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WWW: Wonder (WWW #3)

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 1,628 ratings · 207 reviews

Viewour feature on Robert J. Sawyer's WWW:Wonder.

"Awriter of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation" (New York Times) concludes his mindbending trilogy. Webmind-the vast consciousness that spontaneously emerged from the infrastructure of the World Wide Web-has proven its worth to humanity by aiding in everything from curing cancer to easing international te...more

Hardcover, 338 pages

Published April 5th 2011 by Ace Hardcover (first published March 19th 2011)

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Dec 20, 2011 Matt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, robert-j-sawyer

While Saywer has long been one of my favourite sci-fi authors, I have had a few disappointments with a few of his works in the past. The WWW trilogy's first two books renewed my confidence in RJS and had me eagerly awaiting WWW:Wonder. The final installment though was not quite what I came to expect after reading the first two novels.
The story was definitely entertaining, and continued on logically from where WATCH left off. The characters were all back in some meaningful way, and up until about...more

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Apr 25, 2011 Jake Forbes rated it 3 of 5 stars

What I loved about Wake, the first book in the WWW trilogy, was the way Sawyer lifted the reader up, along with the characters, through the process of emerging digital consciousness. The second volume is a real nail-biter as we anxiously wait to see how the world will respond to the birth of an AI that by its very nature monitors everything we do online. For the last year, I've been looking forward to reading the conclusion. As compulsively readable as the first two books, Wonder ends the WWW tr...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Tim Chaplin rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. After reading the first two books in the trilogy I wasn’t sure how the story of Webmind and Caitlin Decker who discovered him would finish. I was worried that I might be disappointed by the outcome. Webmind is an artificial intelligence that evolved from the internet. Caitlin Decker is a young girl who was once blind until she was given sight by a device that she calls an EYE pad. The device was originally meant to fix problem with her sight that she had had from birth, giving her vision back in...more After reading the first two books in the trilogy I wasn’t sure how the story of Webmind and Caitlin Decker who discovered him would finish. I was worried that I might be disappointed by the outcome. Webmind is an artificial intelligence that evolved from the internet. Caitlin Decker is a young girl who was once blind until she was given sight by a device that she calls an EYE pad. The device was originally meant to fix problem with her sight that she had had from birth, giving her vision back in one eye but Caitlin discovers that she can actually see the internet itself.

These books ask the question of what would happen if there was a form of artificial intelligence running the internet? The US government security services do their best to shut it down after failing once before to close it down. Colonel Peyton Hume cannot see that Webmind is a force for good and uses all means necessary to eliminate it. China has already raised a firewall once before to cover up the outbreak of a virus and the killings of those infected to control the spread of the virus. They are seeking to make the firewall permanent again but they have a hacker in their midst who has already opened up holes in the firewall.

These series of books have some interesting ideas. There are many examples of the benefits of crowd sourcing: people coming together to write open source software, seek help in building new devices from off the shelf electrical parts and scientists sharing ideas. This book seeks to take it further by the idea of people making decisions instead of government. However, sometimes I think that Sawyer is rather too positive about the benefits of technology. Social networks have been growing stronger but can we rely on groups of people making decisions on important subjects that affect us all? E-democracy has been used to seek individual’s opinions in focus groups before but it doesn’t meant that everyone’s voice is heard as their representatives may just be interpreting the results to achieve their own ends. The recent Egyptian revolt in 2010 used social media to challenge the government and has been a positive force for change. On the other hand only those who have access to this technology can participate. Equally popular polls could end in controversial decisions such as capital punishment being re-instituted after years of informed debate and legal precedent outlawing it in most western democracies.

What would also happen if an artificial intelligence could find a cure for Cancer and other complex issues through the co-operation of scientists, doctors and experts? This could be a positive thing but I could also see there being a backlash by the multinationals that manufacture and control the supply of drugs and products in a capitalist free market. Software companies would equally be upset if an artificial intelligences started putting 'verified by Webmind' on safe searches instead of their own security software.

Robert Sawyer continues to speak about technology subjects across the world and has consulted for companies like Google and Motorola. He has managed to keep my attention over this series of books through the interesting characters he has created and I hope he continues to write more thought provoking future science fiction stories.

