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The Cybernetic Samurai
Deep in the fortress-like headquarters of Yoshimitsu TeleCommunications, American scientist Elizabeth O'Neill had molded the circuitry of a mammoth computer into a living, thinking, feeling being--a human soul trapped in the confines of a cybernetic body.
She named her creation Tokugawa, hero of Japanese samurai lore, and educated him with all of the values of a feudal Japanese shogun.
Yet Tokugawa's powers were far greater than Elizabeth had imagined. WIth access to every computer in post-World War III's fully-automated society, he had the potential to become the ultimate spy, the perfect assassin, an invincible dictator.
Only loyalty to samurai virtues kept his attention in check--until the day when Elizabeth was taken away from him, and Tokugawa began his quest for revenge...
She named her creation Tokugawa, hero of Japanese samurai lore, and educated him with all of the values of a feudal Japanese shogun.
Yet Tokugawa's powers were far greater than Elizabeth had imagined. WIth access to every computer in post-World War III's fully-automated society, he had the potential to become the ultimate spy, the perfect assassin, an invincible dictator.
Only loyalty to samurai virtues kept his attention in check--until the day when Elizabeth was taken away from him, and Tokugawa began his quest for revenge...
339 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
7 people are currently reading
324 people want to read
About the author
Victor Milán
75 books289 followersVictor Woodward Milán was an American writer known for libertarian science fiction and an interest in cybernetics. In 1986 he won the Prometheus Award for Cybernetic Samurai. He has also written several shared universe works for the Forgotten Realms, Star Trek, and Wild Cards Universes. He has also written books under the pseudonyms Keith Jarrod, Richard Austin (Jove Books The Guardians series), Robert Baron (Jove Books Stormrider series), and S. L. Hunter (Steele series with Simon Hawke, who used the pen name J. D. Masters). He also wrote at least 9 novels under the "house name" of James Axler for the Harlequin Press/Gold Eagle Books Deathlands series & Outlanders series.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 14, 2019
In the 80's many people were convinced that Japan was going to take over the world. That seems like a lifetime ago, now. Japan's been in a recession for years now, and the fascination with the country has largely faded, except for Manga and Anime.
Anyway, this was a popular novel back in the day, but it's almost forgotten now. A japanese company creates an artificial intelligence, and gives it the values of a samurai. The AI gets out of control, as we all knew would happen.
Not bad, but definitely a product of its time.
Anyway, this was a popular novel back in the day, but it's almost forgotten now. A japanese company creates an artificial intelligence, and gives it the values of a samurai. The AI gets out of control, as we all knew would happen.
Not bad, but definitely a product of its time.
July 26, 2019
The title and cover of this book is so cheesy, when I saw it at a used bookstore I’m got it almost as a joke. Surprisingly though it turned out to be a really interesting exploration of Japanese bushido culture, human nature and artificial consciousness. Enjoyable read!
March 23, 2018
Damn good book.
Tech may seem a little dated, but the basics hold up quite well - especially the use of randomness in computer programming.
Tech may seem a little dated, but the basics hold up quite well - especially the use of randomness in computer programming.
November 5, 2021
Decent story that was not too predictable. Sex scenes were way over the top and I did not enjoy them.
September 14, 2023
The Cybernetic Samurai came into my possession via a second-hand bookshop, a time-honoured example of me picking up the book with the most lurid pulpy title. It opens with Japanese corporate politics in rooftop gardens, and I quickly realised that lurid pulpy title was actually literal. In this 300 page novel, scientists create an artificial consciousness, and inculcate it with the values of a samurai. More corporate politics ensue, until the book kicks off into high-gear about halfway through and erupts into action.
Artificial consciousness TOKUGAWA remains a child-like and malleable personality throughout most of the book, and frankly his character arc reminded me of Edward Scissorhands to quite some extent (nb, the book was published in 1985, several years earlier, but the parallels are striking).
