Douglas E. RichardsRessenyes

Based on the premise of realising the huge potential of our brains, I actually quite enjoyed this technothriller and found myself being drawn back to read more. It is a bit clumsy at times in terms of style, it has good creativity, the characters are well defined, but it is a bit too cheesy.

An enjoyable read with an interesting reality that builds on a number of technologies that already exist (albeit in a more primitive manner).

Richards, Douglas E. Wired. E-book ed., Paragon Press, 2012. Wired 1.
In Wired, a bioengineer creates a pill that briefly enhances mental acuity while amping up any sociopathic tendencies you may have. In short, it is a pill that produces mad scientists in a hurry. Villains chase the engineer with the recipe. Can a retired special ops soldier save her? Wired aims to be a thriller with the pace of a Tom Clancy novel, but Douglas E. Richards has not solved the exposition problem. In long, talky passages, characters tell each other what they should already know—three stars.

Just finished "The Immortality Code". Thank you so much for the analogies. I feel like I finally have a VERY basic understanding of some of the quantum entanglement and higher dimensional thinking (the jack card can only see one piece of the paper). I read "The Grand Biocentric Design" earlier this year and I couldn't wrap my head around some of the concepts. You did an outstanding job!

The passage when he finally decides to "put God in a box". Holy cow that entire story scared me to my core!

2.5 stars..not the best, not the worst. Got a bit too scientific speak and some points and I got a bit lost, but otherwise it wasn't too bad .

Not sure why all the love. This is a near future adventure tale that gets mired in theoretical data dumps and repetitive action sequences and dialog.

Eternal Transcendance

Douglas Richards could have invented the"Speculative" in speculative fiction. The questions of immortality, Alien prescence and artificial intelligence are handled with a deft touch.

When associate professor Allison Keane publishes an overview of her theoretical work in quantum physics and computing, Sioux Falls, South Dakota becomes an extremely dangerous place for her.

After Keane is abducted by a front person who actually represents the Chinese Communist Party, Tech Ops agent, Zachary Reed, is called in to retrieve her and the precious technology she holds in her mind.

Reed tracks Keane to an abandoned underground factory just outside of Utah. Using his smart contact lenses and link to the NSA's AI, Reed manages to barely get her out before the entire place is blown sky high.

As Reed and Keane meet their benefactor, Tom Hoyer, they are alternately fascinated and horrified by what they learn. Technology, beyond the grasp of anything humankind has ever seen, is revealed to them.

The remainder of the book is one giant reveal after another, mixed with deep philosophical and spiritual questions about how this Alien technology will ultimately change humankind.

As well, this tense, twisted story gallops along at break-neck speed right to the finish. I turned the last page and found my jaw dropped open. A masterpiece of a Technothriller, I highly recommend it.

Humanity Reinvented

First of all, my congratulations to the author, Douglas E. Richards, for writing a book that encompasses the breadth of knowledge of Quantum Physics, Artificial Intelligence and the most sophisticated Military Spyware I've ever read, in a way that a layperson can easily understand.

That being said, what a book! There is no way I could begin to recapitulate this massively twisted, technologically brilliant and mind-blowing conceptually masterful plot.

If your head doesn't hurt when you are done reading this book, you didn't understand what happened. Richard's concepts call into question everything that makes up humankind.

The simple synopsis is boy meets girl who isn't who she seems. Boy finds out who she is. After that, all bets are off. This is a long book but COMPLETELY worth every hour it takes to read. ***** Stars.

P. S. Read all of the appendix! That is a book in and of itself!

Time Travel Tripled

Imagine an alien artifact that will change the face of history. More than three times. Commander Justin Boyd and Dr. Kelly Connelly are in the race against time to save humanity.

The Enigma Cube has everything you could possibly want in a smart, technothriller. High grade Military defensive ware run by ethical men who want to put it to use for peace.

Artificial Intelligence adapted to keep a soldier alive that actually has an agenda of it's own. Mix in the possibility of changing the horrors of the past as well as preventing any future travesties, and you've got a novel you won't put down no matter how late it gets.

