Review of The Six by Mark Alpert

Advance Review of Mark Alpert's The Six

Release Date: July 6th, 2015

Synopsis as found on Amazon.com:


To save humanity, they must relinquish theirs.


Adam's muscular dystrophy has stolen his motility, his friends, and in a few short years, it will take his life. Virtual reality games are Adam's only escape from his wheelchair. In his alternate world, he can defeat anyone. Running, jumping, scoring touchdowns: Adam is always the hero.


Then an artificial intelligence program, Sigma, hacks into Adam's game. Created by Adam's computer-genius father, Sigma has gone rogue, threatening Adam's life-and world domination. Their one chance to stop Sigma is using technology Adam's dad developed to digitally preserve the mind of his dying son.


Along with a select group of other terminally ill teens, Adam becomes one of the Six who have forfeited their bodies to inhabit weaponized robots. But with time running short, the Six must learn to manipulate their new mechanical forms and work together to train for epic combat...before Sigma destroys humanity.


Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:


Avatar meets The Terminator in this thrilling cyber-tech adventure.

Crippled by muscular dystrophy, Adam spends his days playing virtual reality games, until a dangerously advanced artificial intelligence program that can control other machines tries to kill him.

Created by Adam’s father, Sigma has escaped its cyber prison and is threatening world domination. In order to stop Sigma, Adam and five other terminally ill teens sacrifice their bodies and upload their minds into weaponized robots. Together, The Six must learn how to manipulate their new mechanical forms—and prepare for epic combat—before Sigma destroys humanity.  


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I enjoyed the concept of this story. I think it was in many ways different than anything I have read before, but still has the basis of other stories I may have seen. Although at times I wanted it to speed up, seeing as how it is an action based drama book, I enjoyed the scenes that centered around the Pioneers learning to control their new bodies. Even though I know the main character is a teenage boy, I thought that his head was too muddled when it came to a love interest. Regular teenage boys often can not make up their minds when it comes to finding a girl, but Adam basically had 3 girls that he was interested in.


As for the story... When a human made Artificially Intelligent Computer Program by the code name of Sigma breaks free from the Internet Prison he was forced into by his creator & the United States Army, he is hell bent on the destruction of the human race. Luckily, the Army has been working on a top secret program that will download the brain of a volunteer into a computer that can then be loaded into a Robot. While the tests they have done have come up as failures, they are sure the program will be a success... the next volunteers just have to be teenagers.


That is where Adam Armstrong comes in. He has 6 months to live... at least, that's what the doctor's all say. His father is the creator of the Pioneer Program, the Program that will merge man with machine, and he is doing it all for his son. Adam, as well as multiple other disease ridden children are called to a secret Army base where they are given the options; Join the program, and maybe live forever, or Die of their disease.


These Pioneers will be trained to fight in the oncoming battle and stop the crazed AI program, Sigma. When there is no one else to turn to, of course we turn to children with no hope to live... right?