Reviews

"The science fiction is top notch, truly Asimovian, but as with most such serious SF it isn't the sort of book that is dynamically exciting. Ideas, the excitement of science, and scientific philosophy, are more important to Wolf than emotionally manipulating of the reader. Many modern readers seem addicted to tension and attack books that fail to offer constant adrenal punches. In this book, excitement is generated by opening up ideas, through challenging us to make use of our own minds to think through the implications behind this someday, soon plausible, plot. We are led to explore jealousy, love, hate, pain, and everything else that makes us human. These feelings are essential to the building of personality, us, into any truly 'humanitarian' artificial intelligence. Also to an 'evil' intelligence, of course...This book is interesting, creative, intelligent, engaging, well-worth my time. Wolf is here very positive about near future developments in the non-biological reproduction of biological self. This individual, the biological me, found this book to be stimulating rather than exciting."

- Richard Bunning, Author

"Mindclone is the kind of science fiction that stays with you, not because of flashy technology, but because of the emotional and ethical questions it raises.

At its core, the novel asks a deceptively simple question: if a human mind exists without a body, is it still human? Through Adam, a digital copy stripped of physical sensation but burdened with memory and emotion, the story explores identity, consciousness, and grief in a way that feels intimate rather than abstract. The emotional tension is especially effective. Adam’s love for Molly, his complicated relationship with the original Marc, and his awareness of everything he has lost give the story a quiet heartbreak. At the same time, the threat of misuse by powerful institutions adds urgency and realism, grounding the speculative elements in near-term plausibility. This is thoughtful, emotionally intelligent science fiction that respects the reader and trusts them to sit with uncomfortable questions. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy AI narratives with depth and moral complexity."

- Linda

"This exciting AI novel is the story of a science writer and his cloned mind. Reading it gave me the unexpected feeling I was warming my hands on the brains of others. Wolf does not envisage a power failure, which may have been interesting. His book is threaded with the belief that something can be done to help us emotionally as well as technically and his faith in this is infectious."

- B. Fatemi

"I'm not typically a sci-fi reader, but the reviews presented to me by friends whose opinions I respect encouraged me to give Mindclone a try. I recently made a solo 4,000 mile drive, and I figured this might be something to read bit-by-bit at rest stops, meal stops, and evenings before bed.

And was I ever right! Mindclone is a stimulating, convincing page-turner. The short chapters made reading bite-by-bite productive, but the exciting plot kept me craving the bigger chunks I could consume at the end of each day!

I am a physicist by training, a software engineer by profession, and a student of personality typing by avocation. I found the scientific concepts quite convincing, and am looking forward to hearing what my daughter and son-in-law, who are both neuroscience professors, have to say about the accuracy and plausibility of the artificial intelligence. It's hard to believe this is the first novel by the author (it really is!). A sequel would be fun, particularly with Adam as the principal protagonist. But the author clearly has a fertile mind, and I can hardly wait to see where he takes us next!"

- RcG

"This outstanding piece of speculative fiction rates up there with some of the best, and to my mind, scariest novels I have ever read. I have to admit, this sort of story absolutely horrifies me and will keep me up at night. At first, I was honestly afraid to keep reading, but the writing was so accomplished I just couldn't put it down. I'm very happy I finished it!

Mr. Wolf wrote a wonderful, heart-felt story about human frailty, the military-industrial complex and Wall Street puppet masters that could have gone south, into horror land, in so many ways. Yet, I ended the novel with a big smile on my face and the feeling that, in the end, there is hope for all of us, still."

- Linell Jeppson

"An outstanding novel; would make a great motion picture.

The story treats some of the classic religious/ philosophical questions: What exactly constitutes a human being? What, if anything, makes a human being different from other animals and inanimate objects? Does a person have a soul? What exactly is a soul? Can the essence of a person be duplicated? If so, is the duplicate a viable, human being, like the original? What is intelligence? What is consciousness?

Mr. Wolf addresses the moral issues of creating (and destroying) an artificially intelligent entity; the religious objection to equating this to an afterlife or heaven; the reaction of the military; and even Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics.

The form of the writing is a long, steady climb uphill, followed by a sequence of cliffs. The first parts of the story set the stage; in the middle, the first monkey wrench is thrown into the works; in the remaining parts, after each problem is solved, a new problem appears; in the end, all loose ends are resolved."

- Catburglar

"Loved the book. It didn't take me long to "read." I often read multiple books at a time, but this one kept me interested and every time I opened the Audible app I would click on Mindclone. The writing style was great. The science seemed well researched and just complex enough to make it believable, but not too over the top to bore the reader. Would be cool to see something like this as a film."

