Partition: Critical Era

The Partition Series, Book 1

By: Kevin Kane

Narrated by: William DeMeritt

Welcome to the new YOUtopia.

The planet is dying, a mega-corporation controls everything, but at least you don’t have to work another day in your life, not when an Organic AI controls your body every night.

Eric Noble is beginning to realize that nothing makes a Day feel more like a complete waste of space than having all the time in the world. Detective Noble is starting to see the truth that he and the other Nights are nothing more than programmable slaves living inside someone else.

After eight uneasy years of sharing the same body, a chance encounter with an old friend changes everything. Now, Eric’s memory is missing, a woman has been murdered, and if things weren’t bad enough, he’s the prime suspect in his own Night’s homicide investigation.

Two minds, one body, and a society on the knife’s edge, what they do next will determine the fate of both worlds.

Partition: Critical Era is the first installment in Kevin Kane’s sweeping sci-fi mystery series. Prepare to enter a world where humanity and identity are traded in for the worst excesses of techno-capitalism and the difference between a Brave New World utopia and a 1984 dystopia depends entirely on the time of day.

©2023 Kevin Kane (P)2023 Kevin Kane

Free will, AI, and what it means to be human

I loved this book so much I rearranged my life around listening to it and finished it in 3 days! I love a good sci fi book with a novel premise, and Partition: Critical Era is an excellent example! In the future, humans can get a “partition” that allows an “organic AI” to take over their job (and exercising!) for them overnight. The author explores free will, how we think about AI, and what it means to be human. It’s also fast-paced and kept me figuring out ways I could get in more listening time! Highly recommend!

Partition is AWESOME!

I just finished Partition on Audible - Kevin Kane hits it outta the park on his debut novel! It is FANTASTIC! I am excitedly awaiting his next book in the series! Once I started listening to Partition, I couldn't stop. The writing was absolutely wonderful, the story so engaging, and the narration by William DeMeritt was great! I'm hooked! Brilliant concept! Don't make me wait forever for your next installment, Kevin!

Wow

This was great !!! Sad that it ended :( hope the author has a second book in the works .

Unique and enjoyable!

This was an amazing audiobook. Unique story line, rich characters, and top notch narration Highly recommend!

Sci-Fi At It's GREATEST!

Partition is a wild ride that won't let you off, even if you wanted to! Starring and Eric and his Night, well, Eric, this book reads like a sci-fi movie from the 90s in the BEST way possible. Have you ever felt like you needed two of yourself just to get done one day's worth of work and activities? Hold that thought. Understanding the shifts between Day and Night perspectives, as well as what's real and what's Virtual Reality generated is going to be the key to enjoying this book.

In Partition, the US has been reduced to litter covered streets and every statehood holds their own sovereignty. If you're wondering, yes, that means if you're from Utah but living in California, you can be deported from California. No more just picking up to move when you want to. But if everywhere is a different version of a slum, what's the point of moving anyway? They only thing that makes life palatable is the presence of intelligent AI that helps to get things done, and virtual reality interfaces that overlap or in some cases, completely cover over what's actually being seen. Live in a rundown apartment and sleep on a creaky old murphy bed that barely folds out of the wall? No you don't! You reside in an expensive 1940's Parisian hotel room with all of the priciest amenities and an unobstructed view of the Eiffel Tower. You're not sitting on a couch supported by floors and walls that were old when your great grandfather was just born. No, you're sitting on an oddly comfortable log in the middle of a rain forest, watching adorable monkeys swing from vine to vine. All areas of life have these VR interfaces that make the actual drudgery all around feel more bearable. Think about the video game, We Happy Few, but without the happy pill and you'll get the picture.

Just one more thing to make the future more livable is the invention of the Partition which allows its owner to split their lives up into two parts, Day and Night. A person's true self would be a Day. They spend their waking hours going to day clubs, playing in the park, catching up on errands, and just living a relaxed life in general. A Night however, does all the heavy lifting of going to work, keeping the body fit, and running more errands. And what's the best part? Due to the Partition's technology, no actual sleep is needed because the Night is resting while the Day is awake, and the Day is resting while the Night is awake. The two never meet, and can only communicate via written notes and prerecorded messages. It's the equivalent of having an artificial amnesiac wall that's been put up by choice.

Day Eric is a goof-off and a screw up on a good day, while Night Eric is police detective who's dedication to force is only rivaled by his Day's dedication to doing nothing of value. His wife Dee is an activist by day and a scientist by night. What's interesting about this is she chose her profession before becoming Partitioned, while Eric's Night chose his afterwards. But if a Night has no autonomy, how can they chose to do anything other than what they were programmed to do? And if something can make choices independent of its owner, is it really just a devise created to ease the day to day minutia of life, or does it have a life of its own? This is the theme of the book, and the author takes it and runs! The story as a whole forces you to think about what sentience really means, and the morality behind creating a technology that so closely mirrors life, but then denying that creation full access to it.

Murders happen, crimes are committed and plots for revolutions are made, but where does this leave a Day who just wants to party and be left alone, and a Night who is sworn to serve and protect everyone... even from himself? My only issue with this book is the sheer amount of gratuitous cursing it contains. After awhile it just becomes wearing. Ultimately I preferred the Night's perspective vastly to it's Day, but it was an overall a great listen. William DeMeritt had to have channeled several different people into himself. That is the ONLY logical explanation as to how he could've done so many voices, so accurately, all the time, every time. I look forward to hearing more from him, and I also look forward to whatever Kevin Kane puts out next.