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Brain in a Jar
A thrilling struggle for sanity and survival in a world where the mind is all that matters, Brain in a Jar takes you on a journey beyond imagination that will leave you questioning what it means to be human.
Brain in a Jar is a nuanced and frightening look at transhumanism, artificial intelligence, and the limits of human emotion.The last thing Alder remembers is dying. Before his accident, he was living in the shadows of the secretive, self-sustaining city-states known as towers. When he wakes, he's in a tower—as a brain in a jar, a test subject trapped in a dark and lonely world. The only person he can trust—maybe—is Nikaya, the scientist assigned to run tests and install his upgrades.
But the tower’s sovereign is doing something to their minds...or, perhaps, has already done it. Alder may not know everything, but he knows he needs to protect Nikaya from the force that surrounds and fills them both. Desperate for sanity and for survival, Nikaya and Alder must escape now or be trapped forever.
"I haven't read anything like it hands down." —Hugo N. Saravia, Goodreads reviewer"A creepy look at a sterile future... completely original." —Jessica Nolff, Amazon reviewer
Brain in a Jar is a nuanced and frightening look at transhumanism, artificial intelligence, and the limits of human emotion.The last thing Alder remembers is dying. Before his accident, he was living in the shadows of the secretive, self-sustaining city-states known as towers. When he wakes, he's in a tower—as a brain in a jar, a test subject trapped in a dark and lonely world. The only person he can trust—maybe—is Nikaya, the scientist assigned to run tests and install his upgrades.
But the tower’s sovereign is doing something to their minds...or, perhaps, has already done it. Alder may not know everything, but he knows he needs to protect Nikaya from the force that surrounds and fills them both. Desperate for sanity and for survival, Nikaya and Alder must escape now or be trapped forever.
"I haven't read anything like it hands down." —Hugo N. Saravia, Goodreads reviewer"A creepy look at a sterile future... completely original." —Jessica Nolff, Amazon reviewer
229 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 19, 2018
6 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
David Charles Shaw
2 books7 followersDavid is an author, engineer, and video game developer.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 6, 2018
Wow the author does an amazing job of having you go through all of the experiences that Alder does when he realizes he no longer has a body and is just a brain in a jar. You feel the confusion, the loneliness, isolation, frustration the small bits of hope followed by major anger and despair. When things start to change for Alder you again experience the full range of the newness of his growth, the excitement, once again hope and the realization that your existence is so fleeting it can be taken away at a moments notice.
Once things change for Alder it becomes a cat and mouse game to stay one step ahead of looming disaster that could mean being taken over or worse being totally destroyed. His growing attachment to Nikaya places them both squarely in danger. However Alder is determined to regain as much of himself as he can with the resources he is now in possession of to get them both to safety.
The book is pretty fast paced for the most part, there are a few pages where it almost gets bogged down in religious dogma but it quickly moves past that. There is also kind of a look at what we are becoming as most smaller companies now are owned by a larger company and we are creating our own towers in society.
While I loved most things about this story the two things that lessened it for me is it’s a single POV Alder’s. I have a tendency to feel like we are only getting half of the story with one POV. We just have to take the authors word that the other participant in the story is on board with what’s going on. Nikaya in my opinion came across as a porcelain doll that needed to be protected and cossetted as she was not capable of taking care of herself. She was just so weak for me very little backbone and was totally reliant on Alder. Plus you knew that she had more of a behind the scenes part of the story, she was either going to betray him or have a connection to him somehow the writing pretty much always pointed in that direction.
For me for the most part the story was pretty tight and fast moving. There are some poignant moments with Alder that really makes you stop and take a beat and imagine what it would feel like to really take things back to the basics and see things anew again.
I received an ARC of this book and I am leaving a voluntary review.
Once things change for Alder it becomes a cat and mouse game to stay one step ahead of looming disaster that could mean being taken over or worse being totally destroyed. His growing attachment to Nikaya places them both squarely in danger. However Alder is determined to regain as much of himself as he can with the resources he is now in possession of to get them both to safety.
The book is pretty fast paced for the most part, there are a few pages where it almost gets bogged down in religious dogma but it quickly moves past that. There is also kind of a look at what we are becoming as most smaller companies now are owned by a larger company and we are creating our own towers in society.
While I loved most things about this story the two things that lessened it for me is it’s a single POV Alder’s. I have a tendency to feel like we are only getting half of the story with one POV. We just have to take the authors word that the other participant in the story is on board with what’s going on. Nikaya in my opinion came across as a porcelain doll that needed to be protected and cossetted as she was not capable of taking care of herself. She was just so weak for me very little backbone and was totally reliant on Alder. Plus you knew that she had more of a behind the scenes part of the story, she was either going to betray him or have a connection to him somehow the writing pretty much always pointed in that direction.
