Icicle: A Tensor Matrix

The Oort Chronicles, Book 1

By: Robert G. Williscroft

Narrated by: Trenton Bennett

Braxton Thorpe has discovered a threat to the entire Solar System, but he has a problem: he's dead.

"There's interstellar travel, wormholes, aliens, and the threat of inter-planetary war, which, together with Braxton's personal and wider quest, adds up to one hell of an adventure. Not bad for a dead man!" —Sebastian J. Brook, Editor of Doctor Who Online

Frozen at death, Thorpe awakens to find himself uploaded into an electronic matrix. Exploring beyond the matrix and the larger GlobalNet, he discovers the Oort, a distributed electronic entity older than humanity, with an unnerving secret: aliens wiped out nearly all life on Earth once, and are coming back to do it again.

The mathematical entity that is Thorpe has to find a way to convince humans of the threat, and in time to do something about it. But how, and what?

If you've read Niven's A World Out of Time or Taylor's We Are Legion, the opening of Icicle will only "seem" familiar. Buckle up for a wild ride—you ain't seen nothin' yet!

©2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Robert G. Williscroft (P)2021 Robert G. Williscroft

My first DNF in a while.

The production feels dated, annoying sound loops and effects that feel like a decade ago. The story isn't bad, but the dialogue feels awkward, even cringe. The author clearly loves the word "tensor". He had to add some love drama that feels like a teenage boy fantasy.