ARC Review: Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver

Artificial Wisdom
Author: Thomas R. Weaver
Publication: Del Rey (April 5, 2024)

Description: In this propulsive near-future thriller, a journalist uncovers a plot that will upend the order of our world, involving a mysterious murder, a global political battle between a human politician and an AI, and the fight for survival in a climate-ravaged landscape.

In 2050, investigative journalist Marcus Tully is still grieving the loss of his wife and unborn child in the deadly heatwave that struck the Persian Gulf ten years ago.

Now, the world is both burning and drowning, and the decision has been taken to elect a global leader to steer humanity through the worsening climate apocalypse. The final two candidates are ex-US president Lockwood, and Solomon, an Artificial Intelligence.

As election day races closer, Tully begins to unravel a conspiracy that goes to the highest level. Then Solomon’s creator is murdered, and Tully is pulled in to find the culprit.

As the two investigations intertwine in ways he could never have imagined and the world hurtles ever closer to the brink, Tully must find the truth, convince the world to face it and make impossible choices to secure the future of the species.

But will humanity ultimately choose salvation over freedom, whatever the cost?

My Thoughts: This near future thriller takes place on an Earth in danger of failing its human occupants due to the near-fatal effects of climate change. Marcus Tully is an investigative journalist who is still mourning the death of his wife and unborn daughter ten years earlier in a heatwave that struck the Persian Gulf.

He is determined to find out what happened to her. He thinks he knows who to blame. He believes the President of the United States at the time ordered the use of an untested device to remove humidity from Houston and dump it over the ocean. Unfortunately, the humidity dumped on the Persian Gulf instead causing deadly conditions for 160 million people. 

Now, the same former President is running for Protector - an Earth-wide office to solve the climate crisis. His opponent is an AI named Solomon who was created by Dr. Martha Chandra. Not only does Marcus know Martha but her sister Livia works for him as a researcher. 

Invited to New Carthage, one of a small number of floating ecosystems, where Martha lives, Marcus and Livia go to see her both to find out about the upcoming election but also to see what she knows about Tully's wife's death. Shortly after they arrive, Martha is murdered leaving Livia as the heir to her sister's riches and Marcus at a near dead end to solving what happened to his wife. 

He also gets to know Solomon and supports his campaign to me the Earth's First Protector. But he questions whether or not he's making the right decision in a world were information can be so easily manipulated. 

This story was filled with moral dilemmas and advanced technology. I was intrigued by the possibilities of neural meetings and certainly by the creation of Solomon. This was one thought-provoking science fiction novel. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Last Resort by Michael Kaufman

The Last Resort
Author: Michael Kaufman
Series: A Jen Lu Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (January 10, 2023)

Description: Margaret Atwood meets Raymond Chandler meets Greta Thunberg: Jen Lu is back on the case when the death of a lawyer sparks an even more intriguing mystery in Michael Kaufman’s second book in the thrilling series.

It’s March 2034, six months after D.C. police detective Jen Lu and Chandler, her sentient bio-computer and wannabe tough guy implanted in her brain, cracked the mystery of Eden. The climate crisis is hitting harder than ever: a mega-hurricane has devastated the eco-system and waves of refugees pour into Washington, D.C.

Environmental lawyer and media darling Patty Garcia dies in a bizarre accident on a golf course. Of the seven billion people on the planet, only Jen thinks she was murdered. After all, Garcia just won a court case for massive climate change reparations to be paid out by oil, gas, and coal companies. Jen is warned off, but she and Chandler start digging. Signs point to Garcia’s abusive ex, a former oil giant, but soon Jen turns up more suspects who have an even greater motive for committing murder

Soon Jen is in the crosshairs of those who will ensure the truth never comes to light, no matter the cost. She has to move quickly before she becomes next on the killer’s list.

My Thoughts: The second Jen Lu thriller starts with an accident on a golf course. Star environmental lawyer Patty Garcia is supposedly hit with a golf ball which causes her death. What first looks like a tragic accident soon looks like a murder...to Jen. 

Jen finds it suspicious the Garcia would die just after winning a case against Big Energy which could result in trillions for efforts to clean up the environment, and just a day before she announces that she is a candidate for president and thus receives Secret Service protection.

