SALVATION HAS A PRICE.
An enthralling murder mystery with a vividly realised future world, forcing readers to grapple hard hitting questions about the climate crisis, our relationship with Artificial Intelligence and the price we would be willing to pay, as a species, to be saved. Perfect for fans of Blake Crouch, Neal Stephenson, Philip K Dick, Kim Stanley Robinson and RR Haywood.
It's 2050, a decade after a heatwave that killed four hundred million across the Persian Gulf, including journalist Marcus Tully's wife. Now he must uncover the truth: was the disaster natural? Or is the weather now a weapon of genocide?
A whistleblower pulls Tully into a murder investigation at the centre of an election battle for a global dictator, with a mandate to prevent a climate apocalypse. A former US President campaigns against the first AI politician of the position, but someone is trying to sway the outcome.
Tully must convince the world to face the truth and make hard choices about the future of the species. But will humanity ultimately choose salvation over freedom, whatever the cost?
What did I think?
Mind-officially-blown! Wow, just wow, what an outstanding and completely mind-blowing debut from Thomas R. Weaver! I didn't think I would ever find a book that could hold a candle to Orwell's 1984 but Artificial Wisdom is 1984 for a new generation and it's an instant classic.
Journalist Marcus Tully is in mourning for his wife and unborn child who were killed in the tabkhir, a devastating climate event in the Middle East that raised humidity to such a level that no one could survive. With an upcoming election to appoint a dictator, a whistleblower sends Tully information about the tabkhir and how it may not have been the accident that everyone thinks.
The thing that takes Artificial Wisdom up to the next level is that one of the candidates in the election isn't human, Solomon is AI. When Tully uncovers disturbing information about the human candidate's decision making, Solomon may be the only one who can save humankind. I just have to share a quote from Solomon that really resonated with me and made me sit up and take notice:
"But if there's one thing I have learned about humankind, it's how bad you are at living in the now. People seem to live in both the past and in the future, two big overlapping circles, but rarely focus on the intersection and enjoy the moments given to them right now."
Vote Solomon!
It was interesting that while I was reading Artificial Wisdom, I heard about an AI version of Tom Hanks being used in an advert without the actor's permission. I was initially thinking that Artificial Wisdom was futuristic but AI is here now and it gives me goose bumps now that I have read this fantastic book.
Intelligent, imaginative and scarily realistic, Artificial Wisdom had me so hooked that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it and I was so completely immersed in the story that I even dreamt about it. Completely unmissable and very highly recommended.
I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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Thank you, Michelle. I feel very humbled by this review. It's more than I could ever have imagined getting, when I started writing. So, I want you to know, it means a lot to me.
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