Rating: 
Summary: Great ideas, conveyed in writing no worse than most sci-fi
Review: The vitriol displayed in some of the reviews of this book amazes me. While the writing style may not give Updike or Bellow anything to worry about, when compared to some of the so-called giants in this genre, like Asimov, Clarke, and Niven, it holds up quite well. Yes, there are some lapses such as: about 5 too many Star Trek references; a tendency to take today's media figures and just age them, instead of creating new people; and a lead character that seems a little too much like someone you'd bump into at a sci-fi convention. But some of the criticisms on this page are pretty unfounded. Someone criticised the lack of differences in technology between today and 2011 Just how much do you expect life to change in 14 years? Is your life today hugely different than it was in 1983? I think its great that in this version of the future people aren't riding anti-grav cars on the way to the space elevator. And perhaps the most insulting critique of all is that the book doesn't pay enough attention to the U.S., Europe, Japan. Why, this book even has the audacity to present the idea that a major discovery could be made in Canada! Amazing! How insultingly U.S.-centric is it to demand that Canadian writers set their stories in the U.S.? This book isn't great literature, but it is very good sci-fi. It is full of fascinating ideas, a propulsive narrative with its share of surprises, and an interesting focus on morality. Don't miss this book because of the cranky comments listed on this page. This one deserved the Nebula it won.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable, but falls short
Review: This novel is almost two stories in one. A scientist invents a "Super-EEG" scanning device that clearly shows an electrical field leaving a human body after death. This is quickly dubbed "the soulwave" and is widely accepted as proof of the existence of a soul and life after death. Robert Sawyer delves into meaty philosophical questions... and then veers off into a tepid murder-thriller. Rather than explore the dramatic impact on society that we could expect from the discovery of the "soulwave", the scientist hero, Peter Hobson, decides to explore life after death by setting up a computer simulation of himself, with the biological sensations edited out. He also creates a simulation of immortality (knowledge of death is edited out) and a control. One of them becomes a killer, and Hobson ultimately has to race to the rescue to solve the mystery. It's all very briskly told and enjoyable, but I can't help wondering what a writer like Robert Silverberg would have done with the "soulwave" issue. Sawyer raises the questions and then drops them in favor of the much less interesting artificial intelligence mystery. Some of the characterizations are believable, if not complex; the central character remains somewhat wooden. On the plus side, Sawyer's fast-paced narrative and his willingness to raise hot-button moral issues make this a worthwhile read. I'd recommend this, but I can't help wishing it had taken the initial premise further. The original title "Hobson's Choice" was better; but the publishers, rather than the author, are likely responsible for the change.
Rating:
Summary: Killer of Reader¿s Imagination
Review: It is easy to understand why this book won the Nebula award: there are many thought-provoking ideas woven into a story that grips the reader up to almost the last page. The almost is due to what IMHO is this authors cardinal sin: he wants to explain it all and gives his stories more than one ending. So the mystery gets solved, the hero - who BTW is a self-centered, unbearable self-righteous ass - goes on to we now know where. In the end all of this leaves a stale taste. Could he not have stopped 15 pages earlier? The story-ark was finished and speaking for myself I like to fill a few blank spots from my own imagination. The best sequels are the ones the author never writes but the reader imagines himself. So thank you very much Mr. Sawyer for killing that of. Since the same already happened in "Calculating God" and "Frameshift" I doubt that I will buy another of his novels soon.
Rating:
Summary: Not as tightly woven as usual...
