Free Radical

by Shamus Young

A fan-made novel drawing from ideas and characters which appeared in the 1994 classic System Shock from Looking Glass games. A cyberpunk story which explores the nature of intelligence and AI.

Genres: Dystopia, Science Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published April 2, 2003

About the author

Shamus Young is a programmer specializing in old-school graphics techniques. He's the author of the blog Twenty Sided. He's the creator of the webcomics DM of the Rings and Stolen Pixels. He's one of the hosts of the videogame commentary series Spoiler Warning. He's tired of writing about himself in the third person.

Reviews

[Jonas Pettersson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who's played and very much appreciated the System Shock games this was a fun read. It feels more like a fleshed out story than fan fiction of the first game, and as such you don't have to play the game before reading this story, even though it helps. There are changes made for dramatic effect and while most of it works, there were a couple of parts towards the end that I thought could've worked a little better. You can find this one for free on: shamusyoung.com/shocked/

[Balázs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the retelling and transformation of System Shock's story in novel form.
It was extremely refreshing to read the archetypal AI-turns-on-humans-in-space story written by somebody who understands programming and (mega)corporate culture to tell it plausibly.
The writing quality is just excellent and far above of what qualifying it as fan fiction would suggest.

[Gints · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like how Shamus' knowledge of programming shines through, which is, of course, absolutely important in a cyberpunk story about a hacker.

[Ken Sapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good for a first book. Enjoyable story with some interesting thoughts on AI and a plausible reason for a "rogue" AI to kill everyone for once.

[Joshtheblack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Available for free on shamusyoung.com

[Lino · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely gripping and amazing book that you can read in one sitting - it absolutely transcends the game it was based on. It's a great look at the nature of AI, its similarities to human thought and the implications of that.

While these ideas are greatly expanded upon in Shamus' last book - The Other Kind of Life - Free Radical is much more action-packed.

So, if you want to look at some interesting ideas about AI, but you're in the mood for a thriller, then this is a very good choice. But if you're just interested in a down-to-earth exploration of the nature of AI (or just a good mystery), then I suggest you go for The Other Kind of Life.

As it stands, though, I was in the mood for something more action-packed, so Free Radical hit the spot just right!

[Lyle Gillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you get when you cross William Gibson and Mary Shelley? The answer is this novel. The techno speak, the character development, and the atmosphere are a cut above the average horror and Cyberpunk novels. Man, monster, and machine are spliced together in this fine main course of a novel. While not trailblazing or revolutionary, Free Radical is definitely worth the read.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this one a long time ago, having been drawn to the book after I read (and loved) DM of the Rings. Unfortunately this material is not of the same quality by a long mile. It really took me long to finish it and I don't think I'll give it a second try.

The book is fanfic at best, and not very well written fan fic, unfortunately.