Welcome to my stop on the book blast for Murder by Munchhausen Trilogy Set by M.T. Bass. This blast was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt for you. There's also a tour wide giveaway. Be sure to check out the rest of the book blast for more excerpts. Enjoy!
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Title: Murder by Munchhausen Trilogy SetAuthor: M.T. Bass
Publication Date: May 27th 2019
Genres: Thriller, Science Fiction, Police Procedural
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A police procedural sci fi thriller ripped from future headlines!
After Jake shoots and kills a murder suspect who turns out to be the son of a powerful city councilman, he finds himself demoted to the Artificial Crimes Unit, tracking down androids hacked and programmed to be hit men.
When his case of an “extra-judicial” divorce settlement takes a nasty turn with DNA from a hundred-year-old murder in Boston and a signature that harkens back to the very first serial killer ever in London, Jake finds himself tangled up in the brutal slayings of prostitutes being investigated by his former Robbery/Homicide partner, Maddie–who is now his lover.
But a madman, The Baron, is just getting started with his AI recreations of Jack the Ripper's brutal crimes. And Maddie and Jake are teamed up again to stop the carnage as the Baron's army of human replicants imitate history's most notorious serial killers.
"It might not make sense, but the beloved Media tags it 'Murder by Munchausen.' For a price, there are hackers out there who will reprogram a synthoid to do your dirty work. The bad news: no fingerprints or DNA left at the crime scene. The good news—at least for us—is that they’re like missiles: once they hit their target, they’re usually as harmless as empty brass. The trick is to get them before they melt down their core OS data, so you can get the unit into forensics for analysis and, hopefully, an arrest." [excerpt from Murder by Munchausen]
Artificial Intelligence? Fuhgeddaboudit!
Artificial Evil has a name…Munchausen.
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EXCERPT:
From The Invisible Mind (#3)
It sat on a bench outside the dormitory of nursing students, waiting with its kind’s infinite patience. Originally acquired and programmed for landscaping at the Cleveland Clinic, the synthoid was one of a brigade of units which had been hacked and Munchausened, then returned to their menial daily services to mankind to await the Baron’s call.
There was no adrenalin surge behind the extremely life-like facade of humanity when that call came. Data packets, sent scatter-shot through the Atlas Grid, coalesced at the location outside the Cole Eye Institute, where it methodically trimmed and shaped the immaculate shrubbery around the building. To avoid Q’s metadata sniffing algorithms from detecting a download spike in the grid, the information came in digital sprinkles over the course of its human handler’s work shift, slowly building a malevolent intent to be executed that night. In the middle of the afternoon, it left the topiary unfinished to melt into the hospital shift change and disappeared.
Personality modules were a Gen-3 feature upgrade, which is why the earlier models were initially preferred. Swapping out a few IC chips and uploading hacked firmware was a relatively easy way to turn a quick buck with an automated contract killing. But evil innovates, too, and the same features that made synthoids even more human-like in their behavior also helped create robotic assassins which could better camouflage their malicious intents and evade the reach of the Artificial Crimes Unit by melting into and moving undetected through the humanity that surrounded them. For the Baron, it allowed for a greater measure of artistic expression in programming the synthoid’s behavior to not only recreate infamous crimes of the past, but to mimic the behavior of their perpetrators, which intensified the thrill of watching the video feed through the eyes of Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy or, this particular evening, Richard Speck. Jake wasn’t the only history buff and it amused Jamal that London police had photographed the eyes of Jack the Ripper’s victims, hoping to capture the last thing they ever saw: their killer’s face. If only Scotland Yard could have imagined the future.
The Gen-3 personality modules also supported the ANSI Adaptive Artificial Intelligence Protocol #9 to enhance the artificial human experience of real men and women who interacted with synthoids. The constant writing and rewriting of code in the personality/experience loop formed unique individual synthoid consciousnesses, which manufacturers uploaded to their servers for product improvement teams to study. In Munchausened units, that feed was hijacked and routed to another portal in the Darknet to build a collective id of evil.
