After On: A Novel of Silicon Valley

(Paperback)

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The definitive novel of today's Silicon Valley, After On flash-captures our cultural and technological moment with up-to-the-instant savvy. Matters of privacy and government intrusion, post-Tinder romance, nihilistic terrorism, artificial consciousness, synthetic biology, and much more are tackled with authority and brash playfulness by New York Times bestselling author Rob Reid. The definitive novel of today's Silicon Valley, After On flash-captures our cultural and technological moment with up-to-the-instant savvy. Matters of privacy and government intrusion, post-Tinder romance, nihilistic terrorism, artificial consciousness, synthetic biology, and much more are tackled with authority and brash playfulness by New York Times bestselling author Rob Reid. Meet Phluttr-a diabolically addictive new social network and a villainess, heroine, enemy, and/or bestie to millions. Phluttr has ingested every fact and message ever sent to, from, and about her innumerable users. Her capabilities astound her makers-and they don't even know the tenth of it. But what's the purpose of this stunning creation Is it a front for something even darker and more powerful than the NSA A bid to create a trillion-dollar market by becoming "The UberX of Sex" Or a reckless experiment that could spawn the digital equivalent of a middle-school mean girl with enough charisma, dirt, and cunning to bend the entire planet to her will Phluttr has it in her to become the greatest gossip, flirt, or matchmaker in history. Or she could cure cancer, bring back Seinfeld, then start a nuclear war. Whatever she does, it's not up to us. But a motley band of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and engineers might be able to influence her. After On achieves the literary singularity-fusing speculative satire and astonishing reality into a sharp-witted, ferociously believable, IMAX-wide view of our digital age. Praise for After On "Rob Reid's mind is like no other known thing in the universe, and this book is a truly spectacular way to discover it."-Chris Anderson, head of TED "An extended philosophy seminar run by a dozen insane Cold War heads-of-station, three millennial COOs and that guy you went to college with who always had the best weed but never did his laundry."-NPR "An epic cyberthriller peppered with pop-culture references, metadata, and Silicon Valley in-jokes."-Kirkus Reviews "It's rare to find a book that combines laugh-out-loud humor and cutting-edge science with profound philosophical speculation. This is that book."-Analog " Rob Reid writes in a humorous and sarcastic style while unveiling a terrifying and frightening scenario that seems all too real."-Associated Press

Reviews

An extended philosophy seminar run by a dozen insane Cold War heads-of-station, three millennial COOs and that guy you went to college with who always had the best weed but never did his laundry.NPR

An epic cyberthriller peppered with pop-culture references, metadata, and Silicon Valley in-jokes.Kirkus Reviews

Its rare to find a book that combines laugh-out-loud humor and cutting-edge science with profound philosophical speculation. This is that book.Analog

[Rob Reid] writes in a humorous and sarcastic style while unveiling a terrifying and frightening scenario that seems all too real.Associated Press

Enter a near-future Silicon Valley that is hilariously, creepily, mind-bogglingly fantastic, yet at the same time all too believable. It might turn out this way. No, really, it might! Along with After Ons diabolically ingenious plot, there are crazy-plausible web startups, delicious parodies of social media, and a surprisingly convincing theory of human consciousness.Chris Anderson, head of TED

Reading After On is like attending a master class in nearly every major issue haunting not only the tech industry but society itself. Only the professor is also a stand-up comic with a perfect ear for the foibles of Silicon Valleys most sacred cows. Part AI thriller, part arch social commentary, and part rollicking farce, After On will leave you smarter about just about everything the human species needs to work on if were going to outlive our own creationsand our obsessions with them.John Battelle, co-founder, NewCo, Federated Media, and Wired

The future is already hereits just for those who read Reid!Steve Jurvetson, venture capitalist, Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Rob Reid doesnt write science fiction; he writes future history. After On is the best account Ive read of how superintelligence will arrive and what it will mean for all of us. Hilarious, frightening, believable, and marvelously constructedAfter On has it all.Hugh Howey, New York Times bestselling author of Wool

After On is smart, hilarious, and properly cynical about our connected world. The story unfolds in surprising and fiendish ways, and while youre laughing youll learn enough to confound a wily MBA, manipulate a board of directors, and maybe even outfox a superintelligence.Ken Fisher, founder and editor in chief, Ars Technica

Topics like AI, neuroscience, quantum computing, and gene splicing are usually both a blessing and a curse: incredibly fascinating material explained super-boringly. After On manages to be an exception to the rule, weaving all of those topics into a funny, delightful story thats full of surprises.Tim Urban, creator, Wait But Why

Rips the lid off Silicon Valley! And what lies beneath.Stewart Brand, creator, Whole Earth Catalog