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Ian Williams
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The Sentient Collector (The Sentient Trilogy Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Ian Williams (Author), Sue Soares (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 out of 5 stars 44 ratings
In 2058 everything and everyone is connected to the Simova network. 24 hours a day, this super intelligent system keeps a watchful eye on those it dutifully serves and provides for. But few know of its fundamental flaw. It is plagued by tiny corruptions, called Malicious Awareness and Resurgent Corruptions, that play havoc with any nearby devices. Find one of these in your home and you will soon know of their destructive nature.

For Graham, dealing with MARCs is just one part of his job as a Simova technician. He is the person you call when you face such a problem and want it removed. And yet even he does not know the truth. Unfortunately for him that is about to change.

Follow Graham, Phoenix and Kristof as they are dragged into a plot that threatens their entire city. Three characters from very different walks of life are brought crashing together in a thrilling battle of will against a seemingly insurmountable enemy.


Book one of The Sentient Trilogy.
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  1. Book 1 of 3
    The Sentient Trilogy
  2. Print length
    402 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    January 17, 2015
  6. File size
    1.3 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A great blend of all the dystopian classics."
"Breath of fresh air in the sci-fi realm!"
"Fantastic futuristic romp..."
"Great read."

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00SEOFMRA
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ian Williams
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 17, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.3 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 402 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 3 ‏ : ‎ The Sentient Trilogy
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 44 ratings

About the author

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Ian Williams

Ian Williams

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Ian Williams is a Science Fiction writer from the UK. His first book, Transitory, was published on Kindle in 2014.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
44 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book to be a great read with well-developed characters. Moreover, the story receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as a believable sci-fi ride. However, the writing quality receives mixed reviews.

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7 customers mention "Readability"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read, with one mentioning it kept them coming back for more.

"...The characters are pretty solid, the action is high and quite good, description and details don't lack and they're not annoyingly much either...." Read more

"This is a good book. Plain and simple...." Read more

"Well written and worth reading" Read more

"Kept me coming back for more, couldn't wait to get to the end. Can't wait to get the new book" Read more

6 customers mention "Story quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story quality of the book, describing it as a good futuristic narrative with a sassy dystopian tone, and one customer notes how it perfectly concludes to lead into the next book.

"...set in the future, this book tells a story of Graham (who reminds me of an average Joe type of guy) and how his life is changed when his friend..." Read more

"...Collector' is interesting, well thought out and plotted, and vital for a trilogy-the ending is not a cliff-hanger; but, perfectly concluded to lead..." Read more

"The Sentien Collector is a smart, sassy dystopian story with very likable characters and future technology that is intelligent and the plausibility..." Read more

"...Other than that, he does a good job of putting together a story that is fairly believable as something that could happen in the not too distant..." Read more

4 customers mention "Character development"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book.

"...The characters are pretty solid, the action is high and quite good, description and details don't lack and they're not annoyingly much either...." Read more

"...Though the characters were all well developed (often with a bit of backstory in the middle of an action scene), I could not connect with any of them...." Read more

"The Sentien Collector is a smart, sassy dystopian story with very likable characters and future technology that is intelligent and the plausibility..." Read more

"...with high price tags and short story plots, it is good to find one with character development...." Read more

9 customers mention "Writing quality"5 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book.

"...Still, the premise of 'The Sentient Collector' is interesting, well thought out and plotted, and vital for a trilogy-the ending is not a cliff-hanger..." Read more

"...Men giggled too many times at inappropriate moments, which threw off my reading...." Read more

"...It is quite well written. I look forward to the next book in the series." Read more

"Well written and worth reading" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • erynn-jo steiner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Looking forward to reading more
    Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Good futuristic book. It's actually quite scary in a technology dependant manner. It really makes you think (if you are that kind of person) of how technology is effecting our lives and how much we rely on our electronic devices (I say this as I write this on my smartphone).

    set in the future, this book tells a story of Graham (who reminds me of an average Joe type of guy) and how his life is changed when his friend Elliot is kidnapped after a job.

    The characters are pretty solid, the action is high and quite good, description and details don't lack and they're not annoyingly much either. One of my favorite characters is Stephen
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Lex Allen Reviews
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good Start for an AI Trilogy
    Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    As scientists move closer to developing real Artificial Intelligence (AI), the science fiction world has seen ever increasing novels and movies that address the future for a world with a strong AI presence. 'The Sentient Collector', by Ian Williams, is one of these and book one in a planned trilogy, set in a dystopian society. The story begins, however, years after a mighty AI named Isaac has disappeared, and its place taken by a corporation.

    Graham and Elliot work for SIMOVA, a corporate conglomerate that controls every facet of life in this futuristic world, through their network of super computers. The two technicians job is to capture Malicious Awareness and Resurgent Corruption (MARCs) data bits that are random, often hostile and roam the SIMOVA network. As the story unfolds, Graham and Elliot become immersed in a plot to steal MARCs that lead them to confrontations with primary characters that include Anthony, Phoenix and Kristof. Each of the three come from different environments and each are drawn into the storyline for disparate reasons. Anthony wants to reassemble / resurrect Isaac and Kristof is out to stop him. Phoenix is an anomaly in the story, whose side is she on?

