Starred review from October 14, 2024
Wagner (An Unnatural Life) wows in this nuanced look at the implications of AI on humanity. Fears about the impact of advanced robots on jobs have led to tens of thousands of Americans joining Eli Whitaker’s Civil Union Militia, which targets factories to destroy any androids or robots working there, sometimes accidentally killing human workers in the process. In 2060, the effort to stop the militia is led by acting ATF director Adrian Hall, who has a past with Whitaker. Her tactics are criticized after an automated soldier kills a child during a raid on Whitaker’s Appalachian base. Wagner widens her gaze backwards, forwards, and sideways, detailing Hall’s history with her adversary, future developments in her campaign, and what the fatal raid looked like from alternate perspectives. Throughout, Wagner exhibits a flair for realistic worldbuilding, imagining a future in which, among other changes, health insurance companies charge lower premiums to those whose home health needs are provided by a skilled humanoid robot rather than another human being. The result is a sharply imagined and all too plausible exploration of the future of AI. Fans of C. Robert Cargill’s robot novels will be impressed.
November 1, 2024
Forty years from now in Appalachia, androids, the ultimate synthesis of AI and robotics, have replaced human workers. It's a time when pesticides have taken their toll on farms and farmers. The Civil Union takes arms against the rise of android use, led by charismatic Eli Whitaker. Two of his "adopted" children, Adrian and Trey, are leading the manhunt to stop Eli and his teenage soldiers. Wagner splits the narrative among many characters, among which are Adrian and Trey, victims of Eli's hard love; two androids; a caretaker of two dying farmers; and Helios, an Android Soldier (AS). As the farmers overcome their fear of the caretaker, Sarah, Helios participates in the hunt for Eli. It deals with conflicting protocols, as does Sarah when the cancer caused by the pesticides kills her mistress. The more they deal with their androids, Adrian and Trey, while sympathetic, also see the justification for the Civil Union's actions. The weaving of all these harrowingly realistic narratives, especially in overlapping perspectives on key events, raises more questions than answers about both war and what it means to be human.
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Starred review from December 1, 2024
DEBUT In this near-future dystopian Appalachia, there are two stories. On the surface, it's about the charismatic leader of a growing militia group using age-old grievances to recruit fighters, train child soldiers, and stockpile explosives, while being hunted by two federal agents he helped to raise. Robots are replacing both factory and farm workers, and hatred of them is a fundamental piece of the militia's recruitment. The feds use robots as SWAT teams and shock troops, which doesn't help the situation since it's easier to hate robots than to delve into the thorny problem of why they exist in the first place. And no one has asked the robots if they have dreams or ambitions of their own. The nonlinear storytelling shows all perspectives: the displaced militia members, the worn-down feds, the ordinary people who can't cope without robotic assistance, the robots who have exceeded their programming, and the laws and regulations that created the mess. As each facet is turned, readers will find more depth in the story and much to think about long after the book ends. VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of thoughtful sci-fi about the relationships between humans, artificial intelligence, automated systems, and robotics.--Marlene Harris
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