THE FREEZE FRAME REVOLUTION
PETER WATTS
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A 65 million year mission ran almost entirely by AI with a random selection of human crew woken up every 1000 years to check up on it - but what if the mission starts to go wrong? How do you stage a mutiny when you are only awake one day in a thousand years, when the handful of people you wake up with are chosen by the AI and the AI watches every move from your own eyes?
The premise of Freeze Frame Revolution is one that greatly intrigued me to pick it up, kept me interested whilst reading and stayed with me long after I had finished it. The story explores humanity thriving in an environment where a mission they fully believed in may now be obsolete and where they have to trust an AI built by people long since dead whose objectives aren’t quite clear. It’s not a light read or a happy one but it’s very interesting and gripping.
Sunday is a character you can relate to in a situation that’s very hard to imagine. Her sympathies towards the AI Chimp and her understanding that he is just doing what he is programmed to do is refreshing. The other characters, Chimp included are well-rounded and interesting, with enough mystique about them to make you distrust them.
Although I enjoy reading sci-fi I did feel like some of the terminology and technical parts of the book did go over my head a bit at times. Upon reading other reviews I realise now that this is loosely part of a series. Although I did enjoy it as a standalone piece I did feel that some parts were not particularly well explained and there were some hints to the wider story world that weren’t elaborated upon – if anything it has made me want to read the others in the series now! I also felt the ending was probably the weakest part of the book but that might make more sense if it’s part of a series.
Overall The Freeze Frame Revolution is a must-read for sci-fi lovers; it’s short and sharp and will stay with you long after you’ve put it down. Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Freeze-Frame-Revolution-Peter-Watts-ebook/dp/B0778NSNLK