Review: I'll admit my bias up front: I'm a solid Robert J. Sawyer fan. I got hooked with "Factoring Humanity," sailed right through "Flashforward," "Starplex," and "Calculating God," then stumbled a bit with "Illegal Alien." Then I read "The Terminal Experiment." I do like this book. It had some good strong characters, and had the usual Sawyer multiplot setup. When a man develops a machine capable of viewing the soul's release after death, the world changes overnight. The philosophical ramifications of this device have its creator wondering about what happens to the soul once it has left the body, and he produces an AI experiment: he creates three copies of his own mind to exist in cyberspace: one with no memory of physical existance (to simulate life after death), one with no knowledge of aging or mortality (to simulate immortality), and one unmodified, as a sort of scientific "control." Then, people with whom Hobson has 'personality conflicts' start showing up dead, and it seems that all three Hobson-AIs have escaped their cybernetic boxes. One of them is a killer. Weaving multiple plots together is usually a forte of Sawyer, but in "The Terminal Experiment," it's not so tightly woven. The plots of the family troubles of Hobson, against the "soul-wave" device, and the murder mystery, don't always link together as tightly as they could. Still, I quite enjoyed his book, as always, and if nothing else, the philosophical debates of the three AIs, and what they represent, was a real thought-provoker. If you're new to Sawyer, start with something else, such as "Flashforward" or "Factoring Humanity" or "Calculating God." If you've read him before, be prepared for a stylistically weaker plot, but a good read nonetheless. 'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: Nebula Award winner
Review: This book won the Science Fiction Writers Association's Nebula Award, and it's easy to see why. It deftly balances believable characterization with brilliant scientific exposition. This was Sawyer's first big award win (he went on to win the Hugo in 2003 for HOMINIDS), and definitely marked a turning point in his career. I've heard Sawyer say that he likes to combine the intimately human with the grandly cosmic and that's certainly what he does here, with the story of a marriage on the rocks set against the discovery of scientific proof for the existence of the human soul (and idea I was initially turned off by but that Sawyer sells very effectively). I think this was the first of Sawyer's books to be set in his hometown of Toronto, something that has become one of his hallmarks. It's not his first to also be a mystery novel (that would be GOLDEN FLEECE), but it certainly is one of the most clever whodunnit premises I've ever seen. Top marks!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: After reading a few reviews I expected more from this book. Embrionary plot and superficial contents make it only an average SF book. Entertaining, but nothing more.
Rating: 
Summary: Virtual immortality and virtual revenge
Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed The Terminal Experiment. Having won the Nebula award I was wary of it since most award winners never live up to the hype that is piled on to them. But this book is one of those that wears the award in quiet satisfaction...never getting all the attention that others get (ie. the overly hyped Neuromancer that is far inferior to the much better, non-award winning, Snow Crash). This is my first foray into Sawyer's works, and The Terminal Experiment comes across as an early techno-thriller penned by Michael Crichton when he still wrote interesting works. It also reminds me of the movie Brainstorm in which thoughts can be recorded and they accidentally capture the image (thoughts) of someone entering the afterlife. Sawyer presents some interesting arguments about immortality, life after death, and the human soul...all in relation to artificial life (intelligence). The book moves along at a great pace, and the stuggles (professional and personal) of the main character are believable. One thing I learned from the book is to never make a copy of your brain pattern when you're [upset]. ;-)
Rating: 
Summary: nothing special
Review: I got bored with this book to the point that I
started skimming through it. However, Robert Sawyer's
book 'The End Of An Era' was great and I couldnt put
it down.
Avid Science Fiction Reader
Rating:
Summary: Artificial Intelligence--Good or Bad?
Review: The Terminal Experiment proposes some interesting scenarios using artificial intelligence as it seeks to discover two of life's most intriguing questions--when does life actually end, and is there life after death? Both questions are both pragmatic and theological and can be viewed from more than one perspective. Dr. Peter Hobson, scientist and dabbler in life energies, discovers that there is a current in the brain that escapes at the moment of death; as he chooses to interpret it, the soul. Of course, this discovery opens all kinds of discussion from the most scientific to the most extreme religious fundamentalists.
When he and an old Muslim schoolmate and friend decide to create simulations of his brain to test their theories on the soul, they open a can of worms that cannot be eliminated despite all their high tech prowess. With three simulations loose on the Internet implementing what they conceive of as Peter's desires, things become frightening and desperate.
Add to all this Peter's dilemma over his wife's infidelity and you have a futuristic mystery with morals and ethics problems thrown in. This is a thoroughly entertaining book with lots of future scientific advances mentioned as well as the very real question of what reliable scientists should do with artificial intelligence. A fast page turner, it is also thought-provoking and intelligent.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most thought-inspiring books I've read
Review: This book, with its thrilling opener and modern-day look on the philosophy of the near future, caught my attention by the third page. It was, as the cliche says, a page turner that kept me up hours past my bedtime. I finished the book within a day of picking it up. The Terminal Experiment got my heart racing, made me look twice over my shoulder, and questioned my beliefs about the now and the ever after. This is SUCH a good read. Sawyer pulls the plot, hough it seems like an awkward premise, to a story that fits well within our world of existance. Though I am not usually a fan of medical mystery, the terminal experiment brought so many issues forward that I couldn't help but be interested. I reccommend this book to anyone in search of a good read. Even if you know only the slightest about medicine or technology, this book will engage your interest immediately. One warning, though, set aside a good block of time to read this book. Once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down for long.
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