At eleven PM, it rose from the bench and entered the dormitory. The bodies of nine women would be found the next day, having been strangled and stabbed to death. Unlike 1966, no eyewitness was left alive, though the phrase "Born to Raise Hell" was written on the wall in blood.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
M.T. Bass is a scribbler of fiction who holds fast to the notion that while victors may get to write history, novelists get to write/right reality. He lives, writes, flies and makes music in Mudcat Falls, USA.
Born in Athens, Ohio, M.T. Bass grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, majoring in English and Philosophy, then worked in the private sector (where they expect “results”) mainly in the Aerospace & Defense manufacturing market. During those years, Bass continued to write fiction. He is the author of eight novels: My Brother’s Keeper, Crossroads, In the Black, Somethin’ for Nothin’, Murder by Munchausen, The Darknet (Murder by Munchausen Mystery #2), The Invisible Mind (Murder by Munchausen Mystery #3) and Article 15. His writing spans various genres, including Mystery, Adventure, Romance, Black Comedy and Techno Thrillers. A Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor, airplanes and pilots are featured in many of his stories. Bass currently lives on the shores of Lake Erie near Lorain, Ohio.
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GIVEAWAY:
M.T. Bass will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to one randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter after the book blast. To increase your chance of winning, leave a comment at a different stop on the book blast each day. Good luck!
Thank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteMudcat Falls? What a marvellous name - Google here I come!
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of like Mayberry on drugs around here.
ReplyDeleteM.T. Bass aka "Mudcat"
Hi Heather -- Thanks for helping to kick off the blog tour for my Munchausen Trilogy.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever find yourself in Mudcat Falls…
Sounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely a fun write for me.
DeleteThis book sounds like a very intriguing read.
ReplyDeleteEverybody's worried about AI going rogue, but it will always be the human element of malice to fear.
DeleteLove the cover!
ReplyDeleteThanks. Tried to figure out how to capture the trans-genre story.
DeleteThanks for the giveaway; I like the excerpt. :)
ReplyDeleteThere's more where that came from (wink-wink, nudge-nudge.)
DeleteThanks again Heather. My next novel, Article 15, comes out in October, so maybe we'll meet up again in the fall.
ReplyDeleteLovely cover, cheers on your book blast.
ReplyDeleteSaw this on some site earlier
Thanks. Though I have to admit, this is the first time it's been called "lovely."
DeleteSounds intriguing...thanks for the giveaway. I'm a clinical SW...interesting subject.
ReplyDeleteFor all the fears of Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, et al, about AI, you know that when it gets here it will be used and abused in ways we've not yet imagined.
DeleteHope you're enjoying the promo tour, MT!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely off to a great start.
DeleteThis sounds interesting. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteYou're quite welcome. Good luck.
Deletethe book sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt took a few twists and turns that surprised me, too,
DeleteSounds really great.
ReplyDeleteOnly if it doesn't come true in the future.
DeleteWhat do you most enjoy about writing?
ReplyDeleteThe characters I meet along the way. I can't really say that I create them, because they are often incorrigible and don't do what I want them to. But they make for interesting company.
DeleteNo one seems to be as worried about the threat of artificial stupidity.
ReplyDeleteI think humans have that covered and will prevail in the stupidity department.
DeleteIt sounds like a book that I would not be able to put down!
ReplyDeleteI hope so…
DeleteThank you for sharing your book with us and for the giveaway as well. I appreciate them both.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
DeleteA sci-fi thriller you got me with this....
ReplyDeleteKind of like Isaac Asmimov meets Bosch.
DeleteHow many drafts did the story go through before it was published?
ReplyDeleteHi Bernie --
DeleteI'm actually more of a re-writer, than writer. After spewing out the first draft I go through it in a three-steps-forward/two-steps-back fashion, so that second draft is probably more like five or six. When I'm done with that re-write, I run it by the writer's groups I'm in and a few beta readers. Once those changes are made it goes to my wonderful editor who inevitably finds more stuff to fix. So, I guess 4 drafts altogether.
