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After On cover art

After On

Written by: Rob Reid
Narrated by: Sean Kenin, January LaVoy, Felicia Day, Patrick Rothfuss, John Hodgman, Tom Merritt, Jesse Cox, Leo Laporte
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Publisher's Summary

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 best-selling 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. 

Narrated by Sean Kenin and January LaVoy, with:
Felicia Day: NETGRRRL.COM
Patrick Rothfuss: Special Field Operative Brock Hogan
John Hodgman: Charles Henry Higgensworth III
Tom Merritt: voice of The New York Times
Jesse Cox: Whistle Blowings Blog
Leo Laporte: voice of The San Francisco Chronicle

©2017 Rob Reid (P)2017 Random House Audio

What the critics say

" After On is smart, hilarious, and properly cynical about our connected world. The story unfolds in surprising and fiendish ways, and while you're laughing you'll 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)

"Rob Reid doesn't write science fiction; he writes future history. After On is the best account I've read of how superintelligence will arrive and what it will mean for all of us. Hilarious, frightening, believable, and marvelously constructed - After On has it all." (Hugh Howey, New York Times best-selling author of Wool)

"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 On's 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 Valley's 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 we're going to outlive our own creations - and our obsessions with them." (John Battelle, co-founder, NewCo, Federated Media, and Wired)

What listeners say about After On

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Sci-fi that feels like the future

It was a great read from the start. The different parts were done quite well by all actors. Thank you for this book it really makes you think about A.I. in a different light. Also goes well with the podcast. Enjoy

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Brilliant, hilarious, and thought provoking!

Loved it. The performances were fantastic. Excellent commentary on serious social implications of future technology.

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Highly entertaining and thought provoking work.

The voice acting is stellar and one of the reasons this book flew by. I listen to Rob’s podcast and finally decided to take the plunge. It’s my first fiction audio book and I’m so glad this was my introduction. I cant recommend it more highly.

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world view changing

Any science fiction that changes your world view is worth reading in my opinion. There were many concepts and technologies covered in this book that I was familiar with prior to reading. This book takes those concepts, and as done with any good science fiction, adds it's own twist that you may never have considered. That feeling of discovery, terror, and smallness is always interesting to explore in new directions. The ending had me laughing to myself in my garage, wondering half heartedly if the reality the book depicts, was already upon us. Fun read!

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A Horrific tale.

A spine-tingelin story to really expand your imagination.

but I hate *keyholes* ????
what y?

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Great story and impeccable cast

Fantastic book, Mr Reid has a gift for bringing characters to life both with his writing and casting decisions. A compelling story that gripped from the very start to finish.

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