Colossus is a multiverse SF novel for adults exploring topics of sentient AI, science implemented before ramifications are even remotely thought out and space travel gone wrong.
I feel like this could have been a strong novel (or set of novels, since there is really 3 parts) - but iI didn't really enjoy it and it was definitely missing something for me.
The characterisation might have been part of my issue with the book. Clay was pretty boring, and I have a big pet peeve about large-age gap relationships. The "Lolita" trope makes me very uncomfortable, and certainly didn't make me like Clay better or sympathise with him, I was just annoyed at him. Women is this work were all very unstable, either mad, lolitas or total pixi-dream-girls.
The relationships between the characters of this book were extremely antagonistic throughout, with very little relationship building. The friendships or connection moments were only ever written in flashbacks and everyone felt very siloed, which was weird.
The writing style is smooth, but didn't really build tension up, which surprised me as I was expecting more of a SF horror from the blurb. I think the novel might have needed an edit to reduce unnecessarily long sections and keep a better pace.
So not sure who I recommend this book to - it wasn't bad, but I would have certainly preferred another emotional anchor and tighter storytelling.

When I started this book I was reading it really quickly and was sucked in by the story and the world and really liked Clay and Justine but because I was reading it quickly I got a bit lost in the ‘part two’ and was losing interest, I went back and started again and took it slowly, I really liked this story and thought it could have been really good but it got lost somewhere in the last 3rd of the book.

Thank you for my copy from NetGalley.

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the writing and the story was not quite what I was expecting in the best of ways. I will say I do not know the science involved here at all, but the author wrote it in such a way that I understood what was going on and it seemed to all work. Sometimes with sci-fi, or other stories involving heavy science I am not familiar with, that is not the case. I either don't understand or it doesn't make sense that things would work that way (I am looking at you time travel!) so for him to pull me into quantum mechanics and make me not want to put the book down was great.

When the book first opened I thought we were going to spend a lot more time with Karla and Dying Wish, but I was glad we didn't. Most of the story is Clay dealing with losing her and on a space mission that no one really seems to know the purpose of. The characters were interesting and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. The only reason this is not a 5 star review is because the second section took a minute to get into. At first it wasn't working for me, but after a few chapters I got into that as well.

I feel like this is a hard one to talk about what made it so great without spoiling the journey so I will end this here. Overall this was a great read. I loved the writing, it was so engrossing and I can't wait to go back and read the author's first book (and hopefully future books!).

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of this book

This was definitely one of the most interesting books I’ve read this year and really got the gears in my brain turning at full speed! I loved the way it focused around AI, consciousness, and parallel universes, even if I didn’t fully understand all of the concepts characters were discussing at times.

I liked Clay as the main character and specifically enjoyed the flashbacks between him and Karla in Part 1. The ending of this first part really took me by surprise, and I was curious to see how the rest of the book would pan out afterwards.

I found the second part to move a little slower, and honestly some of the scientific bits went a little over my head. But I was interested and invested enough to keep going and find out more about this mission and what got them to this point. I’m glad I kept at it!

This book was SO good. It made me laugh, was suspenseful & emotional, and did a fantastic job of bringing all the various pieces together in the end.

Thank you to the author & @netgalley for my ecopy to read and review!

one of the rare cases im willing to put the blame on me and not on the book. this one is a good pick for the fans of scifi, but not a priority for the fans of everything else. too speculative maybe? great concept, though. would definitely recommend it for those looking for new stories about parallel realities and the multiverse.

thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was an amazing take on the SciFi genre. I found myself wanting more and more with every chapter.

I received this book for free. This did not impact my review in any shape or form.

Colossus, by Ryan Leslie, is a sci-fi epic about what it means to be immortal and whether or not chasing that immortality will give you everything you want. The book is separated into three parts. Dying Wish introduces Clay, a former economics professor who, after losing his wife to the drug Dying Wish, decides to go on a spaceship called Child in the Dark to get away from it all. Unfortunately, he finds himself trapped between (an admittedly one-sided war) two AIs, Justine and Esteban Bros. The second part, Oberon, provides backgrounds on both Justine and Esteban, all the while pondering on the morality of playing God. In the third and final part, Colossus, Clay takes advantage of his newfound quantum immortality to go back and try to save his wife, only to repeat the haunting mistakes that cost him nearly everything.

