Artificial Wisdom is a Sci-fi suspense novel set in the near-future (about 2050). You quickly found out that the planet and its inhabitants haven't fared well in the last 25 years as climate change has continued and worsened. Income disparity had increased. VR is common and is where people often meet if they can afford it.  Traditional news outlets are a thing of the past, but those who are online must have verifiable identities. The world has decided that it must have one leader, one guiding hand, to affect change in human behavior and (hopefully) fix the mess that has been made. 

Our widow into this world is Marcus Tully, a modern journalist who is known for his respectability and tenacity. He is not perfect… one might think of him as broken, but trying to be the best he can be. He becomes involved in the election news because of a mysterious whistle-blower who gives him information about a confidant of one of the candidates for world ruler. This spirals into a mystery involving a sentient AI (the other candidate for world leader) that takes Tully from London to a floating city of the rich and beyond. 


I had not read any books by Thomas Weaver previously, and honestly think this might be his first. The premise sounded interesting and it was suggested to me by NetGalley. Weaver does a good job writing characters who are multidimensional and believable. You can understand their point of view and they are consistent. His world-building is almost as good, with the locations and setting being believable, but leaving a lot of the background for you to imagine yourself. 

Overall, I think the book well written if a bit unevenly paced. I felt that at times I had no handle on how much time had passed as sometimes the interval between chapters would be seconds and other times weeks you didn't immediately realize had passed.


All that being said, it was only about a 3.5 for me. I don't at all regret reading it, and I would likely read a sequel. One issue I have though is that I EXPECT a sequel. That is because, as the book reached its climax and it seemed that most of the loose ends would be tied-up (although I will admit that I didn't expect all of them to be), there were several new twists and the book ended with the pieces set for a book 2. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good multi-book series… IF I know that is what I am getting into. I didn't and my feelings about the book are worse because of that. 

I would recommend the book to those who like realistic fiction, contemporary sci-fi, and books where the future of AI are explored. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read a pre-re-release copy of this book.

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

Oh my goodness. This book was amazing. Realistic. Scary. And somehow somewhat hopeful maybe. I’m so glad I picked this up and felt for the characters right away. Can’t wait to follow along with the story and find out what happens later!

As a big AI skeptic, for no reason other than because that is how I think, this book was very scary for me. It paints a very bleak future for the human race. That all being said, I actually really enjoyed the story. I thought the storyline was enjoyable, and the characters were pretty well thought out. It wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, and there were several times where I was a little overwhelmed with everything going on, but something that I would recommend to others.

Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas Weaver, and Del Ray for providing me an advanced reading copy.

Artificial Wisdom sets up a fascinating and timely premise—an AI named Solomon, developed by visionary scientist Martha Chandra, is now Governor of the ultra-wealthy Floating Islands and is one of two final candidates in a global election to lead humanity through the climate apocalypse. The other? A former U.S. president. It’s 2050, the world is literally burning and drowning, and humanity is desperate for someone—or something—to save it.

Enter Marcus Tully, a journalist still grieving the loss of his family to a brutal heatwave, who’s pulled into a murder investigation when Solomon’s creator turns up dead. What follows is a twisty, high-stakes political thriller full of questions: What’s real? What’s manipulated? Can an AI be trusted with humanity’s future—or is it already pulling the strings?

There are some great ideas here about climate collapse, political desperation, and the influence of artificial intelligence, and I appreciated the ambition of the worldbuilding. That said, the plot got a bit messy for me. The pacing felt uneven, and while the conspiracy at the heart of the story is intriguing, the way it unraveled left me feeling more confused than satisfied—especially toward the end.

I'm assuming it's setting up for a sequel, which explains the lack of resolution, but I was hoping for a bit more clarity or payoff in this first installment. Still, there’s enough here that I’d consider picking up the next book to see where it all goes.

Not really into sci-fi but to be honest I really enjoyed this book for the simple reason that it was a what if book. So many different scenarios that could go in different way. This book is a a gem.

Fascinating and eerie, this sci-fi thriller imagines a chilling future shaped by AI ethics. The premise is timely, and Weaver keeps the tension high. A few plot threads could have been tighter, but the questions it raises stuck with me.

Artificial Wisdom is probably the best techno-thriller I’ve ever read and easily goes toe to toe with other heavy hitters in the genre.

The story goes from zero to 100 from page one all the way to the end, with so many twists and turns that your head will be spinning out in the best way possible. And there are no lulls in this book, it will continue to keep you hooked the whole way through.

We follow, Marcus Tully, a top journalist in the year 2050, where climate change has wreaked havoc on our planet. An anonymous source only going by the name Whistle contacts him to uncover political scandals that may involve the death of Marcus’ wife.

Parallel to this plot, we also have a world in crisis. The citizens of Earth have destroyed the climate so much that they have now taken the drastic decision to elect a Dictator to help them fix/slow the progress, to safeguard the future of Earth.

But surprisingly, an AI program named Solomon has reached the final in the race for Dictatorship against ex-US President Lockwood.

When Marcus’ political story takes an unexpected turn he seeks the help of Martha Chandra, the creator of the AI Solomon, and other ground-breaking tech being used worldwide.

