What do you think?
Rate this book
Edward of Planet Earth
At last an uproarious scifi comedy that will have you laughing until your sides ache.
You've never had a hangover like this before! 200 years in the future, Edward Temple, a "uniquely ordinary person" wakes up a human pawn in a super computer's cosmic plan to reveal a universal truth to the world that will change the very nature of our existence. Join the adventure in a world where self-aware super-computers are as argumentative, egotistical, demanding, and emotionally needy as the humans they serve.
Edward and his love interest Amanda are caught up in a zany cat and mouse chase from Earth to the far side of the Moon. Not knowing who they're running from, or even why they are being chased, Edward and Amanda must navigate befuddled governments, psychotic software, greedy corporations, overly attentive robots, and romance.
So buckle up, put your seat backs and tray tables in their upright position. You've never experienced a world quite like this!
You've never had a hangover like this before! 200 years in the future, Edward Temple, a "uniquely ordinary person" wakes up a human pawn in a super computer's cosmic plan to reveal a universal truth to the world that will change the very nature of our existence. Join the adventure in a world where self-aware super-computers are as argumentative, egotistical, demanding, and emotionally needy as the humans they serve.
Edward and his love interest Amanda are caught up in a zany cat and mouse chase from Earth to the far side of the Moon. Not knowing who they're running from, or even why they are being chased, Edward and Amanda must navigate befuddled governments, psychotic software, greedy corporations, overly attentive robots, and romance.
So buckle up, put your seat backs and tray tables in their upright position. You've never experienced a world quite like this!
- GenresScience Fiction
305 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 12, 2011
1 person is currently reading
36 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 12, 2014
I really enjoyed reading this book. This book would be extraordinary with an audio component. Adams' work became more accessible with audio due to the loop-de-loop method of explaining a thought and the implied suddenness of other occurrences: for example, I didnt understand the immortal insulting alien until I heard his role in-character. I think audio would be great for this book.
I liked the places and people Edward met on his journey.
I liked the places and people Edward met on his journey.
January 2, 2014
This book was a recommendation based on my love for the Hitchhiker's Guide "trilogy". It was a perfect recommendation at that. It took a bit to get into the meat of the story, but when I did, I was hooked. It does tend to ramble about a few, seemingly tedious, albeit, interesting things, but that aside it is an amazing read. This is what I hope for in a book. You will not be disappointed.
June 10, 2013
I so seldom have an opportunity to use the word sardonic to describe anything anymore. It gives me a thrill to be able to use it wholeheartedly to describe the humor in Edward of Planet Earth by author Nicholas Eftimiades.
The novel is Douglas Adams influenced Science Fiction with an occasional tip of the hat to Jonathon Swift and Terry Pratchett. There is a plot. Things happen. However, this story is all about the social commentary, asides, and “historical background” provided by the narrative voice and not so much about the actions of the characters. Know this going in and you will probably enjoy this novel. You may even enjoy it immensely. However, if you are the kind of reader who needs a fast-paced storyline with constant action, look elsewhere for your next adventure.
In between the asides, we meet Edward Temple, Everyman of the future, whose life ends up taking an unexpected side trip during a clinical visit to an ailing supercomputer named Mega Brain. A routine human-to-AI link undertaken in Edward’s role as a synthetic life surgeon results in both Edward blacking out and, impossibly, the death of the machine. After he is released from the hospital to a clean bill of health and the continuing mystery of Mega Brain’s demise, the lingering effects of the event push Edward down a path of romance, danger, intrigue, and potential enlightenment.
In Eftimiades’ world of the future, computers have the same rights as human beings. “Synthetic life” has long incorporated the ability to learn, change, and interact in the same way human beings do. Computers have unique personalities, unique names, and the same unique emotional idiosyncrasies as their human counterparts. In this world, computers can be generous, caring, jealous, rebellious, make bad jokes, and search for a higher meaning. Like humans, they are inclined to create god in their own image. Not only that, but some of them have the hubris to believe that they can prove their god’s existence.
