Member Reviews

The futuristic, AI aspect of this book immediately appealed to me because I always enjoy the new and often alarming ideas from the author. We do get a taste of this in Hum, but I wish the details were fleshed out more.

We meet May, an anxious mother whose job was replaced by AI who is barely making ends meet. She undergoes a facial altering procedure for some extra cash, which she uses to take her husband and two kids to the Botanical Gardens. The experience does not go to plan, however.

While this was a quick read, I felt like something was missing. We're dropped right into the story without getting much background on this world or the technology within it, so some parts felt jarring and muddled. The random accounts of sex with her husband Jem came out of nowhere, and I could have lived without hearing every little quip from her kids, Lu and Sy. I enjoyed the concept more than the execution, but I think it would make for an interesting movie or TV series.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

In Helen Phillips's Hum, we are thrust into a disquieting future where intelligent and benevolent robots, known as hums, record every moment of life, trailing citizens to sell products they might need at any given time. May, an unemployed mother of two, is navigating this world, relying on her husband Jem's gig work to barely make ends meet. Hauntingly, May once helped train the AI network that evolved into the hums, so proficient at her job that she rendered herself obsolete.

Phillips crafts a world that is both stressful and propulsive, forcing readers to confront the potential dangers of rapid technological advancement. May's struggle against the hums' relentless commodification critiques how such advancements push us deeper into debt and consumption. The emotional and physical toll of constant surveillance is evident as May undergoes a procedure to make her face illegible to cameras, a drastic step taken to secure financial compensation. This decision not only highlights the lengths to which individuals might go to regain some semblance of privacy but also the invasive nature of surveillance technology.

A significant portion of the novel's suspense stems from the eerie and often malfunctioning devices like the bunnies, AI-equipped smartwatches worn by May's children, Sy and Lu. These moments inject a chilling sense of unpredictability into the story, emphasizing the fragility of reliance on technology. In her increasing technophobia, May plans a family trip to the city's Botanical Garden, a rare natural refuge, demanding they leave their devices behind. This decision leads to a tense sequence where May and Jem are separated from their children, only to find their actions misrepresented in the media, casting May as a neglectful mother. The ensuing investigation by the Bureau of Family Aid and the invasive visits from a hum underscore the omnipresent power of state surveillance.

Phillips's "Black Mirror"-esque narrative is compelling, keeping me hooked from start to finish. However, the book’s ending left me feeling unfulfilled. While I appreciated Phillips's elegantly sparse prose and expert world-building, I found it challenging to relate to her portrayal of motherhood and May's obsessive panic over her children's well-being. A friend recently pointed out to me how frequently motherhood books talk about the bodies of the children in a very obsessive, fetishistic manner. I noticed this appeared a few times in Hum and found it a turnoff, such as the scenes where May observes her son’s penis while he urinates. These instances detracted from my overall experience.

Despite the rich world-building and timely commentary on surveillance capitalism, I struggled to connect with the characters and their plights. This detachment ultimately impacted my enjoyment of the novel. While I appreciated Hum’s thought-provoking premise and Phillips's writing style, I wanted a more impactful resolution and more relatable characters.

Content / Trigger Warnings: Medical Content (severe), Sexual Content (minor), Abandonment (Moderate).

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I loved how this book started. It was such an uneasy setting that absolutely made me not want to put it down. I am such a fan of Helen Phillips and was over the moon to see Hum available on NetGalley.

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Unsettling, uncomfortable, and reminiscent of a Black Mirror episode. Thank you to NetGalley and Marysue Rucci Books for the ARC.

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A short, unsettling read. Whatever worries I've had about technology -- about being on devices too much, about too much surveillance, about how AI might change society -- Phillips taps into. Paced and plotted more like a short story.

If you've read The Need, this felt to me like a continuation, exploring the anxieties of modern motherhood.