AI Meets The Philosophers Stone

I wouldn't have thought it possible that Douglas E. Richards could write a book more outrageously complicated, technologically advanced and philosophical to boot, but he did.

A Pivot in Time covers all of my favorite genres. Starting with advanced AI and Quantum Physics, to Cyber Warfare and the Art of War, then on to Historical Fiction and Time Travel and winding up with a healthy dose of Philosophy and Humanities.

Welcome back to Justin Boyd and Kelly Connolly, now Boyd and her grandfather, Otto Richter, now known as Jim Connelly and a whole cast of characters who will keep your blood pressure at maximum.

Zipping through the events, turning pages so fast my finger hurts, I'd have to say that A Pivot in Time is one of my favorite Richards' books. Well worth the time spent reading!

Einstein had a Theory but not the Time

Nathan Wexler is a physics mastermind, on parallel with Newton, Einstein and Faraday. He's just completed a unique mathematical proof that will change the course of humankind.

Jenna Morrison is a top-notch geneticist who happens to be madly in love with Wexler. Although incredibly bright herself, she feels as if she pales in comparison to the light of Wexler's genius.

Wexler and Morrison receive a mysterious phone call after he published an outline of his theory on the internet. Approached by what they think is a very aggressive potential investor, they soon find themselves kidnapped.

In the ensuing struggles, Jenna manages to escape but witnesses Wexler's brutal assassination. Heartbroken, and determined to get to the bottom of the cesspool of criminals after her, Jenna hires ex-military P.I. Mike Blake.

The reminder of the book is an astonishing look at a new way to perceive space time and how Governments and people without ethics would handle this new technology.

It is also a hold your breath, close your eyes, muffle the shrieks and try not to allow your dinner to come back up most tension filled story I've read in ages. Douglas Richards knows his science but, man, can he write a thriller!

At the Last Second or Maybe the Third

Time Frame was an enormously satisfying second half of the Split Second series. We pick up with Nathan Wexler, Jenna Morrison, Lee Cargill, Aaron Blake and Edgar Knight just after the destruction of Knight's compound at Lake Las Vegas.

The integrity of the Q5 team is being called into question by President Janney due to the scale of the carnage and the mystery of how it was destroyed. Cargill is called on the carpet to answer for Q5's involvement.

Douglas Richards takes a fantastical technological discovery and creates even more brain burning applications. Ethical evolvement of science and humanity are explored in real world situations.

And, once again, Richards folds all the science, technology and philosophy into an un-put-downable book. Every page brings another terrifying or exciting twist right to the very end.

Worth every minute spent reading

All I can add to the many reviews of Douglas Richards debut novel is that I read this after reading many of his later books and I still think he's a genius at mixing hard science and technology with a raging good plot!

The Solution to the Annihilation of Mankind?

Part two of Douglas Richards Wired series just keeps on blowing your mind away. I tried so hard to recap book one and came up wordless.

I find myself even more so with Amped. Much like the mythical intelligence pill that the protagonist, Kira Miller, invents, once you come back from it, words don't translate.

There is so much technology, genetics, physics, quantum mechanics and molecular biology theory stuffed into this book that I couldn't begin to highlight anything.

And the Macheavelian cum Disney Outlook of the plot twists will keep you scratching your head, blinking your eyes and reaching for your drink of choice as you try to figure out what is going to happen next. Fabulous book!

Metaphysics or Quantum Physics?

Quantum Lens was quite a bit different than the other books I've read from Douglas Richards.

The storyline was much less technical than philosophical and the pacing of the plot was crazy like a fox.

I enjoyed the exploration of power vs ethics in the context of the developing human psyche.

Read it for yourself and determine whether you agree with the author's premise.

RTC, I have so much to say about this one!

Nanites or Nonsense

Secret Service Agent Kevin Quinn is guarding President Davidroy of the United States when something odd happens.

Quinn, overcome at the memories of the death of his wife at Davidroy's hands, he has poisoned the President's cocktail.

As Quinn watches, horrified, Davidroy offers his drink to the First Lady. Despite the intense rage Quinn holds for Davidroy, he can't bear to see anyone else killed.

