Not So Dead: A Sam Sunborn Novel
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Not So Dead: A Sam Sunborn Novel Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Charles Levin (Author, Publisher), Daniel Greenberg (Narrator)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 334 ratings
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A scientist with a lifelong dream. But his modern-day breakthrough may have devastating global consequences...

"There's a cutting-edge current to every page that's hard to resist, so get ready to engage your heart and your mind." -Steve Berry, New York Times best-selling author

What could go wrong when a team of brilliant computer scientists achieves immortality by digitizing their personalities? Everything - if the government wants the technology and you've crossed paths with a band of ruthless terrorists bent on causing unspeakable damage.

Follow Sam Sunborn as he teams up with a real Einstein to give birth to an invention that could change the lives of everyone on the planet forever. Sam wants to help people with his invention but lands up having to defend it and his family from a sadistic psychopath known only as the Leopard, a driven and demented terrorist, whose mission is to rein chaos and destruction on the Western World. Using the latest technology and a battle of wills and wits, Sunborn and the Leopard engage in an epic global clash. What disasters befall the innocent in the Leopard's wake? Can Sam and his rag-tag team use wit and will alone to prevent a worldwide catastrophe? Mysteries and surprises abound in this fast-paced thriller.

Not So Dead is the first standalone book in the Sam Sunborn series of cutting-edge techno-thrillers. If you like Michael Crichton, Tom Clancy, and Robert Ludlum, then you'll love Not So Dead, which combines all of their best traits in a captivating, current-times to near-future global thrill ride. If you enjoy heart-pounding action, mind-bending inventions, and terrifying villains, then you'll love Charles Levin's gripping saga.

Buy Not So Dead and plug into this exciting thrill-ride today!

"A tense, high-powered techno-thriller." -Kirkus Review

About the author: Charlie's 23-year background in tech, degree in philosophy and love of fast-paced thrillers are the brew that created Not So Dead. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Amy, and has two sons, too far away in California.

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  1. Listening Length
    7 hours and 18 minutes
  2. Author
    Charles Levin
  3. Narrator
    Daniel Greenberg
  4. Audible release date
    October 10, 2017
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Charles Levin
  7. ASIN
    B076655GX9
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 7 hours and 18 minutes
Author Charles Levin
Narrator Daniel Greenberg
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date October 10, 2017
Publisher Charles Levin
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B076655GX9
Best Sellers Rank #419,311 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#1,334 in Technothrillers (Audible Books & Originals)
#6,183 in Technothrillers (Books)

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
334 global ratings
Digitized
4 Stars
Digitized
This is a very interesting story. It was full of action and technology. It deals with today's fight on terrorism and had a surprising and a little confusing ending. Well thought out story.
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Top reviews from the United States

Dr. Geoff
5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely realistic gripping page turner of a MUST READ thriller!
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2018
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Charles Levin’s book Not So Dead was an exciting, riveting thrilling read. It kept me up reading WAY later than I should have on consecutive nights. While there were elements of science fiction in the book, the premise is built on a foundation of solid technology and research and scientific principles that exist today, and for me, being in the IT Technology sphere, this made the book all the more enjoyable.

More on the points of realism: I am also affiliated with certain governmental agencies that were discussed in detail in the book and factor heavily. I don’t know much of Charles Levin’s background, but his discussion of 3 letter agencies processes, procedures, interactions and what they actually do is spot on. About at the level or realism of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. And to me that was written by an insider who KNEW.

The villain in the story was very realistic. Once again this is a nod to the amount of research and development that Charlie did on this book. While horrific, he painted a very realistic picture ideologically and philosophically of the Leopard and the Cub. How he treated people, and the complete lack of humanity with which he dealt with problems and simply killed people is very accurate to the mindset of the radical terrorist. I was really impressed.

Noted science fiction author Ray Jay Perreault has a quote that I really like: 'A good Sci-Fi Author shows you an alien world; a great one takes you there.' In Not So Dead, Charles takes us to the world of the cyber personality, the machine-based virtual person, and we don’t even know it. He also hypothetically deals with some of the real issues that might arise from being a virtual person living in computer networks and not a flesh and blood human. The other quote I like from R.J. Perrault is 'Aliens are people too'. Which I refer to as we look at Frank, who very much considers himself to be, and acts like, a person too. And who reminds me tremendously of characterizations of his namesake, Einstein.

So what about the story: All of the above is like the structure of the story, the heart and soul of this story is that it is extremely well written. It rocks along at supersonic speed, and the action and suspense is so non-stop that I severely overdrew my reading budget. And I was sleep deprived for the week that it took me to get through the book. It is a great read! Just outstanding.

One of the things that I liked about the book was the shift between perspectives. The very real problems that the different characters were dealing with. The realistic interactions between people, whether terrified, horror-struck, loving, and even erotic. This is a really well-done book that needs to be read!

This book is professionally written and edited, so you will find only a very, very few typographical errors or misprints. Maybe none. How refreshing!

My usual litmus test for a book is three-fold: Did I enjoy it? Was it engaging and believable? Did it make me want more and want to know what happens next? The answer to all of these questions for me is a resounding yes! Another question is, would I buy the next book? And the answer here is yes again.

Charles Levin is an extremely talented and skilled writer and editor, and I think you will really enjoy this speculative take on a very, very plausible near future.

