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The Prince and the Program

by Aldous Mercer

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232976,545 (3.5)None
Mordred Pendragon, the Bastard Prince, has done a Bad Thing-again. Exiled to Canada for seven years, he has to find a job to pay his bills. For reasons he refuses to reveal, Mordred decides "Software Engineer" has a nice ring to it. And though experience with "killing the Once and Future King, my father" and "that time in feudal Japan" makes for a poor résumé, he is hired by a small tech startup in Toronto. In the midst of dealing with a crippling caffeine addiction and learning C++, Mordred thinks he has finally found someone to anchor him to the world of the living: Alan, the company's off-site lead developer. Except that Alan might not be a "living" entity at all-he may, in fact, be the world's first strong AI. Or a demon that mistook a Windows install for the highway to Hell. Or, just maybe, the ghost of Alan Turing, currently inhabiting a laptop. Mordred's attempts to figure out his love life are hampered by constant interference from the Inquisitors of the Securitates Arcanarum, corporate espionage, real espionage, a sysadmin bent on enslaving the world, and Marketing's demands that Mordred ship software to the Russian Federation. Then Alan gets himself kidnapped. To save him, Mordred must ally himself with the company's CEO, who will stop at nothing to rescue her lead developer so he can get back to work. But the Prince doesn't just want to rescue Alan, he wants a Happily Ever After-and he will travel beyond Death itself to get one. Too bad Alan is perfectly happy as a computer.… (more)
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This is certainly one of the most amazing books I have read in a while. It is imaginative, has some brilliant characters, made me laugh, had lots of computer-geekiness which I adore, the tension was exquisite, the questions asked profound, and I was only disappointed when it ended –much too soon. This story will make your head spin with its implications on multiple levels. Even if you read the blurb (which I didn't do a very good job of, I admit), this book will still manage to shock and surprise you, I bet. What a total trip!

Mordred is a hilarious main character. A bastard prince who is also a Mage, he is banned to the Earthly plane to do penance for some slightly mysterious misdeed. He suddenly has to work for a living, and is not allowed to use magic. He has no marketable skills and ends up bluffing his way into a job at a small computer start-up company. Mordred's battles with the requirements of daily life (otherwise known as paying the bills) are quite amusing. The somewhat strange happenings at his new place of employment had me puzzled, then terrified and hoping for a somewhat happy ending.

Excursions into the paranormal, the absurd, and the unexpected kept me entertained. Mordred's attempts to have a love life were fun, and his increasing fascination with Alan had me in stitches – I suspected who he was from the beginning and saw that thread of the story develop with great amusement. There were too many other great characters and events to name, so suffice it to say that I do not think you will be bored. Well, possibly if you don’t like computers, but even then, there is enough humor in here for everyone.

If you don’t like surprises and plot twists – stay away from this book. If you like your stories neat with all the explanations given in great, easy-to-understand detail – for heaven's sake, don't even go near this. If you're looking for a traditional m/m romance – please, don’t buy this book. However, if you like books that make you think about the nature of being human, if you enjoy a puzzle and want to figure things out for yourself (what else have we got brains for, right?), and if you like a read that challenges your intellect as well as your ability to read through tears of laughter, then, by all means, get a copy right now, take a deep breath and plunge in. But be warned: this is an adventure of the highest degree and you may come out the other side with a different view of reality!




NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )
  SerenaYates | Oct 19, 2017 |
This is certainly one of the most amazing books I have read in a while. It is imaginative, has some brilliant characters, made me laugh, had lots of computer-geekiness which I adore, the tension was exquisite, the questions asked profound, and I was only disappointed when it ended –much too soon. This story will make your head spin with its implications on multiple levels. Even if you read the blurb (which I didn't do a very good job of, I admit), this book will still manage to shock and surprise you, I bet. What a total trip!

Mordred is a hilarious main character. A bastard prince who is also a Mage, he is banned to the Earthly plane to do penance for some slightly mysterious misdeed. He suddenly has to work for a living, and is not allowed to use magic. He has no marketable skills and ends up bluffing his way into a job at a small computer start-up company. Mordred's battles with the requirements of daily life (otherwise known as paying the bills) are quite amusing. The somewhat strange happenings at his new place of employment had me puzzled, then terrified and hoping for a somewhat happy ending.

