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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
4 ⭐️: I enjoyed this book and thought the theme of morality within AI was very interesting. The story itself felt like it was lacking a bit and I didn’t love the ending. Some parts felt a bit predictable, but overall a good read!
dark
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Plot was there to serve the agenda (to explore ethics of AI) and was therefore weak and a bit dull.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The story starts with a car accident involving a self-driving vehicle, and from there, Holsinger peels back the layers of a complex family entangled in secrets and blame. The central question lingers: who’s truly at fault, the human or AI?
While the plot revolves around questions of technological culpability, at its core, this is a family story, shaped by the consequences of the accident. Holsinger excels at portraying each character's emotional and psychological toll from the accident. I especially loved the layered and complex father-son relationship between Noah and Charlie. I often read stories involving mother-daughter dynamics, but father-son stories like this one are rarer for me.
I also loved the unique touches: the mother’s thesis excerpts and Alice’s chatbot conversations. These added depth and a modern edge to the story. The character development was excellent, the plot carefully woven—and just when I thought I had connected all the dots, Holsinger hit me with a twist I didn’t see coming.
Verdict: 👍 Mysterious, suspenseful, and filled with ethical tension!! I found Culpability to be a genuine page-turner that borders on thriller territory with lots of ethical and moral questions to think about. Perfect pick for a book club.