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rebeccacabrams's review against another edition
4.0
this wasn't a book i would usually pick up but it had me hooked! there were times it was a little confusing but such a great book!
kitty_whimsical's review against another edition
5.0
(Review originally appears at Speculative Chic: http://speculativechic.com/2017/08/29/cyber-life-after-death-the-uploaded-by-ferrett-steinmetz/)
The question of what happens when a person dies has been grappled with for as long as humanity has existed. Is there a heaven? A sort of paradise that waits for us after we close our eyes for the last time? Is there eternal punishment awaiting those who did not meet whatever criteria that the paradise demanded? What if there was a way to be sure that you would automatically awaken in that fabled paradise? In his newest novel, Ferrett Steinmetz examines this possibility with great success.
Steinmetz is a clever writer indeed. He has hidden an examination of one of mankind’s biggest questions (what happens when you die?) in a novel filled with plenty of action, snarky characters, and a lovable pony sidekick. In the future that Steinmetz proposes in The Uploaded, death is a minor inconvenience rather than the totality that it is today. Upon death, assuming that one has lived up to the standards set by those who preceded you into the Upterlife (the name given to the cyber-Heaven created to house the dead), your consciousness is uploaded into a paradise filled with anything that your heart truly desires. You become immortal, alive forever in the greatest playground/video game in existence, without the limitations of real world physics to hinder you. Our hero, Amichai, insists early in the novel that real life is worthy of being more than just a tolerable existence. He is largely in the minority in this opinion. Most of the living have an almost slavish devotion to the Upterlife, and why shouldn’t they? The Upterlife is where one can have a truly perfect life — careers, for example, do not exist for the living: the architects, writers, politicians, musicians, (and every other career imaginable) are jobs that belong solely to the dead. Endless adventures and possibilities exist in the Upterlife.
With that kind of adventure awaiting you, why would you want to stay alive in the first place? The world itself has become very grim. Natural resources are all but depleted. Infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate. All of the living spend their days working for the ever-present dead, maintaining the servers that house their Heaven. The dead rule the living in a way that is nightmarish when you consider the implications.
The deeper story, beneath the pony, the witty dialogue and the fantastic action scenes, deals with the idea of what it means to live your life here in the present instead of for the future. The question of whether it is better to live with an eye towards eternity instead of firmly in the present lingers in the background of the entire novel. I am not going to get into a deep religious discussion here, but the idea of living up to certain moral standards in order to be rewarded in the afterlife is a theme that is common in many religions. Is there a clear answer to this question?
Of course there isn’t. That doesn’t mean that Steinmetz doesn’t offer an answer or an opinion on the question; the ending, while strong and perfect for the story, leaves things in an ambiguous place for the reader. This is not at all a criticism. I enjoy stories that force the reader to confront and examine their own beliefs. This novel does so beautifully.
If you’re curious, you can read the prologue and first chapter of the novel here. If you like what you read, the book is available on September 5th.
In conclusion: I am glad that I read this. I look forward to revisiting this story. My review of the book is doubtlessly colored by the fact that my own grandfather passed away recently, and the mystery of what waits beyond the veil is very heavy on my own mind. This is a meaty story, if you allow it to be. If you’d rather not ponder such heavy themes, enjoy the novel for the delightful surface story. I do not think you will be disappointed.
The question of what happens when a person dies has been grappled with for as long as humanity has existed. Is there a heaven? A sort of paradise that waits for us after we close our eyes for the last time? Is there eternal punishment awaiting those who did not meet whatever criteria that the paradise demanded? What if there was a way to be sure that you would automatically awaken in that fabled paradise? In his newest novel, Ferrett Steinmetz examines this possibility with great success.
