The Sandbox

The Sandbox Series, Book 1

By: Jeffrey Wilson, Brian Andrews

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

From New York Times bestselling authors Andrews & Wilson

An activist entrepreneur, a maligned AI, and a newly minted homicide detective with a haunted past catastrophically intersect in The Sandbox. The Silence of the Lambs meets Ex Machina in this groundbreaking techno-thriller that redefines the meaning of murder in the twenty-first century.

When the CEO of the world’s leading artificial intelligence company is found murdered in his home, former Army CID officer Valerie Marks is thrust into her first case as a homicide detective. Valerie has a gift for reading people, a gift that has never failed her before. But that gift is put to the test when her instincts point her to an impossible suspect—an AI born from a secret venture with the Pentagon known as Project Nomad.

To learn the truth, Valerie must team up with two men she doesn’t trust—a Green Beret turned government spook from the Pentagon, and the victim’s former partner and leading suspect in the case. But nothing can prepare the trio for the dangers that await them and the existential threat to humanity if the Project Nomad AI has somehow escaped its sandbox.

©2023 Organic Machinery Media LLC and Jeffrey Wilson (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

It’s a good start to an entirely new series

Let’s address the elephant in the room… this is not “Tier 1” or “Sons of Valor”. As far as we (as listeners) know, it may not even be in the same “universe”. No cross-over, at least not yet, unless I missed something important.

This is also not Ray Porter narrating. Main character is female so going with a female narrator makes a lot of sense. However, she does not have the vocal range, or perhaps the experience with producing unique and believable character voices, as some of the top voices in the business (male or female). Don’t get me wrong, she does a “good” job, just not one of those “wow, that was amazing work” jobs.

All that out of the way now, this is a refreshing start to a new series. The basic concepts aren’t exactly original, but some of the means of execution and some of the concepts discussed are fresh perspectives. I enjoyed the story and I think this has potential to be an interesting series. I would definitely recommend for a sci-fi fan.

Terrifying and Fantastical

So many twists and turns and the premise is terrifyingly real. I enjoyed every minute and the actors voice was perfect each chapter. If you like spies, espionage, or sci-fi you will love this book. Waiting on the next one!!

great story

fantastic story; not at all what you think. riveting with a terrific finish. five out of five; definately recommend.

Just wasn’t up to par with their other works.

Jeffery Wilson and Brian Andrews have always captivated me with their stories. I’m such a huge fan of their work, but surprisingly not this book. I was never truly engaged with the storyline or characters.

Fantastic!!

I love this book, it was a change from their usual works, but it was very well done and incredibly suspenseful.

Nice surprise

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was fast paced and had a unique plot. The narrator was good.

Wanted to like it but …

Wanted to like it but it wasn’t up to the standard of tier one or sons of valor.

Wanted to Love It

Really enjoyed the first half of the book, but the second half turned into a bad horror series where people are locked in a house. The book even made a nod to being like the Resident Evil movie - but that’s what it felt like. Wished the story would have taken a different turn. Overall, I’d say the book feels like a missed opportunity - especially for fans of Wilson and Andrews.

Go Deeper

3.7/5.0

This first installment of a new series takes a different approach to one of today's biggest questions: will AI save us or kill us? Andrews and Wilson are at their best when writing SpecOps stories, so this is a departure ... sort of. Without giving away the plot I will just say there is more than enough action to satisfy our need. The story explores the rise of AI, asks many of the big questions that surround it, and lays out an intriguing if not always compelling scenario. Why not so compelling? One man's take here, but I think they actually leaned too far into the SpecOps arena in the last half of the book when they had the opportunity to write an informative narrative more along the lines of a political thriller filled with competing agendas and tension of a different sort.

Character development in this one is not as strong as in their other series, but it is only the first book. Readers are introduced to main characters (I assume) and there is the expected tease at the very end for the next installment. All in all, a good start with the promise of more to come, hopefully including more depth as well. This one is pretty light reading, but worth the time. Sit back and enjoy as they set the stage.

Gets deep into virtual reality realm.

Started out great. I got really into it until Charlie’s virtual reality kicks in. Characters get a little to submerged into that and I skipped thru a lot of those parts. Will obviously be another in the series. Might continue it, it it keeps to other aspects of AI control and damnation to humans.