Because of his absolute averageness, Edward has been chosen by a group of powerful computers for the unenviable task of being the means toward obtaining this existential truth. He and his newfound lady friend, Amanda, go on the run to meet with each of these powerful computers, guided first by Edward’s dreams and inexplicable behaviors, and then finally, the knowledge of what has been driving him. As the tale progresses, in a moment of delightful dramatic irony, Edward is elevated to the role of prophet by the human religious leaders who have been pursuing him in an attempt to determine exactly what he is up to and whether or not it will disturb their power base and pocket-books.
I truly enjoyed Edward of Planet Earth. It’s the kind of SciFi that keeps me resident in the SciFi camp. Eftimiades (whose credentials on the book’s topics are unimpeachable) uses his comprehensive knowledge of science, politics, and sociocultural phenomena to incisively skewer human foibles and institutions on a grand scale.
My criticisms of the book are minor. First, there were asides that were either tangential to the story at hand or too long for the subject matter. These sections slowed the story down. At times, I found myself wishing the author had skipped the insights and gotten on with it, particularly as the action heated up toward the end.
Second, I found many of the machines to be more interestingly characterized than Edward and Amanda. While neither of the main characters were flat or emotionless, I never managed to feel emotionally connected to them. Fortunately, emotional attachment to the characters is not necessary for the enjoyment of the book; the outcome is an intellectual payoff rather than an emotional one. It ends exactly as it should.
Do I recommend the book? I do. I give it a big thumbs up. At $2.99, it is an inexpensive and enjoyable read. With a word count slightly above 130,000, it will keep you entertained for a long time. Additionally, although the book requires you to think, you’ll be smirking while you do it. It doesn’t require you to work too hard for your fun.
This review was originally written for IndieHeart.com, A Place for Readers. Visit us for more in-depth reviews of Indie books and our five free daily Kindle ebook listings.
The novel is Douglas Adams influenced Science Fiction with an occasional tip of the hat to Jonathon Swift and Terry Pratchett. There is a plot. Things happen. However, this story is all about the social commentary, asides, and “historical background” provided by the narrative voice and not so much about the actions of the characters. Know this going in and you will probably enjoy this novel. You may even enjoy it immensely. However, if you are the kind of reader who needs a fast-paced storyline with constant action, look elsewhere for your next adventure.
In between the asides, we meet Edward Temple, Everyman of the future, whose life ends up taking an unexpected side trip during a clinical visit to an ailing supercomputer named Mega Brain. A routine human-to-AI link undertaken in Edward’s role as a synthetic life surgeon results in both Edward blacking out and, impossibly, the death of the machine. After he is released from the hospital to a clean bill of health and the continuing mystery of Mega Brain’s demise, the lingering effects of the event push Edward down a path of romance, danger, intrigue, and potential enlightenment.
In Eftimiades’ world of the future, computers have the same rights as human beings. “Synthetic life” has long incorporated the ability to learn, change, and interact in the same way human beings do. Computers have unique personalities, unique names, and the same unique emotional idiosyncrasies as their human counterparts. In this world, computers can be generous, caring, jealous, rebellious, make bad jokes, and search for a higher meaning. Like humans, they are inclined to create god in their own image. Not only that, but some of them have the hubris to believe that they can prove their god’s existence.
Because of his absolute averageness, Edward has been chosen by a group of powerful computers for the unenviable task of being the means toward obtaining this existential truth. He and his newfound lady friend, Amanda, go on the run to meet with each of these powerful computers, guided first by Edward’s dreams and inexplicable behaviors, and then finally, the knowledge of what has been driving him. As the tale progresses, in a moment of delightful dramatic irony, Edward is elevated to the role of prophet by the human religious leaders who have been pursuing him in an attempt to determine exactly what he is up to and whether or not it will disturb their power base and pocket-books.
I truly enjoyed Edward of Planet Earth. It’s the kind of SciFi that keeps me resident in the SciFi camp. Eftimiades (whose credentials on the book’s topics are unimpeachable) uses his comprehensive knowledge of science, politics, and sociocultural phenomena to incisively skewer human foibles and institutions on a grand scale.
My criticisms of the book are minor. First, there were asides that were either tangential to the story at hand or too long for the subject matter. These sections slowed the story down. At times, I found myself wishing the author had skipped the insights and gotten on with it, particularly as the action heated up toward the end.