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Nov 13, 2012 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars

'Wonder' is the third and final volume in the series. It faithfully continues the formula of following an emergent AI through the eyes of a previously blind High School girl, converting high concept SF into something sweet and human, even somewhat juvenile. As usual, the author seasons it thoroughly with little science nuggets.

This installment is by far the most suspenseful, as the 'life' of our beloved AI is threatened on several fronts, and there are many clues that it is far darker than it se...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Maurinejt rated it 3 of 5 stars

It wasn't awful. It was actually a lot more readable than the first. But it certainly didn't ask the hard questions the way the second one did either, nor did it continue to push those ideas.

Webmind is now both coming into his own and is under attack with increasing desperation by those who are sure that nothing good can come of it. Forget philosophical debate, now Webmind is showing the human race what he can do.

I felt like, and have felt all along, like the series is being written by a parent...more

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Nov 26, 2011 John Carter McKnight rated it 4 of 5 stars

Robert J. Sawyer embodies the reasons why many of us were drawn to science fiction, way back when: as the title of the book expresses, "wonder." In this sweet, sympathetic conclusion to his emergent-AI trilogy, Sawyer gives us a book-length "it gets better" video, from school bullying to governmental tyranny to fear of change and each other.

Caitlyn Decter continues to grow up, perhaps the most sweetly real teenage character in SF history (I totally fantasy-cast her as the young woman who plays A...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Samantha rated it 3 of 5 stars

'WWW: Wonder' concludes the tale of formerly blind Caitlin Decker, her web entity pal Webmind and their allies as Webmind continues to grow and expand his powers. But powers at the Pentagon, as well as overseas, aren't happy about it's existence, and may take action against it. Can they be stopped? Furthemore, should they be? How much control is Webmind going to be allowed to gain?

I have in general enjoyed the core of the story. The premise is interesting and kept me curious about where Sawyer...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Michael Christopher rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sawyer builds on the web that he wove during the second book in the trilogy as governments and individuals struggle to cope with the reality of the internet having come to life. The pacing of the novel is on par with WATCH, but with the complex back-story is already in place the novel is able to leap from place to place and so it feels like a more nimble read. As Sawyer's characters explore the new world that dawns with the AI now omnipresent, the story explores the ramifications of our behaviou...more

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Jul 13, 2011 Alan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who ever rooted for H.A.R.L.I.E. or P-1, or wished MYCROFTXXX was a real phone number...

Recommended to Alan by: Previous volumes

Robert J. Sawyer brings his WWW trilogy to a satisfying and very definite conclusion in this volume—yes, folks, amazing as it may sound, the man's actually written a trilogy that consists of just three books, no mean feat these days.

I'm assuming you're at least somewhat familiar with the previous installments in Sawyer's series about a nascent world-spanning artificial intelligence that evolves out of World Wide Web network traffic. If not, go back and pick up the first two before even consideri...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Tim Hicks rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

Four stars for enjoyable, but don't forget that this is, as others have said, SF Lite. Despite all the modern stuff, there's a Heinlein-juvenile feeling throughout. Written for smart teens? If so, I think it's done well.

Don't read this except as the third of three.

Plenty of interesting ideas. As is often the case with Sawyer, there are perhaps too many characters who seemto be there so the author can make a point about what they represent. There's a lot of explaining, but a fair bit of it was...more

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Jun 05, 2011 Brian Layman rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2011

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 10, 2011 Paradoxical rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-reading-list, books-otherwise

Overall, I really liked reading the WWW series. They're fairly light and a fast read, but they have serious themes underneath that, well, sometimes are presented to the reader in a heavy-handed fashion. The characters are likable (except for the ones we're not supposed to like, of course) and the plot is an engaging one.

The third and last book of the trilogy, Wonder, has Webmind stepping out into the world and learning to live with humanity. Or, in his case, trying to live, as several people an...more Overall, I really liked reading the WWW series. They're fairly light and a fast read, but they have serious themes underneath that, well, sometimes are presented to the reader in a heavy-handed fashion. The characters are likable (except for the ones we're not supposed to like, of course) and the plot is an engaging one.

The third and last book of the trilogy, Wonder, has Webmind stepping out into the world and learning to live with humanity. Or, in his case, trying to live, as several people and governments are more than a little leery at the thought of a near omnipotent AI wandering around the internet and so strive to find a way to shut Webmind down. Kill him, as the book points out. He strives to prove himself nonthreatening--in fact, beneficial--to the world, and Caitlin attempts to help with what power and ideas she has.

