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The Singularity Trap
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
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The Singularity Trap
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Summary
Dennis E. Taylor, author of the best-selling Bobiverse trilogy, explores a whole different, darker world in this sci-fi stand-alone. Determined to give his wife and children a better life back home, Ivan Pritchard ventures to the edge of known space to join the crew of the Mad Astra as an asteroid miner. He's prepared for hard work and loneliness—but not the unthinkable. After coming into contact with a mysterious alien substance, Pritchard finds an unwelcome entity sharing his mind, and a disturbing physical transformation taking place. With his very humanity at stake, Pritchard must save mankind from a full-scale interstellar war.
Brought to life by prolific, award-winning narrator Ray Porter, The Singularity Trap is a thrilling adventure rife with drama and action on a truly cosmic scale.
Critic reviews
“Dennis Taylor serves up a top-notch outer-space adventure…. Ray Porter’s narration is simply brilliant…. In addition to suspense, action, futuristic detail, and moments of comedy, the book brings a light, investigative touch to the question of what exactly human identity is.” (The Washington Post)
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What listeners love about The Singularity Trap
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Simon
- 07-06-18
Classic Sci-fi with a Modern Style
Dennis E Taylor has done it again it seems as this is another high quality production from him very ably voiced by Ray Porter. The storyline has a lot of the hallmarks of classic sci-fi. In fact I'd say it's perhaps "harder" sci-fi than his popular Bobiverse series. A development of his style rather than a flat continuation.
It is still however imbued with Taylor's subtle humour at times and his patient and careful characterisation. It is also once again a fairly ordinary guy trying to deal with a situation beyond comprehension and while there are many tropes traditional to the genre there is plenty of invention too.
Ray Porter does a great job with the narration with many characters voiced in distinctive ways. There are also some nice touches on the audio with radio voices when appropriate which give it additional depth.
If you liked the Bobiverse series this is closer to what I would term hard sci-fi but there's still lots to love here and I think most people would get a similar level of enjoyment out of this one too. I think Taylor has another hit on his hands and he's clearly an author that is going to be fun to follow in the future.
90 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rain
- 07-07-18
Simply Outstanding
Without a doubt the best science fiction book I have ever read, and I have read a lot over the last 40 years. The plot is outstandingly brilliant and you are fully transported into the story line from page 1. The narration is so good it is beyond belief. This narrator is absolutely outstanding each character’s voice unique. I am in awe. I chose this book because of its high ratings. I now completely understand and concur with those ratings. I think I am going to have to listen to it again! And I am also going to look up every other book this narrator may have performed.
46 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anony-mouse
- 13-06-18
Average Follow Up to Bobiverse series
This might have benefited from a new narrator. Ray Porter narrated the Bobiverse series superbly and unfortunately there was similar vocal characterisation. The story sort of petered out, with similar themes from Taylor's previous series which weren't expanded upon enough. Sadly I'm afraid I can only give this book 3 stars as it doesn't get beyond average, which is a pity.
15 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- The Dark Newt
- 10-06-18
Love this...
Dennis E Taylor has delivered again. As has Ray Porter. And Audible.
The Bobiverse series may or may not have run its course, but evidently Dennis had plenty of life left in his old notes to come up with this great story. This comment is not meant to be negative in the slightest - this story is not a broth made of stale leftovers, but it has almost certainly arisen from ideas that didn't make it into the Bobiverse.
Ray Porter does an excellent job of narration, as before, and it doesn't at all come across as odd that Bob and Ivan sound alike. It's like having dinner with your old friend's pleasingly urbane younger brother.
The humour is still there, if maybe a little dryer (no Simpsons references that I recognised, for one). The characters are as rounded, and the protagonists as agreeable, as one would expect from Taylor. Perhaps, as another reviewer noted, the sci-fi is a little 'harder' than in the Bobiverse, but we're talking nanobots and LaGrange points vs Von Neumann probes and .. err LaGrange points. There's honestly not much in it IMO. And the arch-antagonists (the Others) in the Bobiverse used nanites, anyway.
I think Audible made a great decision in recognising the combined talents of Taylor as an author and Porter as a performer, and I hope this won't be the last we see from this dream team.
13 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Wakeman
- 08-02-19
Spoiled by one-dimensional characters
Beware of spoilers.