Steinmetz is a clever writer indeed. He has hidden an examination of one of mankind’s biggest questions (what happens when you die?) in a novel filled with plenty of action, snarky characters, and a lovable pony sidekick. In the future that Steinmetz proposes in The Uploaded, death is a minor inconvenience rather than the totality that it is today. Upon death, assuming that one has lived up to the standards set by those who preceded you into the Upterlife (the name given to the cyber-Heaven created to house the dead), your consciousness is uploaded into a paradise filled with anything that your heart truly desires. You become immortal, alive forever in the greatest playground/video game in existence, without the limitations of real world physics to hinder you. Our hero, Amichai, insists early in the novel that real life is worthy of being more than just a tolerable existence. He is largely in the minority in this opinion. Most of the living have an almost slavish devotion to the Upterlife, and why shouldn’t they? The Upterlife is where one can have a truly perfect life — careers, for example, do not exist for the living: the architects, writers, politicians, musicians, (and every other career imaginable) are jobs that belong solely to the dead. Endless adventures and possibilities exist in the Upterlife.
With that kind of adventure awaiting you, why would you want to stay alive in the first place? The world itself has become very grim. Natural resources are all but depleted. Infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate. All of the living spend their days working for the ever-present dead, maintaining the servers that house their Heaven. The dead rule the living in a way that is nightmarish when you consider the implications.
The deeper story, beneath the pony, the witty dialogue and the fantastic action scenes, deals with the idea of what it means to live your life here in the present instead of for the future. The question of whether it is better to live with an eye towards eternity instead of firmly in the present lingers in the background of the entire novel. I am not going to get into a deep religious discussion here, but the idea of living up to certain moral standards in order to be rewarded in the afterlife is a theme that is common in many religions. Is there a clear answer to this question?
Of course there isn’t. That doesn’t mean that Steinmetz doesn’t offer an answer or an opinion on the question; the ending, while strong and perfect for the story, leaves things in an ambiguous place for the reader. This is not at all a criticism. I enjoy stories that force the reader to confront and examine their own beliefs. This novel does so beautifully.
If you’re curious, you can read the prologue and first chapter of the novel here. If you like what you read, the book is available on September 5th.
In conclusion: I am glad that I read this. I look forward to revisiting this story. My review of the book is doubtlessly colored by the fact that my own grandfather passed away recently, and the mystery of what waits beyond the veil is very heavy on my own mind. This is a meaty story, if you allow it to be. If you’d rather not ponder such heavy themes, enjoy the novel for the delightful surface story. I do not think you will be disappointed.
ceskykure's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
CAWPILE SCORE
C- 6
A-8
W-7
P-9
I-7
L-8
E-7
TOTAL-7.43/10
CAWPILE
Characters
Sometimes I had a hard time remembering that most of these characters are 15-17.
Amichai—I was really hoping he would become a hacker or programmer and do something that way, he turned out to be the worlds best Social Media Influencer. Has a moral character that won’t be shaken, but is totally or could totally be corrupted at the end of the book
Dare—what a flippy floppy character. Wish he’d had a secret shrive after betrayal. Would be better. Went from super scared to taking charge. Mastering Programming, felt a little too unreal
Peaches—interesting, nice, committed.
Mama Alex—master hacker, easily taken out by Drumgroole. Very competent
Ian Drumgoole/gumdroole—Wow, unexpected that he’s shrived Mortal since he was 11 basically. He’s a throughbred Psychopath, with super control issues.
Wickliffe/Wickcleft—Lost his ideals. Lived too long and can’t see the solutions
Izzy—wish we’d seen more of her.
NeoChristians—can totally see this actually happening, but have to remember it wasn’t mainstream Christians that turned but mostly spinoff’s etc
Evangeline—didn’t need her Love Triangle section. But was good as a reminder of other belief. Very grief stricken, had to kill her parents after they were mind wiped
Atmosphere
Well written Atmosphere. Dark world, everybody is secretly/not secretly suidicidal. Nice use of showing how the world has deteriorated with the advent of Upterlife
Writing
Writing was good, some spots I felt switched from Adult to YA. Shrive.
Plot
Good plot. The dead won’t leave the living alone, the Living only want to die. Amichai must figure out how to fix the “system”. Didn’t love or feel the real need of the “love Triangle”
Investment
Good desire to keep reading, Lots of False turns that were given to me. Small part in middle where I started to lose interest, but it picked up again.