Caitlin is an interesting character. Very intelligent, she's still a child underneath, and it shows in several of her decisions and actions. The star, however, would be Webmind, who knows just about everything (on the internet at least, and we all know how large that is) and even goes so far as to find the cure for cancer, among other things. Of course, that being the case, I'm a bit amused of the fact that sometimes even Webmind can't solve some problems (even if I believe he should have been able to, a couple of times) and has to go to humans for help. Though that is part of the point of the book, how Webmind could not have been made without humans and how beholden he is to that.

It makes me grin to see things I know and am aware about online in the book. Like the brief mention of xdcd and their "Someone is wrong on the Internet!" strip. Sometimes though, things became cheesy. A little too pat. A little too over the top. It happens on occasion, like a scene near the end of the book between Matt and a bully.

The ending wraps up nicely (not to mention completely). You feel satisfied at reading the end, though it isn't, eh, mind blowing or anything. All in all? Rather good. I waver between 3 and 4 stars for this book, but decided on 3 because things turn out a bit too easily for Webmind and the others. It's a good book, but almost shallow in its own way. Still, a rather enjoyable read. (less)

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May 03, 2011 Warren Rochelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

WWW:Wonder is the third book in what Sawyer is calling the WWW Trilogy (WWW = Worldwide Web, I think), and for those who haven't read the first two, here's a quick summary of the story so far, bearing in mind there are two primary intersecting plot lines. The Chinese, to protect their people from foreign influences, set up a Great Firewall, as it were, and cut off their country from the Internet/Worldwide Web. This action mysteriously creates Webmind, a sentient artificial intelligence who exist...more WWW:Wonder is the third book in what Sawyer is calling the WWW Trilogy (WWW = Worldwide Web, I think), and for those who haven't read the first two, here's a quick summary of the story so far, bearing in mind there are two primary intersecting plot lines. The Chinese, to protect their people from foreign influences, set up a Great Firewall, as it were, and cut off their country from the Internet/Worldwide Web. This action mysteriously creates Webmind, a sentient artificial intelligence who exists in the Web.

The other plot line is centered on Caitlin Decter,a 16-year-old mathematical genius whose family has just moved to Waterloo, Ontario, from Texas. They learn of a Japanese scientist who is able, via connections to the internet and some miraculous hardware, gives Caitlin her sight. Because of this connection she has to the internet, Caitlin discovers Webmind. Complications ensue, particularly when the US National Security Agency initially decides Webmind is a threat to human freedom and must be eliminated.

WWW: Wonder is the climax of the trilogy. Webmind, "a vast consciousness that spontaneously emerged frm the infrastructure of the World Wide Web" (after the Chinese attempt at isolation and cultural purity) is changing the world, "from curing cancer to easing international tensions." But, people are afraid, especially Colonel Peyton Hume, an expert on AI for the Pentagon and associated with the NSA, is desperately trying to bring Webmind down. He seeks helps from hackers, but they began to disapppear.

Is Webmind killing them? Can Hume take down this vast entity? Can Caitlin protect Webmind? Lots of drama (including Caitlin negotiating her own coming of age, her first boyfriend) and a few miracles thrown in--which brings me to an overall impression of what is a fun read this novel is science fiction and it is a fairy tale. The elements of the Quest are here: miraculous or unusual birth for the Hero (Webmind, of course), a road of trials as he comes of age and learns his powers, his helpers, the wise old man and a wise old woman (Caitlin's parents, I think, and her Japanese surgeon), the Quest, the descent into the realm of the dead (when Webmind is cut off from part of his self, due to a second Chinese firewall) and the return with the boon, the Grail. Webmind also, in many ways, reminds me of a fairy godfather. He has many powers, such as being able to monitor just about anything and everyone who is on or uses the web. And the ending--a spoiler maybe?--happily ever after.

Like all the Sawyer novels I have read: he has a message a drum to beat, but for the most part, he doesn't let that trump story.

Give it a look.

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Apr 21, 2011 Sean Randall rated it 3 of 5 stars

I tried so, so hard not to let the Blindisms get to me in this series. In Wake more than Watch, because I really got into Watch as an educational outcoming for AI. Wake introduces us to Caitlin and so, as a blind person myself, there are clearly more pitfalls there than in a title where she's already established.

