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A Dying Machine Novel Discussion (SPOILERS)

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2018 11:04 pm
by WaywardOne
Hey all, I pre-ordered the book awhile back but finally just got around to finishing it, so I wanted to start a separate thread for those who have read it (and hopefully not spoil anything for people who haven't).

I admittedly wasn't sold on the story for about the first half, but the second half had me hooked! Not only was it much more interesting, but it seems like almost all references to songs on the album don't happen until later in the book too. I assumed I knew what all the songs referred to, but I was actually really surprised by a few - especially As The Silence Becomes Me. Turns out it's from the point of view of Rhapsody, not Brennan, which has a big impact on the song for me (not necessarily in a bad way).

Re: A Dying Machine Novel Discussion (SPOILERS)

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 11:23 pm
by Andy92
The book really doesn’t hit its stride until part two. I thought it was a good read overall. There were enough surprises in it to keep me interested. I had heard Mark mention in an interview before the story came out that the book was about a programmed machine that murders her lover, so that took a bit of the impact out of that scene for me. :lol Still thought that was a very well written section though and it made for a good story. I like where the book turns out to really be Stella’s story. It opens up as Brennan’s story, but after a while you realize he’s just setting up the bigger picture of an artificial intelligence creation “becoming human.”

Re: A Dying Machine Novel Discussion (SPOILERS)

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2018 9:31 pm
by WaywardOne
Well said. The First The Last feels kind of odd as a ballad-type song after reading it's context. Like, literally right after she desecrates his dead wife's corpse, throws its head at him, and then brutally strangles him. How nice :lol

Re: A Dying Machine Novel Discussion (SPOILERS)

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2018 1:07 am
by Andy92
Lol yeah I think the song is more impactful than the book in that regard. The only rationale for it was that whole sequence showed Stella in so much rage that when Brennan actually was gone, it flipped a switch in her. Being an AI, she behaved much more erratically.

Re: A Dying Machine Novel Discussion (SPOILERS)

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:20 pm
by WaywardOne
Does anyone know what Desolation was about?? I was really excited to learn about it from the book but it wasn't clear to me.