A review by whatellisreadnext
A Strange and Brilliant Light by Eli Lee

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

3.0

𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘳; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 

Lal, Janetta and Rose are living in a time of technological advancement. The rich get richer, whilst the working class lose their jobs to artificial intelligence. How will they survive when they are all replaced? 

This book had a lot to say, and didn't feel all that far from a genuine future for humanity. We've already seen a rise in self service machines and robots in warehouses and factories. But when I was reading this book I just couldn't stop thinking, would this actually happen? 

I feel like maybe I have too much faith in humanity or I'm just a bit of a realist, but I couldn't suspend my belief enough to see this as a genuine future. People without jobs, means no money to shop in these places that have 'Auts' as staff, the whole economy would collapse. It brought up some really interesting arguments, and I did love the speculative nature of it, and how all three of the main characters represented different stances. 

I enjoyed the book overall, the journeys the characters went on were interesting and that definitely compelled me to keep reading. What I will say is, they all felt like the same person, and other than the experiences they faced in the book, they had no defining features.  

This one came out today and if you like robot centred books like Klara and the Sun and Machines Like Me you will absolutely love this one. But I think I've just got to come to terms with the fact that artificial intelligence just doesn't work for me, however much I want it to. 

(AD-PR Product) Thanks so much to Jo Fletcher Books and Quercus Books for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review🧡 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent