The Algorithm Will See You Now

JL Lycette takes us into a visionary science fiction world, full of creativity and refashioned visions from today into tomorrow. The writing is fast-paced and enjoyable, and I’d gladly read work by this author again.

In the near future, surgeon Dr Hope Kestrel works at a facility run by one of the big medical companies who have pioneered a system where a patient's health & responsiveness to treatment is weighed in the balance by artificial intelligence to decide who should receive care. Those who are for this system argue that it takes emotions out of the equation & healthcare resources are allocated decided on logic. Hope thinks the system works & never really stops to consider those who are denied treatment, who are left (ironically) without hope.

What has been hidden from most people, including Hope, is that the AI has a hidden fatal flaw, along the lines of "garbage in garbage out" & those who do know want it covered up to continue their efforts to dominate the healthcare system & profits. When Hope's attention is directed to the inhumanity of the system by a new intern, Jacie Stone, her career soon goes on the slide. She is blamed for a patient's death, & realises that she needs to fight not only for herself but for everyone who no longer has a voice.

Written by an American, but timely in a UK which sees the NHS drifting further along the same path, this is a look into a potential future. Covid starkly showed us that some people's lives are considered more valuable than others in society, & this book takes that proposition & runs with it. If I had to categorise it, I would say it's similar to a medical version of Minority Report. I mostly enjoyed it, the main character can be a little annoying at times, but I felt that more could have been done with the story in the conclusion as it felt a little too easily resolved. My rating is 3.5 stars (rounded up).

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Black Rose Writing, for the opportunity to read an ARC.