Book Review: Me and the Machine by Wesley Watts
The Blurb
A math wunderkind from a breeder-world slum will sacrifice anything to become a soldier—even her own identity.
Born into a society sculpted by endless war, Gaby dreams of fighting on the front lines. But the Intelligence Division has other uses for her talents, and sends her to witness a top-secret training exercise on an experimental starship.
Once aboard, a violent mutiny overtakes the ship, leaving Gaby alone to protect the ship’s secret Passenger, a symbiotic artificial intelligence that—when joined with a compatible human—can hack other AIs, turning the tide of any battle, perhaps even the war.
But the only way to keep the AI out of the mutineers’ hands is to keep it in her head, and Passenger wasn’t meant to stay integrated with a human for long.
With no rescue in sight, and the barrier between Gaby’s mind and the machine’s deteriorating, she must do more than evade. She'll need to fight back.
This book is due to be released on July 12 2024.
The Review
I am a fan of dystopian sci-fi. It’s always going to float my boat, as I love the scope you can have with it. I would say that this does not disappoint. There are two main points of view in this story: Gaby, the FMC, and Morgan, her brother’s friend. Watts writes in first person for Gaby and third for Morgan, which is an interesting choice, but it means there’s no cause for confusion when switching POVs.
Morgan’s is primarily his memories and backstory, whereas Gaby drives the current narrative throughout.
There’s a lot going on in this story: it starts slow, with Gaby trying to change her fate, get taller via certain illegal implants, and get on the front line. But of course, that’s not where she’s headed, as she’s a genius, and Intelligence want her elsewhere.
The main component of the story takes part on the starship, which we travel in detail. The tension ramps up as Gaby has to integrate with an AI and hide from the mutineers. The detail in this novel is exceptional: nothing is skipped over, nothing is left out. We have Matrix style AI inner landscape handling, and action sequences that Die Hard and the like would not be ashamed of. The pacing is good, although I felt the ending was rushed compared to the rest. Watts has left it open which works: there is room for some kind of sequel, perhaps.
Considering this is a story about an AI, and a mutiny, and a very dystopian society, it is very human, very emotionally led. It’s a clever story, skilfully told. I would keep an eye out for this book, and for other books by this author. He’s got more stories to tell, and I think we want to hear them.