Jen and her bio-computer Chandler begin to investigate and soon turn up a number of suspects. The prime one in her opinion is Garcia's ex-husband James Culpepper whom she divorced because of domestic abuse. Culpepper was an oil executive who lost his job because of the scandal and has reinvented himself as an advocate for "wronged" men. In fact, he was supposedly in the middle of a live podcast when Garcia's accident occurred. 

But there are other suspects. Big Oil isn't happy with Garcia's court win and is even less happy when it learns that she may have discovered a document which would indicate that they knew that their products were causing climate change as early as the 1960s which would multiply the amount they have to pay in reparations catastrophically. 

As Jen searches for a copy of that report she finds that she's not the only one and finds that anyone who might know about it is on a hit list. 

This was an entertaining near-future thriller with interesting characters and a fast-paced plot. I enjoyed the extrapolation of current events to their possible future results. I liked the way Jen and Chandler work together. I enjoyed that some of the story was from Chandler's point of view and had his unique view of human beings.

Favorite Quote:

"I have no problem with women's independence," he intoned. "But don't you agree with me that it shouldn't be an excuse for turning the tables and constantly giving women an advantage in hirings? In promotions? And in everything else?"

Zach said, "Makes sense if you discount the fact that women still are second class citizens by just about any measure."

Jen said, "Pesky things, those facts."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: The Last Exit by Michael Kaufman

The Last Exit
Author: Michael Kaufman
Series: A Jen Lu Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (January 12, 2021)

Description: Perfect for fans of Ben Winters and Cory Doctorow. In this thrilling near-future novel, the secret to eternal life is closely guarded by people who will do anything to protect it--even if it means destroying everything in their path.

Set in Washington D.C. in the near future, climate change has hit hard, fires are burning, unemployment is high, and controversial longevity treatments are only available to the very rich. Enter resourceful young police detective, Jen B. Lu, and her 'partner', Chandler, a SIM implant in her brain and her instant link to the Internet and police records, and constant voice inside her head. He's an inquisitive tough guy, with a helluva sense of humor and his own ideas about solving crimes.

As a detective in the Elder Abuse unit, Jen is supposed to be investigating kids pushing their aging parents to "exit" so they are eligible to get the longevity drug. But what really has her attention are the persistent rumors about Eden, an illegal version of the longevity drug, and the bizarre outbreak of people aging almost overnight, then suddenly dying--is this all connected? Is Big Pharma involved?

When Jen's investigations of Eden take her too close to the truth, she is suspended, Chandler is deactivated, and her boyfriend is freaked out by "the thing inside her brain." This leaves Jen to pursue a very dangerous investigation all by herself.

My Thoughts: This near-future dystopian mystery stars police detective Jen B. Lu and her partner Chandler who is a SIM implant in her brain. Unemployment is high, climate change is making Washington, DC, much hotter than it has ever been. And Jen's job with the Elder Abuse unit has her investigating a number of crimes where kids are pushing their parents to "exit" -- submit to euthanasia so that their children can take a longevity drug. 

Jen has her own issues with her mother who is suffering from dementia and nearing the time when Jen can sign for her exit. Jen is still dealing with all the various kinds of abuse she suffered at her mother's hand as a child and thinks the decision to end her mother's life will be easy. 

Then Jen starts hearing rumors of something called Eden which is supposed to be an underground longevity drug prepared outside of Big Pharm. But Big Pharm has heard the rumors too and has their own plan to discredit Eden. 

Suspended from the police department and with Chandler deactivated, Jen has to gather allies who are willing to fight to find answers. 

This was an engaging story about an undesirable future that still seems to be a possible extrapolation of current events if we don't make changes soon. Chandler tells the story which gives it a unique viewpoint. Fans of political thrillers in a dystopian setting will enjoy this story.  

Favorite Quote:

"Do you have a Bible?"

Olive looked offended. "Of course we have a Bible.Two. One in Spanish and one in the original English. I go to the Assembly Hall each and every week."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Upgrade by Blake Crouch

Upgrade
Author: Blake Crouch
Publication: Ballantine Books (July 12, 2022)

Description: “You are the next step in human evolution.”