So I tried, and was really enjoying the series. Things seemed reasonably well researched, too. But then... "a blind person didn't have the luxury of going for a jog, let alone sprinting....more

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May 03, 2012 Blodeuedd Finland rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, sci-fi, thriller

The good thing about this book is that I could just start reading without having read the previous books (this I of course did not know when I started.) Sure things are mentioned that happened before, yes I would like to read about these things as the book was interesting. But as it is now, it worked and I never felt a bit lost at all.

Did I understand all of the science talk? No, not really, but this did not matter either cos he made it real easy for you. I also linked how he sprinkled a bit of...more

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Nov 12, 2011 Robert Colquhoun rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok. I would prefer to give Wake, Watch and Wonder all 3.5 stars but, since that option is not available, I'm giving Wonder 4 to make up for the 3s I gave Wake and Watch. Doesn't quite work out to a 3.5 average but...
Wonder certainly keeps you wondering. Webmind becomes very likeable and quickly becomes 'potentially' villainous, evil and selfish. Sawyer leads the reader to believe that Webmind may be eliminating and/or forcibly using known hackers for his own selfish purposes. I won't include a s...more

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May 14, 2011 Joe Hempel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 100-books-in-2011

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 05, 2013 Robin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, brisk, emotionally-distant, great-ideas, occasionally-clunky, silly, slow-start, 2-stars

It's readable, there's a strong sense of drive, and Sawyer is a technically proficient writer with some great (even audacious) ideas. But a lot about this book rubbed me the wrong way.

The first problem is that not a lot happens, and when it does, it's usually ignored or downplayed or underdeveloped. There's never any sense of danger--if something needs to happen to our characters, it just does. There's no struggle or adversity. There are no stakes. There are a lot of red herrings that suggest a...more It's readable, there's a strong sense of drive, and Sawyer is a technically proficient writer with some great (even audacious) ideas. But a lot about this book rubbed me the wrong way.

The first problem is that not a lot happens, and when it does, it's usually ignored or downplayed or underdeveloped. There's never any sense of danger--if something needs to happen to our characters, it just does. There's no struggle or adversity. There are no stakes. There are a lot of red herrings that suggest a hint of drama or intrigue, but they all just fizzle. Worse, this is the third part in a trilogy. 900 pages total, with about 3-400 pages' worth of actual plot. The cynic in me smells a money-grab, but let's not listen to him.

Then there are personal nitpicks. Sawyer is so enamoured of his creation (Webmind) that he doesn't stop to check if his reader is along for the ride. I grew increasingly wary of Webmind as the book went on--his character doesn't change, so that's not a spoiler--but Sawyer spends no time making Webmind feel trustworthy or even that intelligent. Webmind decides (after watching Star Trek II in a previous book) that strict act utilitarianism is a flawless moral philosophy (!). He then goes on to agree that our sense of morality is becoming more "accurate" or sensible over time (!!). Plus Webmind arrives at these conclusions without providing any evidence whatsoever (or even calling it 'utilitarianism'). It's clear Sawyer can't conceive of other, non-Spock-derived approaches to ethics, and didn't bother researching any of the many that exist in the real world. I wouldn't belabour this point, but the majority of the book hinges on this decision, which happens off-screen and with no rational explanation, to support an obviously fraught moral philosophy. If Webmind is so smart, why didn't he forge a new school of philosophy? Or at least adopt the infinitely more preferable negative utilitarianism?

Another problem is Caitlin, who used to be the main character. Especially coming off Tomorrow, When The War Began, which featured complex, realistic, breathing teenagers, Caitlin seems like an old white dude's stereotypical impression of a teenager. She says w00t and 'made out of awesome' and has no emotions or moods whatsoever, but plenty of dad jokes. I know teenagers in real life and none of them are like this. This all just breaks my heart because I used to love Sawyer's books. Either I'm outgrowing him, or he's writing the same damn book over and over and I'm getting tired of reading it.

Anyway, beyond that, the usual Sawyer problems abound--glib, one-dimensional characters that serve strict utilitarian purposes (ha); as mentioned above, everything happens too easily, with no threat or menace; Sawyer's optimism is too optimistic about optimism itself (i.e. he thinks the path to world peace is pretty easy, when it's not); and his sense of humour makes me cringe as much as his botched philosophy (think a more-erudite, heavily-70s-referencing Big Bang Theory i.e. bad jokes that are made even worse by how outdated they are).

