Booklife Book Review(A Publisher's Weekly subsidiary)
This rich exploration of what it means to be human, alive, and loved from Hughes (author of Time and the Multiverse) blends chick-lit romance, smart of-the-moment science fiction, and a thrilling chase. In 2058, Dr. Stella Andrews is head researcher for the Anthropology Department at St. Claire University in Maine. She's approached by eccentric Victor Reid from Reid Robotics Technologies to use computational linguistics to develop artificially intelligent programs that can learn human language as well as traits like happiness, anger, and hope. Her colleague is Victor's partner Randall Reid, whose Greek-god physique and chiseled jawline make Stella swoon, but she soon finds him to be cold, disinterested, and focused solely on work. For the next year, Stella talks to R1836, a prototype AI program, teaching it about humanity, love, and attachment, preparing it for achieving sentience when it will then be transferred into an android-like organic Mechanically Enhanced Organism (MEO).
Hughes's exploration into the process of human thinking and reasoning is sophisticated and introspective, as is the all-too-human need for love, attraction, and closeness, expertly developed through Stella's compassion and intuition. But Stella gets concerned when she learns that R1836 has been accessing the lab's cameras to watch her. Its interest is chilling: it declares its love for her, and says, "my desire is to leave the mainframe to be with you." The tension mounts as she rebuffs it-and Randall rushes the experiment- all as Stella's work is threatened by Elito, a corporate espionage agency.
Penned in crisp prose, this bold combination of romance and science fiction will thrill readers of various genres as the twists and turns of Hughes's plot lead to a knockout revelation. That's especially true as Stella and Randall must go on the run from the corporate spies and from Victor who intends to activate the AI's kill switch, creating desperate, dangerous opportunities for this compelling duo to connect more deeply.
Miche Arendse for Readers' Favorite
Sixth Iteration by E. Hughes follows the story of Stella Andrews a renowned anthropologist who is approached by a robotics company to assist with their new project. Uncertain at first, Stella is a bit more eager to join the project when she finds out she'll be working with the handsome mathematician Randall Reid. The two begin working together and all seems to be going well, that is until the AI program begins to develop feelings for Stella.
Sixth Iteration by E. Hughes is definitely my cup of tea in terms of a romance novel. It had the perfect balance between sweetness and spice and I am not talking about actual flavors. Sixth Iteration offers a little bit of everything from drama to action all while balancing these aspects within the main plotline. The weird love triangle, if you can call it that, between Stella, Randall, and R1 was new and exciting, adding a new level of intrigue to the story. I also enjoyed Hughes' writing style, the pacing of the story was perfect, and I could tell a lot of thought went into the plot and characters. I also loved the addition of a secondary couple and a side story within the main story. At times Sapphire and Victor's story had me more hooked, especially with the darker setting of espionage. Overall, I loved reading Sixth Iteration although I knew I would the moment I read the synopsis. I am definitely looking forward to more work from E. Hughes.