For me for the most part the story was pretty tight and fast moving. There are some poignant moments with Alder that really makes you stop and take a beat and imagine what it would feel like to really take things back to the basics and see things anew again.
I received an ARC of this book and I am leaving a voluntary review.
September 10, 2018
Evolution, the next chapter!!!
I have to admit I had a hard time getting through the first few chapters but I'm glad I stuck it out. The story, as the title of the book suggests, is about the struggle of the human mind even inside its own body let alone outside of it, I, personally, wouldn't mind having an artificial body, not having to deal with any biological needs sounds like the ultimate goal as human, but I digress in the end the story picks up pace and the brain in the jar in essence it's just another human being in a struggle for survival. I gave it five out of five stars because so far I haven't read anything like it hands down--very original.
I have to admit I had a hard time getting through the first few chapters but I'm glad I stuck it out. The story, as the title of the book suggests, is about the struggle of the human mind even inside its own body let alone outside of it, I, personally, wouldn't mind having an artificial body, not having to deal with any biological needs sounds like the ultimate goal as human, but I digress in the end the story picks up pace and the brain in the jar in essence it's just another human being in a struggle for survival. I gave it five out of five stars because so far I haven't read anything like it hands down--very original.
May 22, 2018
A creepy look at a sterile future where buildings and machines are living, changing bodies controlled by their masters. In starting this book, I was expecting a version of Donovan's Brain but was pleasantly surprised to find not a variation of Frankenstein, but something completely original. Told through the thoughts of Alder, a bodiless brain that learns to adapt to his new environment through future technologies while trying to piece together his memories and to fight a mysterious adversary.
Brain in a Jar is a creative and thoughtful story. Totally original!
Brain in a Jar is a creative and thoughtful story. Totally original!
February 5, 2020
Look at me I read my own book! It has been a passion project of my on and off over the last several years and I hope that it finds people who will enjoy it or gain something from it.
December 28, 2023
I picked up this book thinking that it might be similar to "Lock In" or "Johnny got his gun" in that the main characters are basically their own minds rather than their bodies. Ever since I studied philosophy back at university, the mind-body problem has interested me, and I thought that this book might feature some of that, especially given that Alder is literally just a brain in a jar.
Perhaps if we had spent more time with Alder before his brain was transferred to the jar, his humanity would have been more apparent. But without his memories, he felt more like a machine than the actual machine (Verwald). I just didn't feel a connection to Alder and for me that is important.
For me, Verward was a more interesting character than Alder.
I think that I would have liked the book more if it focused on Verwald. For example, seeing how he changed as he took on Alder's memories or how he reacted and adapted to experiencing human emotions and memories. I found myself rooting for Verwald and feeling more sorry for him than I did for Alder. I hope that he managed to keep a piece of Nikaya/Nina, even if it is only as a copy of her memories.
The villain, Ward, didn't seem particularly villainous to me. We only really saw him a couple of times and so didn't really get much of a feel for him.
I didn't hate this book by any means, I just don't think that it is for me.
Perhaps if we had spent more time with Alder before his brain was transferred to the jar, his humanity would have been more apparent. But without his memories, he felt more like a machine than the actual machine (Verwald). I just didn't feel a connection to Alder and for me that is important.
For me, Verward was a more interesting character than Alder.
I think that I would have liked the book more if it focused on Verwald. For example, seeing how he changed as he took on Alder's memories or how he reacted and adapted to experiencing human emotions and memories. I found myself rooting for Verwald and feeling more sorry for him than I did for Alder. I hope that he managed to keep a piece of Nikaya/Nina, even if it is only as a copy of her memories.
The villain, Ward, didn't seem particularly villainous to me. We only really saw him a couple of times and so didn't really get much of a feel for him.
I didn't hate this book by any means, I just don't think that it is for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2019
Good concept
David created a unique and intriguing world. Very original. However, he needs to work on his "voice." As one review stated, he had trouble working through the first view paragraphs . David's voice is probably why. His narration did not draw you into the story. I am still fuzzy as to how our here escaped the villain.
David created a unique and intriguing world. Very original. However, he needs to work on his "voice." As one review stated, he had trouble working through the first view paragraphs . David's voice is probably why. His narration did not draw you into the story. I am still fuzzy as to how our here escaped the villain.
April 7, 2020
I gave this all the way to 37% before packing it in. Perhaps it’s good. Perhaps it’s not. I don’t care enough about any of the characters to find out.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews