The Adolescence of P-1

So, in 1977, personal computers hadn't hit the mainstream, a few megabytes was a LOT of storage, and the AI Winter hadn't hit. Enter P-1. The accidental brainchild of a college kid, it is now trying to take over the world and bringing it's creator and his sexy girl along with.

All on a bunch of System/360 mainframe computers over teleprocessing links.

So, if the book wasn't out of print, you could place it close to the beginning of the Cyberpunk movement. Pre-cyberpunk. No leather, no Sprawl, more sex than Neuromancer, but was P-1 really that different from Wintermute?

An awesome retro read.

This is a very interesting read and (probably) one of the first books about a computer worm. Part Frankenstein story, part sci-fi, pure enjoyment.

I read this book years ago and the recent competition on Jeopardy with "Watson" reminded me of it. I remember being intrigued by the idea of a computer being programmed to link with other computers to soak up as much knowledge as possible. It then runs amuk. Lots of fun.

Feliks liked it, and another reviewer says it's "what if."