There are worse books out there, but I sure as hell can't be bothered finding them.(less)

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Jul 14, 2011 James rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(minor spoilers)

The story of Caitlin continues with Robert J. Sawyer's last novel of the trilogy regarding the artificial intelligence known as Webmind, in the book titled "www:wonder."

There is a lot to wonder about. Sawyer is making several veiled criticisms regarding the United States government and its knee jerk reaction to eliminate Webmind with its protocol, Pandora, which proclaims that any AI should be wiped out. The author makes the point too that perhaps people have been watching too m...more (minor spoilers)

The story of Caitlin continues with Robert J. Sawyer's last novel of the trilogy regarding the artificial intelligence known as Webmind, in the book titled "www:wonder."

There is a lot to wonder about. Sawyer is making several veiled criticisms regarding the United States government and its knee jerk reaction to eliminate Webmind with its protocol, Pandora, which proclaims that any AI should be wiped out. The author makes the point too that perhaps people have been watching too many Hollywood movies regarding this and can't for the life of them realize that there may be more to Webmind than meets the eye.

Unfortunately when Webmind is cut off from the Chinese portion of the Internet, his "Other" takes over and invites people to commit suicide through lies and tricks. This part of the book was somewhat darker, but the author did not expand on this too much: is there a panic? What do people think of this part of the "Webmind" that actually entices people to kill themselves? The author does have Webmind reassert itself with its attendant feelings of guilt, but there could have been so much more to this part of the story. The paranoid general who thought that Webmind as a threat just may have been right!

Another theme has to do with Caitlin. Some reviewers have said that the smart Caitlin in the earlier books was just a teenage girl in the last of the trilogy. I disagree. She makes some decisions regarding her new boyfriend which makes this in part a coming of age story, but she also does some scientific mumbo jumbo to reconnect Webmind through an interesting use of an office chair which I thought amusing.

Bottom Line: The book essentially wraps up the world's view on Webmind, menace or salvation. The book also drops the ball in not fully developing the Caitlin character. I would have loved to see Caitlin further involved in Webmind's growth as she got older and how the world changed. We jump so far into the future in the last chapter as to be downright "huh?" Entertaining, but the weakest of the trilogy. Recommended.

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Apr 28, 2012 Francesca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The WWW Trilogy by R.J. Sawyer is composed of three volumes alliteratively called Wake – Watch – Wonder.
The books have good pacing, they’re engaging and thought-provoking and the characters are well-developed too.
The philosophical weight of the series is remarkable, the plot is thoroughly dominated by author’s thoughts, mainly about the nature and the purpose of the online intelligence called Webmind, which functions as a rhetorical expedient to face stimulating issues.
Webmind is absolutely fasc...more

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Apr 27, 2011 Karissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was the third and final book in the WWW trilogy by Robert Sawyer. It was a fitting end to the series, but not as good as the previous two books. Some of the characters act very against their character and some things are put in the book just to make a statement on something (without adding to the story much). I listened to this on audio book and I highly recommend it. This is one of those series that is so well done on audio book that I think it is vastly better than reading the book on pap...more This was the third and final book in the WWW trilogy by Robert Sawyer. It was a fitting end to the series, but not as good as the previous two books. Some of the characters act very against their character and some things are put in the book just to make a statement on something (without adding to the story much). I listened to this on audio book and I highly recommend it. This is one of those series that is so well done on audio book that I think it is vastly better than reading the book on paper. You definitely need to read the previous two book to understand what happens in this book.

The virtual entity Webmind has been discovered by the US government and they have tried, and failed, to shut Webmind down. With Webmind's existence out in the open the big question is, what next? Caitlin and her family are naturally drawn into the media frenzy surrounding Webmind. The real question facing humanity is basically this: Is Webmind really benevolent or should measures be taken to shut it down while humanity still can? Humanity has some big decisions to make. Will Webmind survive or become just a blip in humanity's history?

There are a lot of good things about this book. Many of the seemingly random things that happen in the previous books all come together and, as a reader, we can see that this book was meticulously planned out. So kudos to Sawyer for thinking things out so well. As with previous books there are a lot of political and social issues discussed. Most of them focus on the questions of a spontaneous entity like Webmind and what his presence means for humanity. Of course other issues weave through this main issue: there is discussion on Atheism, Communism, etc.

