The Camille by Colby R Rice

Format: Kindle
Rating:  4 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

This is the final novella in the futuristic visionary collection “2054” from a diverse quartet of authors.

In 2054, tech genius and AI mogul Andrea Daanik Ramoni has decided to step down as CEO of DeFTek because her husband has divorced her for one of her own creations, a sex-bot. But when the sex-bot asks for her assistance, then proceeds to do away with both Ramoni and Andrea in a murder-suicide, everything is over. But is it? Unknown to Andrea, some, known as The Camille, have taken her work and improved on it. But there’s a storm coming, and who will fight it?

I just loved Colby’s vision in this story. From the AI and robot advancements to sentient nanobots with a will to live (that really made me chuckle), there’s a whole lot of science fiction in here. And a very real story with danger lurking around many corners. A real roller-coaster ride, and clearly a lot more where it came from. Excellent stuff.

The Memory Hacker by JT Lawrence

Format: Kindle
Rating:  5 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

This is the second novella in the futuristic visionary collection “2054” from a diverse quartet of authors.

It’s the year 2054 and Talia lives a quiet, mundane life. Required to go for a standard medical checkup, she does so. Everything is fine until the AI examining her indicates that she has had children. The problem is, she has no recollection of ever having had a baby. Vacillating between believing the AI is malfunctioning and wanting to uncover the truth, Talia must follow the trail of breadcrumbs. But where will it lead her?

No, I don’t give spoilers, but I will say that I loved this vision of a future South Africa. Already a dab-hand at creating a grungy dystopic hi-tec future vision for the region, Lawrence adds a new twist to her repertoire with this story. And it’s good. There were surprises around many corners in this story, and a whole load of heart. A lot of fun was had here.

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Source: Own collection
Format: Kindle ebook
Rating:  4 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

The Matrix is a world within the world, a global consensus- hallucination, the representation of every byte of data in cyberspace . . .

Case had been the sharpest data-thief in the business, until vengeful former employers crippled his nervous system. But now a new and very mysterious employer recruits him for a last-chance run. The target: an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence orbiting Earth in service of the sinister Tessier-Ashpool business clan. With a dead man riding shotgun and Molly, mirror-eyed street-samurai, to watch his back, Case embarks on an adventure that ups the ante on an entire genre of fiction.

Case is a down-and-out computer hacker. In the first few pages one is pretty sure he’s going to end up dead. That’s about all one understands between the barrage of new tech, terminology and sensations packed into the first few pages – a necessary grounding in the world of Sprawl. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so, he doesn’t end up dead, but instead embarks on a mission with Molly and the volatile Armitage.

I really appreciated Gibson’s gentle approach to storytelling. It probably helped a lot when it came to the mindshift required at the start of the book, as the world one reads about, and the tech mentioned, are vastly different to anything we know.

This book is an excellent cyberpunk techno-thriller, exploring the concept of artificial intelligence.