Such a unique read. I don’t feel like I’ve read something similar which is so fun. A mix of sci-fi, murder mystery, and literary critique. The writing was beautiful, so many great political issues written in poignant yet not too emphasized ways. While I felt the end was extremely rushed and didn’t love the ending, I felt like this is a book I will think about often.

I was given a e-ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the mystery that is at the core of this novel. In addition, this was a fast-paced thriller that managed to connect the reader to the main character- something that I find is usually lacking. It was hard to believe this was a debut, with its perfect pacing and 3 dimensional morally grey characters. We’re given a deep dive into a near future world where the planet is in the throws of a climate crisis, and the stakes could not be higher. Just when I thought I knew where the story was going, a new reveal shook things right up. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next.

There's a meme I've seen on social media several times that's a picture of a very convincing knitted pigeon eating a knitted chip (crisp) falling out of a knitted bag. The text under the picture reads "I thought that only the bag of chips was knitted so I was like Imaoo fucking idiot bird got owned then I saw that the bird was knitted as well then I realized I was the fucking idiot bird getting owned" and this perfectly describes how I felt at the end of this book.

I loved the beginning, all the world building, all the set up, the introductions to all the characters, all of it. The first half of the book gets five stars from me. I was totally sucked in. Then there's the murder and the book shifts a bit and becomes mostly a murder mystery. Which was fine, I love murder mysteries with a passion. And this was a good one. I was never bored.

At around 60-70% it became ridiculously obvious to me who the murderer was. So obvious that the characters seemed like nincompoops who couldn't see the truth as it danced naked in front of their eyes. It was just so OBVIOUS! Why couldn't they see it???

Turns out, I was the idiot getting owned. And the characters just weren't as stupid as I was.

When the big reveal came, I was pretty shocked. Generally in a good way, but a little bit in a "you couldn't at least have given us a few clues?" kind of way. It was a great twist, no doubt, but it would have been nice if I could have at least had the slightest inkling it was possible.

And then, I was somewhat disappointed by what seemed a rather ambiguous ending. I'm not sure if that was on purpose to leave us to make our own decisions or if there's going to be a sequel, but either way I was a bit sad that things weren't more wrapped up. That's just a personal desire of mine, to know how everything is going to turn out.

All in all, a really great read with one of the most accurate future worlds I've ever seen. If that's not exactly what the world looks like in 25 years, I'll eat my hat. I almost want to come back in 2050 and reread this to see how accurate it really is. Hopefully I can remember for that long.

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver. Intriguing premise. Thought provoking and a disturbing and terrifying look at a probable future.
Thank you to the author, Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore |and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

4.75
It’s the year 2050, ten years after a deadly heatwave wiped out hundreds of millions of people in the Persian Gulf, including journalist Marcus Tully’s wife. Now, Marcus is searching for answers. Was the disaster a natural event, or something far more intentional?

A whistleblower draws him into a murder investigation tied to a global election. At the center of it all is a battle between a former U.S. president and the world’s first AI candidate. As powerful forces work behind the scenes to sway the results, Marcus races to expose the truth.

This was such an addictive, fast paced story unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It all was intricately woven together creating an experience you felt at a physical level. How Thomas wrote about grief was as important as the main plot. You felt Tullys love for Zee so much it ached inside. As you witness him slowly be released from his guilt of losing his wife you’re also feeling the suspense of this mystery unravel. It’s a full body experience that left me unsettled but so satisfied in every way. We are at a time where AI is evolving that you can actually imagine it’s evolution into a Solomon. (Who I will be voting for) I’ve never experienced reading a book alongside an author who takes you behind the scenes, it was everything I had hoped and more.

This story blends a gripping mystery with a vision of our future shaped by climate collapse and artificial intelligence. It asks what humanity is willing to sacrifice to survive—and whether we’d choose safety or freedom if forced to decide. Great for readers who enjoy thought-provoking sci-fi with high stakes.

IF I COULD GIVE THIS SIX STARS🌟, I WOULD!!!
Part dystopian, sci-fi, thriller, mystery, and climate fiction, this debut will blow your world off its axis.

Still grieving, journalist Marcus investigates a whistleblower’s account that the death of 400 million people, his pregnant wife being one, was the result of geo-engineering failure which the American government is covering up.
This could have huge repercussions as the race for world dictatorship is counting down between the American president and an Artificial Intelligence.

<b>That was the thing about the truth. Sometimes, you were judged more harshly for revealing it than for concealing it.
“The responsibility lies with those who did the deed and those who prop them up, not the ones exposing it."
</b>
It is scarily realistic. It is 2050. The world is suffering from extreme climate change. The crisis is real. The people are rioting.