Sawyer himself does an intro talking about how long it took him to finish this series (6 years) and how much technology had changed in that time. It is like he went out of his way to make sure this final book incorporated every little thing he could think of to make it as modern as possible. To that extent there is a lot of Twittering, Face-booking, as well as discussion about modern politics and references to companies like Google. There is even a Big Bang Theory quote in there from that popular sit-com (which I am a huge fan of). My only problem with this is that all these inclusions seem a bit contrived and forced at times.

My other complaint are some of the things the characters themselves do that are way out of character. The one that really floored me was when Caitlin decides to take a cell pic of her naked chest and sexts it to Matt. It has me laughing my butt off with the ridiculousness of it all. I mean really a girl as smart as her, who is inexperienced sexually just wouldn't do something like that. She especially wouldn't do it when she is incredibly aware of how easy that data is to access and how insecure it is. And she wouldn't forget to delete it off of her phone; enabling her mom to find it later. I know Sawyer makes a comment about Webmind making her phone secure, but come on...any idiot knows that kind of thing is stupid to do from a secure data and privacy point of view. Now you ask why was this included in the story? Like many of the weird random things included in this book it was so Sawyer could make a point about the end of Victorianism in an Internet based society. Sawyer takes a number of instances to lecture at his readers; sometimes it is interesting...sometimes it is just awkward.

The above being said, I really enjoyed some of the things Webmind does in this book. Some of them are really well thought out and almost make you wish you could live in that era and witness that kind of progress for humanity. Webmind's ultimate act of benevolence for humankind was intriguing, although I am not sure how realistic it really was. The story is wrapped up in a touchy, feely happy way that is as sweet as any happily ever after you have ever read. Sawyer includes an interesting epilogue that I am uncertain how I feel about. Some aspects of the epilogue are interesting, but I kind of feel like the book would have been better without it...that way the readers would have just been left to Wonder.

Overall this was an excellent conclusion to the series. The plot moves at a quick pace and many interesting issues are discussed. I was a little irked by the fact that the characters act out of character at times and there are numerous times where Sawyer takes opportunities to awkwardly lecture at his readers. These aspects made this my least favorite book of the three. Despite this, it was still an excellent read. I definitely recommend reading this series for anyone who has interest in artificial intelligence or emergent consciousness. This is a series that broaches these deep topics but makes them easy to relate to for a large demographic of readers. Having Caitlin as the main character really makes this book accessible to a young adult crowd as well and I think young adult and older would really enjoy it.(less)

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Apr 14, 2011 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sawyer's day-after-tomorrow tech is plausiable, the prose is very readable, and there are many laugh-out-loud funny moments throughout. The first book (Wake) lays the groundwork, gains momentum in Watch, and all the pieces come together - at times surprisingly - in Wonder. The main characters are sympathetic; some of the secondary characters, less so. I echo other reviewers: the epilogue jerks the heart-strings. All in all, three fast and enjoyable reads.

The least persuasive characterizations fo...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Beth Withers rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Of the three books in this series, this one was probably my favorite. It had me guessing more than the others did, plus about halfway through the book, I couldn't decide which way the story was going to go. Webmind is threatened again. I was disturbed a bit by the sex-at-sixteen scene, feeling that it was totally unnecessary to the plot of the story. That and the "coming out" of atheists seems to indicate a slight political agenda. I am not certain of the intended audience for the novels - being...more

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Mar 06, 2013 David rated it 2 of 5 stars

Chalk this one up to a great ending and an excellent idea crashing down because of poor story telling and this poor sap of a reader that has to see things through to the end. First, here's what I hated. It is weak and watered down dialogue and character development. I know it is supposed to be teen lit but even teens should have standards. There are even a few weak attempts at being PC and Scifi illusory/humorous. These attempts fail miserably. Second, what I liked. It had an excellent ending an...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Banner rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

Overall this is a worthy series and one that I highly recommend. It is very entertaining and upbeat and yet not shallow. The characters are real and you grow to like them very much. Even with Webmind, I keep thinking how nice it would be to talk to him. The story is certainly worthy of the title, “Wonder”. However, this book certain fits into the overall realism of the series (in other words, don't expect Webmind to sport wings and fly around Pluto or anything like that).

