BOOK REVIEW - In Our Likeness - Bryan VanDyke - Digital Book - 3*

 

BOOK REVIEW

In Our Likeness - Bryan VanDyke

*this review contains affiliate links - see my profile for more info

Another cheeky visit from Amazon First Reads at the start of the month. I actually read the blurb in advance, so not only did the colours on the cover match my fave pair of glasses, but the premise is something that equally fascinates and scares me. 

AI is an inevitable part of our lives, whether we are happy with that fact or not, so I was interested to see what could be done within that world in terms of a fictional story. These types of sci-fi really make me nervous though as it feels very real. Do you remember the movie iRobot? When the AI robots

become sentient and take over the world? I often wonder how possible that is. It feels much more realistic than many horror movies or big sci-fi like Star Trek. 

Anyway, I digress. Onward with my book review! 

BLURB

The wonders and chaos of AI converge in a powerful and thrilling novel about rewriting history, identity, love, and what it means to be human. 

Graham Gooding is a leader at a tech start-up when his brilliant coworker - and work crush - Nessie Locke asks for help testing a new algorithm. Graham jumps at the chance to impress her, and to improve his floundering personal life. 

He soon discovers that the algo is more powerful than Nessie - or anyone - realises. It was built to detect lies on the internet, but when Graham makes a small edit to Nessie's online profile, hoping to see if the program will catch the lie, Nessie changes in real life. The algo can alter the real world. 

No one knows what Graham has done, except his boss, enigmatic tech guru David Warwick. Graham is racked with guilt, but Warwick thrills to the possibilities of what they can do next. This promises to be the innovation that will make Warwick a household name. Drawn by the power of the algo but terrified by its potential for chaos, Graham must decide what to do and whom to trust in a world where one true reality no longer exists. 

As love, trust, memories, and what it means to be human begin to slip away, Graham ad Nessie work together to restore the past - before it's lost to the anarchy of a world without truth. 

MY REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐

SPICE: 🆒

This book really did a number on me. It was incredibly hard to pin down a rating, as there's some parts of the book that really had me going, but others (like the finale) ended up feeling incomplete. I understand why the ending was the way it was, but that didn't make me like it any more! 

The entire concept of creating an algorithm that filters information, weeding out the incorrect data, but that can be manipulated at its core to create an entirely new truth, was genuinely fascinating. Especially at the beginning of the book when Graham is first getting to grips with the concept. 

Graham is a typical tech dude. He lives and breathes his work, he is in awe of his boss who has a style and panache about him that is hard to ignore. He has a crush on a girl at work, who seems to be the most charming, clever, funky, and gorgeous girl in the world. His home life is in tatters as he cares for his ailing mum (who he calls by her first name, which is kind of weird, it took me a while to work out that this was not two people in his life!). Just a run-of-the-mill guy. 

Until he's asked to help with this "truth" algorithm. Then the wheels fall off and everything gets out of control very quickly. 

Graham is a reasonably likable character, though there were times when I thought he must be smarter than he's being made out to be. He doesn't have much gusto, which I'd expect from a main character. I also didn't see much development, it felt like he was pretty much the same all the way through. His troubles with dealing with his mum felt real and I enjoyed seeing a character who reacted in a real way to the situation they were in. 

I'm a tricky customer when it comes to Sci-Fi, as I get confused easily, but I kept up with this one. Up to a point. There was so much carefully laid out, that when things started to get trippy, I wasn't entirely sure how we got there. 

And when I say things started to get trippy, I mean...they got trippy! We went from a story that made perfect sense, to one that was one Maserati shy of being total mayhem and I couldn't quite fit that all in with the "rules" that had been made pretty clear from the start. 

There were some twists where a degree of clarity was offered and I know I refer to the movie Inception quite often (usually in Sci-Fi, time travel, parallel universe-type situations), but when this book started to gain more layers, in my head I  thought that I was witnessing was a cross between that and The Matrix. Not in a bad way. Just in a way. 

In fact, I think that this would make an interesting concept for a TV series or a movie. Perhaps some of the visuals and layers could be well-translated onto a screen. 

I've landed on three stars for this one as my overall rating. The premise, the general execution, and the plot were fantastic. I felt let down by the trippy, slightly confusing part towards the end, and the slightly lacklustre finale, I wanted a little more finality! It was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I am currently trying to convince my other half to read it, as I know that he would love it, trips and all! 

If you enjoy a "real" feeling Sci-Fi, rather than one set hundreds of years in the future with tech that hasn't been created yet, and enjoyed movies like Inception, The Matrix, and iRobot, add this one to your TBR! 

Let me know in the comments if you've read it, or if you have any similar AI-based books that you think I'd like! 

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