This story explores the idea of the cost of knowledge, of sharing truth, and who should be held responsible for those consequences, especially in a fiery world already fuelled with rage and fear.

If I could force the world to read it, I would.

<b>”We should be putting the resources into turning around the current situation instead of creating safe bubbles from which the rich can watch the poor die."</b>

I know this will be appealing to a lot of readers - short chapters! This kept me on my toes and the story absolutely gripping!

Like every other reviewer, I don’t want to give too much away. If anything, I would say go in completely blind. Don’t even read reviews. Obviously, you’re reading this, so sorry! But this was one of the best reading experiences I have had.

<b>"You've thrived by adapting your environment, while other animals adapt to the environment. But now you must do both, as the very fabric of the planet tears, as the continents rise up to shake you loose.”
</b>
Thank you to the author for sending me the physical copy in exchange for a review!
It’s gorgeous!


REREAD June 2025 for traditionally published version.

I still stand by my review - there is something in the book for everyone.
If you have read the indie version, there are extra scenes (even a new pov) to look forward to!

Go pre-order and buy it for your friends and families and book clubs!

Physical arc gifted by Transworld and Del Rey.

Artificial Wisdom is part speculative fiction, part dystopian sci-fi, and part murder mystery. It's a captivating story set in 2050 that pulls Marcus Tully, a journalist, into a murder investigation at the epicenter of an election battle for a global ruler, with the intent of stopping a climate apocalypse. The catch? One candidate is a former U.S. president while the other is the first AI politician in history. The bigger catch? Someone or something is trying to steal the outcome.

Tully has his back against the wall, for not only must he find the truth, but he must persuade the world to accept it as well as make difficult decisions about how to save humanity from themselves. Can he do it? And if he can, what is the price of salvation?

There's a part of me that wishes this would have had more sci-fi thriller elements, but I also appreciated the moral dilemmas and ambiguity surrounding AI in a governing role, the climate crisis cover-up subplot, and the battle to uphold truth and integrity. Weaver did a good job of grounding this world in reality, making it the perfect combination of believable and unsettling. I connected with the characters, too. Their pain, their struggles, their hope for a better future for humanity. Definitely worth a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Interesting take on what AI and climate change may do to our world. It's the year 2050 and the world is hurting from the awful impact of climate change. The world is voting on a global leader to solve the problem and the top two candidates are the former USA president and an artificial intellect. Tully is a reporter trying to figure out who is responsible for his wife death a decade ago.

Such an impressive sci-fi debut novel. Everything transpires in incredible layers and keeps you guessing. When a journalist gets caught up in a whistle blower case, who can he trust? And how much of their dystopian society is crafting its own story? An incredibly timely novel that looks at what happens when government goes unchecked and power gets centralized to the few. History is written by the victors…

Well-written, timely, and thought-provoking, Artificial Wisdom is the best book I've read this year. Highly recommended. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley.

The year is 2025. Political systems are failing and climate change has ravaged the planet. There is global leader election approaching and the 2 leading candidates are a former US president and an AI. Our MC is a journalist grieving the loss of his wife who died 10 years earlier in a heat wave in the Persian Gulf, when he finds out there is a lot more to his wife’s death then he could have ever known.

So much political intrigue, deception and manipulation. Complex morality, blurring the lines between right and wrong, with choices being made that may not always be ethical. Vying for power, influence, and resources. Some of these being subtle and some outright struggles for dominance.

To be honest I thought this book was going to be more science fiction thriller but it turned out to be more of a statement about environmental issues as well as AI, and how they are increasingly intertwined with political power instead of planet survival. That being said it was still very well written and if you are into political intrigue you will truly enjoy this.

For the first 30% of this book, I thought I had the story pinned down. But what I thought would be a book about AI and politics quickly became so much more.

I will attempt to find the genre of this book within my own review. A dystopian, near-future sci-fi story with compelling commentary on political corruption and polarization, propaganda, and climate change. Within all of that, the author also reflects on grief, betrayal and truth. So, I guess I would say this was a sci-FI political thriller murder mystery with the tiniest dash of romance. The ending really set up a great path for book two, which I am looking forward to!

Weaver writes a great book with so much to be enjoyed. My only criticism is the pacing in the first 50% felt quick, while the last half felt slower. But overall, I would recommend this book to most in my life.

Some quotes I saved:

“The rest of the world had munched popcorn while the country became irretrievably polarized. They’d elected ever more extreme leaders on both sides, until the electorate had fortified itself in two circles that almost never overlapped.“

“That, of course, was the thing about truth. Those who hid it always believed it was colored in shades of grey, those who revealed it always saw the black and white.”