I actively didn't want to read this (see: unsettling, worries, anxieties) but couldn't put it down.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

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Wow. Reading Hum felt like being inside an episode of Black Mirror. It was disturbing due to how freakishly realistic the “future” in this book is. Although very uncomfortable to read at times, I didn’t want to stop. The short chapters and tense atmosphere of the writing had me questioning what would happen at each turn and had me up late into the night. Recommend for people who love twists and turns with their futuristic dystopia. Trigger warning for anxious parents.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

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3.5 stars
Publish date: 8/6/24

I loved the author's book The Need, so had really high hopes for Hum. Hum did capture a frantic, near-future, dystopian setting, and I definitely felt immersed in that world. What didn't work for me was the characters. They all felt very surface level, and I think this novel could have benefitted from developing the characters out a lot more, even if that meant lengthening the story.

I can see this novel being made into a movie on Hulu. Overall, it was a quick read, and I was interested in the plot; just think there could've been so much more done with it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

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This is the sort of five-minutes-into-the-motherfucking-future-horrifying-in-its-abject-mundanity SpecFic that I am one billion percent here for. Small stakes that loom at a personal level. I can't wait for this to be published so I can argue with people about it.

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Hum by Helen Phillips was a great read that immersed me into an apparent near-future world where the fears of climate change have come to fruition and AI is a pervasive part of everyday life. The main AI presence in this novel are the Hums, AI robots who are integrated into society. Jobs are eliminated due to AI infiltrating the workforce and a dystopian society is the reality.

The book is centered around May Webb, a recently laid-off mom of two kids under 10 and decides to undergo an experimental procedure to alter her face so it’s not recognizable by surveillance in exchange for money. Her family desperately needs the money for rent, bills and essentials. She decides to take a small portion of the payment to take her family to a luxury forest park retreat. This place is hyped up like a Disney park in the story, so a telling sign that society has little natural beauty left. While in the park, May’s necessary encounter with a Hum leads to her life being flipped upside down. The “relationship” May and her family have with Hum(s) certainly left me with more questions than answers, and seriously makes me wonder what the tipping point will be in our society will be to get us to this point. (I do see it coming - but I think AI will be more of a tool to create relationships with brands and services and to give such things perceived authority.)

One of my favorite parts of this book was the world building. Phillips did a fantastic job painting the future bleak world. To the point that it felt too real and left me sad. I also really liked how May was presented as a mother. I’m a mom too and I completely get the situations she found herself in. She was very relatable and such a well-crafted character.

Hum is definitely a book for those who enjoy speculative fiction, especially a highly conceivable future where today’s technology and problems are exacerbated.

Thank you to Helen Phillips, Simon Element and Netgalley for an advanced e-copy if this book and the opportunity to provide honest feedback

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It has been a while since I've read through a book so quickly. I was immersed in the futuristic, almost post-apocalyptic world Phillips created. For me, setting is almost everything, and she succeeded. Frankly, I'd be interested in reading more just about this world. But I also will now read the author's other work. I looked forward to reading this every time I put it down.

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"Hum" by Helen Phillips catapults readers into a hauntingly plausible future where AI and climate change reign supreme. Set against the backdrop of a world suffocated by technology and environmental decay, Phillips weaves a tale that is both gripping and thought-provoking.

At the heart of the narrative is May Webb, a determined mother navigating a society dominated by AI assistants known as "Hums" while grappling with the aftermath of losing her job to automation. Phillips deftly explores the intricate dynamics of a family strained by economic hardship and technological dependency. May's decision to undergo a face-altering surgery, driven by financial desperation, sets off a chain of events that challenge her family's bonds and resilience.

What truly sets "Hum" apart is Phillips' masterful world-building. From the ubiquitous presence of AI-driven Hums to the stark divide between urban decay and fleeting oases of natural beauty, every detail paints a vivid picture of a future that feels unsettlingly close at hand. The juxtaposition of high-tech gadgetry and environmental degradation serves as a poignant backdrop for exploring timeless themes of human connection, resilience, and the ethical dilemmas posed by rapid technological advancement.