I thought it was funny that, despite Gabriel’s pride clearly being the size of the earth, he wasn’t actually given any dialogue. True, he was this looming shadow figure who would gladly drag everyone down with him if it meant he could discover the secrets of the universe. But like all the results of human pride, he nearly killed everyone (actually everyone in other parallel universes). And what was the result of his ambition? An abandoned ship just floating in dead space while everyone else forgets the legacy you wanted to leave behind (except a drug that's killing everyone). I would’ve loved to see how he would’ve fared on that ship with everyone. The fact that people were still loyal to him despite the mess he’s forced everyone into is a testament to how charismatic this man was.

I feel like a more down-to-earth version of him was Clay. The utilization of all the Julians, him going back to the mess Gabriel trapped him in, all just to save his wife who had little to no chance of survival, to begin with; I don’t care what Karla was bragging about, her saving Clay from hell. They’ve lost everything, gave up everything, just to get some semblance of their old lives back. The only one who seemed to have some idea of what was going on was Mirabel, although I wouldn’t leave my community for any lump sum of money. Then again, I’ve never been in that situation before, so I couldn’t say.

When I was in college, my professor said that it made sense for there to be parallel universes. The equations are there, and the 50% chance statistic that this could all be a simulation keeps popping up now and then in pop culture. And now Marvel and DC are fumbling around with the multiverse. Do I think this may lead to immortality? Not really, considering all the other Robin Goodfellows have their own lives to live. Does it make me feel small? Significantly. Am I painfully aware that human pride can destroy everyone and everything around them? Yes. Moreover, a scene from the book that sticks out to me was when Esteban was experimenting with Justine and how, whenever she asked if he was God, he’d say he was. It was on his conscience then, the fact that whatever it was they were playing with was something they didn’t understand clearly.

The Julians were hilarious. I don’t care how much of an existential nightmare this became; they were the one bright spot in this book I came to enjoy. Personally, I feel that, based on his experiences, quantum immortality doesn’t exist. If anything, it’s like a split consciousness, similar to the one in the video game SOMA. It’s not really you. It’s a part of you, true, but it’s not really you.

Objectively, this is an okay book with a lot of really cool concepts, but personally, it wasn’t my cup of tea. I loved the first part, but when the horror went away, it lost me. Drastically. The play on arrogance was excellent, but I would’ve preferred that to be intertwined with the terror I felt in the first book. As such, I’m gonna give this a 3 out of 5 stars.

This novel is told in three parts. I really enjoyed the first third of this book, but the middle section becomes a bit more of a cyberpunk story, which isn't my thing. I found it hard to get back into the narrative for the last third of the story so ended up being disappointed after a really great start.

Thank you to get valley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this title.
A good novel with three parts that is at times confusing but at the same time confusing. There are many things left asked but unanswered. I wanted to like this more thank did.

This story had me absolutely HOOKED. This was a first time read with anew author and boy was I impressed!!!
I absolutely loved the creepy and unsettling vibes I got, but the layers of the characters and their storylines... "Chef's Kiss".
I highly recommend this novel for all lovers and creepy and anyone in a reading slump, this book had me at the edge of my seat!!

Clay West Economics professor Falls in Love with his student Karla. They live in a time were the human population is dying from a drug called 'Dying Wish'. Surrounded by a lot of loss, Clay and Karla get romantically involved. Clay is fired when their relationship is discovered and he is left devastated With the Loss of Karla to the Drug she has taken. Clay joins a space Mission, set out to deploy a group of people in pursuit of other inhabitable planets.