Logic
Lots of things made sense, the power of the dead, them watching all the time, their investment in basically destroying the Physical world, The hyper-addiction of the Dead to the hyper addicting drug of VR basically. The way everyone wants to die and move on to Upterlife.
Interesting and thoughtout application of loss of death.
Enjoyment
I enjoyed the book, small-medium issues, but overall worth it.
Life guard as they heroically hurled themselves underfoot.
Misc
Sneaking a Pony in.
Rewriting peoples brains
Gumdroole at the end, what a loser
There is no perfect solution something will always go wrong in the long run, but those are new problems to fix and change when they happen. Nothing remains the same forever.
The OLD Platitude. Life’s Short and Then you die. Totally flipped on its head
Nice way to give propaganda- video pov is forced to watch as punishment in Isolation.
Amichai “blocking” Ian Drumgoole.
LifeGuard Sucks, cause they turn every mission into a suicide mission
Explosions bring us closer to God.
Amichai’s Parents SUCK
Even though Neochristians and “regular” people hated each other, they both had the intense desire for a life after this life. Didn’t care about the Physical world.
I will be talking about it on Libromancy https://libromancy.podbean.com/ on 10/29/2023
C- 6
A-8
W-7
P-9
I-7
L-8
E-7
TOTAL-7.43/10
CAWPILE
Characters
Sometimes I had a hard time remembering that most of these characters are 15-17.
Amichai—I was really hoping he would become a hacker or programmer and do something that way, he turned out to be the worlds best Social Media Influencer. Has a moral character that won’t be shaken, but is totally or could totally be corrupted at the end of the book
Dare—what a flippy floppy character. Wish he’d had a secret shrive after betrayal. Would be better. Went from super scared to taking charge. Mastering Programming, felt a little too unreal
Peaches—interesting, nice, committed.
Mama Alex—master hacker, easily taken out by Drumgroole. Very competent
Ian Drumgoole/gumdroole—Wow, unexpected that he’s shrived Mortal since he was 11 basically. He’s a throughbred Psychopath, with super control issues.
Wickliffe/Wickcleft—Lost his ideals. Lived too long and can’t see the solutions
Izzy—wish we’d seen more of her.
NeoChristians—can totally see this actually happening, but have to remember it wasn’t mainstream Christians that turned but mostly spinoff’s etc
Evangeline—didn’t need her Love Triangle section. But was good as a reminder of other belief. Very grief stricken, had to kill her parents after they were mind wiped
Atmosphere
Well written Atmosphere. Dark world, everybody is secretly/not secretly suidicidal. Nice use of showing how the world has deteriorated with the advent of Upterlife
Writing
Writing was good, some spots I felt switched from Adult to YA. Shrive.
Plot
Good plot. The dead won’t leave the living alone, the Living only want to die. Amichai must figure out how to fix the “system”. Didn’t love or feel the real need of the “love Triangle”
Investment
Good desire to keep reading, Lots of False turns that were given to me. Small part in middle where I started to lose interest, but it picked up again.
Logic
Lots of things made sense, the power of the dead, them watching all the time, their investment in basically destroying the Physical world, The hyper-addiction of the Dead to the hyper addicting drug of VR basically. The way everyone wants to die and move on to Upterlife.
Interesting and thoughtout application of loss of death.
Enjoyment
I enjoyed the book, small-medium issues, but overall worth it.
Life guard as they heroically hurled themselves underfoot.
Misc
Sneaking a Pony in.
Rewriting peoples brains
Gumdroole at the end, what a loser
There is no perfect solution something will always go wrong in the long run, but those are new problems to fix and change when they happen. Nothing remains the same forever.
The OLD Platitude. Life’s Short and Then you die. Totally flipped on its head
Nice way to give propaganda- video pov is forced to watch as punishment in Isolation.
Amichai “blocking” Ian Drumgoole.
LifeGuard Sucks, cause they turn every mission into a suicide mission
Explosions bring us closer to God.
