"Summer Frost" by Blake Crouch, 2019

 "Summer Frost" by Blake Crouch, 2019

Summer Frost is a novella about the development of artificial intelligence by Blake Crouch, author of the WAYWARD PINES trilogy.

In Crouch's classic style, he wastes no time getting to the action. Summer Frost takes place in a near-future San Francisco. It blends video gaming, artificial intelligence, nanotechnologies, and other tech that is under development.

The story has an "Ex Machina" (with a hint of "Her") feel to it. The plot explores a software developer's interaction with an emerging self-aware artificial intelligence called Max, for who they are responsible for. As one would expect, the AI starts out rudimentary and expands in a series of natural progressions, eventually taking on a human-like form.

The handling of some of the gender-related issues felt a bit clunky;. However, it's a highly timely topic. There's more discussion of what Max is and is not from a gender point of view than seemed really relevant to the plot and Max's nature as an AI. 

I enjoyed how Crouch also introduces the thought experiment Roko's basilisk and Pascal's wager into Summer Frost, which lends itself well to the plot.

I rate this novella 2.25 out of 5 stars.

"Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch, 2016

"Dark Matter" by Blake Crouch, 2016

Crouch has written an imaginative novel encompassing quantum physics and how it affects the choices a person makes in life. At times sweetly romantic for a science fiction story, Dark Matter explores how even minor decisions serve to eventually define the person we become. Jason is literally offered an infinite number of escape paths, but only a finite number of choices. One wrong decision can separate him from his family forever.  

The novel is written in Jason’s first person perspective. I don’t have a problem with first person, but the author uses a flat writing technique with short choppy paragraphs that are oddly jarring until I settled into his style. As with the Crouch's Wayward Pines series of books, parts of story where the author is building suspense, especially in the beginning, can be frustratingly annoying and abrupt.

While Jason is likeable, the weakest parts in Dark Matter concern secondary characters. The villain in the alternate world attempts to keep Jason from returning to his ‘real’ life, but his motivation is irrational. Other than the fact that the story needs a protagonist, I didn’t see a logical reason for him to be so determined to separate Jason from his family. He’s rotten, but pointless.  So is the woman who plays an important role in Jason’s escape attempt. She disappears halfway through the story. You learn little about her, her character is barely developed.  Considering her pivotal role, nothing about her stands out. She’s more like a tool for Jason to use rather than a real person.

All told, Dark Matter is an interesting read that goes quickly, and explores questions about reality and choice not usual in science fiction.

★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars) - I really liked it.

Book jacket description:

“Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.” 

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable--something impossible.


Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe. 

"The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3)", by Blake Crouch, 2014

"The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3)", by Blake Crouch, 2014

Although the weakest of the three books so far in the set, The Last Town still is both

exhilarating and frustrating. It is virtually impossible for readers to not become absorbed in the chaos that ensues as the "abbies" enter Wayward Pines. The graphic descriptions of death and the emotional ties to characters I have come to love keep me invested until the very end. 

The introduction of a new characters creates a sub-conflict that is nearly as powerful, and possibly even more gripping than the battle that ensues in Wayward Pines. As I witness the evolution of characters as they are faced with almost certain death, I will found myself wanting more. This is where Crouch falls short. Rather than further harnessing that evolution of character, nearly two-thirds of The Last Town focuses on fighting. Though the graphic portrayal of death is often thrilling, it eventually loses stamina. Eventually the potential for boredom while reading about yet another house that is invaded by the "abbies" becomes real. There's very little to imagine since the outcome is obvious. That being said, the other aspects of the novel far outweigh the hundred or so pages of fighting. 

When I reached the end of a novel and was so frustrated to find that there really is nothing on the next page; when I searched the Internet in hope that although this is a trilogy and although it is hailed as "the final installment" there indeed are plans for a 4th book; when I read the last page over and over again hoping to find something that was missed — the author knows he's accomplished his task. Well done Blake Crouch. Fortunately for those readers searching for more, FOX has brought Wayward Pines to television in a miniseries, which is currently airing/streaming.

★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars)

"Wayward (Wayward Pines #2)", by Blake Crouch, 2013

"Wayward (Wayward Pines #2)", by Blake Crouch, 2013

A thoroughly satisfying read that combines a lot of genres and tropes, Wayward will have you turning

pages to see how it all ends. The climax though takes things to a whole different level and leaves you desperately craving for the next volume. Wayward is another crackerjack thriller from the mind of one of the best thrillers writers out there.

Wayward is the sequel to Pines and a book that was highly anticipated and yet out-scored my anticipation. Firstly before even I begin my review, I would like to announce that to even discuss the blurb will be spoilery for the first book Pines. So those folks who haven't read the first book and don't want their read ruined in the least. STOP and go read Pines...

Now for those of you who have read and loved Pines, welcome and I must say you will love the second outing by Blake Crouch as he explores the strange town of Wayward Pines and its inhabitants. This book further illuminates the town of Wayward Pines through Ethan Burke but with a crucial difference, he’s an insider now unlike the previous volume wherein he was the enemy. Ethan after the events of the previous books has now been elevated to the position of Sheriff and is tasked with the town’s safety. Sheriff Ethan has seen what truly lies outside of the town's boundaries and it is forcing him to co-operate with the town's creator and protector so as to speak. After facing the end of the barrel in the last book, he finds himself quite perturbed to be on the other side and forcing people to do what he ultimately disobeyed. He has gotten his family back but is still irked by all that is hidden from the majority of the town’s population. The story though begins when a murder occurs and it falls upon Ethan to investigate the death.

My rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars) Just Wow!

"Pines (Wayward Pines #1)", by Blake Crouch, 2012

Pines (Wayward Pines #1), by Blake Crouch, 2012

An excruciatingly frustrating start, but by halfway through, the book went from 0 to 60 and I burned through it all the way to the end. Starts off as a mystery novel that sharply turns into a thriller, and ends with a sci-fi surprise.

Pines saw Secret Service agent Ethan Burke waking up in Wayward Pines, a secluded town deep in the forests of Idaho, severely injured after an apparent car accident. Days of concussed, amnesia-driven investigation led Ethan to eventually discover that the entire town was surrounded by an electric fence and under constant electronic surveillance. Nobody comes into Wayward Pines, nobody leaves, and the townsfolk are willing to mob-kill anyone who tries. Is it a government experiment? An episode of The Twilight Zone? The afterlife? Pines concluded with a soul-shattering cliffhanger, as the secret of Wayward Pines was finally revealed to Ethan (a secret I will not divulge here).

My rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars) - Wow. I loved it!