Quinn shoots the cocktail out of the hand of the First Lady and is immediately seized as a threat to the President. The investigation into what caused the incident uncovers an astounding technology and neurological plot.

Author Douglas Richards creates another incredibly complex yet fascinating thriller looking into the cutting edge of AI technology and the proposed uses in the human brain.

Carefully written to reveal each new threat just when you thought it was safe, Game Changer will leave you gasping for air, checking your pulse and eagerly awaiting the next chapter. Highly recommended.

Complex and Fascinating Technothriller

Unidentified is another fabulous technothriller from Douglas Richards. I tried for weeks to pare down my feedback about this book and finally gave up.

What I love the most about Richard's writing is that he richly researches every topic, uses cutting edge concepts across quantum physics, technology, artificial intelligence and so much more, and then stretches into speculative fiction.

The reader never knows until the appendix just what is really possible, this allowing your imagination to be free to follow the story anywhere it goes.

Trust me, Unidentified is a must read for anyone who wants to explore the Universe and the possibilities out there waiting for us. Highly recommended.

The basic concept of this novel is fantastic, dealing with the by-products of time travel - through a miniscule fraction of a second. For the most part, the Sci-Fi part of Split Second is engrossing, and I had fun reading it. The author has presented many complex scientific theories in an easy language, which has kindled in me the interest to know more. What I did not enjoy much was the artificial dialogues and the prolonged discussions about the moral implications of time travel, and the ambiguously built characters.
I would rate this fast-paced Sci-Fi thriller three-and-a-half stars, rounded up to four.

A Sci-Fi thriller set in the near future, Game Changer begins with a secret service agent, Kevin Quinn, attempting to assassinate the very man he has sworn to protect, after knowing that the president of the US is the terrible monster who killed his wife and unborn daughter. Soon, Kevin's life turns upside down, as does that of Rachel Howard, a top neuroscientist, when they find themselves at the centre of a brilliant madman's twisted plot to change the world—one to which the destruction of millions of lives is incidental.
With his characteristic knack, Richards blends what is possible and what is not, yet, smoothly to make it an engaging read. The science behind the workings of brain and memory, and the means to manipulate them is fascinating to read. The discourses on the science and its philosophical implications, though lengthy at times, are quite informative. The explanatory text at the end of the novel is enlightening too. However, the thriller part of the novel could have been made a bit sharper and more believable. The dialogues also could have done with a bit of polishing; and there are many that are not needed. After a nice buildup, the climax where the mighty antagonist surrenders his advantage while in a position of strength is not at all digestible. And there are some implausible scenarios, even for a science fiction, that weaken the plot.
Game Changer, in my opinion, is still a pretty good novel mainly for all the high technology it incorporates and the decent thriller elements, deserving 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Kira Miller and David Desh had a great potential to be instant bestseller upto about 50% of the book. However, it all goes downhill rapidly for the rest of the book. The downfall is so steep that by the end of it, you feel cheated. I wont recommend this book to anyone. Huge disappointment.

This was an interesting take on time travel mechanics that opened up some interesting ideas and ethical dilemmas. However, the book itself was rather annoying in that there were at least 3 or 4 instances where a character delivers a monologue (either internally or externally) that rails against "terrorists" in a very general sense, yet simultaneously referring to genocide of entire races of "terrorists" and "barbarians" and "Islamic extremists".
Ok, I get it, Mr. Author - you've got an axe to grind, and lumping all Muslims under the overarching umbrella of "terrorists" (whether those same Muslims are, in fact, terrorists or even extremists, while excluding all other types of terrorists) makes for some easy shorthand messages to like-minded people in your audience. Unfortunately, this passive yet blatant racism is enough to dissuade me from continuing this series. That's a pity, as I was rather intrigued by the time travel ideas.

Audiobook notes - Narrator Kevin Pariseau did a good job, handling voices and pronunciations just fine.

Very interesting and well researched story, despite a tilt at religion that comes across as more unsophisticated than it should, be given the presumed high intelligence of the protagonists at the time.

Low 3*. Some interesting points, but somewhat predictable. And very very chatty that seeker...