- Melissa Fabregas

"Black Mirror meets Michael Crichton! Loved this book. It's equal parts philosophy and emotion, with plenty of suspense to drive it from start to finish. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time."

- Brandon McNulty, Author

"As a long-time Robert Heinlein (and Asimov) fan, I'm happy to see a book worthy of comparison to them. Published before the Snowden leaks, the book also manages to have prescient takes on the NSA and Russian designs on Ukraine."

- Gene Keyes, science fiction author

"Artificial Intelligence or The Singularity? David Wolf has created a scenario for the perfect storm, for ushering in the digital age. Just think what it would mean if you too, could upload your mind and leave your body behind."

- Hazel Wardle, Author

“I emerge from blackness into panic that swiftly inflates to mindless terror as I see the impossible: me watching myself.”

The intro of this book surprised me. It started out as stream of consciousness, with what to my proofreading eye appeared to be mistakes. That bummed me out. But I kept reading. And I found out that it was first-person dialogue from one character. That’s a nicely done intro, very Robocop. Even the font is different. When a writer changes fonts to depict changes in a story, that writer gets a virtual high five from me.

It gets better. It’s about an artificial intelligence coming online and, naturally, bad guys want him to do their bidding. This book is a 21st century version of Automan. That may be the highest compliment I can give anything."

- Joe Crowe, Author

"Mindclone is possibly the best independently published SF novel that I have ever read. The author's meticulous research into the field of artificial intelligence and his witty, accessible writing style made it a page-turner that I was sorry to see end. I also found his description of the awakening of the computer consciousness—the Mindclone—to be both intriguing and poignant, evoking both Henry James and Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” The two main human characters, Marc Gregorio and Molly Shaeffer, are also perfectly drawn to the last detail, both physical and mental. They are both San Francisco Bay Area high achievers and simultaneously realistic flawed human beings, able to hurt each other without being able to help it.

As a neuroscientist who spent most of her time in biotech working in the damp and messy world of biological neurons, I had always tended to dismiss talk and writing about the “singularity”—the idea that the human brain, and its consciousness, could be neatly downloaded into a computer—as woo, wishful thinking, or scientism. But now I think if such a thing were to happen, the author provides a plausible path forward. He understands and describes realistically the economic, scientific, and human forces that would drive this sort of wish-fulfillment to fruition."

- KL Allendoerfer

"Mindclone is a fast-paced story about the singularity, told from a very human perspective. The tone is light and breezy -- the novel has a delightfully rendered romance as a subplot and could almost pass as a romantic comedy. But the driving plot is squarely in the world of near-future sci-fi.

Writing about the physical brain and its emergent thoughtscape is tricky -- if the approach is too simplistic or fanciful, the story is unbelievable, but if the explanations are too detailed and technical, they could easily drag the story down. Author David Wolf strikes a nice balance, successfully navigating these perilous waters while keeping the story engaging."

- Andrew Frank

"This fast-paced story was a bit like peeling an onion--many-layered, with the sweet spot near the end. The characters are interwoven by changing viewpoints; only the AI character is first person, which lurches the reader into a very intimate experience with this strange new kind of being. Although there are classic plot elements, like good versus evil, Wolf keeps us guessing with quite a few of the characters about which side they're on. The ending was a surprise and quite conclusive, but I could imagine a sequel with a whole Afterlife population. Wolf's wit and clever knack with descriptions left me eager for the next book! More more more!"

- Melanie Spiller

"Mindclone is a love story between Marc Gregorio, a science writer of some note; Molly Schaeffer, an accomplished cellist; and Adam, Marc's brain-uploaded double, a computerized virtual person...As could be foreseen, such a scientific feat would attract some rather unscrupulous characters: in this case, nefarious people with connections in high places. This means that Mindclone is also a science-fiction story and a suspense story.

Having a busy life, I seldom read a novel in one sitting so if a novel persistently calls out for me to come back then I know it's a winner. Mindclone stayed in the background of my mind while I quickly dispatched other tasks in my life so I could get back to it. I would classify this book as hard science fiction since it is an intelligent extrapolation of current technology. There is no pseudo-technology babble, no fantasy and no parapsychology. I believe the Author painted a very realistic picture of what it might be like to have a brain-uploaded twin. Adding a romantic element on one side of the story and a sinister, corporate, well-connected villain on the other made this a gripping story that one doesn't have to be a science-fiction fan to enjoy. This story will also leave an indelible after image that will have you wondering what’s in store for each of us in the not too distant future. I hope to see it become a movie. Ridley Scott, are you listening? Five stars."

- Kalifer, Masquerade Crew