The Story is split into parts. The future in space where Clay awakes many years later aboard a craft with AI and malfunctioning sleep pods. As the surviving crew is slowly awakened, They race to find a solution to their damaged ship, shortage of food and dominating AI minds aboard. You also go back to the Past; how it all began. Dying Wish, how it was created. The minds behind the AI development and you also follow the backstory to Clay and Karla how they met, fell in love and the night Karla took the drug. A bit difficult to follow half way through the plot, there is a lot of technical AI terminology and even Politics intertwined. The plot gets a bit repetitive with all the reality versions that take place with the characters and AI clones. Lots of Intense page turning moments that keep you on the edge and wanting more. I loved the story between Clay and karla; transcending throughout time and space.
I really Really enjoyed this book. A Creative, refreshing, sci-fi, thriller with a hint of Horror.
Highly recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial | Parliament House Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Good concepts, but doesn't work.
I was intrigued by the metaphysical and speculative nature of the plot but this was one of the confusing reads.

We follow Clay West who awakens on a ship earlier than others while most of the crew has died in their cryo-sleep (how? We don't know!). His life is uprooted when the love of his life, Karla, dies and he is on the ship to find her or the answers again! What follows is his quest for answers (not really) followed by an elaborate backstory on how the ship came about (this was the only interesting part) and then a round 2 of Clay trying to find Karla (don't ask how they reach there).

The story is told in three parts - the first part is the story of the protagonist Clay West waking up on the ship. Most of the crew is dead except 4 others. Then the creepiness starts. It is an eerie atmosphere when people start dying as well. This is followed by an elaborate backstory in second part where we understand the context, the parallel universe, how the ship came out as well as the objective of the ship's journey. The final part is the concluding part of Clay and Karla finding each other and exploring the labyrinth of the multiverse.

With such an intriguing context, why didn't I like the book? Because it was a confusing mess. The first part where the story could have been a roller coaster horror story. However, things seem to happen without a reason. People have psychotic breaks. Why? Don't know. What does our protagonist do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing except wallow in self-pity. It was quite a lot of effort to navigate the first part.

The second part is actually quite interesting and prompted me to move further with the book. Would have loved for it to turn into something.

If the first part was tedious, then the third part was absolute drudgery. First and foremost, was it an alternate reality or an amalgamation of multiple realities? We don't know. What is one-thing? What happened to the AI war? These are just a few of the multiple open questions. There are a lot of subplots that don't go anywhere.

The author picked up multiple themes including multiverse, sentient AIs and their war, perceiving multiple realities, immortality, space travel and so on. Rather than connecting it in a converging plot, it became an incoherent mess. Would have been better if the author picked up a couple of themes and explored them. May have been interesting read that way but alas!

Thanks Netgalley and Parliament House Press for providing an ARC.

First off...DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary eARC from the author, since I had already enjoyed and reviewed his debut novel The Between in 2021. This didn't influence my review in any way.

LARGER THAN LIVES

On his site, Ryan Leslie states that it took him ten years to complete this novel, and let me tell you, I'm not at all surprised. Colossus is an ambitious blend of genres and ideas, spanning Earth, space and parallel universes/converging realities, clones and AI wars, science and philosophy, and last but not least, love and loss. It could have gone very well or very badly, but luckily, the result is impressive, and far less challenging that one might think (I mean, it's still a complex book, but you won't get lost while reading it). Putting his own twist on quantum science and the many-worlds theory, Leslie came up with a story where the scientific angle is just as prominent as the human one, since the two characters/forces that clash during the course of the novel and ultimately engage in a life-or-death battle are - net of the science and the technology that laid the groundwork for such a battle - the product of very human emotions. And I found it fit that the author would devote the first two thirds of his story respectively to the hero's and the villain's genesis (though Clay's section is a mix of real-time plot and flashbacks) - I mean, the general consensus seems to be that Part 2 is a tad too long, or too complex, or less intriguing, but after a couple of chapters, I started to vibe with it, and I ended up finding it both necessary and enjoyable...not to mention, funny at times. The last third is kind of an acid trip in the best way (which I suppose it indeed is, since the infamous Dying Wish makes an apparition 😂), a poignant yet sharp climax steeped in quantum physic and wrapped in a horror nightmare, and if you're into this sort of stuff, it's guaranteed to make your pulse race.

