Artificial Wisdom
A Novel
-
-
4.3 • 18 Ratings
-
-
- $12.99
Publisher 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?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Weaver's chilling debut imagines a climate-ravaged near future where the fortunate live on floating islands and a new world leader is about to be elected. Striving to accurately inform the voters of 2050 is influential journalist Marcus Tully, who works with a team of assistants in London, which, like all formerly great capitals, has been reduced to a crime-filled cesspool seared by soaring temperatures. Lately, Tully has been covering the race between former U.S. president Lawrence Lockwood and Solomon, an AI who claims to possess the sort of cold, rational leadership style that humanity needs to survive the climate crisis. The election is thrown into turmoil when master scientist Martha Chandra, who invented Solomon, is killed by a rare and complex poison. The death leaves Tully with the confounding question of which candidate may have been behind the murder, and what effect it could have on the election. Originally self-published in 2024, this rip-roaring tale moves with rattling momentum and exhibits Weaver's knack for worldbuilding. His concerns about AI feel measured and well-informed, setting this apart from the histrionics of lesser techno-thrillers. Readers will eagerly await the sequel.
Customer Reviews
Forgettable Mediocrity
Artificial Wisdom is a thoroughly mediocre book further softened by weak writing and weaker characters. The novel isn’t quite sure whether it wants to be a political thriller, a murder mystery, or a commentary on recent history. As a result, none of those areas are fully fleshed out or developed, and the “surprising twists” are easily predicted by any reader who has read a science fiction novel with an AI before. The book does attempt a final shocking twist at the very end, but it’s essentially unpredictable as it relies on a heretofore unknown and unseen character making their debut appearance in the last 30 pages of the novel.
As if that weren’t bad enough, the character arcs of the main characters are mostly stagnant. Characters either remain who they are throughout the book (possibly chilling out slightly) or change abruptly halfway through the book. To the novel’s credit, the changes are all very believable; the problem is that spend very little time watching the character struggle (the interesting part).
The writing itself is serviceable, but you won’t find a single sentence in this book that fills you with surprise or delight. That’s OK for a book with strong plot or strong characters; this book has neither.
And then it ends. The book straight up ends in a manner that makes me think it is unfinished. If you think there will be payoff in this story, you will be wrong.
Overall, Artificial Wisdom is the rare book that simply has no good reason to be read. I suppose you could bring it to the beach with you, but your time is likely better spent watching the ocean.