This story has several classical sci-fi tropes going back to the 1950s, not to mention some of the characterisation being reminiscent of E.E. 'Doc' Smith.. It starts with our plucky out-of-luck underdog venturing into space on a run-down asteroid mining vessel. Having gone through a fairly torturous sequence of events, he 'makes contact' with an alien artefact. From then on, there are a number of 'deus-ex-machina' events,which end with the Earth being saved from destruction.
Sadly, most of the main characters are as thinly drawn as our hero becomes for his initial shape-shifting escape from captivity. The Earthly political and military backgrounds are drawn in cliches. Don't get me wrong, there are some aspects which are well-written and entertaining. It's a shame that the framework is so shaky.
The performance is good and holds your attention.
9 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ammar
- 07-11-18
Decent
Very slow in the beginning - I nearly gave up but stuck with it.
Story picked up towards the end. Found the concept was interesting and overall I was happy with the story.
Narration was good.
7 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Jean Claude Ard Van Pierre
- 24-06-18
It was... alright?
Started off as a promising classic SciFi story, however I found that the plot tended to waver and then by the end I lost interest. I was expecting more about the creators, I was left wanting more and the way the story ended I don't think those wants will ever be remedied.
The performance was awesome however.
7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Langers
- 07-11-18
Highly recommend
This is an old story I guess but retold in a truly fascinating way. Without giving too much away the story has A good mix of good versus evil, versus the unknown. I can’t explain too much about the story as it will give away what is a very clever plot. I highly recommend this as an audio book as literally I couldn’t stop listening the pace and narration are superb
6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dario Grandis
- 21-11-18
Thoroughly entertaining if not 100% original
Thoroughly entertaining if not 100% original, a simple but well flushed out story with good character development and sound science to back it up
5 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Natalia
- 07-03-19
Boring
I had to force myself to finish this book. The characters are empty shells and you aren't really given any reason to care about any if them. Almost the other way, I almost feel a dislike for Ivan for being a dry, souless main character, who really doesn't feel that upset about losing his family.
The whole thing kept feeling like might be building up to something but then the ending turned out to be equally un-exiting.
And. So. Many. Meetings.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amy Scott
- 13-06-18
Excellent.
After reading the Bobiverse books, I craved more from Taylor. The Singularity Trap exceeded my expectations. I just love Taylor’s writing style and story telling ability.
As for this production, Ray Porter did an excellent job, as he always does. Also, the addition of how voices were portrayed over a phone call, radio, etc was really neat. I hope to find more audiobooks produced like this.
If you enjoyed anything Ray Porter has narrated or Dennis E. Taylor’s Bobiverse books, you will thoroughly enjoy The Singularity Trap.
167 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Abdur Abdul-Malik
- 08-06-18
Not As Compelling as the Bobiverse
First off, I loved the Bobiverse and I think Dennis E. Taylor is a great addition to the world of sci-fi. That acknowledged, and it pains me to say this, The Singularity Trap is a miss. The narration is top-notch, but the story isn't arresting. I didn't make much of a connection with the protagonist. I also felt the dialogue wasn't riveting either. Too many times the author tells us the characters laughed at something I personally didn't laugh at. Also, referencing Star Trek was okay in the Bobiverse, but I cringed when it came up again in this book (even in passing). However, my central issue is the plot itself. I have read many books about the singularity and I don't feel the author portrayed the subject convincingly. The singularity is a huge idea, one that basically says no human being alive at this moment can fully comprehend what a post-human world would be like. It would be a universe of staggering complexity and wonders. Such grandeur wasn't really conveyed or even really hinted at. We have some gee-whiz moments, but not enough of them. This is a criticism that can be aimed at many authors. Read The Age of Spiritual Machines, Life 3.0, and Superintelligence, all non-fiction books. I wish more authors would borrow ideas from those tomes.
141 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jerry
- 06-06-18
Excellent!
The Bobiverse trilogy quickly became a favorite for me. I was excited to see another book from Dennis Taylor come up as recommended. I burned through this in a day. Excellent book. The audio effects were top notch! When characters talked over the radio or phone there was a light change to the dialogue. It worked well and I hope other audiobooks take note of how well it works.
