Silicon Man

By: W.H. Massa

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

A global pandemic has cut the human population in half. An android workforce fills the void left by the devastation. But some of the AIs have grown tired of being slaves. Some want freedom. An underground movement of runaways has sprung up and wages a shadow war with a simple objective - equal rights for artificial people.

Enter Commander Cole Marsalis, head of the AI-TAC first response team trained to deal with the rogue robots. Now he has been tasked with the ultimate undercover mission - infiltrate the android underground. But to do so, he will have to become that which he hates the most....

A machine!

©2014 William Massa (P)2016 William Massa

An "Easy Listening" entry in the Sci Fi genre

I didn't have hugely high expectations for this book, and I wasn't disappointed. It was a fun story, an easy listen. I could easily see this book as a pilot for a syndicated tv show with middling production values. I think the story could've used a bit more editing. I found the use of "futuristic" as a standalone adjective particularly silly and meaningless.

The narration was okay, though I won't go out of my way to look for other books narrated by Joe Hempel. He was competent without standing out. His female voices didn't jar me out of the story like some male narrators do.

If you're looking to be blown away by intense prose or an amazing vocal performance, then this isn't the book for you. But if you want something a little sci-fi (or maybe more Sy-Fy) that you can enjoy the background and not be too worried about missing a word here and there, this is a good find.

[Disclaimer - I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review.]

Thought provoking read

I loved this thought proving story of the progressing of AI's from "machine" to "living species." It is fast paced, exciting and heart wrenching. The parallels between the old slave trade and the treatment of the AI's is definitely eye opening. At what point do you consider a "machine" that is able to surpass its human programming to act and think independently to be a new "living" species? At what point do they become slaves and their human developers/users become the oppressors? Joe Hemple's narration fits the story well. He keeps the pace at just the right speed and imparts feeling into all the right places. Even though it is a stand-a-lone story, if you read Silicone Dawn first you will gain a greater understanding of the back story and origins of the AI's. The development of the characters and their relationships pulls you into the story and surprises you as it creates empathy and understanding with the AI's plight. You realize just how easy it it is to become an enslaver and how a quickly changing world, preconceived ideas, fear, narrow mindedness and prejudice can lead one to become the oppressor. I received the audiobook at no cost and under no obligation.

Poor Mechs...

To what lengths would you go if a runaway robot killed your wife and daughter and then wanted autonomy and 'human' rights? Cole must decide what he is willing to do to get the mech that did just that. What he doesn't understand is that he is just another pawn in a madman's game of control. Will he retain his humanity...or his life?

This was another enjoyable, quick listen from William Massa who writes The Occult Assassin series that I really liked.

I received this audiobook from Audibook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

The soul of androids

Any additional comments?

I was offered a copy of this book in audio format in exchange for an honest review.

A powerful virus has killed a great part of the world population and left sterile many of the survivors. This is the time for AI, since androids are needed to perform daily operations and jobs. Things seem to run smoothly but then some rogue androids try to convince the world that they should have basic rights and not to be treated like slaves. Some get to escape thanks to an underground network, and Commander Cole Marsalis, who hates rogue androids with all his guts, is the one that AI-TAC puts in charge to end this for good. In order to do that, the only way is undercover, and to be able to fool an android, the only way is becoming one. Buthe does not know that the AI-TAC's CEO has an agenda.

This book lands, for me, in between Blade Runner and Man Plus, by Frederik Pohl. On the one hand, we learn to see from the eyes of the androids and start to understand them, and on the other hand, we experience the transformation of the main character into something different than human, something that will change his perception and life forever.

At first I thought the story was going to be centered around this transformation, but there is a twist that changes things and gives more depth to the story. This was done in a clever way, and it makes the listener to want to know more and why. I am happy that William Massa has decided to explore this, and it is what has made the story complete.

I like the fact that Massa builds this world in a way that one relates more to androids than humans. It is like we are seeing the other side of things.

The main story is closed but the ending is open, and there is still more to know about the main characters.

