An existential voyage, a rare intellectual Sci-Fi. A must-read. ( )

Re-reading "The Bequeathal: Godsent", a day after finishing it, because I didn't know there is SciFi like this the first time. Saw it featured on Ray Kurzweil's site and ended up loving it. Outrageously good story told in hi-definition and all without blazing guns. But then, Kurzweilai,net's tagline does say: "Accelerating Intelligence". This book does exactly that. ( )

Well, this came out of nowhere. Was browsing the Amazon and saw this in bestselling high-tech SF but never heard of the author. So far I'm stunned (still reading it). Written in a classic SF style but mixing heavy duty slang and future technology, the ideas are expansive. Existential and social issues mixed with augmented, transcended and virtual interactions. There's a nasty 'capitarch', a posh 'cadavatar', a genius 'neurosynth' and the accidental hero who becomes a 'demiurgic enabler'! Very fresh, very unexpected. Love it so far, will update when finished reading.

[Update]
Finished it and wish I could give it more stars. The first 50 pages start slowly (except for a couple of good knocks) but then it just keeps gaining and never stops. So much new thinking behind, so refreshing. Excellent premise and the ending. WIll read it again. ( )