Demi-Deus by Mark Wells Chapman begins in a futuristic city, where a man awaits a golden transport carrying a mysterious figure tasked with transferring a dangerous briefcase. Meanwhile, war vet Colonel Kayne warns the UN Security Council about the risk of uncontrolled self-replication by Ceres Bots. Despite skepticism, he seeks out Dr. Darius Esperon, the bot's creator, to address the Council. As Kayne ventures through a turbulent city marked by protests and technological disparities, he meets Darius, who offers hospitality and, on the space station Olympus, reveals his nanotechnology project. Following a tragedy, Cayla undergoes a transformative procedure, gaining enhanced abilities and initiating the ambitious Nova Deus project, which causes chaos and destruction. The plot unfolds as efforts to manage the evolving crisis intensify and tension surrounding artificial intelligence grows, leading to an impossible decision between self-preservation and self-sacrifice.

What would you do to be able to see again, to be able to cure cerebral palsy, and to save your family from death? And what would you be willing to destroy for it? Mark Wells Chapman weaves all these questions into the plot and how certain individuals respond to them in his science fiction thriller Demi-Deus. It's extremely easy to want to root for Kayne, and there is a scene where he uses virtual reality to try to see his deceased wife again, and the response is heartbreaking. Chapman uses the path to hell being paved with good intentions remarkably well, designing a lead that walks the walk. Jani Esperon is a fantastic female protagonist, displaying courage as her revelations of Earth unravel before her. I didn't even know this character two days ago, and now I'd follow her straight into battle. The novel is cleanly written and full of surprises, and I can see so many directions where it might spin off. Very highly recommended.

Humanity’s first trillionaire, Darius Esperon, has finally completed his most secretive work... the creation of an artificial intelligence embodied in a human/robot that is all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, and eternal—a demi-deus. For Esperon, the accomplishment of his goal is worth any sacrifice. Dr. Darius Esperon, the foremost expert in artificial intelligence, has reached his ultimate goal but before it could be presented to the world at large, corporate greed on Earth has doomed humanity with a decision to release an auto-bot that self-replicates and feeds on organic material. Colonel Kayne, an international war hero, who happened to be on a mission to space station Olympus to convince Esperon to put a hold on the Autobots' release when the catastrophe occurs, holds Esperon personally responsible for the tragic events on Earth including the deaths of his entire family. Restoration requires an act of God, and Esperon’s creation may be the only savior for humanity’s survival.

Demi-Deus centers around a potential futuristic result of where artificial intelligence is headed in a not-so-faraway future. When a clandestine business transaction is sabotaged, a cataclysmic chain of events leaves Earth in ruins and humanity on the brink of annihilation and potential extinction. The setting for the story is an immense (to put it mildly) space station modeled after ancient Roman architecture and interior design where numerous experiments of various disciplines occur, simultaneously serving as a gigantic tourist attraction. Layer after layer of surprising events twist and turn while the main characters battle for control of Olympus and the future of humankind. Chapman has done an exceptional job of “keeping it simple” as he describes scenes and plotlines based on high levels of scientific exploration and discovery. Unburdened by inscrutable scientific terminology, Demi-Deus is an exciting science-fiction, futuristic and fantasy thriller, guaranteed to satisfy SFF fans of all ages.