    As I read, the movie 'Ghostbusters' came to mind due to the method by which Graham and Elliot captured the MARCs. Substitute MARCs for ghosts and cages for ghost traps and the similarities are obvious. This wouldn’t be bad except that 'Ghostbusters' was a comedy and 'The Sentient Collector' a serious science fiction tale. After about the 30% mark, the story tone changed and became more like the thriller I had expected. Though the characters were all well developed (often with a bit of backstory in the middle of an action scene), I could not connect with any of them. The single exception was Anthony, a bad guy who remained in character and goal throughout.

    I’ve read a lot of UK authors without a problem concerning style, word usage and the idiosyncracies that divide UK from American English. Mr. Williams’ writing style, though, was hard for me to read. Word usage and sentence structure, while grammatically correct, was such that the story often dragged when it should have been exploding with action. Still, the premise of 'The Sentient Collector' is interesting, well thought out and plotted, and vital for a trilogy-the ending is not a cliff-hanger; but, perfectly concluded to lead into the next book.

    My rating is a solid three stars. This is a book I didn’t love, but liked. As there are many readers who don’t share my bias for fast pacing and verisimilitude across all facets of storytelling, and would love this novel, I have upgraded the rating to four stars.
    One person found this helpful
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  • LM Schlegel
    4.0 out of 5 stars Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do.
    Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Singularity is a rich topic for fiction, and I enjoy novels that explore its possibilities.

    From Wiki: The technological singularity is a hypothetical event related to the advent of genuine artificial general intelligence (also known as "strong AI"). Such a computer, computer network, or robot would theoretically be capable of recursive self-improvement (redesigning itself), or of designing and building computers or robots better than itself on its own. Repetitions of this cycle would likely result in a runaway effect – an intelligence explosion– where smart machines design successive generations of increasingly powerful machines, creating intelligence far exceeding human intellectual capacity and control. Because the capabilities of such a superintelligence may be impossible for a human to comprehend, the technological singularity is the point beyond which events may become unpredictable or even unfathomable to human intelligence.

    This definition contains the reason why writing about technological singularity is so difficult--the capabilities of an AI that reaches super-intelligence may be incomprehensible, and the events, unpredictable or unfathomable. So, how does one write such a story for readers who insist on understanding a story?

    One of the best is the film 2001: A Space Odyssey . Hal, who is akin to Isaac, the AI in The Sentient Collector. My favor goes to Hal, who is sinister, but not evil, whereas Isaac is strongly cast as a James-Bond-worthy villain, which I think is a philosophical mistake of the novel. Evil, in its essence can be clever, but not intelligent, which is not merely brainpower, but also judgment, reasoning, understanding, comprehension--thereby does not indicate corruption or sin. Perhaps Isaac was indeed corrupted, due to being caged and used as the tool he was designed to be. In that case, The Sentient Collector has invented a super-villain, leaving Luke as the only hope for intelligent evolution of the machine--you must read the novel to make sense of that statement.

    One of the interesting choices of the author was to begin his story where many writers leave off--the destruction of the Frankenstein, so to speak. Isaac, however, is not as compliant. Isaac escapes, and sets the stage for Round 2.

    My rating is 3.5 because: The novel begins a bit like Ghostbusters, sort of comic bookish. Men giggled too many times at inappropriate moments, which threw off my reading. Phoenix reminded me too much of Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, without the real edge that made Lisbeth so fascinating. Real edges are not possible in novels where men keep giggling. So, the push pull between Arthur C. Clark, Stieg Larsson, and Dan Aykroyd was, for me, a near hit, but just off enough to fall short of 4 stars. Luckily, there is rounding, which I fall on the positive side because I was prompted to rethink my favorite film, 2001.
    One person found this helpful
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  • KCustomer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic futuristic romp...
    Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    The Sentien Collector is a smart, sassy dystopian story with very likable characters and future technology that is intelligent and the plausibility of which is explained with an easy air. I thoroughly enjoyed the multi-layered Phoenix. Thanks Mr. Williams for this fantastic futuristic romp in a wonderous world that u created!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Kim from Nanning
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story, well written.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I am not a big fan of futuristic science fiction but this book help my interest all the way through. It is quite well written. I look forward to the next book in the series.
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  • tedster
    5.0 out of 5 stars Glad I did because
    Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I don't usually read this sort of dystopian stuff, but, I thought, I'll give it a try. Glad I did because, Because I could hardly put it down. I am looking forward to more from Ian Williams!
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Hayley Booroff
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great plot and interesting characters that kept me wanting more!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This was an excellent book. A great story with interesting characters that the author has portrayed with emotion and empathy. I'm very much looking forward to the next book from the trilogy!
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