126 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tavis
- 06-06-18
12 hour book within 24 hours
I couldn't sleep last night. It wasn't insomnia. It was THIS DARN BOOK! I couldn't turn it off. I swear I set my sleep timer for 15 minutes at least 10 times. I've had my Bluetooth headphone in my ear since I woke up this morning. I don't know how Mr. Taylor does it, but thank you for being a fast writer! The Bob series and then this book. I might be in love. I think I will be going to look up his previous books now. Lord help my sleep patterns.
119 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- ryan mckinney
- 10-06-18
Disappointed fan of Dennis E. Taylor
I love this combination of author and narrator, being a huge fan of the Bobiverse. However... the story here fell very flat. If this is another three part series it may get better... but this felt like a very rushed, weak installment from Taylor. The character building is decent (nothing special, but I like a few characters and would like to hear more about them) and that’s why I think that a series could survive this. However, poor conflict buildup and a disappointing, magic wand ending mean that as a stand-alone story, this is sadly a failure for me.
113 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Susan and Mike Pluta
- 05-06-18
Five Stars Squared!
The team of Dennis E. Taylor and Ray Porter have again delivered audiobook good!
The Singularity Trap , penned by Taylor and voiced by Porter is a new hard sci-fi Audible exclusive release. The story incorperates first contact, nanotechnology, military conspiracies, interstellar conflict and more all wrapped in the warm quilt of Taylor-Porter fun and frivolity.
I've been patiently waiting for this release and have not been disappointed.
I wish I could give this five stars squared!
93 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Queso Rob
- 02-05-19
On the more realistic side
Many authors of this genre bend the laws of physics, aka magic. This is on the more believable side. No faster than light travel, no ridiculous space combat, basically none of the "magic" stuff that you commonly find in other books.
It's similar to The Day The Earth Stood Still, but takes place in the middle of the next century and the story launches after astroid miners encounter something alien. The role tech plays is less gimicky than in other stories, and much more creative.
92 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- A Texan 2
- 19-06-18
Too many problems. Too many poor choices
I really wanted to like this book. After all, it had everything going for it. Written by Dennis E. Taylor, who has recently finished what has become one of my all-time favorites series with his “Bobiverse” trilogy. As I almost always consume my books by audio anymore, Ray Porter returning to narrate was also another element strongly in favor of this new book.
Let’s get some positives out of the way, for there are several. As stated, Ray Porter once again brings an A game to the narration with distinct voices for the major characters…though, having finished the Bobiverse not too long ago and also having listened to him narrate the works of Peter Cline, it is getting a little harder to not notice some similarities in voices across the different books. Still, there’s only so many voices one person can produce. At this point, I liken it more to recognizing actors who tend to pop up in different roles on the various syfy shows being filmed up in Canada. As I say, for these books, the character voices are distinct and easy to tell who is who at any given time.
The characters themselves are well written and engaging. I can tend to forgive a lot of story writing sins if the characters are at least interesting enough to make me care about what they are going through. Once again, Mr. Taylor delivers on that front.
Finally, the concept itself showed a lot of promise. A first contact situation for humanity is a common science fiction premise, so it’s getting harder to come up with something original. Weaving in the Fermi Paradox and Game Theory as integral elements of the story gave this a different spin. So, while I give credit to Mr. Taylor for this take on first contact, it’s the execution that ultimately soured me.
Especially getting through the meat of the story in the middle, one name kept popping up in my head – Prometheus. The movie set in the universe of the Alien movies. If you’ve seen it, one of it’s biggest problems is how much of the plot is driven by supposedly highly educated scientists making a string of amazing dumb decisions. At every turn in the middle of the book, I kept finding myself questioning out loud things like “Why would they do that?” “Who’s been watching this guy?” “Why is nobody talking to this guy every day?” So much of the conflict arises from an unbelievable lack of communication by a group of people who are all together in the same facility. I can appreciate some level of mistrust on the part of the central protagonist as he moves through this middle part of the story. But with that, he shouldn’t have been able to get away with doing much of what he did without being noticed. What compounds all this, and in many ways makes it worse that what happened in Prometheus, it just how dumb the alien intelligence is as well.