“I’m saying no matter how great the technology is, it’s been created by imperfect humans who can’t predict the impact their algorithms will have on the world. Look what happened with the first social networks. Look at the polarization and societal collapse they caused.” 🤯

Thank you again to the author and publisher for allowing me to read this ARC!

In the year 2050, our planet's climate crisis has reached devastating consequences. Ten years previously, a massive heatwave killed millions of people in the Persian Gulf. In order to turn the tide of such ongoing destruction, the people of Earth have come together to decide they need a single leader, a Protector, for all of us so that we can move in one direction and successfully combat these threats for our own survival.

Thus, an election was planned. Now, the primaries have been completed, and we're down to just two final candidates: a former United States president, and an "artilect", an advanced AI personality who is already serving as Governor of the "Floating States". But Marcus Tully, a well-known trustworthy investigative journalist has been contacted by a whistleblower which leads him down a dark and emotion-filled rabbit hole of multiple conspiracies and political intrigue. And murder.

I didn't know what to expect when I first began to read this book. But right from the beginning, I was pleasantly surprised. A near-future science fiction yarn with political overtones was right up my alley, especially when it doesn't hit me over the head with endless technobabble. But then the novel morphed into a rather complex murder mystery, also near and dear to me heart. But it didn't stop there as it morphed again into pure sci-fi thriller territory. And then it dawned on me. It wasn't morphing at all but rather was firing all those aspects at me simultaneously. That makes it sound like chaos, but the prose made it entirely engaging and readable. The characters, especially Tully and the chief security officer October were fun to watch as they tried to get to the bottom of the murder. Of course, a major theme/question throughout the novel surrounded the wisdom of putting an AI in charge of humanity's future and in fact, whenever the AI politician, "Solomon" was depicted in a scene, I was torn between really wanting to trust it versus wondering if he/it would turn out to be like HAL or a Terminator.

Author Thomas Weaver describes himself as a writer and serial tech entrepreneur. Certainly, he has devoted a lot of thought to what the future may hold for us. This novel seems extremely rooted in logical assumptions of our own near future and the extrapolations of current tech and societal evolution (impact of social media, conspiracy theories, election interference, etc.) seem spot on. That makes this book both a nice balance between an intriguing future, and a scary one. The ending could serve as a finale even though nothing is neatly tied up and we don't get definitive answers or outcomes to all the events in the book.

Rumor has it that Weaver is planning a sequel, although he states that he envisions a duology and not a series. Count me in when that book becomes available.

I really enjoyed this - and was excited to get offered early access to this. Perfect for fans of Blake Crouch or the Infomocracy series, this book is a perfect techno-thriller for our era of climate politics.

Review of Advance Reader’s Copy

It’s been ten years since the 2040 tabkhir that claimed the lives of one hundred and sixty million people, including investigative journalist Marcus Tully’s wife, Zainab, and their unborn child. Earth’s climate crisis has only worsened since that time; now the people were in the process of electing a protector, one person with a mandate . . . with absolutely authority and resources . . . to fix the climate crisis and save the planet.

After nine years they were still whittling down a list of candidates while the climate change continued toward disaster. Suddenly, the news breaks that the selection is down to two and a world-wide vote can be held.

Will they choose former United States president Lawrence Lockwood or will the opt for an artificial intellect, Governor Solomon, the first AI . . . or artilect . . . to hold political office?

=========

Set in the near future, this dystopian tale, complete with a murder mystery and several unexpected plot twists, keeps readers guessing from the outset. Strong characters, a captivating premise that is likely to seem all too real to the reader, and intriguing technology all work together to keep the reader involved in the telling of this complex tale as the characters face moral quandaries and quests for the truth.

With its multiple points of view, fast pace, unexpected revelations, and political posturing, readers will find this one difficult to set aside before turning the final page. But readers should be prepared for an ending that leaves much to the imagination.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inkore / Del Rey and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.
#ArtificialWisdom #NetGalley

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Artificial Wisdom. The story takes place in 2050 when 10 years before a heat wave killed over 400 million people.
The novel is based in in a not so future which is a scary thought.
This is a mystery with several back stories.
A slow start but keep going it’s worth it as the characters are interesting and complex.
3 stars

Wow.

I could leave it at that. When the Del Rey Team of Penguin Random House offered me a review copy of this through NetGalley, I jumped at the opportunity and I am grateful for it. There are dozens of stories in media - film, television, other books - in which similar themes are explored, but you should leave any parallels out; this stands on its own. This near future story interwoven with high tech is thoroughly engaging right up to its conclusion. So much intrigue, so many twists.

