Review: Amped by Daniel H. Wilson

by:  Daniel H. Wilson
published by:  Knopf Doubleday Publishing/Random House Audio
publish date:  June 5, 2012

Technology makes them superhuman. But mere mortals want them kept in their place.

I had thought that Amped was going to be a continuation of Robopocalypse but it wasn't, it was a completely different story.  Amped takes place in a near future where small devices implanted in the brain can fix problems from blindness to autism.  Not only did it cure these problems it made these people almost superhuman.  The government passed laws that dictated that the "Amps" weren't considered human anymore and therefore not afforded the same rights.

Amped is a book to make you think.  How far should technology go?  Where is the line between human and machine?  The book is told from the viewpoint of 29 year old school teacher Owen, who is an Amp.  When he was young, he was involved in an accident that left him with epilepsy.  His father, a doctor, implanted him with a medical amp to control the epilepsy.

The day the Supreme Court upheld the laws that Amps were less than human Owen went on the run in search of Eden after getting a cryptic message from his father that his implant might be more than it seems.  Amped follows the struggles of the country trying to get a grip on the clash between the "regular" majority trying to keep down the super-intelligent few.

I thought it was a good read.  Was it really deep and meaningful?  No, not really.  I'd categorize it more in the fun summer read area.  It throws enough in there though that it makes the reader wonder "what if it really does happen?"  I liked Robopocalypse.  I liked Amped.  I'll be reading whatever else Daniel H. Wilson puts out there.  Check out Hilary Jordan's When She Woke if you liked this book.

Robopocalypse

by:  Daniel H. Wilson

published by:  Doubleday

publish date:  June 7th, 2011

In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication. In the months leading up to this, sporadic glitches are noticed by a handful of unconnected humans – a single mother disconcerted by her daughter’s menacing “smart” toys, a lonely Japanese bachelor who is victimized by his domestic robot companion, an isolated U.S. soldier who witnesses a ‘pacification unit’ go haywire – but most are unaware of the growing rebellion until it is too late. When the Robot War ignites -- at a moment known later as Zero Hour -- humankind will be both decimated and, possibly, for the first time in history, united.

First off there are some cool things going on with this book.  Check out the Facebook page for Robopocalypse, there's a video contest with great prizes.  There's a count down page for the book release.  Also, Steven Spielberg has already signed on to direct the movie which is slated to come out in 2013, so if you're interested there's information about that on IMDB.

There are a lot of books out there about machines coming to life and killing all the humans, it's not totally new.  I think what makes this one unique is the way it's told.   It's told through a series of historical accounts of the war that breaks out between the robots and humans.  In this way it was somewhat similar to The Passage, which was another one my recent favorites. 

For me, it took a little while for this book to get going, but once it did it was awesome.  It was full of action and adventure and unlikely heroes.  Parts were really sad and some parts were horrific and a lot of it will totally creep you out.  I think this was one of the first books that really portrayed the full spectrum to which computers/robots have taken over our lives.  It's kind of scary to think that we're trying to let that technology think for itself. 

I think this movie is going to be a big one in a couple of years, so check out the book before it comes out.   Just look at that cover!  Doesn't that make you want to read it??