Amichai’s Parents SUCK
Even though Neochristians and “regular” people hated each other, they both had the intense desire for a life after this life. Didn’t care about the Physical world.
I will be talking about it on Libromancy https://libromancy.podbean.com/ on 10/29/2023
rossi199's review against another edition
3.0
The idea behind the story was fantastic; the execution of the writing not as good. I would still recommend it, though.
micaelamariem's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I just finished this book that pleasantly surprised me. I received The Uploaded in a used books book box and recently learned that the author, Ferrett Steinmetz, was from Cleveland which is my neck of the woods. For some reason, these facts almost made me think it wasn't going to be a great read. That, and the fact I seem to hate everything I've been reading lately. But I'm glad I was wrong.
The Uploaded is a science fiction dystopian set in the future where, when anyone dies, their consciousness is uploaded into this world wide server. As such, the world is ruled by the dead elite who determine who gets into this server and who doesn't. As a result, those who are still living live miserable lives, just hoping for death and the server. Until Amichai, a fifteen-year-old rebellious kid, changes things.
The author, Ferrett Steinmetz, has now published a few novels, dozens of short stories, and writes his own blogs and essays, trying to evaluate the world and leave it a better place--or at least, that's my interpretation on his musings.
In this story, I appreciated the diverse characters with their own unique flaws, even as frusturating as they were. The main character, Amichai, through whose point of view tells the narrative, is impulsive and has a bit of a hero complex, but he is compassionate with good intentions. His best friend, Dare, was at first my favorite character until his naivety turned into bitterness. Some of the other characters: Izzy, Amichai's sister who is reluctant to rebel; Peaches, one love interest who is sometimes passionate to a fault; Mama Alex, a mentor figure; Evangeline, who takes her faith to serious heights; and the villains each out for what they believe is right. This last part is something I really enjoyed--seeing how people can be evil and manipulative but doing it out of belief that it's the right thing instead of having selfish intentions. It really shows how impact means more than intentions.
Another thing that impressed me about the novel was the worldbuilding. Given the plot, there had to be a lot of scientific tech talk, but the way the world worked was delivered to the reader in a believable way without getting too complex for me or info-dumping. The rebuilding of the country with different names and the history of what happened in certain areas (like the Boston rebellion) was spectacular. One thing I always love is when the langugage in a book is so evolved that there are new curse words. For instance, in this book, they tend to use "void" as the new F word, as going "void" is when someone dies without being uploaded. It just impresses me that there are worlds so thoroughly created that even the language changes.
There were also some major plot twists. A few I'll admit I saw coming, but some I didn't at all, and I think that's a good balance. I wasn't so thrown off my feet that I was lost but I was rattled enough to keep my attention on the text. And even the fighting scenes were written well--and action scenes like that are typically where my eyes just naturally skip paragraphs, but they didn't this time!
Now of course, no one's perfect, and this book did have a few flaws. There were moments--not all the time, but moments--where the dialogue was a bit cringey or unbelivable. As if someone too self-righteous was talking. Perhaps my one major complaint, though, is that when there were some major deaths, I don't think the main character's grief was belivable. I think he could've leaned more into it, but it almost felt ignored, and that made me feel cheated. I know everyone grieves differently, but I wish there had been more emotion there.
Also, the Neo-Christians really annoyed me, but they were necessary to the book. It's just, as someone who believes in God, I hate to think I might ever become as judgemental and fundamentalistic as they did. Though, I probably don't like the idea of a server death either!
Overall, I give this book between 3.5-4 stars. It would have been a solid 4 if not for a scene in the ending, but no spoilers! I highly recommend this book to sci-fi lovers and anyone who is interested in the dark side of technology. Fans of Black Mirror, Sword Art Online, and Ready Player One may enjoy this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Addiction, Death, Gore, Torture, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, Genocide, and Alcoholism
acrisalves's review against another edition
4.0
https://osrascunhos.com/2017/08/14/the-uploaded-ferrett-steinmetz/
Direccionado para um público mais jovem (pelo menos Young Adult) The Uploaded tem uma premissa engraçada que cruza a possibilidade de fazer backup às nossas mentes para uma vivência virtual pós-morte física com elementos de distopia resultando numa história engraçada, mas que se alonga demasiado em determinados episódios sem grande relevância para a globalidade da história.
