The Sandbox Audiobook By Jeffrey Wilson, Brian Andrews cover art

The Sandbox

The Sandbox Series, Book 1

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The Sandbox

By: Jeffrey Wilson, Brian Andrews
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
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From New York Times bestselling authors Andrews & Wilson

An activist entrepreneur, a maligned AI, and a newly minted homicide detective with a haunted past catastrophically intersect in The Sandbox. The Silence of the Lambs meets Ex Machina in this groundbreaking techno-thriller that redefines the meaning of murder in the twenty-first century.

When the CEO of the world’s leading artificial intelligence company is found murdered in his home, former Army CID officer Valerie Marks is thrust into her first case as a homicide detective. Valerie has a gift for reading people, a gift that has never failed her before. But that gift is put to the test when her instincts point her to an impossible suspect—an AI born from a secret venture with the Pentagon known as Project Nomad.

To learn the truth, Valerie must team up with two men she doesn’t trust—a Green Beret turned government spook from the Pentagon, and the victim’s former partner and leading suspect in the case. But nothing can prepare the trio for the dangers that await them and the existential threat to humanity if the Project Nomad AI has somehow escaped its sandbox.

©2023 Organic Machinery Media LLC and Jeffrey Wilson (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing Crime Crime Thrillers Fiction Psychological Science Fiction Suspense Technothrillers Thriller Thriller & Suspense Technology Exciting Computer Science
Gripping Storyline • Timely Concept • Excellent Performance • Well-developed Protagonist • Fast-paced Thriller
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Best author duo out there. Doesn’t matter the genre. This story is about a familiar topic, but with unfamiliar and chilling ideas.

Creative and Intriguing

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These two authors are capable of dimensional characters and intelligent stories. This one missed the mark, kind of.
I'm admittedly highly critical, because I've devoured most of their other work and was particularly impressed with it.
IMHO, "Reset" was great Sci-Fi. Their Tier 1 series puts all of the recent Tom Clancy work (and it's knock offs) to complete shame.

There are decent ideas and facets to characters to make them more than stock characters. The characters are fairly competent and don't bumble through the story or clues, so that is really appreciated. However, this book came across as a let down in the story and villain department.

Evil AI. Oops, spoiler?
The bread and butter of detective stories "detective tracking down a taunting murderer". Certainly not on the level of Hannibal Lecter or other such villains. But the book does the knowledge dump of AI learning and etc, but the evil AI comes across as no different than a stock egotistical madman.

The formulaic ultimate showdown between the heroine and the villain is supposed to be a battle of wits. But, yeah, this AI doesn't come across as very witty or intelligent.

So while I want to encourage these authors to expand themselves, this is a formulaic detective story. The AI aspect is just pop-science and not really accurate, nor do the authors demonstrate a deeper understanding of the topic. Overall, this story just doesn't have anything special.

"Sequel" to Reset, not nearly as good

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I honestly can’t get enough of these two, I’m working my way through all their novels and this one did not disappoint! Interesting foray into AI and all its potential moral and philosophical repercussions. Scary to think about but makes for a good realistic story!

Riveting as usual!

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as AI continues to encroach upon our real lives today, this was very real to me. The power that an AI could have over machinery, war results, or even our personal lives is a bit eerie and intimidating. Loved this book. Everyone should read it.

Breathtaking & Riveting

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One of the best modern A.I. books I've read in the past few years. Had to recommend to all of my sci-fi × Singularity loving friends.

Incredible.

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Great tactical feel and general story like all their other books!

One small AI problem - it’s not likely that an AI would care emotionally to carry out a complicated and sadistic attack on humans. What seems more likely is a total lack of emotion - much like what happens in the 2014 film ‘ex machina’.

Why would an AI care what happened to people as it proceeded to work toward its goals? In this book, Charlie is more an evil psychopath than an AI.

I’ve read every other ‘non-cyberpunk’ book by these writers and they’ve been excellent! I’m sure this new genre will just take a few adjustments to get right.

Great book, but an AI-related character problem

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Decent story, falls a bit apart towards the end and you can clearly see where it is headed. The author leaves it open at the end, naturally, sequel to follow? If so, I will pass, one book was enough and it would need to be exceptionally well reviewed to continue.

Good story, SciFi + mystery?

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Let’s address the elephant in the room… this is not “Tier 1” or “Sons of Valor”. As far as we (as listeners) know, it may not even be in the same “universe”. No cross-over, at least not yet, unless I missed something important.

This is also not Ray Porter narrating. Main character is female so going with a female narrator makes a lot of sense. However, she does not have the vocal range, or perhaps the experience with producing unique and believable character voices, as some of the top voices in the business (male or female). Don’t get me wrong, she does a “good” job, just not one of those “wow, that was amazing work” jobs.

All that out of the way now, this is a refreshing start to a new series. The basic concepts aren’t exactly original, but some of the means of execution and some of the concepts discussed are fresh perspectives. I enjoyed the story and I think this has potential to be an interesting series. I would definitely recommend for a sci-fi fan.

It’s a good start to an entirely new series

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So many twists and turns and the premise is terrifyingly real. I enjoyed every minute and the actors voice was perfect each chapter. If you like spies, espionage, or sci-fi you will love this book. Waiting on the next one!!

Terrifying and Fantastical

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fantastic story; not at all what you think. riveting with a terrific finish. five out of five; definately recommend.

great story

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