Small Miracles
Edward M. Lerner
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Buy *Small Miracles* by Edward M. Lerner

Small Miracles
Edward M. Lerner
Tor
Hardcover
352 pages
October 2009
rated 4 1/2 of 5 possible stars

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Prototype nano-technology protective bodysuits are the wave of the future for government agencies that send their people into potentially violent or fatal situations. Bulletproof vests will be artifacts of the past when the extreme advantages of the new nano-suit are revealed. Seeing is believing, and Garner Technology leaps into success with staggering contracts when one of their own proves the capability of the suits in a most devastating situation, and with the help of Small Miracles.

When Brent Cleary—an engineer for Garner Technology and designated tester of the nano-suit prototype—nearly dies on a police ride-along fatally doomed by a pipeline explosion, the nano-suit saves him while more than a hundred others die. After months of recovery and difficult readjustment to his old life, Brent is fast becoming the new wave of Garner Technology. Aside from a few behavioral oddities which his co-workers attribute to emotional trauma from the accident, only his best friend Kim sees changes that defy normal explanations. If the nano-suit’s small miracles on Brent’s body saved him, what was the cost?

Kim feels like a conspiracy theorist as her assessment of Brent’s condition forces her to seek help from the company’s doctor. If she is correct, nano-bots from Brent’s prototype nano-suit actually travelled into his brain. He is so different, so computer-like, and every day the change becomes more apparent. Why won’t the company explore the possibility that nano-bots have survived within Brent and the potential disaster this could mean for the pending military contracts?

Kim is in for the fight of her life as the tense situation at Garner Technology escalates to life and death. Brent is no longer Brent, and the artificial life that has become a parasite within him has strategized and implemented a most radical plan. Co-workers are changing—like Brent—all around Garner Technology. If Kim can’t find a way to stop the force of co-workers under the influence of artificial intelligence, an incomparable act of terrorism might shake the nation - and the world - to the core.

Artificial Intelligence is not a new concept in science or science fiction, but Small Miracles brings AI into a dazzling new perspective, flaws and all. The continued mantra with the basic theme is that artificial intelligence is superior to humans but, because it is not without weaknesses, humans have the potential and ability to emerge the victor against such a foe. The fabulous twist within Small Miracles is the parasitical nature of AI on humans, and therefore the greater potential for failure and flaws in the human way.

Small Miracles continues a theme author Edward M. Lerner has pursued in other novels like Creative Destruction. He has proven himself a master of weaving intricate tales about future possibilities. Be ready to curl up with this great book and not put it down until it’s done.



Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Sonia R. Polinsky, 2010

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