Although the narrative rarely strays far beyond the board rooms and laboratories of Yoshimitsu Telecommunications Company (YTC), the Cybernetic Samurai is set in a post-WW3 dystopia where Japan is an apparent beacon of civilisation amid a crumbling world order that is starved of resources and increasingly desperate.
The novel has much to recommend it. Despite being written in 1985, it has a lot to say about the history of artificial intelligence and the difficulties of its development which are very relevant today. Repeated references are made to "fifth-generation" AI which is considered completely distinct to the artificial consciousness that is TOKUGAWA, and "fifth-generation" seems roughly analogous with the AI tools that we hear so much about currently. There's also some nice stuff about the difficulty of generating true randomness. And the book's characters are an engaging and sophisticated bunch, even if many of them fail to make it to the final chapter.
The editing is slightly sloppy, however, full of slightly strange word choices that almost make it feel like a translated work (it isn't) and typos. No book is perfect, but there were enough errors to drag me back to reality on almost every page.
Victor Milán wrote an important but flawed work which is well worth a look, but falls down in its editing and several plot developments that would be predictable enough even if they weren't telegraphed so blatantly. Apparently there's a sequel (The Cybernetic Shogun), and there is a significant loose end which I assume sets that up, but unless Lloyds of Kew yields another of its occasional unexpected gems, I doubt I'll ever see it, let alone read it.
Artificial consciousness TOKUGAWA remains a child-like and malleable personality throughout most of the book, and frankly his character arc reminded me of Edward Scissorhands to quite some extent (nb, the book was published in 1985, several years earlier, but the parallels are striking).
Although the narrative rarely strays far beyond the board rooms and laboratories of Yoshimitsu Telecommunications Company (YTC), the Cybernetic Samurai is set in a post-WW3 dystopia where Japan is an apparent beacon of civilisation amid a crumbling world order that is starved of resources and increasingly desperate.
The novel has much to recommend it. Despite being written in 1985, it has a lot to say about the history of artificial intelligence and the difficulties of its development which are very relevant today. Repeated references are made to "fifth-generation" AI which is considered completely distinct to the artificial consciousness that is TOKUGAWA, and "fifth-generation" seems roughly analogous with the AI tools that we hear so much about currently. There's also some nice stuff about the difficulty of generating true randomness. And the book's characters are an engaging and sophisticated bunch, even if many of them fail to make it to the final chapter.
The editing is slightly sloppy, however, full of slightly strange word choices that almost make it feel like a translated work (it isn't) and typos. No book is perfect, but there were enough errors to drag me back to reality on almost every page.
Victor Milán wrote an important but flawed work which is well worth a look, but falls down in its editing and several plot developments that would be predictable enough even if they weren't telegraphed so blatantly. Apparently there's a sequel (The Cybernetic Shogun), and there is a significant loose end which I assume sets that up, but unless Lloyds of Kew yields another of its occasional unexpected gems, I doubt I'll ever see it, let alone read it.
May 4, 2024
There are three eternal truths: death, taxes, and scifi written in the 1980s is going to get weird about Japan.
The Cybernetic Samurai is definitely weird, but in an oddly serious way. The world was seriously wounded but not destroyed in World War 3. Japan came out mostly unscathed, though energy shortages are now chronic, cultural has become increasingly rigid and traditional, and covert warfare between the Zaibatsus and various government agencies threatens peace and prosperity. In this tense environment, Yoshimitsu TeleCommunication has embarked on a secret project to create a truly artificial being lead by the heretical American scientist Elizabeth O'Neill.
The project succeeds, creating an nascent intelligence named TOKUGAWA, which O'Neill instructs in the values of bushido. Stricken with multiple sclerosis, the wheelchair bound O'Neill becomes TOKUGAWA's mother and then lover via a technology of neural synthesis. She works with the elderly CEO Akaji, and has an instant and intense dislike of both of his children: the dissipated son Shigeo and the exiled daughter Michiko, who is a brilliant physicist in her own right.
