Genre: Science fiction| Pages: 528
Star rating:
Intro of the book by Gary Bengier:
New speculative fiction novel explores the individual's quest for purpose in a richly-imagined AI future.
Unfettered Journey - a love and adventure story with a philosophical perspective -
Set in a richly envisioned future world, Unfettered Journey is the story of an AI scientist who seeks to create robot consciousness and discovers the resilience of the human spirit. He travels to a small college to progress his quest, but instead finds love, a secret plot by unjust forces, and the answers to his fundamental questions-the nature of the conscious mind and free will.
This book is a profound, many-layered journey. It is a love story and an adventure. It traces struggle and resilience in an imperfect world. It is a deep philosophical exploration, resetting the conversation at the intersection of science and religion, challenging you to begin your own journey to a purposeful life.
My Review:
The book follows the lives of a group of people( Primarily Joe, an applied mathematician and AI scientist) trying to make sense of everything in the world of AI, and features an ensemble cast of several characters. While the story premise might indicate a deep dive into the cut-throat world of innovators and fledgling companies, the rather refreshing and heart-warming story line of the book came as a pleasant surprise to me.
We’re introduced to the main characters through a feel-good story lines that helps us stay connected with them throughout the book. From start to end, the book is quite the spectrum of concepts and genres touching base with almost everything ranging from futuristic, romance and philosophical abstractions.
The concept is innovative, with an amazing overlap of different flavors that that the author is committed to throughout the book to make it powerful, decisive and filled with statements left little room open for argument. The revelation and realizations a reader feels at different points of the book is empowering . Basically there are some real gems of thought in here, practical gems, but sometimes I felt like I was digging for them through a lot of writing that I disagreed with. This book influenced my life in a very different way. It came to me at just the right second and I have taken it straight to heart. Unfettered Journey is in the business of life-changing, really, whether it's teaching us how to love in the face of a world of loveliness and ambiguity. To reflect on the depths of our soul and maybe just experience all the things that life has to offer us.
I'm glad that I came across a book like this and definitely feel that it has left a lasting mark on me.
About the author and the book:
After a career in Silicon Valley, Gary pursued passion projects, studying astrophysics and philosophy. He’s spent the last two decades thinking about how to live a balanced, meaningful life in a rapidly evolving technological world. This self-reflective journey infuses his novel with insights about our future and the challenges we will face in finding purpose.
Before turning to writing speculative fiction, Gary worked in a variety of Silicon Valley tech companies. He was eBay’s Chief Financial Officer, and led the company’s initial and secondary public offerings. Gary has an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MA degree in philosophy from San Francisco State University. He has two children with Cynthia, his wife of forty-three years. When not traveling the world, he raises bees and makes a nice Cabernet at the family’s Napa vineyard. He and his family live in San Francisco.
Book available in most offline and all online stories.