Excursions into the paranormal, the absurd, and the unexpected kept me entertained. Mordred's attempts to have a love life were fun, and his increasing fascination with Alan had me in stitches – I suspected who he was from the beginning and saw that thread of the story develop with great amusement. There were too many other great characters and events to name, so suffice it to say that I do not think you will be bored. Well, possibly if you don’t like computers, but even then, there is enough humor in here for everyone.

If you don’t like surprises and plot twists – stay away from this book. If you like your stories neat with all the explanations given in great, easy-to-understand detail – for heaven's sake, don't even go near this. If you're looking for a traditional m/m romance – please, don’t buy this book. However, if you like books that make you think about the nature of being human, if you enjoy a puzzle and want to figure things out for yourself (what else have we got brains for, right?), and if you like a read that challenges your intellect as well as your ability to read through tears of laughter, then, by all means, get a copy right now, take a deep breath and plunge in. But be warned: this is an adventure of the highest degree and you may come out the other side with a different view of reality!


NOTE: This book was provided by DSP Publications for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
( )
  SerenaYates | Oct 14, 2017 |
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Mordred Pendragon, the Bastard Prince, has done a Bad Thing-again. Exiled to Canada for seven years, he has to find a job to pay his bills. For reasons he refuses to reveal, Mordred decides "Software Engineer" has a nice ring to it. And though experience with "killing the Once and Future King, my father" and "that time in feudal Japan" makes for a poor résumé, he is hired by a small tech startup in Toronto. In the midst of dealing with a crippling caffeine addiction and learning C++, Mordred thinks he has finally found someone to anchor him to the world of the living: Alan, the company's off-site lead developer. Except that Alan might not be a "living" entity at all-he may, in fact, be the world's first strong AI. Or a demon that mistook a Windows install for the highway to Hell. Or, just maybe, the ghost of Alan Turing, currently inhabiting a laptop. Mordred's attempts to figure out his love life are hampered by constant interference from the Inquisitors of the Securitates Arcanarum, corporate espionage, real espionage, a sysadmin bent on enslaving the world, and Marketing's demands that Mordred ship software to the Russian Federation. Then Alan gets himself kidnapped. To save him, Mordred must ally himself with the company's CEO, who will stop at nothing to rescue her lead developer so he can get back to work. But the Prince doesn't just want to rescue Alan, he wants a Happily Ever After-and he will travel beyond Death itself to get one. Too bad Alan is perfectly happy as a computer.

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Mordred Pendragon, the Bastard Prince, has done a Bad Thing—again. Exiled to Canada for seven years, he has to find a job to pay his bills. For reasons he refuses to reveal, Mordred decides “Software Engineer” has a nice ring to it. And though experience with “killing the Once and Future King, my father” and “that time in feudal Japan” makes for a poor résumé, he is hired by a small tech startup in Toronto.

In the midst of dealing with a crippling caffeine addiction and learning C++, Mordred thinks he has finally found someone to anchor him to the world of the living: Alan, the company’s off-site lead developer. Except that Alan might not be a "living" entity at all—he may, in fact, be the world's first strong AI. Or a demon that mistook a Windows install for the highway to Hell. Or, just maybe, the ghost of Alan Turing, currently inhabiting a laptop.

Mordred's attempts to figure out his love life are hampered by constant interference from the Inquisitors of the Securitates Arcanarum, corporate espionage, real espionage, a sysadmin bent on enslaving the world, and Marketing's demands that Mordred ship software to the Russian Federation. Then Alan gets himself kidnapped. To save him, Mordred must ally himself with the company’s CEO, who will stop at nothing to rescue her lead developer so he can get back to work. But the Prince doesn’t just want to rescue Alan, he wants a Happily Ever After—and he will travel beyond Death itself to get one.

 
Too bad Alan is perfectly happy as a computer.
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