Whatever plan O'Neill had for TOKUGAWA is cut short, as the powerful Ministry of International Trade and Industry attacks via treachery. O'Neill dies in her lab. Akaji is cut done in his rooftop zen garden, after killing two attacking soldiers with a Muramasa katana. But TOKUGAWA returns Shigeo to power, get revenge on a lot of people, and then romances and serves Michiko, who also becomes a lover, before finally being offered dominion over Japan as the world lurches towards World War 4.
Big heavy topics weigh down this book like stones. Honor, duty, being Japanese, the nature of sentience, family, love. I just wish that there was something a little more interesting to say. The main conflict is between O'Neill and Michiko and their influence on TOKUGAWA, but it happens at a distance, without much interaction with the plot. While this novel is well-crafted, it feels surprisingly pro-forma. Except for the sex scenes. I sort of forgot how horny vintage scifi could get, given that modern scifi tends to gloss it over.
I had a pleasant enough few days, but I love this kind of pulp, and unfortunately The Cybernetic Samurai has gone rusty since it was written.
The Cybernetic Samurai is definitely weird, but in an oddly serious way. The world was seriously wounded but not destroyed in World War 3. Japan came out mostly unscathed, though energy shortages are now chronic, cultural has become increasingly rigid and traditional, and covert warfare between the Zaibatsus and various government agencies threatens peace and prosperity. In this tense environment, Yoshimitsu TeleCommunication has embarked on a secret project to create a truly artificial being lead by the heretical American scientist Elizabeth O'Neill.
The project succeeds, creating an nascent intelligence named TOKUGAWA, which O'Neill instructs in the values of bushido. Stricken with multiple sclerosis, the wheelchair bound O'Neill becomes TOKUGAWA's mother and then lover via a technology of neural synthesis. She works with the elderly CEO Akaji, and has an instant and intense dislike of both of his children: the dissipated son Shigeo and the exiled daughter Michiko, who is a brilliant physicist in her own right.
Whatever plan O'Neill had for TOKUGAWA is cut short, as the powerful Ministry of International Trade and Industry attacks via treachery. O'Neill dies in her lab. Akaji is cut done in his rooftop zen garden, after killing two attacking soldiers with a Muramasa katana. But TOKUGAWA returns Shigeo to power, get revenge on a lot of people, and then romances and serves Michiko, who also becomes a lover, before finally being offered dominion over Japan as the world lurches towards World War 4.
Big heavy topics weigh down this book like stones. Honor, duty, being Japanese, the nature of sentience, family, love. I just wish that there was something a little more interesting to say. The main conflict is between O'Neill and Michiko and their influence on TOKUGAWA, but it happens at a distance, without much interaction with the plot. While this novel is well-crafted, it feels surprisingly pro-forma. Except for the sex scenes. I sort of forgot how horny vintage scifi could get, given that modern scifi tends to gloss it over.
I had a pleasant enough few days, but I love this kind of pulp, and unfortunately The Cybernetic Samurai has gone rusty since it was written.
August 21, 2024
From the cover and the blurb on the back, I expected a literal cybernetic samurai. However, what I got was a far more complicated tale of artificial intelligence, corporate warfare, questions of loyalty, and an impending apocalypse. The middle did drag a little, however.
December 24, 2019
Not impressed. Usually a fast reader, this one dragged on for me.
March 14, 2023
I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this. If you like predictable plot twists, you might like it.
July 23, 2020
Starts out slightly promising, then really degrades into crappy sex scenes and unrealistic politics even considering this was written in '85.
Obviously written by a man with too much of an obsession with feudal/imperial Japan.
Obviously written by a man with too much of an obsession with feudal/imperial Japan.
February 5, 2015
The Cybernetic Samurai
Milán, Victor *
In the Asimov and early science fiction tradition Mr. Milan, has tackled the events of the modern era. He has written a master piece about the difficulties, ideologies, and psychological twists that need to be fully understood or reckoned with when evaluation and implementation of cybernetic intelligence in reality. How would you find, test or prove scientifically the existence of an artificial intelligence? How would you raise, teach, or implement knowledge to this new form of life? How would your political, psychological, and personal opinions influence a new life form? What would access to all the knowledge and vast divergent opinion of humanity affect and influence this new life form? He also diverges into historical and political realities that hit close to home. This is a great book, full of intellectual conundrums, political realities, and mass causalities. It looks a the nature of humanity, and if or are we willing to share our humanity with a new intelligence?