CHARACTER CONUNDRUM

I'll be honest: I found the story, with all its implications, more interesting and enjoyable than the characters. That's not to say that they weren't well-rounded or quirky enough, because for the most part, they were (though I couldn't really get a read on Eric, and I wish that the whole spaceship gang, not to mention Karla, had been given more space to breathe). What I'm trying to say is, as much as I'm on board with a flawed/damaged hero, most of the characters (including leading man Clay) seemed to lean a bit too much into that side, and some of them made me question the very idea of sending them on a deep-space mission together. Also, I found some of their quirks a bit controversial, especially in this day and age - did Lisa really need to go around wearing only her home-made scent (or smell 😂) under her mink coat, or to use the bathroom with the door open? (For your info: Lisa is an intriguing character, a tech wiz with a hippiesque streak who doesn't care what other people think of her - which I can very much get behind, but this?). And I couldn't help but detect some manic-pixie-dream-girl undertones in Karla's personality, though not in the classic sense. Lastly, while the epilogue was satisfying on the whole (if probably a tad too open/vague for certain readers' taste), I have some reservations about its playfulness and a certain character's antics. That being said, this novel is indeed a...colossal endeavour, and I can only be in awe of what the author managed to accomplish - hence the 5 stars. In short: Colossus is a strong science fiction specimen, but despite its many layers, accessible enough to cater to the occasional reader of the genre as well - and if you're a fan of crazy, yet somehow plausible science and are fond of "what if" scenarios, you'll find a lot to love in this book.

Actual Rating: 2.5/5 stars

I’ve been on a “cerebral-sci-fi-kick” for a few months now, so when this independently published novel’s synopsis came to my attention, I immediately felt like it might just scratch that itch. Although I was fascinated and by the themes and ideas explored here, I was ultimately left with mixed feelings overall.

The Story:
We follow Clay, an economics professor whom rationally centered life is uprooted by the passing of his wife Karla, by her own hand. Karla, equally filled with scientific curiosity as himself, has taken an elusive drug called Dying Wish, which supposedly reveals the nature of reality moments before it claims your life. This loss drives Clay on a quest for answers. A quest that will eventually lead him to the deepest recesses of space, and his own memory alike…

What I loved:
Our story is told in three parts, and throughout the first part I was utterly engrossed. We are introduced to Karla and Clay, as well as the world and the themes that will be explored throughout. Without going into full-spoilers; this book dives heavily into the philosophical and cerebral side of science fiction. There are no gun-blazing space-battles here. Instead, we’re quickly entrapped in a web of multiverses, parallel realities and the concept of “quantum immortality”. The set-up is fascinating and hooked me in. Unfortunately, the story didn’t fully fulfill the promise of its premise.

What I didn’t love:
In the second part, we find Clay as one of the few survivors of a hibernation-failure aboard a space-vessel; his only companion being an AI that prompts him to question everything he thinks he knows. The interactions between the AI and Clay are supposed to feel philosophical, but due to the way they’re written, felt extremely flat and tedious to me. I honestly lost a lot of steam throughout this second part and had to push myself to keep reading, hoping for a satisfying ending. That only partially delivered…
Overall, this novel does a great job of asking questions, and a rather poor one at answering any of them. That might be by design, but I’m not sure Colossus pulled it off. Often, leaving unanswered questions only works if the story convinced me enough that the author knows the answers, but deliberately choses to withhold them from the reader. In this case, I wasn’t convinced the author knew that himself…
Additionally, it didn’t help that the author tried to cram in so many classic sci-fi themes into one story. Sentient AI’s, quantum theory, the multiverse, space travel and its effects on the mind, pharmaceuticals, immortality and so much more all make a brief appearance. Every new element subtracted from the strength and coherence of it all, rather than adding to it. I’d have preferred if the author had chosen a single topic to explore in depth, rather than skimming over so many briefly.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

this had a unique concept for a scifi genre, i enjoyed the psychological feel to it and was engaged with the world overall. I enjoyed how strong the concept was and how it was written in this universe. The characters were everything that I was hoping for. The writing was perfect and I was invested in what was going.

