Adore Me - Shop now
Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
$2.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Amazon.com Services LLC.
Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Ian Lahey
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

To Cipher and to Sing (The Fairlight Project Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Ian Lahey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
Meet your friendly android companion who's here to learn your job and is absolutely not a nightmarish murder machine.The one thing which may be worse than watching androids take over your job is having to teach them your job yourself.Professor Gordon Fairlight has no intention of accepting such a task, but instead he finds himself dragged into a deadly sequence of events which include a murder, a bad-mouthed super-AI, and a new friend who may - or may not - be instrumental to the end of human life on Earth. The mystery extends all the way into an online RPG, "Eloria", and suddenly life and death are not a game anymore...Who to trust when you could be the next target?
Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. Book 1 of 1
    The Fairlight Project
  2. Print length
    307 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    December 1, 2020
  6. File size
    1.1 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
Next slide of product details

From the Publisher

android, professor, mystery, science fiction humor, detective, robot, artificial intelligence

"I'm too old for this." Professor Gordon Fairlight.

robot insurrection, android, artificial intelligence, science fiction humor, funny sci fi, hhg2g

What if robots did not really care about world domination?

What if it was us, handing control over to them day after day, as we care less and less about work and more about the number of likes on our cat memes while they grow increasingly worried about who's gonna have to clean up after humanity has wiped itself out?

Meet your friendly android companion who is here to learn your job...

...and is absolutely not a nightmarish murder machine.

Worse than watching androids take over your job is having to teach them your job yourself. Absolutely uninterested in robotics, a reluctant Professor Gordon Fairlight tries his best only to find himself in the middle of a murder mystery along with a bad-mouthed super-AI, and a new friend who may - or may not - be instrumental to the end of human life on Earth. Things fail to get better when his favorite VR game, "Eloria" is somehow involved, and suddenly life and death are not a game anymore...

The Fairlight Project series:

To Cipher and to Sing, Book one, android, sci-fi, science fiction, humor, humour, fantasy

Book One: To Cipher and to Sing

A reluctant professor, a bad-mouthed AI, a short-tempered Chicago detective. There's a murder mystery to solve, the robot insurrection can wait.

The Light of Distant Suns

Book Two: The Light of Distant Suns - under development

Adam has to solve a new mystery that is out of this world...

...on Mars, to be precise.

Book 3

Book three - under development

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An intriguing murder mystery set in a well-drawn and believable not too distant future, where AI androids perform mundane and not so mundane jobs. The plot twists kept me turning the pages wanting to find out who and why dunnit.I loved the main characters, especially Adam, the super intelligent AI unit, who hit all the right notes.
A great book. Solid four star story and characters. Can't wait to read the next instalment of the Fairlight Project - I'm hooked on Adam."

"An English literature professor, an artificial life form and a hard nosed cop. No not the start of a rubbish joke, but the line-up of mismatched characters that set out to clear up a plethora of murders, all helped and hindered by a super intelligent potty mouthed AI.
We get some brilliant literary quotes, delve into the mysteries of the gaming world and go for a ride that would make a rollercoaster throw up. Throughout there is madness and laughter with a few tears thrown in for good measure.""Overall, this is a good read, with a classic sci-fi feel and a few laugh out-loud moments. I highly recommend.""The characters are well-drawn, the story tight and efficiently paced, and the science/programming aspects handled elegantly. "
"Once again Mr. Lahey delivers and intriguing storyline with his own unique sense of humour sprinkled in here and there."

From the Author

Join me in this series which will span over five hundred years, and explore the ramifications of a simple but important question: What if mankind allowed technology to elevate the human race to the status of gods, and then just went and forgot about it?

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08N6QYQ1N
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 1, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.1 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 307 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 1 ‏ : ‎ The Fairlight Project
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Ian Lahey

Ian Lahey

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Writing's easy, they said. Just put the words down, don't worry about form, it's just a draft, they said...well, writing IS easy. I mean this bio, for instance, was written in five minutes including the toilet break. Yes, writing's easy for me.

As long as there are no characters involved. Once you create characters they start making requests. They start waking you up at night with ideas. They start having dialogues with other characters while you're trying to have a shower.

You've never really felt the pain of writing until you've witnessed a shouting argument between six angry characters inside your own head. Editing also sucks because then your characters start arguing with you for cutting their scenes out.

So, yeah. I write. Buy my books.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
14 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • SylviaAdams
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Unexpected Gem.
    Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2021
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I found this storyline fascinating and wonderfully creepy at the same time. Adams’s character was so intriguing. I’m not much of a gamer but still found it fun when they were playing. The ending was unexpected and I loved it.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • devdel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, Believable and Amusing AI Adventure
    Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2023
    Format: Kindle
    Entertaining and interesting, and I dare say believable. It truly feels like a potential near-term sci-fi adventure that’s relatable to most people today. Anyone who has even a slight romance with technology and future applications of AI and robotics should enjoy this imaginative, yet realistic well-crafted story.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Joseph Willson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Strongly Recommended...
    Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2021
    Format: Kindle
    The latest endeavor from an author I have happily read previously a few times.
    Once again Mr. Lahey delivers and intriguing storyline with his own unique sense of humour sprinkled in here and there.
    A story that keeps the reader engaged and guessing throughout and thankfully this is the first of I believe what is to be a trilogy?
    Strongly recommended.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Christopher Glass
    5.0 out of 5 stars AI, androids, a dragon, detectives, fire, and one machine gun
    Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2021
    Format: Kindle
    To Cipher and to Sing is a refreshingly lighthearted (for the most part) science fiction book about a murder-mystery that balloons into something else, sprinkled with humor and, as another reviewer noted, an entertaining romp or two through a fantasy video game. The characters are well-drawn, the story tight and efficiently paced, and the science/programming aspects handled elegantly. Though the book suffers from some typos and missing punctuation (increasing in frequency nearer the end), it's a solid and enjoyable tale set in a believable future.
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Theresa Halvorsen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, classic Sci-Fi
    Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2020
    Format: Kindle
    To Cipher and to Sing is an interesting and humorous sci-fi novel about a professor, his wife and an AI (artificial intelligence) who comes to live with them. It's also a bit of a murder mystery as the three work with other characters to identify a killer. There's some amusing and well-written scenes, including one inside a computer game.

    Overall, this is a good read, with a classic sci-fi feel and a few laugh out-loud moments. I highly recommend.
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • That One Reader
    1.0 out of 5 stars Riddled in typos
    Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2021
    Format: Kindle
    There are so many typos it's painful. And there are pages of dialogue with no tags, no descriptions, nothing. It's obvious the good ratings here are from family and friends, not actual readers.
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Andreas
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fun and yet thought provoking whodunnit
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2020
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Set in the near future, the advent of AI brings with it it's own problems. Not least the issue of at what point does the human aspect of teaching become redundant.
    Add in a murder, obfuscated as much by human element as the AIs involved, and the howdunnit becomes just as intriguing.
    The danger that any humourist in Sci-FI/Fantasy faces is that they are invariably compared to Adams/Pratchett/Holt and the like.
    Mr Lahey brings his own voice to the mix. One that is by turns capable of subtle digs at academia and outright Hill-esque slapstick.
    Very much looking forward to the next episode.
    Report
  • Cliente Amazon
    5.0 out of 5 stars compelling novel
    Reviewed in Italy on January 10, 2021
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The book is projected into the future into a reality where robots coexist with humans. It offers many fascinating insights into the world of androids as the plot revolves around a teacher and his cyborg friend. But the story becomes more intricate as things take a different turn...
    The story is very interesting and if you want to smile while following a great mystery this book is for you.
    Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report