Artificial intelligence has long been a favorite feature of science fiction. Every robot or talking computer or starship operating system has contributed to our idealized image of the bits-and-bytes brain.

In (ID)entity (47North, 2017), PJ Manney further expands our vision of A.I. by uploading her human protagonist to a server; from there, he is replicated and downloaded, re-emerging in everything from a sex-bot to a vegetative man.

Manney joined me to discuss her new novel and the science behind it in the latest episode of New Books in Science Fiction. She joined me last year to discuss the first book in her Phoenix Horizon series, the Philip K. Dick Award-nominated (R)evolution. (Listen here: http://newbooksnetwork.com/pj-manney-identity-47north-2017/)

Published this month by 47North, (ID)entity is the second book in Manney’s fast-paced, plot-twisting Phoenix Horizon series. As the follow-up to (R)evolution, the new novel is both an exploration of transformative technology and a thriller, set in a world where nations (including the U.S.) have collapsed, swathes of humanity face enslavement, and the future of civilization hangs in the balance.

One of Manney’s ambitions as a writer (in addition to entertaining readers) is to prepare the public for the possible impacts of new technology. “If we know that these things are coming, we can start forming opinions about what to do,” she says. “Because here’s the thing: nothing gets banned. [If] it gets banned in one country, it doesn’t get banned in another country. There’s no way that technology stops from happening.”

Manney likens the idea of transforming a human incrementally–gradually swapping cells for bits–to the thought experiment known as Theseus’s paradox, which asks: if you restore every piece of Theseus’s ship with an entirely new piece, is the final result still Theseus’s ship?

“I’m positing, yes it is,” she says, with regard to her protagonist’s transformation from man to super-sophisticated CPU.

While (ID)entity is set in the near future, Manney doesn’t expect that people will be able to save themselves to their hard drives soon. “Uploading is farther off than we think.”

The third and final book in the series, (CON)science, is scheduled for release in November 2018.

Fragmented and compromised, Major Tom (and his sub-identities) struggles to contain what he set in motion in (R)evolution (Phoenix Horizon #1).

Exploring the dividing line between bio and artificial intelligence, (ID)entity(Phoenix Horizon #2) is a genre mash-up of science fiction, bio/nano-tech, conspiracy/political thriller, and dystopian.

As with the first book in this series, there are many things here that will cause some readers to dislike or abhor it; but the storyline continues to keep my attention. All of the characters are flawed and dysfunctional in a myriad manner, and that is what drives the story.

Manney’s writing style is synesthesiatic, which may throw off some, but she includes a music playlist that helps to set the tone and other sensory aspects of the storyline. While I didn’t use that playlist when I read the first book, I found myself calling on my smart assistant often to play the background soundtrack during this arc of the story.

The thing that I disliked most about the story is the seemingly abrupt ending that felt more like a chapter break than a conclusion.

I received an Advance Reader Copy - Uncorrected Proof from NetGalley and 47North in exchange for an honest review.

A good start gone a little mushy.

I gave the first book in this series - (R)evolution - a <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25207141-r-evolution">four star review</a>. The ideas in the first book were an extension of singularity-style ideas, where minds can be uploaded to computers, and execute in an online context that's wider and faster in some ways than humans can operate. From there, the story became a fast-moving, world-ranging conspiracy-theory save-the-human-race story.

This second book is the (normal) logical extension of the setup in the first book. Sadly, though, the extended story is less-interesting. The main character from book 1 is now more powerful, but more conflicted, and more vulnerable. While a good idea, the character gets <strong>too</strong> weak, incongruously from the first book. The story gets weak in the process.

I also dislike the ending: It's like the third book is already partially (or fully) written, and the author cut the writing at a particular point, and didn't sufficiently resolve the story set up in the 2nd book. Yeah, she did a little wrap-up on the final scene, but this book seems more like a book-long teaser for the actual end of the story planned in the third book.

At the end of this one, I felt like this was a waste of reading time. I really dislike this; I wish authors would give more thought to closing a continuing story off at the end of every book, just in case the subsequent book doesn't get published, or I don't get a chance to read it.

So, while not a bad book, it wasn't good enough to get more than three stars using <a href="http://www.startupdj.com/book-rating-rules">my rating system</a>.