I highly recommend this book. It’s a great, fun, gripping read and will bring you much enjoyment. Though I warn you, you really won’t be able to put it down! Come on, Charlie, we're ready for more!
2 people found this helpful
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Maria-Anne
4.0 out of 5 stars This is Charles Levin debut novel and I'm sure if he continues in this trend there be many more to enjoy
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2018
Verified Purchase
I have both the e-book and audio version so for the first time have been trying switching back and forth between reading and listening. Worked great on both my tablet and phone. Rather nice when you need to do something besides reading.
On the audio version Daniel Greenberg is doing a great job in narrating the story.
You are convinced different people are talking and he really brings the various characters to life.
The story is a combination of reality and futuristic possibilities.
Placed in a real world of politics, terrorist, global events and been able to store oneself as a digitized version in the clouds allowing interaction with the living after death.
Opens up a lot of ethical questions but the story line is wonderfully put together.
The ending is a surprising development and leaves some opportunities for multiple books. I highly recommend this book.
10 people found this helpful
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R Laws
5.0 out of 5 stars Not So Farfetched. Exciting and Frightening
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2024
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If you like your thrillers on the bleeding edge of real technology then dive into THIS story. If you aren't at least a little bit worried when you finish, then you weren't paying attention.
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ShimonZ
3.0 out of 5 stars started out interesting
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2019
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This had a very interesting up to day sci-fi beginning, which offered much to think about, but about a third of the way in the book became an action packed anti-terrorist movie almost. It lost a lot of it's appeal. And yet, I had enough interest to read all the way through.
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Clau
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2021
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I'm finally reading the first story in this series. Yes, yes, I know, not how it should be read, but it's what happened :P

And I must say that I enjoyed it, terribly. The premise is fantastic, the plot really good and, even when I knew what was coming, the ending still managed to surprise me.

I loved the concept of a full personality uploaded on the net, and how this would affect that personality. I found really interesting the idea that these virtual persons would still be suffering from their mental issues, and the way in which Frank Einstein deals with it (No, seriously, that's his name :P). But he has been thinking about it for a long time:
“Let me just rattle off a few. Who would get the privilege of being digitally or virtually immortal? Who decides? How much does it cost? What if a DigiPerson becomes sick mentally and becomes destructive? Who are the police, judge and jury? What about viruses?”

My head was already spinning and all I could muster was, “Oh…I had not thought about those things.”

He continued. “Another thing. Would the person be completely digital or would she at least retain the sense of a physical self?”

He seemed to be gathering steam. “Here’s my ‘favorite.’ What if somebody creates multiple instances of themselves? How do they coexist? What kind of problems would multiple ‘yous’ cause? We know twins or even clones aren’t exact matches and diverge immediately from being real copies of their counterparts the minute they are born. But the kind of copies we are talking about are exact. I think these and many more problems need to be solved before we let the genie out, or it could literally destroy the world as we know it.”

He took a breath. “I’m not sure who’s competent to solve these problems, who doesn’t have a special interest. If you tell the government, i.e. my bosses, they’ll think about how to make a weapon out of it. If you tell the university, who knows what they’ll do. From a business perspective, it’s worth billions. Now you know why I have been acting strangely.”

This is a fascinating thriller, fast-paced and filled with action but it's also a thought-provoking, captivating tale about what make us human, about our dependence on technology and by the end I find myself wondering, as San Sunborn does, what's next?
One person found this helpful
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carol
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2023
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I really liked this book. It kept me intrigued from beginning to end. I would suerly recommend this to everyone.
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Gina Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars Digitized
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2018
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This is a very interesting story. It was full of action and technology. It deals with today's fight on terrorism and had a surprising and a little confusing ending. Well thought out story.
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Gina Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars Digitized
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2018
This is a very interesting story. It was full of action and technology. It deals with today's fight on terrorism and had a surprising and a little confusing ending. Well thought out story.
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One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Devaki Groulx
5.0 out of 5 stars An Intelligent and Thought -Provoking Read
Reviewed in Canada on January 21, 2020
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This Ebook was offered to me free , so I thought I’d give it a try. The sci-fi storyline , characters and funny pop culture references kept me hooked till the end . I read the whole book almost in one sitting. I really enjoyed it . It gives you a lot to think about . I will read more for sure !
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Judith Dickinson
5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling look into our possible future
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2018
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I had no idea where this book was going to take me, I just sat back and allowed myself to be drawn in. Wow, what a unique journey. While much of the technology is in use here and now somewhere in the world, there were some powerful extensions to what the human race has achieved to date. It was obviously well researched and the reader is able to accept these new technologies with little trouble. Imagine being able to reproduce yourself as a digital being, able to interact with humans through a screen as though you are actually real. This is one of the challenges that, if achieved, might help to save the people from terrors that threaten them.
I found the whole scenario fascinating, although if it happened in real life it might be a little scary.
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Rita
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Read
Reviewed in Germany on August 26, 2018
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I really enjoyed reading the book though I usually don't like science
fiction. I let myself get carried away by the good style and the fantastic story. It made me
forget about the genre.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
Reviewed in Australia on September 23, 2018
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Loved the Max Headroom reference and the twisted end leaves comfortable anticipation of a sequel!
A spunky, quick paced read keeping my attention piqued with every page turned . . . congrats on creating a great read!
Appreciate the extra links at the end to delve deeper into topics touched in your story . . . truth can be wilder than fiction
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Walter Scott
4.0 out of 5 stars Moves forward briskly and has a few surprises as well
Reviewed in Canada on August 7, 2018
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Charles Levin concludes Not So Dead with a stack of references to scientific articles, worked in the scientific fields he wrote about for 20 years, and has a degree in philosophy. The ideal life experience on which to base a novel about digitizing human personalities.
Generally, the novel qualifies as Thriller Lite, but gives a taste of what the author might come out with next – which I wait for in anticipation. Not enough character development, perhaps, but that can come with experience. No Jason Bourne-like explosive action, but always interesting. Could have been targeted to the YA audience, and it would make for a fun movie.
3.5 stars bumped to 4.
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