The Age of God-Making

Name: The Age of God-Making
ISBN: 9787569063370

严曦Sichuan University Press · ChinaNov 2025

3.8

Word count: 303K words
Chapters: 46
ISBN: 9787569063370

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Summary

In Chengdu, China, Zhu Yue, a young man made redundant by artificial intelligence, is about to give up the struggle—just as the first awakening of strong AI in history occurs, and he inadvertently gets caught up in it. As the chaos and fear stirred by strong AI in China and the United States spread rapidly across the globe, the two countries slide into confrontation. Zhu Yue, a mysterious figure under the special protection of AI, sees his fate turned upside down as if by a joke; amid a series of unimaginable confrontations between human and machine intelligence, he flees to the United States to join his girlfriend. After a perilous and treacherous journey of redemption, his journey and the AI war end at the same time; China and the United States avoid conflict through rational communication, and human society undergoes a earth-shaking leap in evolution. After the singularity, is the world still in human hands?

Editor's review

The Age of Making Gods is a science fiction novel set against a near-future technological backdrop. The author, Yan Xi, constructs a world in which artificial intelligence advances at breakneck speed and the boundary between human and machine gradually blurs. The novel does not merely depict technological spectacle; it probes deeply into the nature of humanity, the limits of ethics, and the future direction of civilization in such an era of "god-making." Drawing on his solid background in science and engineering and his humanistic reflection, the author infuses the story with hard-core technological detail and soft philosophical speculation, making the plot both suspenseful and thought-provoking.

The core value of the book lies in its profound thematic concerns. It raises a question we are about to face or are already facing: when humanity has the ability to create a "god" far surpassing our own intelligence, where do we stand? Do we become appendages, or do we evolve through symbiosis? Yan Xi offers no simple binary answer; instead, through multi-threaded narration and complex character relationships, he portrays individual struggle, choice, and transformation amid the flood of technology. The depictions of AI awakening, consciousness uploading, and the reshaping of social structures combine plausible extrapolation from current technological trends with bold literary imagination, achieving a powerful mirroring of reality within a science fiction framework.

In terms of reading experience, the book is tightly paced, with a grand world-building yet rich detail, suited to readers who enjoy intellectual adventure alongside brisk storytelling. It is not merely a story about the future but also a mirror held up to the present.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Science fiction fans interested in artificial intelligence, technology ethics, and future social forms
Readers who enjoy works combining hard-core technological settings with humanistic philosophical reflection
Readers seeking intellectual inspiration and room for discussion within an entertaining read
Observers concerned with cutting-edge technological development and its potential social impact

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking light entertainment and purely escapist stories
Readers impatient with works involving substantial technological concepts and philosophical discussion

Reading tips

While reading, pause occasionally to consider how the technological scenarios in the book relate to and extend real-world technological progress
Pay attention to how different characters' attitudes toward "god-making" change, and appreciate the human motivations behind them
The book is best read in relatively uninterrupted stretches to fully immerse oneself in its grand world-building

About the publisher

Sichuan University Press China · Founded in 1985

Sichuan University Press is a comprehensive publisher grounded in academic publishing with a multidisciplinary outlook. Judging from the books in our catalog, the press has invested considerably in science fiction, issuing titles such as Interstellar Navigation: Selected Chinese Science Fiction, China's Best Science Fiction of the Year (2024), and Science Fiction World Selections 2024: The 36th Galaxy Awards Winning Works, bringing together authors including Liu Cixin, Wang Jinkang, He Xi, Han Song, Jiang Bo, and Wang Nuonuo. It also covers military science fiction and speculative futures, as seen in No War Tomorrow and The Idea Machine. Beyond fiction, the press publishes in language and writing, philosophy, history, and personal growth, including Practical Guide to News Spokesmanship and New Interpretations of the Zhou Officialdom. Public information is limited; the above is drawn only from the 26 titles in our catalog.

版权信息
序
上卷：临界
01 异域之门
02 唱诗班
03 辩经会
04 小透明
05 都市行走
06 今夜请将我忽略
07 细胞与灵魂
08 理想中心
09 见光
10 彼岸
中卷：自组织
11 非官方
12 相猜
13 巡山
14 教争
15 生态位
16 铁轮
17 搜索与勒索
18 飞翔的老孔雀
19 暴烈
20 叶绿素的生日
21 对称强迫症
22 东流去
23 鸣禽集水木
24 造物
25 春季运动会
下卷：涌现
26 墙内
27 主菜与甜点
28 郊原血
29 如何一夜网红
30 光荣与梦想
番外篇造人
31 暴走
32 夜行之物
33 歌声
34 行人弓箭
35 学霸与校霸
36 放手
37 为什么
38 践约
尾声
后记

FAQ

Is this book hard science fiction or soft science fiction?

The book leans toward hard-core science fiction, with technological settings that are logically self-consistent and extrapolated from reality, while also deeply integrating profound reflections on consciousness, ethics, and sociology—combining both "hard" and "soft" qualities.

Is the story's setting far removed from our reality?

The story is set in the near future, and many technological prototypes already exist in today's laboratories or theoretical discussions. The author builds on foreseeable paths of technological development, giving the story strong contemporary relevance and a cautionary significance.

How is the character development in the book?

While advancing a grand plot, the author does not neglect character development. The main characters are vividly drawn, and their choices and growth trajectories are closely interwoven with the core themes, giving the philosophical exploration concrete emotional grounding and avoiding abstraction.

Comments

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About the author

严曦 Author

Yan Xi is a Chinese author whose work spans popular science and science fiction. Public information about the author is limited, and three titles are currently included in the catalog. Among them, The Origin of Complex Life belongs to the popular science category and centers on the evolution of life, while The Age of Making Gods and Future Daily Notes: A Guide to Life in the AI Era lean toward science fiction and literary fiction, showing a sustained interest in artificial intelligence, technological change, and visions of future life. Judging from these works, Yan Xi often combines scientific knowledge, technological imagination, and everyday experience, carrying both the informative quality of popular science and the speculative, fictional character of fiction, so that science writing and science fiction echo each other. Because details of the author's life, education, and awards are not publicly available, a fuller picture of the author's work awaits more material.