and didn't hinder how much I enjoyed the ride. This novel could be a excellent foray into Sci-Fi for those who aren't well versed in the genre as there were times that the sheer amount of action and chaos had a Jason Bourne-esque feel to it. A quirky, thought-provoking and engaging read, Emily Eternal was a book I've been eagerly anticipating getting my hands on and it exceeded all expectations that I had. - Karen (QBD)
Guest, 07/06/2019