Phillips' prose is as sharp as it is evocative, plunging readers into a narrative that is as much a cautionary tale as it is a captivating exploration of what it means to be human in an increasingly digital age. Her ability to craft characters with depth and nuance, amidst a backdrop of looming environmental catastrophe and societal upheaval, makes "Hum" a standout in the realm of speculative fiction.

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In a compelling near future world of both high-tech robot AI’s and devastating climate change, May Webb, a beleaguered Mom who has lost her job to AI, decides to undergo an experimental face alteration surgery to get for money her family. The surgery is designed to evade all facial recognition software a camera infused world, where often your face is used both for identity and to conduct transactions. The surgery is performed by an AI robot, which shares a collective consciousness with all the other AI robots in this Earth. They have all been designed to present a soothing “hum” personality to all humans they interact with. Meanwhile, the hum robots keep getting more sophisticated, and arguably more human, in the process both supplanting humans in their jobs as well as developing the capacity for empathic relationships.

May’s husband Jem, working endless odd jobs to earn a living, is thrown off by her new face, her young son is fantasy and animal obsessed, and her daughter is constantly anxious about the levels of pollution and bad air quality. May decides to splurge with her surgery cash and purchases a three-day getaway to a pristine forest and botanical garden enclosed within the city. The idyllic escape, which reminds May of her childhood, starkly counters the harsh environs of the outside world. Aiming to bring her family closer together, the family faces fracture when their two kids find their way and get lost in the slums outside of the garden and May faces charges of irresponsibility.

Most striking of all in this high-tech world is the profound depth of technology dependence: all children wear wrist computers called “Bunnies” that entertain them while tracking all they do. Both parents and kids retreat to self-enclosed womb-like tech chairs where they can experience anything they want in a full surround sound, virtual reality immersion. So much so that May and Jem seldom spend anytime sleeping together in their bed.

The novel presents a strikingly and believable bleak future, but also proves deeply heart-warming in the enduring strength of family relationships in the face of adversity and the emerging potential for AI-human empathic relations. The book ends with you craving more about this world.

Thanks to Simon Element, S & S and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

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This novel was sad and depressing to me. I'm not sorry I read it, but I was very glad to be out of it!

Hum captures the dread, anxiety, and chaos that comes with being a caregiver in an age of environmental danger and pervasive technology. These feelings emerge sharply from May's narration as she attempts to protect her children from a world dependent on AI called "Hum" assistants and the environmental decline.

May longs for the unattainable: true nature, not the synthetic recreations of nature the AI presents. This longing feels nostalgic and human, which is contrasted with the unending advertisements, fake niceties, and privacy invasions the Hums bombard the family with.

This book has a lot of great elements, but I wanted more from them.

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This book had me engage right from the beginning. It is very timely in the concepts it deals with AI, climate change, urban decay and bringing children into and up in a world with these things ever present. I was with the story all the way to the end but the ending lost me a bit and seemed a little Pollyannaish. It was a quick read that takes the big topics that it deals with and places real people and their lives within these confines. Overall an interesting and engaging read.

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"Hum" by Helen Phillips

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element | S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for permitting me to read this work before its publication date.

May and her husband used to have steady jobs, but their positions were rendered obsolete by AI and robots. Desperate to manage their bills and enjoy a few luxuries, May ops for an experimental procedure and uses the money to take her family on a getaway to a botanical garden. Resenting the hold that technology has on her family, she decides to leave her phone and home and makes her children leave their "bunnies" (interactive AI toys) home as well. When the trip takes an unexpected turn, May faces the consequences of trying to live without tech, altering her face for profit, and her strained relationship with her spouse.
This dystopian novel is necessary and deeply sobering. At a time when children use tablets throughout the day, we're all attached to our tech, and facial recognition is being used more and more, this read does not seem to be set in a distant future. This novel feels like it took place 5 to 10 years from now, and it was scary as hell.