Tom Peters, in his 2003 book Re-Imagine!, said "Life is messy. Very messy. (That's why I read fiction for instruction, not management books. Most management books provide 'answers.' Great fiction raises great questions.)"

There are some great questions here. With real world AI barreling towards ubiquity, I am distrustful of controls over the product as competing developers role out their creations, perhaps (more probable than not) too early, to try to get a leg up on their rivals. Mr. Weaver explores a benevolent "artilect" already in a position of authority as Governor of a collection of artificial island states floating in the oceans. He also explores some old philosophical questions: how can we know what is true? how can we know we we see is the truth? And on that truth, I highlighted a couple of quotes:

"That was the thing about truth; it only came out when the cost of lying became too high."

"That, of course, was the thing about truth. Those who hid it always believed it was colored in shades of grey, those who revealed it always saw the black and white."

Now, I said don't compare this something else but I can't help but recall two science fiction television shows that I thought great right up until the last part of the last episode. And a science fiction movie and a non science fiction television show left us wondering. Cryptic? I don't spoil fiction for others. I thought this a great book AND I was unsatisfied with the ending.

What a wild ride! Perfect for fans of Black Crouch, this was a spellbinding blend of sci-fi, technology, and a mystery thriller. I was immediately hooked and really appreciated how the author made the backstory, technology, and moral quandaries of AI accessible even for readers who are less technical or reading outside their typical genre.

I found this to be less about the twists and reveals and more about the journey and how the characters find themselves relentlessly interrogating and challenging their opinions and views. It was an invigorating debate that had me switching sides multiple times. I loved this!

I cannot even fully process what I just read. Artificial Wisdom blew my mind! This is a fast paced technothriller in a dystopian setting with twists on twists. Everything that happens in this book is layered so well that when each new twist is revealed, while shocking, still makes sense upon reflection. I was so invested in this book it had my heart racing. After one of the twists was revealed, I literally had to get up and walk away from the book to process (and then immediately come back and finish). This also has my climate change anxiety at an all time high.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys sci-fi, dystopian books, speculative fiction, or even murder mysteries (serious ones - this is not cozy). I would not recommend if you need your ending tied up in a perfect bow because this one did leave some things up to the imagination. Or maybe it's leading up to a sequel?

Thank you to Del Rey, Random House Worlds, & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. You have introduced me to one of my new favorite books!

Video reviews will be posted on my TikTok, @alireadsanywhere, after the publishing date!

— 3.5 ✷


ooh... that ending.. I don't know if I'm frustrated or intrigued by it.


To start things off, honestly, I don't think the book was entirely what I thought it would be. I'd expected more of a political sci-fi thriller where politics are thrown into a catastrophic mess when one of the parties involved gets murdered. I thought we'd be on a chase, or be chased, to figure out the truth, or I'd be reading about what that death would mean for the world that's close to ending.

What I got was close, but it had more of a mystery novel aspect (which I don't normally hate). We were jumping from one suspect to another with some backstories being resolved and told. The problem was that it wasn't thrilling nor interesting. Maybe there were risks, but I couldn't feel the full extent of it because we were so deeply immersed into the detective work. What's worse was the characters. It was told from multiple POVs which contributed to my feeling detached from them. I wasn't invested in any of their wellbeing or happiness or future. They were just there.

So now, I was following a story slightly different from my expectations, a bit less exciting than I'd hoped for, with a cast of characters I was apathetic to. The story felt like it was going nowhere and didn't have enough of an identity. It had political intrigue, dystopian climates, AI vs humans, a murder — all very intriguing plot devices, but none of them meshed well together here.

Now, the ending. OH the ending. I both loved it and hated it. But the difference was that for me to love the ending, I had to actively come up with a justification as to why the ending was what it was. The hate came naturally. That difference was what determined the rating for me.

It was suuuuuuch an open ending that I'm surprised more people aren't talking about it. It ended so abruptly that it makes you wonder if the author was saving a thread for a sequel; which in and of itself also pisses me off because it's such a low-effort move. There was so much new information suddenly thrown in near the end and none of it were addressed. We simply switched POVs from it and called it the end. It made me so mad because, even though this book wasn't what I hoped it'd be, I still liked it and was ready to give it a higher rating. Yet, what I got in the end was a flimsy tailed-off wrap-up that made me think if my arc version accidentally had some chapters cut off.


However, surprisingly enough, even with my barrage of pointers for the book, the story was definitely easy to binge and get back into. It was a sci-fi world with its own technology and terms, but it was intuitive and explained well. The plot flowed well from one chapter to another and I was left turning the pages without even meaning to. Again, it's a book with so much potential, but I just think a bit more work had to be done.


Thank you to Del Rey, Thomas R. Weaver and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.