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.

Artificial Wisdom will stay with you for months and months after you read it. I was lucky enough to read the indie version and now am reading the traditionally published version and again- it stays with you!! The storytelling, the pacing, the development of the characters is just so good. I’m so excited to see what Thomas Weaver continues to bring us throughout his career and will scream about this book to anyone who listens!

Read if: you like your murder mysteries political and your sci fi’s dystopian.

This book was not what I was expecting at all. Part speculative fiction/part dystopian/ part murder mystery, this book was so interesting. This book is more of a slow burn mystery with lots of political elements. It’s easy to imagine how the future that this book takes place in came to be and that makes it all the more horrifying as dystopia.

It took me a while to get into this book but once the murder mystery kicked off I was really enjoying it. The questions this book asks were thought provoking and multiple times I found myself wondering what I would do if faced with these moral dilemmas.

The short chapters and murder mystery intrigue made this a super quick and exciting read. My only issue with the book was the ending - if thought it ended a bit abruptly without really answering some of the questions I had. I’m not the kind of reader who needs all the questions answered but this was a bit ambiguous and I thought it could have used a couple more chapters to wrap it up.

Overall this was a solid murder mystery with lots of interesting aspects. The near future dystopian setting was excellent and I look forward to reading more work's from this author.

Quick note - other reviews mention previous grammatical errors and editing issues, but the version I read is the soon to be released traditionally published version which seems to be more polished.

Artificial Wisdom is a near future murder mystery. It’s not quite skynet, but there is a man versus machine theme. This book has somewhat of an identity crisis because it vacillated between several different storylines. Overall it’s a thought provoking read that presents several different avenues for a follow on and the writing style can/will appeal to a variety of audiences.




Thanks to NetGalley and Del Ray for the opportunity to read this arc!

I have been so excited to read this book! This is a gripping, chilling glimpse into a plausible future where AI could rule the world after humanity has squandered its chances.

It’s a fascinating premise - decades in the future, the earth has suffered catastrophic climate change, and humanity is electing a ‘protector’ to be the new world leader. The race has narrowed to the final two candidates - former American President Lockwood, and an Artificial Intelligence named Solomon. Closely following the race is journalist Marcus Tully. His pregnant wife was killed years earlier in a horrific climate event, and he’s given shocking information about the circumstances, and a potential connection to Lockwood. One of his staff happens to be the sister of Solomon’s creator, who is murdered in the lead-up to the election. Tully is drawn into a high-stakes political murder mystery - the outcome of which could change the fate of the world.

I found the premise so interesting and unlike anything I’ve read before. Tully is a conflicted main character, and all the supporting players are decidedly imperfect. I really enjoyed the twists and turns, and it’s also interesting for the reader to decide who they think should win the protectorship. The world-building is thorough and believable, with plenty of references to familiar hot topics and tech.

This book was SO GOOD. It was the perfect combination of future tech, climate change, and political drama. I did not appreciate the ending but that is a personal take. It really made me think about the implications of AI and also how easily everything in this book could actually happen. The author dumbed down the tech explanations enough so I had no problems following along and I really appreciated that. Would absolutely read more by this author!

I found Artificial Wisdom to be a pretty interesting read. The thought of AI becoming so prominent and eventually ending up in leadership roles was thought provoking and kind of fun and honestly pretty scary to think about, but also important. I liked most of the characters, but found a couple of them to be kind of frustrating/annoying. I felt like some of the reactions didn't really make sense to me, but all in all, didn't really make or break it for me. I found it, in the long run, to just be fine, but also mostly enjoyable.

Thank you to Del Rey for the advanced copy!

In 2040, a heatwave killed 400 million people across the Persian Gulf, including the wife of our main character, journalist Marcus Tully.

Still wracked by grief a decade later, he can't help but be drawn in when a whistleblower hints that they can give Tully answers about what happened. It just might involve a former U.S. President who's running for the position of global protector, tasked with preventing a climate apocalypse. His opponent? An AI politician called Solomon.

In his search for answers, Tully ends up in the midst of a murder investigation, and solving this crime just might help him figure out what really led to his wife's death.

I'm going to jump right into my main issue with this book: the characters. They felt so incredibly flat. None of them were ever really physically described, so I was just imagining blank faces in my mind. Sometimes, a character would be introduced, then hundreds of pages later, we'd get a small tidbit, like, they're Australian American. It wasn't really 100% confirmed that the main character was English until the last few chapters.

So, we got no real background on anyone. It seemed as though the main character's life began and ended with his wife. There's absolutely no identifying characteristics for any of the side characters, so they kind of blend together. Like, I'm really struggling to say what my issue with the characters was, because there was just nothing.

Plus, the synopsis of this book made it really seem as though we were going to get a ton of Solomon, the AI. Going into it, I thought a lot of the focus would be around the political campaign and the arguments Solomon and the former U.S. President would make. Nope! The AI was barely present. The main focus of this book was the murder mystery, which is not really what I was signing up for.

I will say, the whole climate disaster portion and the state of technology does seem really believable, but I fear that's more due to the grim direction the world seems to be taking, not really due to the author's efforts. I also think this is a really original topic, though I won't be surprised if we see more books about AI in the future. I also haven't read a ton of climate fiction/climate disaster novels, as the topic is really depressing to me, but I think this book did it pretty well.

But besides that, this book was just so terribly dull. I don't mind mystery, and I don't mind sci-fi, but what I do mind is when a book can't decide what it wants to be. Throw in a random romantic sub-plot that's then glossed over and never resolved, and it's just a mess. This book seemed to be set up to have a sequel, because almost nothing was wrapped up. Like, I really don't even know if we know for sure who committed the murder. Characters who were central to the story just kind of faded away around the 50% mark and never appeared again. It was just very, very messy all around.

I was highly anticipating this one, so I feel bad I don't have more to say, especially because I don't have anything else positive to say. It just didn't do what it said it would do, and what it did do, it didn't do well.