No mundo aqui descrito os seres humanos descobriram a possibilidade de guardar memórias e personalidade num servidor para assim viverem virtualmente após a morte do corpo. O que pode ser uma perspectiva agradável para os vivos sofre uma reviravolta quando é concedido aos virtuais (os mortos) poder de voto.
Rapidamente os mortos ganham grande influência e peso político mas, esquecidos do que é ter um corpo, os constrangimentos do mundo dos vivos não os afectam. Decorridos alguns anos os vivos são transformados numa espécie de escravos que, para poderem ter direito a esta vivência virtual, devem passar os dias a servir os mortos (ou em profissões que melhorem os servidores). O prémio é a vivência idílica, virtual, carregada de jogos viciantes. O castigo, a morte eterna.
Valorizados pelas possibilidades corporais (físicas) de trabalho, os vivos são desencorajados de perseguir profissões criativas ou inteligentes, até porque dificilmente poderão competir com as décadas de experiência dos mortos.
Quando um rapaz fica orfão e a sua irmã gravemente doente no hospital, começa a aperceber-se que os mortos já não são bem quem eram em vida, mudando drasticamente de prioridades, e que todos os esforços em conseguir uma vivência minimamente confortável à irmã passam por décadas de escravidão. De espírito rebelde e carismático, irá influenciar de forma decisiva a onda de descontentamento que leva a uma pequena guerra.
Direccionado para um público mais jovem (pelo menos Young Adult) The Uploaded tem uma premissa engraçada que cruza a possibilidade de fazer backup às nossas mentes para uma vivência virtual pós-morte física com elementos de distopia resultando numa história engraçada, mas que se alonga demasiado em determinados episódios sem grande relevância para a globalidade da história.
No mundo aqui descrito os seres humanos descobriram a possibilidade de guardar memórias e personalidade num servidor para assim viverem virtualmente após a morte do corpo. O que pode ser uma perspectiva agradável para os vivos sofre uma reviravolta quando é concedido aos virtuais (os mortos) poder de voto.
Rapidamente os mortos ganham grande influência e peso político mas, esquecidos do que é ter um corpo, os constrangimentos do mundo dos vivos não os afectam. Decorridos alguns anos os vivos são transformados numa espécie de escravos que, para poderem ter direito a esta vivência virtual, devem passar os dias a servir os mortos (ou em profissões que melhorem os servidores). O prémio é a vivência idílica, virtual, carregada de jogos viciantes. O castigo, a morte eterna.
Valorizados pelas possibilidades corporais (físicas) de trabalho, os vivos são desencorajados de perseguir profissões criativas ou inteligentes, até porque dificilmente poderão competir com as décadas de experiência dos mortos.
Quando um rapaz fica orfão e a sua irmã gravemente doente no hospital, começa a aperceber-se que os mortos já não são bem quem eram em vida, mudando drasticamente de prioridades, e que todos os esforços em conseguir uma vivência minimamente confortável à irmã passam por décadas de escravidão. De espírito rebelde e carismático, irá influenciar de forma decisiva a onda de descontentamento que leva a uma pequena guerra.
firerosearien's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting premise, decent but not great execution.
mactammonty's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting take on the baby boomer era and how they continue to shape our world by refusing to let go. I enjoyed the spin on technology too.
bmcraec's review against another edition
3.0
There is so much to like about this book. The novel is set in a plausible universe, helped by the perspective of the protagonist.I just wish I didn’t feel like the characters were implausible, perhaps as only severely traumatized teens can be. And unfortunately I found myself thinking about the brilliant review Mark Twain wrote about the action sequences of James Fenimore Cooper. I think Twain used slightly more colourful language than implausable.