BURN-IN is a stunningly engrossing, intensely-researched, novel of the near-future in which both Robots and AI are a common occurrence in households, commerce, and industry. In fact, the existence and prevalence of both has created a deep divergence in culture as humans are losing jobs to mechanization while others see AI as the wave of the future and indeed the means of advanced human evolution.

FBI Special Agent Lara Keegan is tasked with training a TAMS, a new type of robot, which puts her (and TAMS) both in the spotlight, under a microscope, and (literally) in the crosshairs.

This book would be a great movie. It is basically a police drama - think Letha Weapon, but one of the partners is a highly advanced robot. Although fiction, it highlights, mainly though the robot main character, technology advances use on the horizon. Footnotes provide further references and information on the technology referenced in the story.

Interesting concept, but took way too long to develop.

The most interesting part is the authors' footnotes on the actual emerging technology that drives the plot.

In the novel BURN-IN, by P.W. Singer and August Cole, FBI Agent Lara Keegan has been paired with the first advanced police robot in this near future thriller. As Keegan works with and trains her robot partner, called TAMS, the world around Keegan, both at home and at work, is constantly judging every success and setback in the evolution of this one-of-a-kind partnership. As the old world thinking and new world automation collide, Keegan and TAMS have to wade through the attention they draw and solve a series of terrorist style-attacks before its too late.
The amount of research and care that Singer and Cole have done to present a reasonable and believable future, full of technology, is admirable to say the least. I am a fan of the techno-thriller and this is the first novel in the genre that I have read where I haven't questioned anything about the future that is posited. Singer and Cole also give the book some heart, delving into Keegan's home life and how parents deal with a technological world that they are in disagreement over whether its good or bad, and yet have to work hard at a middle ground for their family. The plot unfolds nicely in the beginning, slows down a little in the middle, but has an exciting, nail-biting finish that can't help but leave a smile on the reader's face.
A thought provoking story about what technology could mean in our future, BURN-IN is a fun read that leaves the reader thinking long after they finished the book.

This is quite good, and already has a number of helpful reviews. I'll simply recommend it to those seeking a solid scifi thriller. Good stuff.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

Really interesting book - far better than the usual techno thriller novels. The authors knowledge of technological developments really shines through and shows not just with the tech (devices), but the way that AI has fundamentally changed people's lives - the protagonist's husband is a former lawyer whose skills are now completely redundant. There's a real wake up call for a lot of middle class professionals that may over the next 10-20 years soon find old certainties about professional careers fundamentally changing and themselves out of a job!

Not 5 stars because it did seem a little slow at times - sorry!

Otherwise great

Burn-In - A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution is a futurist techno-thriller by P. W. Singer and August Cole.

In a near future where technology has advanced, and unfortunately put a lot of people out of jobs, Lara Keegan is a Washington FBI Special Agent getting a new partner, an advanced AI-powered robot she’s to teach in order to maybe pioneer a fleet of new law enforcement machines. While she patrols and avert various crimes, terrorists cyber attacks on the infrastructure start rocking the city. When the events plaguing Washington get linked together, Keegan and her TAMS partner embark on a mission to stop the individuals responsible.

P. W. Singer is a futurist author specialized in national security. August Cole is also a futurist, specializing in conflict. Both have collaborated before on best-selling books, and this is their new novel published énd May 2020. Both researchers are fascinated by their topics and, in the case of this book, maybe a little too much. A lot of time is spent describing in minute details the technology of the world the events occur in. As it can be fascinating in itself, it slows down the story to a crawling pace. Without spoiling anything about the plot, the main antagonist only appears a third in the book, and the actions really starts after the half mark. Then, the story gets really interesting. However, it’s way too late, and some readers might not get that far, especially if they feel the need to read the many notes validating this possible technological future. From a societal point of view, the world seems not to have progressed as much, even if the authors are often on the mark, for example with a bunkered White House, or monuments celebrating those who fought for equality.

This is a book for those who enjoy learning about technology through fiction, but maybe not so much for those liking their techno-thrillers more casual.

Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for the ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.

Singer and Cole have written a superb read with Burn-In. Well worth the time and a true page turner!

The concepts and ideas with how the near future will develop using current technologies was very well researched and interesting. There were many footnotes liberally sprinkled through the novel citing evidence as to the feasibility of the ideas, which was nice and lent more gravity of "real world" to it. However, I felt like the writing style seemed clunky and unemotional. I didn't really form a connection with the protagonist and her troubles in life.

Burn-In is a new type of tale. It’s almost like a future docudrama. It combines a fictional story with existing technology in new and exciting ways.

Special Agent Lara Keegan finds a terrorist hidden in plain sight. As a “reward”, she is given a Tactical Autonomous Mobility System robot, or TAMS, to beta test for the FBI. Workers in the US are increasingly angered by their jobs, both blue and white collared, being converted into “metal-collar jobs” filled with robots. There was no real guarantee of a Guaranteed Basic Income program going live in the US anytime soon.

If you don’t know about this new genre of “useful fiction”, it can seem at first to be an overlong thriller, which it is. The overlong part is because there is a non-fiction science book hiding within this book. All the technology is based on fact and fully referenced in a comprehensive Notes section at the end. Who knew that Finnish prisoners are training AI?

I’m the best possible consumer for this book. I love both thrillers and non-fiction, especially stories featuring technology. But I still feel there was a pacing issue in Burn-In. The world-building didn’t feel as effortless as it does in good science fiction. It slowed down the action, especially in the first half of the book. I enjoyed it but I’m not sure if there are enough people out there to make this book a bestseller. Give it a try if it sounds intriguing. 4 stars!

Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.