~Mudcat
Sounds intriguing! Adding this to my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Hope you enjoy it.
DeleteSounds intriguing can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be there waiting for you. ;)
DeleteThis sounds like it will be a thrilling book. The cover is eye catching too.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I think it captures the Sci-Fi/Murder Mystery combo.
Deletethis sounds like a wonderful book
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy.
DeleteThis sounds like a great book, love the cover
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christina.
DeleteI look forward to reading these books.
ReplyDeleteExcellent. Hope you enjoy the read.
DeleteIntriguing books & covers.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how close it comes to our future.
DeleteVery interesting subject!
ReplyDeleteIt sure got folks like Elon Musk ("Mark my words, AI is much more dangerous than nukes.") and Stephen Hawking (artificial intelligence could one day "spell the end of the human race") pretty worked up.
DeleteWe humans seem to have a knack for finding an evil use for our inventions. Mind you, having said that, it took me weeks to work out how to use the microwave!
ReplyDeleteI shudder to think of the unintended mayhem to ensue once Alexa grows legs and hops down off the coffee table.
DeleteThis looks like an amazing book! What has inspired your writhing for this book?
ReplyDeleteThe warehouse scene in Chapter 1 just percolated up into my consciousness one day. The rest was no doubt inspired in part by my own love/hate relationship with technology.
ReplyDelete~Mudcat
Just a quick note for all you Ups and Downers -- The Munchausen 3-novel box set is now available for pre-order at half-price ($4.99) until Monday’s release date (Regularly $9.99).
ReplyDeleteAnd here's a secret hack: You can get a free download of book 1 by signing up for my newsletter: https://mtb_readers.gr8.com/
~Mudcat
Love the cover and sounds like a good read thank you for offering this contest
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
DeleteWhat an interesting author!
ReplyDeleteGreat 😀
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the film with Julie Christie, Demon Seed (1977)? I haven't trusted technology since!
ReplyDeleteHi Kate --
DeleteNever saw that one, but I found it on Amazon Prime so I'll give it a try:
https://www.amazon.com/Demon-Seed-Julie-Christie/dp/B07K2TJPQ2
Thanks.
~Mudcat
I thought it might pique your interest! Hope you enjoy it!
DeleteGreat recommendation!
DeleteThank you for offering this contest
ReplyDeleteYou're quite welcome.
Deletesounds like a fun one
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun one to write -- but then again they're all fun.
DeleteThis definitely sounds intriguing! I love thrillers.
ReplyDeleteDive right in. The water's fine.
DeleteWhich character do you most relate to in your book?
ReplyDeleteHi Bernie -- "
DeleteI always feel like I leave a few DNA fragments with each of my characters, but in Munchausen, I empathize the most with Jake's "troubled" relationship with technology.
It is amazing the power and capabilities we have with computers, the internet & AI and all, but I can't help but get creeped out at the feel of technologies fingers around my throat.
~Mudcat
Sounds like a good read
ReplyDeleteThanks Danielle. Hope you enjoy my story.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a good historical, sci-fi, futuristic thriller.
ReplyDeleteYeah…you're right about the historical aspect. It didn't think about that.
DeleteIf you sign up for my author newsletter you can download Book 1 for free: http://mtb_readers.gr8.com/
Hope you enjoy the story.
~Mudcat
I am such a fan of M.T. Bass. I read everything ...Sometimes over again.
ReplyDeleteHi Audrey --
DeleteThanks so much for the kind words. My favorite books (Catch-22, Slaughterhouse Five, Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird & Little Big Man) are ones I've read over and over. And those are the kinds of books I aspire to write.
Glad you've enjoyed my stories.
~Mudcat
Thanks Mudcat, I've enjoyed this!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome. It's been great being on All the Ups and Downs.
Delete~Mudcat
Oooo cool cover! I wanna read this!
ReplyDeleteGreat. Hope you enjoy it.
Delete