The Preserve by Ariel S. Winter

Chief of Police Jesse Laughton and his old partner Kir, now of Health and Human Services, pair up to solve a murder on the Preserve that is soon linked to a series of other deaths. They work together seamlessly, each bringing special strengths to the relationship. They comfortably tease and kid each other, even worry about each other.

Even though one is a 'meathead' and the other Metal.

A plague has decimated the human species and Laughton is part of the remnant population. Kir is a humanoid AI, a man-created robot, part of the robot majority in control of governing. He respects humans for their ability to think outside their natures. He is one of the 'good' AIs.

Kir is unwanted on the Preserve, a reservation where humans can live in self-governing segregation.

For the sake of his wife and their daughter, Laughton became of Chief of Police of the Preserve. His wife is involved in the repopulation movement and the promotion of genetic diversity through a sex clinic. "A baby in every belly" is their motto.

Now, Laughton has the Preserve's first murder to solve. The victim was a Sim developer who created an illegal plug and play program for robot self-gratification. His program fries the circuitry of robots who indulge.

If Laughton can't solve the case soon, he will lose control of the Preserve to the robot government. And that would escalate the rise of hate groups from both humans and machines. The anti-orgo AI faction is chomping at the bit to take control of the non-productive humans with their violent natures. A peace-keeping force could become permanent.

The Preserve was a chilling read while in a pandemic lockdown. "If another plague is coming, it won't be a suit and a couple of doors that save me,"a doctor quips.

It was very unsettling to read that line.

Descriptions of empty cities are disturbingly reflective of our pandemic reality under lockdown. There are shortages of supplies like sugar and coffee. The images are chilling.

Kir grapples with existential thoughts about the purpose of his existence. What's the point of living forever, he wonders. Laughton's purpose is his daughter Rachel and her future. Kir envies him. His offers to care for Rachel for her lifetime, and her children's lifetime, comforts both Kir and Laughton.

Winter's novel is a crime thriller set in a near-future where the human race is decimated by a plague, leaving AI to dominate American society. Through this fictional lens we are confronted with the fundamental questions of how diverse communities can exist together. Historically, we have chosen segregation, reservations, and a power structure based on class and strength of numbers.

Laughton wonders if the Preserve is the right choice for humans. His relationship with Kir proves that AIs and humans can work together, complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and even love each other.

I have to wonder about our choices in the next months and years as we battle this complex and frightening virus that has altered our world. Will we continue our tribalism of hate? Or can we rise above our worse natures and embrace and nurture our better angels?

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

The Preserve
by Ariel S. Winter
Atria
Publication November 3, 2020
ISBN:1476797889
$17.00 papberback; $11.99 Kindle

Novels with a Sense of Place

I have recently two books that offer a wonderful sense of place. Vacationland by Sarah Stonich is set in the far north of Minnesota, along Lake Superior. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is set in the North Carolina marshes. 

Vacationland with quilt Michigan Autumn by Nancy A. Bekofske

Reading Laurentian Divide through Bookish I fell in love with Hatchet Inlet and the people of Naledi lodge. I learned that the novel is based on Sarah Stonich's set of interconnected short stories Vacationland and found a copy through my local library.

If anything, I would say that Vacationland is even better than the novel. And that's saying a lot, folks. I feel like I know so much more about these characters and their experience. Hatchet Inlet becomes more "real" and vivid in these stories. The depth of human experience in all its varieties that Stonich elicits from a small group of people is profound. The stories left me heart sore and some will stay vivid in my mind for a very long time.

The sense of place comes alive through the character's love of this far north land where Chicagoans come to summer but few have the stamina to stay year round. And in descriptions that leave a visual image.

Much of the resort is pocked with neglect: a sack of mortar left leaning near a wall has hardened to its own shape, with tatters of sack flapping; a tipped wheelbarrow has a maple sapling sprung through its rusted hole. Flat stones form a run of stairs have eroded to a jumble below, and high on the plateau old cabins lean like a trio of gossips, their eaves and sills lushly bumpered with moss...Bunchberry has berried and the sumac has gone bright. A fork in the path leads to a bog, where each footprint fills with water and spindly tamarack drop yellow needles. At her feet are colorful pitcher plants looking tropical and misplaced amid the hair-cap and hornwort...Water hyacinths, leatherleaf, bog rosemary--soft and woody plants in various stages of growth and bloom and rot make for a heady decay. from short story Hesitation in Vacationland by Sarah Stonich 

Bunchberries in bloom, Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Lake Superior. Photo by Gary L. Bekofske

stones near the Lake Superior shore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Photo by Gary L. Bekofske

I heard so much about Delia Owen's first novel Where the Crawdads Sing. I had high expectations, based on reviews by Goodreads friends. 

I found it to be a good page-turner read, with a vivid sense of place. The author's love of the North Carolina marshland shines in lovely descriptive passages. I enjoyed this aspect of the novel.

The further I read into the book, the less satisfied I was with the plot which stretched my credulity. And the supporting characters were standard stereotypes: good boy, bad boy, drunk father, a mother who has run off, the victim of societal prejudice.

It is the story of an abandoned child who shuns society and manages to survive with the help of a kindly African American family who offers her covert charity. There is a boy who loves her too much (and teaches Kya to read) but leaves her, and a boy who loves himself more and leaves her. The girl grows up to become an expert on marsh flora and fauna, illustrating and writing scientific books about the marsh. There is a suspicious death, a trial, and an unexpected reveal.

I am in the minority in rating this as an average read. Entertaining enough. The marsh is memorable and the best-drawn 'character' in the novel. But it is hard to believe that a small child would be left alone to raise herself, ignored by society, survive without incident, and grow up to become a self-educated scholar and science writer. There was foreshadowing but no real lead up for the twisted ending.

I recalled the quote from Alice in Wonderland:

“There's no use trying,” she said: “one can't believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven't had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

If you are willing to believe the impossible, Kya's story will tug your heartstrings.

The novel is filled with wonderful observations of the flora and fauna of the marsh. Kya is so connected to the land, her boyfriend knows she could not survive penned up into "civilization" and the teeming human life of the city. It is this wild world that feeds her soul.

Sandhill Crane in the Seney National Wildlife Preserve marsh, Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Photo by Gary L. Bekofske
This is the setting for The March King's Daughter by Karen Dionne

Other novels I have read this year with a sense of place include:

The March King's Daughter by Karen Dionne, set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula near Seney Wildlife Preserve

Virgil Wander by Leif Enger, set in Minnesota along Lake Superior

Marlena by Julie Buntin set in Northern Michigan near Lake Superior

Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell set on and near the Kalamazoo River in Michigan

Hard Cider  by Barbara Stark-Nemon set in the Leelanau Peninsula in Michigan

A Collar for Cerberus by Matt Stanley set in Greece

Historical fiction

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper set in Newfoundland

The River by Starlight by Ellen Notbohm set in Montana

The Winter Station by Jody Shields set in Manchuria

The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason set on the Eastern Front of WWI