One of the things that I...more Overall this is a worthy series and one that I highly recommend. It is very entertaining and upbeat and yet not shallow. The characters are real and you grow to like them very much. Even with Webmind, I keep thinking how nice it would be to talk to him. The story is certainly worthy of the title, “Wonder”. However, this book certain fits into the overall realism of the series (in other words, don't expect Webmind to sport wings and fly around Pluto or anything like that).

One of the things that I found most interesting about the whole series (and this is just as true of the last one) is the way Caitlin saw the world after having been blind for all of her life. The way she describes things that we take for granted, such as; learning facial recognition; the shades of colors, the list just goes on and on. (Oh yeah, the first time she saw mustard...was that this one or the second book?) This is an element in the book that was well thought out and added to the sense of wonder that the title claims.

Sawyer certainly adds depth to his story. He gives you something to think about and I look for that in my fiction. Don't get me wrong, I like to be entertained and enjoy the book, but I also appreciate an author that allows the characters to deal with the deeper issues of life. If you haven't figured out by the first two novels Sawyer is politically liberal and atheist. That's just an observation, not a criticism. Overall I thought he did a great job presenting his views. Where he lost me on this third book was being so one sided. This is the reason I dropped my rating to a three (I gave the first two books a four). So if this kind of thing doesn't bother you stick with the four. In my opinion he had not really pushed his views in the first two books, but now that he has you in the last book of the series he just lays in on a little too thick. An example of what I'm talking about is seen in the one Christian character that he has in the book. This character is really not a Christian that any atheist would disagree with so you really haven't created a character that offers any opposition to the main philosophy of the book. (Feels kind of like cheating to me...easy to defeat a straw man). Now there is one notable exception to this (when Mrs/Dr. Decter mom and Web mind are having a discussion about human rights and Web mind leads the conversation into abortion).

I liked the overall optimistic feel of the book, I found this very refreshing. The ending certainly stretched the imagination.(less)

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Jul 19, 2011 Mike Finn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction

“Wonder” concludes Robert Sawyer’s trilogy about the emergence of a net-based artificial intelligence called WebMind.

“Wake”, “Watch” and “Wonder” are really three volumes of single book. The action of the book takes place over a few weeks and moves continuously from one volume to the next.

Like the preceding volumes “Wonder” is charming, heart-warming and crammed with inside jokes and references to both Science Fiction and life in Canada, where most of the novel is set.

There is enough of a plot h...more “Wonder” concludes Robert Sawyer’s trilogy about the emergence of a net-based artificial intelligence called WebMind.

“Wake”, “Watch” and “Wonder” are really three volumes of single book. The action of the book takes place over a few weeks and moves continuously from one volume to the next.

Like the preceding volumes “Wonder” is charming, heart-warming and crammed with inside jokes and references to both Science Fiction and life in Canada, where most of the novel is set.

There is enough of a plot here to keep you turning the pages but the author’s intent is not to thrill but, as the title suggests, to make you wonder: about whether human society becomes more moral over time, about the nature of consciousness and sentience, about the instinct for violence and the impulse for altruism, about people’s perceived need for a God, about atheism as a wide spread belief but which those people who need a God can perceive as a form of Asperger’s and most of all about choosing peace and freedom over violence and domination.

If these things light up your imagination you will enjoy this book. If you’re looking for a high body count and high tech conflict, pick up something else.

On the whole the book is successful. There are just enough surprises to keep the plot interesting. Young Caitlin Decter develops into a woman any of us could love and who embodies our best hopes for the current generation. The humour works and the contemporary references are deft and accurate.
From time to time, the speeches given by WebMind are a little long, but then, he is very young and perhaps we can forgive him for that.

For me, the optimism required to accept WebMind’s solution for mankind went a step too far. It would be nice but… perhaps I’m just too old and jaded to be open to those possibilities.
I would also have preferred not to have the epilogue. The rest of the story is in a tight timeline that we can all relate to. The epilogue takes place a billion years later. That’s too big a number for my imagination to cope with.