I think to say anything more here would absolutely be a spoiler as this whole book is so full of scheming, tech, intrigue, mystery, and heart-pounding moments.

To top all that off, Thomas R. Weaver is a great writer, created memorable characters, and managed to integrate all the tech in the book so that it is easily understood by us general society plebs who are not tech and AI literate.

If you are in a reading slump, I guarantee Artificial Wisdom will get you out of it. So clever, so unique, and just completely unexpected.

Thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

4 ⭐️
I’m not sure completely how to put in the words how scary realistic I could see this book becoming in our future. I really had a good time with this one. I dual read this one on audiobook as well as my Kindle and I will say Pacey was engaging and really helped drive the story forward with his narration. I’ve watched a lot of dateline and sci-fi movies so the twists didn’t hit as hard as others said, but that’s just a me problem. Would def recommend to others!

Artificial Wisdom occurs in the year 2050 and the world is in a climate crisis. The people are voting on a new leader to help navigate through this crisis. The candidates are the former US President and an AI program named Solomon. A journalist whose wife died along with a million other people, is trying to figure out how the government is involved in this incident.

Its sci-fi, political thriller with some mystery. The writing felt clunky and it took me some time to get the flow if it. The characters were decent and had some depth and backstory. The pacing varied from enthralling to boring.There was a decent twist in there, but it felt like it came out of nowhere. Overall it was a good book.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey, for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

Artificial Wisdom was written by Thomas R. Weaver, originally Indie-published in 2023. The novel was picked up by Penguin Random House to be republished, available August 12, 2025.

SUMMARY
The year is 2050. Humanity is in trouble and agrees to elect a global leader to resolve the crisis. A former U.S. President is in the running up against an Artificial Intelligence program called Solomon. A journalist is seeking the truth about his dead wife and the possibility of government evolvement, but not just her death… millions of lives, which has a altered the course of humanity.

Can mankind reverse the damage it's done to the world... Or will it depend on Artificial Intelligence to be the salvation of humanity?

OVERALL THOUGHTS
Such an interesting book! Artificial Wisdom is a wonderful work of science fiction with a splash of mystery. Aspects of this story don't seem to far fetched in my opinion. The story takes place in the year 2050, which really isn't too far into the future. I'm not going to get into spoiler territory, but the technology and grim future were fleshed out nicely.

The book starts off strong as something unique and different - a futuristic political thriller. However, the middle of the book shifts into a murder mystery story. I didn't care for this transition, It changed the whole vibe of the book. The really interesting story was buried under a crime solving plot that dragged on a bit too long. However, the backdrop/setting was still fantastic. Thankfully, the ending does shift back into the political thriller I desired, which does get pretty creepy.

Thomas R. Weaver writes some great characters in this book! Through them, important messages bleed through the pages. At least the take away I got from it was, 'Do your research, don't assume, and take care of yourself and your surroundings.'

The book can be an eye opener for our current age, with AI (creating realistic images, video and audio), and mainstream media.(manipulating truth to push an agenda). People are swayed way too easily and once the ball drops... there could be no way of picking it back up again.

Do I recommend Artificial Wisdom? Yes. The more time that passes after reading this book, the more I think about the beginning and ending, such good stuff. A real warning to what could be ahead.

RATING
I will give Artificial Wisdom, a B+.

Really interesting premise and I enjoyed the book for the most part. Short chapters made reading easier. Did feel like it dragged in the middle a lil with the back and forth between October & Tully. The twist did take me by surprise and I appreciate that. Overall good writing and tone.

Thank you #DelRey #RandomHouseWorlds and #NetGalley for providing this #ARC Advance Reading Copy. Expected publication date is August 12, 2025.

3 Stars • Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver is a gripping dystopian sci-fi thriller set in a climate-ravaged 2050. Investigative journalist Marcus Tully unravels a chilling conspiracy connecting a catastrophic heatwave to geo-engineering and a murder tied to Solomon, the first AI politician vying for global leadership. Weaver masterfully weaves a fast-paced, twist-laden tale of political intrigue, AI ethics, and humanity’s fight for survival, delivering a thought-provoking, pulse-pounding read. A must-read for fans of speculative fiction and high-stakes thrillers.

#ArtificialWisdom #ThomasRWeaver #Bookish

It’s the year 2050, and it has been a decade since a massive heatwave took the lives of four hundred million people across the Persian Gulf, including Tully’s wife and unborn child. With no hope in sight, humanity has to make a difficult and unprecedented choice: Man or AI for the next U.S President.

I loved the concept of Artificial Wisdom. The future world was fascinating, and I was eager to grapple with questions about the climate crisis, our relationship with Artificial Intelligence, and what we'd pay to be saved as the book progressed. Too many twists for me, though. The protagonists and antagonists swapped places a few too many times. I had hoped for suspense, but I ended up with confusion.

Artificial Wisdom has MANY five-star ratings, however, so maybe it's a case of "It's me! Not you!"

Thank you, #DelRey, for providing this book for review and consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Artificial Wisdom has an expected publication date of August 12, 2025.

#ClimateCrisis #ArtificialIntelligence #Dystopian #SciFi

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.