Thomcat
4/17/2020
Examines choices that driving algorithms have to make in a thriller plot with a strong female character and an emergent AI. Unfortunately, the male characters are 2D caricatures, and the author lectures on a few points.
The prologue is a thought provoking accident/murder, setting the tone for the story. The first two main characters are believable enough - a hardware guy and a software guy - but the story really gets going when two female characters join them. By the end of the novel, one has been edged out in favor of the AI, and the two of them carry the rest of the story. In the author's notes, he states that the main female character was based on his daughter, and in hind sight, the book shows his adoration.
Perhaps if he had a son, the male characters would have been less stereotypical? Their exposition (to the girls, the media, the lawyers) is trying at times, even given this technical subject. The choices of both are more convenient to the plot than to their motivations, and one of them is just cartoon ridiculous by the end.
The plot was pretty good, and I finished this thriller in about a day and a half. Walton was clever with the chapters from the perspective of the AI. With better male characters (and more show, less tell) this could easily be a five star book. I read and enjoyed Superposition (though it had character problems also - hmmm), and plan to read its sequel soon.