I finished it, and almost enjoyed it, but at the end of the day I can't get over the fact that the primary driver of the story is an older male professor getting sexually involved with a student. Reader, what a choice this author made. I mean, at least make it a former student--it wouldn't have made a difference and would have been way less gross. Every scene the author wrote with the young woman just read like it was meant to justify the wildly inappropriate "romance" that was apparently foundational to the plot. Presumably Leslie himself isn't a creep, and I enjoyed his prose enough to try another novel down the line, but yeesh...what a choice to make.

Ryan Leslie gives us Colossus (2024) , a sci-fi epic about economics professor Clay who is aboard the spaceship called Child in the Dark. He is initially alone, with only the AI Justine to keep him company. The rest of the crew, brought along at the behest of the illustrious Gabriel Alvarez, has been placed into suspension pods to keep them alive on the long journey to wherever it is they are headed. Suffice it to say, that place isn’t simply Earth.

Clay has a very specific reason for taking this journey— the promise of seeing his beloved girlfriend Karla once again. An illicit drug called Dying Wish has upset the balance of traditional (recreational) drug use among the same students that Clay taught every day. Karla, it seems, was one of them. We get several flashbacks to Clay having first noticed Karla in one of his many classes. We get scenes of their courtship. Karla is an ethereal sort of girl, just as smart as her former professor, and they definitely click in an intellectual sense.

Ryan Leslie’s book asks of the reader: What, in fact, is the nature of consciousness? What is this state called “reality” which we seem to (at times begrudgingly) exist in? And how would it be possible to alter that reality, to repossess once again things and people we have lost?

Leslie’s book is at times rather dry and dull (overly descriptive scenes about science, such as parallel universes and quantum mechanics) sometimes emotionally moving (the loss of a loved one), and other times creepy (being in deep space with only your (potentially) mentally unstable crew mates and the Artificial Intelligence for company).

The atmosphere depicted within was well crafted. You can tell Leslie really cared about his subject matter, though at times the book sort of lost me with all the science-heavy theories and other little bits. Colossus is, ultimately, a story about people, and how they react in difficult situations—rather than a treatise about the future of technology and space travel. The book is competently constructed and the characters were memorable, particularly Justine, as she was almost the comic relief character in this one. I would certainly read anything else this author writes next.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a NetGalley ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!

Science fiction is a genre I’m trying to read more of, but at the same time it’s not totally unusual for me to pick a few up each year. Based on the synopsis for Colossus, I figured this would be one that I’d enjoy, and I was right! I didn’t find the science in this to be confusing, but admittedly I didn’t fully understand it either and took it at face value. The premise of multiple dimensions / multiverse and AI elements of this book were really intriguing. It has a dark, sort of dystopian feel throughout which I also enjoyed. Some of the characters are really strange (looking at you, Lisa) but it added interest and humanity to otherwise less important secondary characters. My only hang up was the pacing of the plot, especially around 40-50% starts to feel a little slow and difficult to get through, whereas usually that’s the point in a novel where things are really taking off. Most of the action happens at the start and end of this book. Overall a great read, and something I’ll definitely point the sci-fi lovers in my life toward.

Did not finish @ 61%. I had high such hopes for this after loving The Between by the same author, but it's a complete let down.

It's divided into three parts. The plot doesn't really go anywhere in the first section. I enjoyed certain bits the middle section - particularly the characters of Lisa and Julian, which is why I've given it 2 stars - but by the time I got to the third part of the book, I was over it, frustrated and bored.

I'm still really looking forward to the sequel of The Between even after this dud. Leslie is fantastic at writing funny and entertaining dialogue but this "serious" sci-fi is a total miss.

Normally books take me anywhere from a day to a week to finish, but this one….woof. Nearly a month later and I was still struggling.

I wanted to like this based on the synopsis. I wanted to like what this author was trying to accomplish for the doomed ship in space genre.

Clay is a character that is hard to get behind: obsessed with a past lover, self-centered, a drunk, and wholly unsuited to an excursion into space as a former economics professor. There’s a lot of back and forth between his current predicament and flashbacks to his tenure as a professor that, to me, didn’t really add much to the narrative other than as an excuse to fill pages.
Without giving away any huge spoilers, the fact that I was bored to near tears while the Big Bad action sequences were in full swing because the characters were so damn unlikeable….it’s a no from me, dawg.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for a fair review.