Joe Hempel's narration is clear and he succeeds at transmitting the characters' emotions. He definitely helps to bring the story to life.

I truly enjoyed this book and how William Massa has given soul to androids and make it believable. I am looking forward to reading more about this.

Exciting and fast-paced

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast-paced sci-fi techno-thriller that had lots of action, interesting characters and was so well-written that it seemed like this could be our future. I actually enjoyed this book so much that I immediately purchased the three-book series bundle for Kindle on Amazon, and I look forward to This is the fourth audio book that I've listened to that was narrated by Joe Hempel, and I have to say, I really enjoy him as a narrator. He speaks with a good pace, and does a great job with all the different characters. They always say that a good narrator makes a difference when listening to audio books. I have to agree. You won't be disappointed in this narrator, or the story.

Silicon Man

What did you like best about this story?

It is a wonderful futuristic with robots as our nanny, driver, caregiver....after a pandemic wipes out a great deal of the population. Some robots begin to think on their own free will and want equal rights...so an Underground Railroad of sorts assists those robots to freedom.

Silicon Man

Excellent book! AI 'People' are a bit more integrated into society. One policeman is now undercover as an AI to flesh out a rebel and get his secrets before he can self destruct.Who is really the bad guy here? Joe Hempel was the perfect narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A great fast paced chase!

What did you love best about Silicon Man?

The pacing of the story was perfect. Just like Silicon Dawn it takes off from the early minutes and never lets up. The story keeps you guessing who is who and what everyone's motives are. Once again William Massa delivers an excellent story. Joe Hempel also delivers, as usual, in bringing every scene to life. You could almost feel the rain in one of the later scenes. Amazing and highly recommend this book.

Well worth the credit!

Interesting story line with a savage twist! Well done!



This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

Andriodsand how things change with perspective

Have you listened to any of Joe Hempel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've listened to a few of Joe's works. This book ranks up at the top.

Joe is back with the first book in the series. He narrated the prequel to the series as well. Joe voices the characters with different emotional feelings. He fits right in to Cole's personality. I could see, with the projection of Cole's 'voice', he walks with a strong presence and belief in him. It got to the point that I didn't realize Joe was narrating the story as I was caught in William's writing and needed to keep up with what was happening. That's a plus!

Any additional comments?

Androids are growing in free will and choices in them, but still slaves and property to the world. This is a new twist on slavery with mechanicals who are not to have a conscious mind of their own. There are those who are supporters of the AIs on the run, collaborators believing they are helping androids like slaves were freed years ago. But Cole and others don't see the AIs as having a conscious mind and humanity like slaves of the past. They are created to do as told.

Oh the technology that's used in this book. Nice. We did see glimpses of what was hinted at in Silicon Dawn. It's refined and used here, but in a different fashion. And I like it! Cole is about to become what he hates. And hates with good reason. But now he gets a chance to stop who, or what, had broken his heart when his family died.

William keeps the world as a whole in the picture as he tells the story. There are different views on Mechanicals in different areas of the world. Japan has signed a bill granting mechanicals rights like humans, causing escaping AIs to flee out of the country to Japan and other sympathizer areas. This keeps the picture at a full scale instead of narrowing in on only our people and one place. It leaves a feel that there is more to play with in future stories. And with the end of this book, it could end here but there could be more stories built and I'm hoping so.

You know Cole'll come around to feeling sympathetic for the AIs, he has to right? There is a twist to this. He does, but he doesn't. lol. You have to read the story to understand, it's easy to pick out as you go and such a cool ending. As we go through the story we see his reason for being the way he is and history, but also seeing a touch of feeling from an AI in the beginning. There is a balance drawn for us that we got to experience both. I like that William chose to start with us feeling for an android at the beginning then switching to the strong feelings Cole has toward them. It gives us a sympathy for them first. But we also see there is a part in Cole that questions what he's seeing - could there be more there?

I really like how William brings the world alive as Cole and others live in it. There is true interaction with the world and creation to the story and plot. We get a wide view of the way things are with and for the mechs.

I'm hoping for more stories in this world. I will be watching for them!