Second, I found many of the machines to be more interestingly characterized than Edward and Amanda. While neither of the main characters were flat or emotionless, I never managed to feel emotionally connected to them. Fortunately, emotional attachment to the characters is not necessary for the enjoyment of the book; the outcome is an intellectual payoff rather than an emotional one. It ends exactly as it should.
Do I recommend the book? I do. I give it a big thumbs up. At $2.99, it is an inexpensive and enjoyable read. With a word count slightly above 130,000, it will keep you entertained for a long time. Additionally, although the book requires you to think, you’ll be smirking while you do it. It doesn’t require you to work too hard for your fun.
This review was originally written for IndieHeart.com, A Place for Readers. Visit us for more in-depth reviews of Indie books and our five free daily Kindle ebook listings.
September 23, 2014
This book reminded me a lot of my favourite author, Doug Adams. We have a brilliant everyman character lost in a world of insane, egotistical supercomputers, The clever thing though is that a lot of the ways this society is run echoes how our society is, and the sci-fi trappings worked to highlight many of the absurdities I find in my day to day existence. The zany world within this book is vividly realised, and full of minor details that made me laugh out loud. The plot is a real thriller, too. This is a book that you'll read in a few sittings. Very compulsive. I want more from this world!
January 4, 2015
I am a high school educator in the sciences. I am lucky enough to have an open-minded group of educators around me and we introduced this e-book to our students as a cross polination of politics and futuristic topics for debate.
After the typical complaints surrounding the vocabulary and thematic difficulties we had some of our best discussions of the quarter using this book. Our best discussion revolved around homes with personalities, talking cell phones, machine made in man's image and the appearance "ghosts" in the machine.
After the typical complaints surrounding the vocabulary and thematic difficulties we had some of our best discussions of the quarter using this book. Our best discussion revolved around homes with personalities, talking cell phones, machine made in man's image and the appearance "ghosts" in the machine.
May 2, 2013
The story is a clever idea - the greatest computers on Earth work together to find a way to talk with God (which they believe is manifest as a kind of computer program carried in the vibrations of the strings that form the fabric of space-time). The Kindle edition I read, however, was in need of a good deal of editing. The first several pages read like a fictional history text, and are about as interesting. Throughout, there are paragraph breaks missing where they clearly should be, like between different speakers. There are long periods of exposition to provide details and history that are almost, but not quite funny. There were more typos than a finished book should have, and the ending falls a bit flat. Still, with a bit of rewriting and editing, this could make for a pretty good book.
December 4, 2015
"Edward of Planet Earth" is without question the funniest piece of science-fiction I have ever read. I adore this author's writing style, his snarky sense of humor, and his social commentary. The best part of this book, however, were the wonderful characters. Amanda and Edward were both interesting and unlike any couple I have ever read and the secondary characters were also outrageously hilarious. If you enjoy transgressive fiction or are just looking for a good laugh, you absolutely need to give this book a read.
May 9, 2013
A light-hearted read, clearly influenced by Douglas Adams and his writing style. My biggest problem was that the author would often go off on unrelated tangents. At first I found them interesting and felt they helped develop the background of the story, but by the halfway point I just wanted the tangents to end so we could get back to the main theme. Overall, though, it was a cute, quirky read. A few typos and mistakes missed by the editors, but not nearly as bad as some Kindle books.
March 2, 2015
I'm so used to dark, kind of post-apocalyptic sci-fi novels that I almost forgot it was possible to enjoy a more light-hearted, funny futuristic one. It's definitely very witty, and the author really has a way of telling stories that urges the readers to continue on. It's also very easy to connect with the characters and the story, even though it takes place 200 years in the future. I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to checking out more by this author.
July 9, 2013
The book was fun to read and left a very amusing view of what the future holds. The concept and story was original but the storytelling itself was faulty at times.
December 5, 2012
Cute. Tries to evoke Douglas Adams with somewhat-absurd asides; they're hit or miss. Overall paints a reasonably compelling picture of a future world of sentient AIs.
July 17, 2013
Could not finish.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews