Reviews

Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver

valentin87's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

whatyoutolkienabout's review against another edition

5.0

I have to say I love sci-fi and dystopian but have never read one that is executed as well as Weaver. While reading you are engrossed with the story but as you step away to consider the section you have just read, particularly as this was read as part of a readalong, you begin to question things that perhaps you hadn’t thought of before.


Artificial Wisdom is a crime thriller set in a sort of pseudo future, I say pseudo because even a quick glance at the topics dominating the news feeds these days and you will notice they aren’t much different. Climate change, political corruption and the use of AI and new technology to mention just a few. As such the novel is one the one hand enjoyable, particularly if you are like me and love a good dystopian but on the other it is brilliant because it makes you think. Now I personally am passionate about climate change and political corruption (or people in power focusing on the needs of the few rich than the majority) it is best I stop now before I begin to rant so I loved this book for both reasons.


What I also enjoyed was how Weaver presents artificial intelligence and the idea of man vs machine. We are left wondering what is the best option or the lesser of two evils. I won’t go into great detail on this because I recommend that everyone reads this. Even if sci-fi is not your usual genre a lot of the topics covered by Weaver are relevant to us today, particularly the climate. After all how can we survive if the plant dies and can we really hope that those in charge of humanities course have the best interests of their people at heart? While these questions are posed in Artificial Wisdom it can easily be read for enjoyment but it most definitely makes you think of what the future could hold for us.

pondojames's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

nic_readsbooks's review

dark emotional informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

I have been hearing lots about this book and I’ve been really excited to pick this up - wow this did not disappoint.

This murder mystery is set in the future, in a dystopian world where four hundred million have been killed by a heatwave. Humans are trying to navigate their relationship with artificial intelligence as AI begins to make big bids for power in the human world. In the think of it is Marcus Tully who is trying to investigate if the heatwave that killed so many people, including his wife, was really a natural disaster or something much more sinister.

The concept of this book is amazing, it’s so unique and Im not sure im ever going to read another book like this. 

The author manages to write a book which is entertaining and incredibly thought provoking at the same time - posing hard hitting questions about the role AI will play and how far we want it to go. 

At times this book is slow burn, it’s not the easiest read but it is so worth it. This is something very different for me - im not usually a sci-fi girl but I really enjoyed this one. It was well thought out, well written and I will not be forgetting it any time soon

monicapal15's review against another edition

4.0

Thought provoking and chilling speculative fiction. It was based in 2050 however, this could be exactly how our 2050 could end up looking. The ending felt a bit rushed in my opinion and needed to be fleshed out just a little more in regard to the plot because I was left feeling like “oh that’s it?” And had to rewind to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. However, I think it was a good place to end the novel and it really gets you thinking about what could our future be. As a debut author I think he did a great job and I’m looking forward to reading more of his work!

evanroyale's review

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The ending is a bit predictable but still enjoyable 

jreed2282's review

mysterious 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

5.0

ncroot444's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

celtic67's review against another edition

4.0

This is a book set in the near future. It is pertinent with all the recent pandemics and probably the biggest crisis mankind faces; Climate and world meltdown. When faced with Armageddon would you trust the fate to a dictator. A human, with human faults or AI built by humans but with a seemingly logical brain. This is a scenario that Thomas explores with superb writing and storytelling skills. He has written a book that makes you think and all the while in the background the vested interests that created the problem are still at play. A dictator? Is it a price we need to pay to save the world?

canderson's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0