In Immortality, Dr. Martorano leaps past post-apocalyptic times to where humans live in a world controlled by AI ‘Giants’ fighting the ‘New Amish’ who are the resistance to this technology. A spell binding novel that

tests the boundaries of man and his capability to contain his inventions.

• Jess Todtfeld, Best Selling Author

With IMMORTALITY, Dr. Martorano takes a rather intriguing look at the world today’s

Transhumanists fantasize about through their ambitious lenses. He also looks at the extreme on the other side, which see technological progress as dangerous and, in some cases, evil. Readers will both be engulfed by the story and provoked into thought about a question scientists, theologists, philosophers, storytellers, politicians and free-thinkers

have asked for decades: Could Artificial Intelligence, as it keeps moving toward its full

potential, evolve or destroy humanity?

• Chris Cordani Host, Book Spectrum 5-Stars

A completely captivating epic saga

– and an invitation to consider all possibilities of AI  Author David Martorano, M.D. brings a plethora of experience and skills to his stunning writing debut with IMMORTALITY. He is a psychiatrist, the chief medical officer of Wyoming Behavioral Institute, a consultant on Medical Informatics, a clinical professor of medicine, CEO of a legal outsourcing firm, an inventor, sailor, ski instructor, radio host, and an artist in many fields. He has lived and worked on four continents – Europe, Asia, North America and South America – and his global authenticity underscores the beauty of this novel’s landscapes. His influences: his struggle with the meaning of life and existence, dealing with patients facing life and death decisions, working with psychotic patients, different perceptions of reality, and programming and problem solving (user interface problems).

Dr. Martorano’s fascination with AI is evident in his statement: ‘Artificial Intelligence is going to affect humanity sooner than we realize and more profoundly than many expect.’ He captures the reader’s attention in the Foreword, sharing that this book is “an exploration of Man’s view of himself and the lens through which he perceives a life beyond that of his mortal self. It is a cautionary tale…human beings invite disastrous consequences when capability outstrips competence.” Very much in tune with the current preoccupation with machine talk (cellphone texting, computers substituting for face to face communication, robotics, etc) he invites both an intellectual as well as entertaining understanding of the permutations of discovering as this ‘post apocalyptic AI war explores faith, consciousness, and Immortality’s essence.’

The characters the author creates inhabit both Asia and the American southwest, unveiling mysteries and variations of beliefs in ‘life after’ and in the possibilities of AI with credible, even visual people whose lives become pixels of the greater view of the Universe. The offered summary distils the plot well – ‘In a post-apocalyptic world, the Colony of Babylon flourishes in isolation, guarded by two immortal super-AIs known as the Giants. The colonists live in a technological paradise, while just beyond their borders, the deeply religious New Amish see these advancements as blasphemy and seek to destroy them. Immortalization is within reach, but its cost is unimaginably high. At the core of this tension lies MARTIN (MassiveARTificialINtelligence), the world’s first super AI created by the Santos Corporation. Decades after triggering the Epocalypse and nearly wiping out humanity, MARTIN is reawakened by the New Amish in a desperate attempt to combat the Giants. However, MARTIN harbors its own agenda, one that threatens to reshape humanity’s destiny…the objective story of MARTIN’s resurgence is a profound conflict between Christian beliefs of spiritual salvation and the atheist pursuit of consciousness uploading, and a deep exploration of what consciousness truly means.’ 

One of the many aspects of this novel that makes it so successful is the author’s ability to engage and challenge our minds with refreshing ideas, performed on fascinating stages by characters who, while wholly credible in this strange realm, become surrogates that aid our intensified exploration of the ethical dilemmas of life after death and the concept of immortality. Brilliant!

• Grady Harp, Amazon Top 100 Hall of Fame Reviewer – 5-Stars

A Cerebral Techno-Thriller of a Near Future World

In the grand tradition of science fiction, Dr. Martorano seeks to interrogate what is human

nature, what is immortality, and what is machine, in his debut novel “Immortality.” The year is 2063. The Epocalypse, initiated by a Super Intelligent AI machine abbreviated as MARTIN, devastated the world, creating a near-extinction event for humanity. In this post-apocalyptic world, the United States has been reduced to a population of around 250,000 and these survivors have been separated into two camps. One camp resides in Babylon, a highly technologic society watched over by two super-AI, human-mind hybrids nicknamed Giants. These Giants, considered immortal beings, were once humans who had their consciousness uploaded and merged into an AI. The other camp is the New Amish located at Eden, a religious-based group living a near-subsistence existence and without the use of algorithmic technology. Animosity runs high between the two peoples, but a 30-year uneasy peace has reigned ever since the Epocalypse.

Dr. Martorano peers into an eerie possible future that wrestles with the questions of being human, artificial intelligence and what happens when fallible human nature meets brutally rational machine. Sci-fi and technology enthusiasts will be in for a treat as this book pulls from many disciplinary studies such as neuroscience and war strategy, all the way to the ideas of immortality and the ethics of technology usage. The scientific knowledge that Dr. Martorano displays is based on personal experience as well as indepth research and reasoning. This is a prescient thriller that will leave one breathless and wanting to read again.

• Kathryn Picard, 5-stars