At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.

But before long, he can’t deny it: Something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him—even those he loves most—in whole new ways.

The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.

Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost

Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.

And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?

Intimate in scale yet epic in scope, Upgrade is an intricately plotted, lightning-fast tale that charts one man’s thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity—and our boundless potential.

My Thoughts: This near future science fiction story is about genetic engineering gone wrong. It stars Logan Ramsay, whose mother was Mariam Ramsay. Miriam Ramsay was a geneticist who set off an environmental catastrophe when she changed a grasshopper to stop it from preying on Chinese rice patties. Before things stopped, that tinkering had killed over 200 million people, destroyed habitats, and changed Earth's climate. It also caused passage of the Gene Protection Act which forbids changing genes and targets any scientist who might be working in that field.

After spending some time in prison for his minor role in the catastrophe, Logan is now an officer in the Gene Protection Agency who tracks down rogue scientists and off-grid genetics labs. When he is hit with some sort of weapon during one such raid, his own genes begin to change making him a new sort of superman. Taken into custody by his own agency and studied like a lab rat, Logan has to deal with the major changes his is undergoing including much higher intelligence and total recall of everything he has ever seen, heard, or read.

He is broken out of the lab by his sister Kara who has also undergone the same genetic manipulation only to learn that the mother he thought was dead faked her own death and continued her own research. Kara and Logan are the first of his mother's plan to change all humans. But Kara and Logan have completely opposite opinions about the efficacy of their mother's plans for genetic manipulation. 

This story was packed with action and also packed with information on human DNA. Beyond Logan's efforts to stop his sister from carrying out their mother's plan, is an exploration of what is really needed if humanity is to survive. 

I found the story engaging and thought-provoking. 

Favorite Quote:

"I know you're trying to do the right thing, but you can't put this knowledge back into the box."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Shoot to Thrill by P. J. Tracy

Shoot to Thrill
Author: P. J. Tracy
Series: Monkeewrench (Book 5)
Publication: G.P. Putnam's Sons; 1st edition (April 29, 2010)

Description: The Monkeewrench crew returns in a stunning new thriller.It's eighty-five degrees in the shade when Minneapolis detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth pull into the MPD parking garage. They're driving a tricked-out Caddy, repossessed from a low-level drug dealer. It's not a Beemer or a Mercedes, but it's got GPS, air-conditioning, and power seats with more positions than the Kama Sutra. Things are heating up inside the station-house, too. The bomb squad's off to investigate another suspicious package at the mall, and kids are beating the crap out of one another and posting it on YouTube. And before Magozzi and Rolseth can wish for a straight-on homicide, the call comes in: a floater.Soon they're humping it along a derelict stretch of the Mississippi River, beyond the green places where families picnic and admire the views. They can see her- she looks like a bride in her white formal gown- face down, dead in the water. And so it begins.

My Thoughts: Magozzi and Rolseth's most recent case is that of a transvestite dressed as a bride found face down in the Mississippi River. At first it looks like an accident, but that changes to murder when it is learned that someone videoed the murder and posted it on YouTube.

Meanwhile, Grace and the Monkeewrench gang are trying to write some software that can distinguish between videos that fake murders and those that are real. They are working with FBI Agent John Smith who is nearing his mandatory retirement date and wondering what he is going to do with the rest of his life.

When it is discovered that there is a chatroom where murderers and would-be murderers can go and brag about their kills, the case and the project come together. The Monkeewrench gang and the police work together to try to find the killers before they can kill again.

A side issue has to do with the disaffected using the internet to get their fifteen minutes of fame with a case of someone leaving packages with suspicious contents all over the Twin Cities. This story talks a lot about the negative side of the Web since it gives a forum for crazies of all kinds.

I thought it was a great story and a thought-provoking one too.

Favorite Quote:

"And by the way, the Web is really starting to piss me off. It's like a meet-and-greet for sociopaths all of a sudden."

"Access and anonymity. If you're a scumbag, it's the perfect storm. But in the end, it's the same old criminals, just a different venue.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.