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I love Helen Phillips and her brilliance at the sentence level. She is so clever with reader expectations and shifting them in terms of how a story will play out. Phillips has taken many fears of our own and given them deep tweaks to really alarm us and enhance the possibilities of a new world, one in which our sense of reality and fear of changes clash.

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Superbly written speculative fiction about a struggling mother desperately trying to hold her family together in a dystopian, climate ravaged, corpo-surveillance state. The themes of technology addiction, loss of privacy and constantly being sold something aren't subtle, and are just prescient enough to illicit plenty of interpretation (and misinterpretation).

*ARC provided by NetGalley & Simon Element*

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As an introduction to a near future “peopled” with AI beings called “Hums”, the author has created a tense atmosphere with her prose. A mother/family breadwinner has just lost her job. The novel follows her emotionally as she tries to cope with a limited income, global warming, overwhelming technology, and, unexpectedly, the possible loss of her two young children.

Other than the mother, character development is sparse. Even the physical surroundings are told to us, not described for the reader to discover. The need for human interaction with other humans and with nature is key.

Thanks to NetGalley and Marysue Rucci Books/Simon and Schuster for the ARC to read and review.

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I’m not really sure what I just read?! This was an interesting one that I was not expecting at all. This was super dystopian and sometimes I had a hard time visualizing some situations. The story was new and different with strong opinion about technology, the future, social media, cancel culture, and motherhood. An interesting and quick read.

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Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: This was an intriguing read that kept me entertained and was thought-provoking. I think my only complaint was that it ended incredibly abruptly, and I wasn't really sure what happened at the ending even though I read the ending multiple times.

The story follows May. She lost her job to AI and is struggling with her husband (who does odd jobs) to make ends meet. When an opportunity comes up to be a guinea pig in a process that alters her face so that it can't be recognized by surveillance in exchange for huge sum of money, she jumps at the chance. She also decides after the procedure to use some of the money to book a weekend at the lush Botanical Garden resort, which ends up having bigger ramifications for her family than she expected.

There were some things I enjoyed about this and some things I found confusing. I enjoyed the world-building here; the Hum are AI robots that work service jobs. There is a hint that they might be more human than they appear, but this isn't explored in detail. They do both harm and help, and it is hard to tell if the harm is intentional or just part of them trying to help. They are not a huge part of the story but more in the background.

I also enjoyed the depiction of May and her family trying to survive in this world that is slowly sliding into extinction. This is not an apocalyptic setting; things are just slowly getting harder for humanity to deal with. The settings are recognizable and even the issues they face on a day to day level (air quality, food quality, etc) are issues that are seen today...just worse.

The book is less clear on the story and the purpose of the story, which shifts around as you read. First, you think there is a going to be a big plot about May's face getting altered and this does have impact on the story but it's not as much as you think it would. Then you think the story will be about the humanity of the Hum, but again, this is more of an element woven into the background. Then you think something will happen at the Botanical Gardens and it kind of does, but then it doesn't. There is a lot of May fighting against the technology her kids use and discussing both the benefits and detriments of having them "unhooked" from this system.

In the end, this is an intriguing and thought-provoking read. It is more of a look into a chaotic time in the life of this family rather than any one story or message. It touches on many issues but doesn't fully explore or resolve any of them. In the end, does May's face change really matter? Is it wrong to take her kids' tech away from them? Is technology good or is it bad or is it both? Was humanity right to create the Hum or not? These issues are all explored lightly but never deeply discussed and never resolved.

This was well written and easy to read. I found it engaging and intriguing. I was just disappointed in how open-ended everything was left and at how unfocused and wandering the story was.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I mostly enjoyed this but was a bit disappointed in how ambiguous the ending was and how unfocused the themes in the story were. I did enjoy the look into a normal family trying to survive in a near future Earth where things aren't apocalyptic but are just a bit worse than they are now. The questions around technology and the ambiguity of whether it is helpful or harmful were intriguing as well. I will keep an eye out for Phillips' future books because I did enjoy some of the concepts in here.

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