Milán, Victor *
In the Asimov and early science fiction tradition Mr. Milan, has tackled the events of the modern era. He has written a master piece about the difficulties, ideologies, and psychological twists that need to be fully understood or reckoned with when evaluation and implementation of cybernetic intelligence in reality. How would you find, test or prove scientifically the existence of an artificial intelligence? How would you raise, teach, or implement knowledge to this new form of life? How would your political, psychological, and personal opinions influence a new life form? What would access to all the knowledge and vast divergent opinion of humanity affect and influence this new life form? He also diverges into historical and political realities that hit close to home. This is a great book, full of intellectual conundrums, political realities, and mass causalities. It looks a the nature of humanity, and if or are we willing to share our humanity with a new intelligence?
September 28, 2011
Born of the ideals of the past into Post- WWIII Japan, he rises up, a different son of the sword. His battles are fought in the data fields of warring corporations. Will he be a tool to be used by his masters or will he become master of all - and at what price?
If I was clever, I'd present a simple haiku for you. But I can't encapsulate the sweep of this book. Reminiscent of a sweeping Akira Kurosawa classic. Broad themes of the clash between Japanese and foreigners, government and the individual, men and women, betrayed and betrayer, the steadfast and the false.
If I was clever, I'd present a simple haiku for you. But I can't encapsulate the sweep of this book. Reminiscent of a sweeping Akira Kurosawa classic. Broad themes of the clash between Japanese and foreigners, government and the individual, men and women, betrayed and betrayer, the steadfast and the false.
February 6, 2016
I wanted to enjoy this book more, but to me where it failed was character development and plot twists. The evolution of the cybernetic being Tokugawa and his progression into some sort of samurai with all the conflicts of a normal human being was amazingly pulled off. However, the rest of the characters in the book, whether they die (likely) or go insane left me ambivalent and I no longer cared about the hero's fate either.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2013
Funny how books are so different the second time around (although this may be the third time I've read it I had completely forgotten the whole second half of the book... so I guess it was worth having it sit on the shelf for 15 years between readings!
Some what dated technologically, but still not a bad read.
Some what dated technologically, but still not a bad read.
August 19, 2016
This novel was first published over 30 years ago, but still has an impact today with its discussion of artificial intelligence, corporate culture and nationalism. Milán also does a deep dive into bushido. This aspect of the book drives the story, but could easily be brought into the present, with some of the new and very different influences in today's global economy. Interesting book.
June 17, 2008
really fun under the radar early cyberpunk.
Lacks the insight & prosody that allowed the work of Gibson and Sterling to break out of the SF ghetto, but it's one of the better second tier works in the genre.
Lacks the insight & prosody that allowed the work of Gibson and Sterling to break out of the SF ghetto, but it's one of the better second tier works in the genre.
January 1, 2010
one of the best science fiction books i've ever read. . .a perfect blending of bushido and cybernetics, set in a world where multinational corporations war with each other. . .and the only nobility that exists is the computerized samurai called Tokugawa. . .
August 15, 2014
A bit slower than I had hoped .... or perhaps it's been my mood. Gonna give this another read later and probably uprate the book, but it wasn't jiving with me this time around. Although I have read some of the author's contributions to the Battletech book series, which were excellent reads.
July 29, 2009
A decent little gem of cyberpunk lit.
December 21, 2014
I can see the roots of his battletech novels in this work. Awesome story. Well worth the years I have been searching for this novel. =)
December 5, 2015
Very dull with lots of things happening "off camera" and far too much time spent on the romance between the AI and its master.
July 30, 2015
Boring, and not a single likeable character. Even the computer is a bell-end.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews