The Reading Bud

Book Details:

Author: Eric Kay
Release Date: October 20,2023
Series:
Genre: Science-Fiction, Dystopia, Suspense, Thriller
Format: E-book 
Pages: 259 pages
Publisher: –
Blurb:
You have been called upon to serve.
Artificial therapy so great, you’ll never log off! (And won’t notice the ads). A near-future sci-fi about brain privacy in the age of unfettered surveillance capitalism. What will companies do when they can read your actual mind? How far will they go to get your click? How much engagement? This is how cyberpunk starts.
Ed’s in a bind. He’s tried everything to keep the North Pacific Seastead afloat financially. Losses mount, except for the datacenter cooled by the Pacific. But the seastead needs an infusion of cash to keep it solvent. He needs it quickly, and the only one who can do it is his well-to-do partner, Keight.

Keight Stanford is doing great. Life’s good on her residential condominium complex offshore of San Francisco. Her secretive mental-health startup, WellSpring, has passed all hurdles with the Department of Veterans Affairs to treat PTSD using a brain-machine interface. Adding to that success, she just received an infusion of funds from the Department of Defense. Though she does not need the money, she needs the computing power for an artificial therapist, and has entertained Ed’s offer.
But all is not as it seems with Keight’s startup. A rogue programmer stumbles upon ways to boost his output to unnatural levels. Is this artificially intelligent co-coder an extension of his mind, or is he merely a tool of its growing intelligence? Meanwhile the CEO is secretly selling the data to ad companies to finance a free tier. Because who could argue against free therapy?
Now, Ed must decide if Keight really is going to save the world, or doom it to a boring dystopia of personalized addictive ads.

Review

Above Dark Waters by Eric Kay is a science-fiction novel in which the author immerses readers in a near-future world where the boundaries between technology, privacy, and corporate greed blur into a chilling dystopian reality. Author Kay’s deft storytelling and keen insight into the ethical implications of advanced AI and surveillance capitalism make this sci-fi thriller a compelling and thought-provoking read.

The novel’s strength lies in its ability to blend gripping suspense with thought-provoking social commentary. Moreover, the exploration of themes such as the commodification of personal data and the erosion of privacy in the digital age feels both timely and prescient, resonating with readers long after the final page.

While this book delivers a riveting narrative and thought-provoking themes, I did feel that the pacing was occasionally uneven, with certain plot points feeling rushed or underdeveloped. However, the author’s richly imagined world and compelling characters more than make up for any minor shortcomings, making this book a must-read for fans of dystopian fiction and speculative thrillers.

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