A.I. Apocalypse Audiobook By William Hertling cover art

A.I. Apocalypse

Singularity, Book 2

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

A.I. Apocalypse

By: William Hertling
Narrated by: J. M. Badger
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.99

Buy for $17.99

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Leon Tsarev is a high school student set on getting into a great college program, until his uncle, a member of the Russian mob, coerces him into developing a new computer virus for the mob's botnet - the slave army of computers they used to commit digital crimes.

The evolutionary virus Leon creates, based on biological principles, is successful - too successful. All the world's computers are infected. Everything from cars to payment systems and, of course, computers and smart phones stop functioning, and with them go essential functions including emergency services, transportation, and the food supply. Billions may die.

But evolution never stops. The virus continues to evolve, developing intelligence, communication, and finally an entire civilization. Some may be friendly to humans, but others are not.

Leon and his companions must race against time and the military to find a way to either befriend or eliminate the virus race and restore the world's computer infrastructure.

©2012 William Hertling (P)2013 William Hertling Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction Technothrillers Thriller & Suspense

Critic reviews

"Highly entertaining, gripping, thought inspiring. Don't start without the time to finish - it won't let you go." (Gifford Pinchot III, founder Bainbridge Graduate Institute, author The Intelligent Organization)
"A fascinating look at how simple and benign advancements in technology could lead to the surprise arrival of the first AI. And like all good techno-thrillers, the reality of AI is less than ideal." (Jason Glaspey, Silicon Florist)
"An alarming and jaw-dropping tale about how something as innocuous as email can subvert an entire organization. I found myself reading with a sense of awe, and read it way too late into the night." (Gene Kim, author of Visible Ops)
Engaging Ai Storyline • Entertaining Tech Concepts • Excellent Narration • Original Plot Development • Well-paced Tension
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book was so good, I'd recommend the previous ones (which I didn't rate as well) just based on this book alone.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A.I. Apocalypse?

(SPOILER) When ELOPe first started fending off the massive attack against itself and the military. Standing in a room of humans who hadn't even had time to react to news of attack, narrating until it lost the spare processing to even keep them in the loop. Beautiful.

Have you listened to any of J. M. Badger’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but it was a great first experience!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was, it had me interested and on the edge of my seat the whole way through!

A beautiful followup to it's predecessor!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
a very different AI story. very fun and enjoyable.
can't wait to read the next book

fun and entertaining

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved the storyline. It actually has great ideas in the book. A game based on algorithm gameplay instead of keyboard mouse! Plausible story.

Intriguing AI storyline

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
this book was more enjoyable than the original and isn't dry like a few of the other robot uprising books I have listen to. One problem I found was that there was zero female interaction other than one character. But there was zero love interest anywhere. I'm surprised that I actually missed it!

solid AI thriller!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Started slow but after an hour or so - it got really, really good. People often think of artificial intelligence at a grander scale - fully communicative robots that we converse with. However, we forget that everyday consumer products like Pandora, Spotify, Alexa, and Netflix use AI to make suggestions on our behalf. This book brilliantly demonstrates how something as innocent as these everyday solutions could quickly take foothold in our interconnected world. The plot is a little far-fetched and had a few holes, but overall an excellent book.

Wasn't sure I was going to like this at first...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've read this book twice now (the Audio version and the kindle version). It's a great, very original story that's paced quickly and builds tension well. It does require a bit of suspension of disbelief in certain parts, but this is easy to forgive based on the overall merit of the work.

Excellent, fast paced and well written

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was an entertaining listen. If you're into technology and artificial intelligence, this could be an excellent listen. There are a few unusual parts of the book that will make your eyes roll (for instance, why does everyone have to throw a very young character into a very adult role?) but all in all it was enjoyable. The narration was pretty good although the narrator struggled mightily trying to imitate a Japanese and a French accent. It would have been a better idea to just stick to reading the book.

Entertaining

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
One of my favorite books, just as good as " The Martian". The first book was also fun and you will want to listen to it first before this one to understand where Elope came from.

Love the Robots, A.I., Cyber Security and fun!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This one is much better than Book 1. Looking forward to the next offering, and I think you will too...

Glad I tried Book 2

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really liked the story, the idea of our potential dangerous future with AI and out dependency on computers.

Excellent I liked the story, the idea of !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews