First of all, thanks Netgalley for the advanced copy.
In the Shadow of Humanity sure has an amazing concept. The execution is perfect. Such a page turner and totally furturistic

This book is written by an author who has a clear understanding of the direction in which humanity is taking itself. Many of the questions posed in this book would have felt purely academic only a decade ago, but now have the feel of very practical questions; ones that we as a people are going to need to answer very soon.

The described future feels (for the most part) very reasonable, and technology is not hand-waved but explained in clear terms which will be familiar to those in the tech world but should be very digestible to anyone with an interest in where artificial intelligence is headed.

N. John Williams explores this world from multiple perspectives, shining a light on many of the thought-provoking ramifications of life spent in the metaverse, both as a visitor and as a native.

There were times I felt that pacing and character integrity were sacrificed in favor of plot or drama, which stood out to me in a book that was for the most part a very enjoyable slow-burn, character-driven story. Aside from those isolated cases though, the story advanced organically and in a compelling way.

In general I would highly recommend this book to any fans of the genre and will be eagerly looking forward to more from the author.

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 4/5 Characters: 4/5

What it means to be human is the theme driving this story of two brothers — one alive and one long dead (but faithfully rendered as an AI in the metaverse and allowed to age) — who each long for the other’s existence. One longs for the immortality and eternal healthy youth while the other longs for the rights and respect kept from him by dint of not being fully human despite his ability to think, feel, create, and perceive pain.

This is technology driven science fiction — my favorite kind, reminiscent of the “old days.” It made me realize how much better this kind of SF is when written by an author with actual experience in the technical areas s/he is extrapolating from. In this case, the author is well versed in Computer Science, Linguistics, and Artificial Intelligence, and it shows in his fully fleshed out cultures evolving from a thoroughly described metaverse (the metaverse is the blending of physical and virtual worlds, not to be confused with the multiverse which is the theoretical existence of multiple physical universes). There are power struggles (the Administration powered by Technologists; transhumanist activists; and an evolving superintelligence) with equal word count given to the abundant (and to me more interesting) ethical / political issues.

I’ve thought about the ending for some time -- I’m not sure I like the conclusion but I do think I understand it, and it was quite thought provoking (a top criterion for me). One of the better SF books I’ve read in the past few years.

I loved this book. The title and blurb drew me right in and the themes are fascinating to me. I loved its take on sci-fi and AI, but this book had so many more layers, which made the story very interesting.

The worldbuilding was pretty good and believable, I liked it. The narrative is very elaborate and deep and I had a great time analysing this book. I enjoyed the politics, the philosophical and psychological aspect, the discussion about ethics and the imagery. The writing was nice and did a good job conveying the story.

I loved the family drama and the relationship between the brothers (one of my favorite tropes). They felt very human and I love the characters. The plot was slow, and it's more of a character-driven story, but it was alright and I liked the way it was executed. The conflicts were described so well.

In the Shadow of Humanity is a quiet, thoughtful book, focused more on themes than action, and to me it was a really nice, enjoyable and interesting read. If any of the characteristics I mentioned appealed to you, then I definitely recommend reading this book.

Super interesting book with thoughtful world building and pretty believable characters. Overall, highly recommended if you value ingenuity and creativity over flash and action (though it has a bit of those, too).

There are a lot of layers to this book. There’s an internal psychological layer, a family relational layer, a social political layer, a technological layer, a philosophical layer, and maybe others. The internal psychological is the primary, woven into a larger context that has many moving pieces. I loved the complexity of it, and how the different layers interacted and enhanced each other.

Pros:
1. Interesting science and world building elements that seemed tied to reality but also stretched.
2. Good cast of characters. Even some of the side characters are great. Alan made me laugh and almost cry.
3. Wide range of emotions. Intense interpersonal conflict.
4. Fascinating ethical and philosophical discussions that made sense to be happening in the story.
5. Adept use of language and imagery.
6. Imaginative elements that seemed very original.

Cons:
1. Some of the philosophical discussions were a bit long. But they were interesting so it wasn’t horrible.
2. The trajectory of the story was a little hard to trace. Nat’s immediate goals seemed to change, in some ways almost starting over a few times. This could be a bit like real life, but also made it a little hard to track his progress.
3. Style was a little on the verbose side.
4. Unfolding of the story was a little slow at first.

