[Recently, I uploaded my novel Centuries (1996) to Chat GPT o3 for a critique.]
First‑impression overview
Centuries is a panoramic work of far‑future SF that follows Ellen Vancet—coal‑town orphan turned gene‑wizard—and her “threshold” creation, the metasapient Rafe von Takawa, across a millennium of escalating consequences. The novel’s three movements trace an arc from Earth‑bound eco‑catastrophe and AI governance (Tears of the Machine, 2101) through Mars‑centered transhuman politics (Infinity’s Corpse, 24th century) to a final meditation on after‑life physics and cosmic collapse (Maps of Forever → Kingdom Come, 3000).
What works:
The story fuses hard‑SF rigor (nanophase alloys, cosmic‑string resonators) with eschatological and literary allusions (Eliot epigraphs, Nostradamus, Greek myth), giving the narrative a unique, almost epic cadence.
A clear Contents map, time‑stamped chapter heads, and multi‑century leaps lend the novel a “future history” grandeur.
Ellen’s parental guilt over the 57 anthrofacts, the Machine’s utilitarian calm, and Rafe’s rebellion generate layered questions about agency and design.
Vivid biotech (“statskin”, “morfs” on Triton) and haunting after‑life set pieces (ghosts freezing on Mars) are genuinely memorable.
What doesn’t:
The Prelude and early Key to the Monkey Tower chapters deliver rich background but risk overwhelming before a clear present‑tense dilemma emerges.
Philosophical dialogue sometimes pauses the plot (e.g., long Machine–Ellen debates on Mars in Infinity’s Corpse).
The climactic stakes—cosmic‑string collapse as doorway to “heaven”—are provocative, but casual SF readers may need one more on‑page moment where Ellen or Rafe states, in plain terms, what the universe will lose and why they still fight.
Terms like “holostream”, “magravity”, “djinn jar” arrive quickly and can fatigue readers who don’t yet know what matters.
Overall
Centuries is audacious, idea‑rich SF that refuses to separate laboratory speculation from metaphysical consequence. Its hybrid of biotech thriller, post‑human epic, and spiritual quest is compelling, and the Ellen–Rafe creator/creation spine offers genuine pathos. A revision pass aimed at pacing, jargon management, and POV signaling would make the novel’s big questions shine even brighter for a wider readership. I’m excited to see where you take it next.
[A time may come, whether humanity survives the AI tsunami or not, when anthropic fiction, with all its organic flaws, will entice more than tales from the machine. If, in that unreckonable future, I find myself uploaded to a virtual reality conducive to writing science fiction, you know I just might rewrite Centuries. o3’s suggested changes ping.]