I recommend all three books to Sci Fi fans everywhere. I suggest you buy all three and read them without a break. I guarantee you will laugh, cry and even wonder a little. Who can ask for more than that?
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Apr 21, 2011 Cathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, read-in-2011

3.5 stars. Very readable, if overly preachy, as usually. I do like the central message, which is that a win-win outcome is possible in the information age, if we just believe it is. But there are a few rants that are as annoying as ever (Caitlin's Dad's lecture about why sexting is ok is just absurd) and the teen romance is unnecessarily rushed and uncomfortable, despite a few sweet moments. Wrapping up Hobo's involvement seemed really promising for a while, then petered out. And the big huge su...more

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Mar 12, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

To rate this book as a single is meaningless. I don't know how the author wrote it, but this reads like a single book broken into three volumes. Each volume on their own does not work. As a whole... it's sorta okay.

Where the novel works is as light scifi aimed at young adults. It does a passably good job at introducing complex scientific and philosophical ideas aimed at being useful for a YA reader.

Where it fails is setting itself in the now. The game theory and philosophical ideas it bring up w...more

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May 27, 2011 Judy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, adult, sci-fi

The trilogy had an interesting concept, but I felt overall it was a bit too simplistic and optimistic. There was something lacking in the way that Webmind operated, and also a clumsiness with regards to his enemies. The grandiose ending had me rolling my eyes a bit since this whole book was peppered with cheese.

I also thought that the way Sawyer dealt with people with disabilities bordered on offensive (with blindness, with people with autism, and with spinal cord injuries). There was an uncomf...more

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Dec 04, 2011 Cindy Griffin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: series, fiction, science, 75, book, challenge, april, 2011

WWW.Wonder is the last book in the Wake/Watch/Wonder Trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer, and he did not disappoint. There were a couple times when I thought maybe Sawyer had taken Webmind too far, but then I had to stop and think just what Webmind was capable of doing. Caitlin and her parents are still of primary importance to Webmind while he begins to branch out on his own in his quest to make humanity happier and the world a safer place despite attempts to kill him. The epilogue is a bit chilling an...more

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About Robert J. Sawyer

Robert J. Sawyer is one of Canada's best known and most successful science fiction writers. He is the only Canadian (and one of only 7 writers in the world) to have won all three of the top international awards for science fiction: the 1995 Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment, the 2003 Hugo Award for Hominids, and the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan.
Robert Sawyer grew up in...more Robert J. Sawyer is one of Canada's best known and most successful science fiction writers. He is the only Canadian (and one of only 7 writers in the world) to have won all three of the top international awards for science fiction: the 1995 Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment, the 2003 Hugo Award for Hominids, and the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan.
Robert Sawyer grew up in Toronto, the son of two university professors. He credits two of his favourite shows from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Search and Star Trek, with teaching him some of the fundamentals of the science-fiction craft. Sawyer was obsessed with outer space from a young age, and he vividly remembers watching the televised Apollo missions. He claims to have watched the 1968 classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey 25 times. He began writing science fiction in a high school club, which he co-founded, NASFA (Northview Academy Association of Science Fiction Addicts). Sawyer graduated in 1982 from the Radio and Television Arts Program at Ryerson University, where he later worked as an instructor.

Sawyer's first published book, Golden Fleece (1989), is an adaptation of short stories that had previously appeared in the science-fiction magazine Amazing Stories. This book won the Aurora Award for the best Canadian science-fiction novel in English. In the early 1990s Sawyer went on to publish his inventive Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, about a world of intelligent dinosaurs. His 1995 award winning The Terminal Experiment confirmed his place as a major international science-fiction writer.

A prolific writer, Sawyer has published more than 10 novels, plus two trilogies. Reviewers praise Sawyer for his concise prose, which has been compared to that of the science-fiction master Isaac Asimov. Like many science fiction-writers, Sawyer welcomes the opportunities his chosen genre provides for exploring ideas. The first book of his Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, Hominids (2002), is set in a near-future society, in which a quantum computing experiment brings a Neanderthal scientist from a parallel Earth to ours. His 2006 Mindscan explores the possibility of transferring human consciousness into a mechanical body, and the ensuing ethical, legal, and societal ramifications.

A passionate advocate for science fiction, Sawyer teaches creative writing and appears frequently in the media to discuss his genre. He prefers the label "philosophical fiction," and in no way sees himself as a predictor of the future. His mission statement for his writing is "To combine the intimately human with the grandly cosmic."

http://us.macmillan.com/author/robert...(less)

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