If you like thoughtful scifi, you must read this. Don’t be put off by a slow start. This story builds steam continuously all the way to the end. It’s also the kind of story you find yourself thinking about afterward. And it would be a fun book to discuss with friends.

It is an interesting book because it mixes virtual and real but also different human statuses.
A replacement status is thus attributed to copies of deceased relatives.
Good idea but when the need disappears with the concerned relatives, the status of this quasi person is strongly degraded.
I couldn't go any further because of the psychological impossibility of such decisions for entities/persons that were in practice human.
The author must take into account human feelings to write about future society

I thoroughly enjoyed this book for a few reasons. It’s about a future Earth where people live in the metaverse. A mixture of humans, projections of passed humans, and non humans intelligences means there’s bound to be conflict over what it means to be human and to be real.

I’m torn between four and five stars so I’ll round up.

TW: brief implications of rape, suicide

THINGS I LIKED:
-the pacing was pleasant. Nothing felt drawn out, over explained, or unnecessary. It was in no way an explosive scifi story but that’s okay.
-some of the people sucked but in a way that made this story feel like it could happen in a future of earth. The people and actions were very realistic.
-I don’t mind when stuff is explicitly explained. Sometimes I think that fits the story and it was done well up front to set the stage for the story. You weren’t meant to have to figure out what everything was like in some stories because the point was the characters not the technical stuff.

WHAT I DIDN’T LOVE:
-I prefer stories I like to be secular, especially sci-fi books. This did have, what felt to me, a disjointed inclusion of Christianity at times that I didn’t particularly like. It did fit some of the characters so I guess that’s what matters. I would have preferred the story without it. I think the story would have still been just as good without it.

Overall I would recommend this book to friends looking for recommendations. Sometimes it’s nice to have a sci-fi book that isn’t just about the futuristic craziness of it all.

This book follows the adventures and inner hopes and anxieties of Nat Lee, an AI Shade (shadow) living in the Metaverse. He is at odds with many entities, including his brother Jon, a formidable tech company and society, as he struggles with his desire to be human.

The CONS:
It takes a substantial amount of time for this book to get compelling. It was a struggle working my way through the first 20 percent of this book. The author goes into incredible detail in the minutiae of the tech world and features uninteresting conversations that add further exposition without meaningfully advancing the plot. The first 5 or 6 chapters we were primarily worried about whether or not Nat would get a tech job. We learn a about his relationship with his brother and we do learn about the world, but learning things is not the same as being entertained or caring about what happens next. Exposition desperately needs to be cut throughout the entire book. Dialogue needs to be cut as well and refocused. Conversations don’t just need to feel real, they need to connect with the reader, to give us insight into the characters hopes and fears and to advance the story.
Many (maybe even every scene) dragged on far too long. Many points were hit multiple times. And many things were over-explained. Overall the plot and story felt disjointed, and the ending felt rushed and wasn’t as satisfying as I would have liked. But it was better than I had expected going in.

The PROS:
If the reader sticks it out past the first 20 percent of the book. It does get better. And I’d say it only keeps getting better. The issues I discussed above continue, BUT, the plot is advanced and there is quite a bit of action, adventure and meaningful insightful discussions. There are sweet moments, excitement, fear… a wide range.

There are a lot of really fun and interesting details unique to the Metaverse and to this time in the future. There are amazing visuals and concepts explored and the author is exceptionally creative. The author knows their stuff. They just need to learn how to translate their knowledge in a more entertaining way.

Sophia and The bear were wonderful characters. I liked Ivy as a love interest as well.

The Bear said many insightful things, a couple I even highlighted. His character could have been a bit more consistent however, and he still suffered from over explaining. While I enjoyed this scene, it went on for far too long, watering down the impact of his part and his words.

I liked the conflict with Sophia and Karz, and the imagery of Sophia’s angels… there were so many things to like.

But ultimately, the story is the most important part. And the story got lost in the details.


OVERALL:
This book has a lot of potential. I think the world is very interesting and the ethical conflicts are quite compelling. The story elements are there, they just need to take priority over exposition.

I know the author will continue to write and I look forward to their next work. This is a fascinating topic and having an expert at the helm is a good thing!