Summer Frost

Forward collection

By: Blake Crouch

Narrated by: Rosa Salazar

Audible narration by Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel)

A video game developer becomes obsessed with a willful character in her new project, in a mind-bending exploration of what it means to be human by the New York Times bestselling author of Recursion.

Maxine was made to do one thing: die. Except the minor non-player character in the world Riley is building makes her own impossible decision - veering wildly off course and exploring the boundaries of the map. When the curious Riley extracts her code for closer examination, an emotional relationship develops between them. Soon Riley has all new plans for her spontaneous AI, including bringing Max into the real world. But what if Max has real-world plans of her own?

Blake Crouch’s Summer Frost is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

©2019 Blake Crouch (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Rosa Salazar provides a dead-on, almost eerie, performance of an AI in this short science fiction story...altering her performance as the AI refines and reinvents itself throughout the story. It's a startling evolution of character, driven home by Salazar’s transition from passive dialogue to gut-punching directness. The story challenges what it means to be human and gives sci-fi listeners some poignant moments to ponder long after the credits end." --AudioFile magazine

"…a sensational project...." --Spine Magazine

“This is exactly how I like my techno-anxiety.... Happy bingeing!" --Audible, an October Editors Pick

Blake Crouch is an enigma

I love what Blake Crouch writes. Not everything can be his best work but he puts his best work into everything he writes. He is so creative and so thoughtful with every sentiment that ends up on the page.

this novella explores some pretty standardized archetypes by today's standards however, he does it in a way that only Blake Crouch can. He gives it a spin of urgency and desperation, a technological nightmare teetering on the edge. He he does this every time he writes. I don't find this to be as exhilarating as Wayward Pines or as mind-bending as dark matter but it is still classic Blake Crouch. I stand in awe of his sheer creativity.

I fell in love with the book and the narrator

This book was a little bit predictable but still really rewarding - so much so that I want to read it a second time. I've tried to read all of the Amazon transport series but this one is by the best of all of them. The narrator has one of those highly sought after "broken" voices as they call them, a little gravelly which makes it really emotive, as well as sort of deep-pitched yet not too sultry. I want to see what else she narrated because I hate the high-pitched, non-race-neutral voices they pick for women in a lot of books, which distract it sometimes holds me away from the material. She's lovely and has an everyman /anyman(or woman) voice that could belong to anyone. She reminds me of Rosario Dawson or a more natural Gabrielle Union. Unfortunately, this is the only one she's narrated so far. :( But this is a great book and a fun little ride.

Captivating

From the beginning, I was intrigued and I stayed captivated for the entire story. Really enjoyed it

Amazing futurist drama in a short format

This is a fantastic story of humanity and the morality of creating of superAI. Lots of great philosophical and scientific concepts are entangled with a great human story of pain, fear, ambition, and pride. Well written and performed brilliantly.

Quality stuff

An excellent and chilling novella about the birth of artificial super-intelligence. Things get emotional. Quality stuff.

Interesting

This was an interesting story with a twist at the end. Maybe a glimpse into the future but gone wrong.

Well, that gave me something to think about!

This is a fantastic short story about what makes us human. Exciting enough I didn't want to put it down, thoughtful enough that I will need to chew on it for awhile.

My only criticism of the story, was that there were a couple of parts where I had to re-listen because I didn't feel like I was understanding what was happening. Not the narration - that was great- I mean what was happening conceptually. The characters comprehended and reacted to situations and from their reactions I knew I wasnt grasping the implications and had to re-listen to get it. It was worth rewinding a few times for me, I really came away with ideas deserving more thought.

I don't want to detail my biggest takeaway because I don't want to spoil this for anyone, so suffice to say, I think the conclusion is meant to elicit a certain reaction in the reader/ listener. And I felt a different reaction. Like watching a movie , and realizing at the end that you kinda agree with the villain. That gave me pause and I like stories that lead me to question my outlook.

Really great story.
Fantastic narration
"A"

Max Is Not Human But Riley Is

Fascinating concept of a human AI developer, Riley, falling in love with her creation to the detriment of her marriage and everything else. She is obsessed with educating Max to think and behave like a human. Imagine her surprise when Max attempts to take over Riley and other humans. So far Max is living inside a protective space with access only to Riley. Riley does not know how far Max has developed on her own until it is too late. It is a look at how AI is created, then enhanced, and maybe it could take over the world. Think of the Rise of Machines from the movies. The narrator, Rosa Salazar, was excellent.

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Phantastic story with a sharp endin

The story started out average but turned into a gripping world of thoughts, progress and reality.