Summer Frost (Forward collection)

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 6,310 ratings

Price: 1.99

Last update: 08-25-2024


About this item

A video game developer becomes obsessed with a willful character in her new project, in a mind-bending exploration of what it means to be human by the New York Times bestselling author of Recursion.

Maxine was made to do one thing: die. Except the minor non-player character in the world Riley is building makes her own impossible decision—veering wildly off course and exploring the boundaries of the map. When the curious Riley extracts her code for closer examination, an emotional relationship develops between them. Soon Riley has all new plans for her spontaneous AI, including bringing Max into the real world. But what if Max has real-world plans of her own?

Blake Crouch’s Summer Frost is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

Audible narration by Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel)


Top reviews from the United States

Norm Zurawski
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024
This book is excellent and why I came for this series. This is SciFi like it should be. At least 1 of the angles it should be written from right now.

I like Crouch, and this just adds to the reasons why I like him. Ideas here are excellent, but more than that is the narrative & dialogue that he wraps around the story ideas. Damn, it is a solid piece of work. This is the 4th book of his that I have read and I will more than likely pick up another before too long.

Without reading this whole Forward series I will bet that this is the best piece of them all.
Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars This felt like an episode of black mirror
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2024
I love it. I wish it was a bit longer and had more details but such a great short read.
Movie-Mavin
5.0 out of 5 stars Scary as s...!
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2024
Intriguing. Drew me in almost hypnotically. Is this where AI is going? Terrifying thought. I seldom read or watch sci-fi but I couldn't stop reading once I started. I will now return to historical fiction and tea-cozies so I can sleep at night!
Nancy E DeSimone
4.0 out of 5 stars frightening!
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024
Ok this was frightening. It delves into all our fears of AI robots taking over from humans. I do not believe this will happen but put into a story it is , as I said, frightening.
Monique D
3.0 out of 5 stars Lacks emotion and excitement
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2019
The book description says it all, so no need for me to summarise. I had loved Blake Crouch's two previous books - Recursion and Dark Matter - so I was excited to read this short story. I found myself yawning while reading the first few pages. I'll admit I was tired, but I was getting impatient for the story to really start. When you have 75 pages to work with, you don't waste your word count on loads of superfluous details and long descriptions, although a few of them were of some importance later on.

SUMMER FROST is written in first person from Riley Ejeta's perspective. Riley is a woman, which I would never have guessed if it hadn't been mentioned. I wonder if Mr. Crouch wrote Riley out of political correctness, but the author should stick to male protagonists' POVs. In a way, this is part of what I found problematic with the story, and not the length as is often the case with short stories. The story is complete, the writing flows well and is technically sound, but all the characters are uniformly flat. I honestly didn't care what happened to any of them. The premise, while not particularly original, is interesting but the characters are not. Sadly, I found SUMMER FROST cold and unexciting, but I will probably get the whole series because there are authors I'd like to read, and the topics are fascinating.

I have not listened to the audible version; I might do it at some point.
Victoria Purdy
5.0 out of 5 stars Yikes!
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2024
Very disturbing and strangely inevitable,
that this is the direction man and woman is moving towards. I’m glad I’m older and won’t see it but I weep for my progenitors.
Victoria
theresah
5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting mistakes
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2023
Summer Frost
by Blake Crouch
The development of AI. The idea that our technological surge can change our world. The fear is our technology will out date humanity. The idea that our understanding will not encompass, the reality of the birth of new technology or AI. The fear that we will inadvertently destroy ourselves with these advanced technology.
Mindo'ermatter
4.0 out of 5 stars Shocking AI-Human Drama, Sure to Entertain!
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2021
Just because something is possible does not mean it is wise. This, the second installment of the "Forward collection" lives up to its mind-bending promotion by thinking the unthinkable in grand style and clever storytelling.
 
This futuristic story is not that far away from becoming reality because of the law of unintended consequences of wishful thinking. Although this engaging and thought-provoking read was most enjoyable, it is simultaneously also a wakeup call to our tech-driven compulsion that propels our society and existence into a future without a master plan or fully understood design. Yikes!!
 
Well worth the time and investment to enjoy and explore. The author's well-written short story creates an unforgettable yet disconcerting experiential moment filled with enlightenment and ambiguity that's sure to please, while raising important questions.
 
Although many topics in this story of an artificial-intelligence software developer, Riley, are not new individually, and yet when artfully merged into this cohesive storyline, new contexts and understanding emerge in novel ways.
 
The accompanying Audible narration will add tensions and personalities to the story, making the reading experience more memorable and entertaining.
 
So far, I am more than satisfied with this six-part series of exceptional authors sharing unique samples of their writing skills. I’m definitely looking forward to the next four installments and plan to explore other works by these talented writers.

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