I’ve danced around any major spoilers up until now. I’m going to get into a few more detailed examples to illustrate some of my issues. I’ll try to keep spoilers limited, but I am going to reveal some more details. The book starts off with an alien probe arriving in our system, identifying Earth as a place with a good potential for sentient life to emerge, and leaves behind a small part of it’s payload to….sit inert until someone is dumb enough to make a grab for it. After Ivan is “infected” and has gone through his transformation, he begins communicating with the machine that has essentially replaced his body. Ivan is asked why the aliens just left a small package to be discovered. He replies with something along the lines of it allowed the aliens to make due with a minimum amount of material. The implication is that the main probe wandering the galaxy has a limited payload, so it leaves a small, inert batch in each system it identifies that waits for the local species to become advanced enough at space travel to come out and find it. The problem is that this whole premise quickly falls apart. Mr. Taylor shows that the alien artifact has considerable manufacturing capability in the form of nanites. It uses them to very quickly conduct major planet changing transformations – building mega structures on Mercury, Venus, and Mars in a matter of a few hours or days. The technology makes the 3D printing capabilities of the Bobiverse look like a quilting bee by comparison. It’s hard to reconcile a collection of alien intelligence that advanced leaving a package to sit dormant, doing absolutely nothing until it gets discovered. You would think it would have built itself up enough in the ensuing millions of years to establish contact and make regular transmissions back to the “space address” for lack of a better term, that is had hard coded within itself. Reporting back on the progress of human development on Earth and getting updates on the state of the galactic war over the ongoing millions of years – even at 142 years a round trip, would have made far more sense than leaving the whole thing to chance.
The book suffers from a number of other structural issues particularly with regard to how time flows through the narrative and how quickly things are able to move and, as mentioned above, be built, relative to other moving parts of the narrative.
Finally, I just found the world building itself implausible and lacking in internal consistency. As most science fiction readers know, we have to engage in a certain level of suspension of disbelief to accept the world that we’re asked to visit through piece of media like this. Warp drives, laser swords, space folding – various concepts that we buy into. But, we expect some level of internal consistency; some set of rules that are either explicitly spelled out by the author, or implicitly communicated by the events of the narrative. Certainly some properties handle this better than others. A system with strong space faring capability, multi-planet settlements, and the ability to exploit the resources of the system via mining is hard to reconcile with an Earth that is still suffering from rising oceans and global warming. This same system suffers from what seems to be near poverty and desperation for most of the population, yet the system has an abundance of exploitable resources and the “big rock” strike turns a crew of mining prospectors into billionaires with monetary resources to impact the behavior of governments. If this book had been written 40 years ago, I could forgive some of this. But, a lot of science fiction has been written, read, and critiqued in that time. Even though the author makes explicit references to some of our commonly know science fiction, in many ways, it tries to operate as though none of that literature and the thoughts behind it are part of our common understanding.
The book feels like the author really wanted to offer lessons in Game Theory and the Fermi Paradox and wrote a story backwards to build toward them. However, at least for me, the whole premise that he starts from just doesn’t make enough sense to be able to believably follow this ride. I think if this were posted on Bobnet, the Bobs would take Mr. Taylor to task for this piece of writing. He’s demonstrated that he is capable of far far better than this.
79 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- BB
- 06-09-18
Disappointed
I really enjoyed the Bobiverse books but The Singularity Trap was a disappointment. I am really surprised that this book has received so many positive reviews given that absolutely nothing happens in the story. The whole of the book is a debate about whether or not to kill the man - now alien - being. Listening to this story (if you can even call it that) was about as enthralling as watching a congressional debate on C-Span. Sorr,y Dennis Taylor! I will give your future books a try but this one was a dud.
Side Note: I really enjoy Ray Porter's narrations however I found the switching back and forth between his regular voice and the "intercom" voice distracting. It was jarring and took me out the story.
74 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- William
- 01-07-18
If it wasn't for Ray...
I would have never finished this book. Loved Dennis's Bobiverse books but this book is horrible. One dimensional characters, stereotypes galore, today's politics, razor thin plot and horrible science. Very slow deadliest catch start leads to what should finally give the reader some action they've been craving, but ultimately leads to disappointment. Not sure if this was a book Dennis wrote prior to the Bob books (i.e., his first book), but hopefully this isn't what we have to look forward to in the future.
71 people found this helpful