Crystal Deception by Doug Cooper

From the author:

Juice Tallette believes her latest creation holds great promise for humanity, yet she hesitates to release him into the world. That’s because Criss, an AI with the intellect of a thousand humans, is too powerful to control. Days after his awakening, Criss alarms Juice with news of his impending abduction, and pleads for her protection. He claims that the Kardish—alien traders with a spaceship now lurking in orbit—have a kidnapping plan already in motion. But is Criss telling the truth, or is this a scheme to gain his freedom? Can Earth even protect Criss from the Kardish, or should he be sacrificed to avoid confrontation with technologically dominant aliens? One government agent promotes turning the hyper-intelligent AI into a doomsday weapon and confronting the aliens in space. But can Criss be trusted to cooperate? And what becomes of humanity if an interstellar battle among titans starts to rage?

My review:

This book took me by surprise! Honestly, the author has taken this genre to a level that I haven’t read before or seen on a show or big screen. Speaking of that, this novel and the subsequent novels are perfect for a new TV series. I would love to see this one filmed. The depth of a sentient life created by humans, and that life building on what he started as, then developed further, is remarkable. I found zero errors in this book. Five shiny gold stars all the way.