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

Barren Cove by Ariel S. Winter: A Sci-Fi Retelling of a Classic Novel

I read Barren Cove in a day, mostly in one evening sitting. From the first line to the last, I loved every page, my brain lighting up in strange and wonderful ways. The story is fresh and original. It is a sci-fi literary novel perfectly written and plotted. The characters distinct, for all their being robots. Yes, robots. And I quickly noted that the story line was a retelling of a 19th c. classic novel. Brilliant!

Sapien rents a beach house to get away from the city and for an opportunity to contemplate. Younger robots had chosen to deactivate. What was he hanging on for? One of the last human-built robots, Sapien lives in a world where robots reproduce 'children' and human life no longer holds any value.

When Sapien decides to visit the beach house owner, a human named Beachstone, he encounters a beautiful female robot name Mary and her distorted brother, Kent. There is a 21st c. gardener robot named Kapec and the house computer Dean. A young robot Clarke has a wild and cruel streak. Sapien is drawn into the family mystery when Dean tells him their history, how Asimov 3000 raised a human child with his children Mary and Kent, alienating his son, and the violent family war that ensued. Sapien does not find the answers he was seeking, but he finds clarity.

I would love to deconstruct the novel but I won't take the fun away from you. But I will say this is an amazing retelling of Wuthering Heights.

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

Barren Cove
Ariel S. Winter
Atria Books
Publication April 26, 2016
$25 hard cover
ISBN:9781476797854

From the publisher:

Los Angeles Times Book Prize nominee Ariel S. Winter explores the secret legacy of an enigmatic family in this thrillingly atmospheric novel with a compelling and unexpected twist.

Sapien is a relic of a bygone age, searching for meaning in a world where his outdated allegiances to a time long past have left him isolated and hopeless. Seeking peace and quiet, he retires to a beach house at Barren Cove, a stately Victorian manor even more antiquated than he.

He becomes increasingly fascinated with the family whose lives are entwined with the home—angry and rebellious Clark; flamboyant Kent; fragile, beautiful Mary; and most of all, Beachstone, the mysterious man whose history may hold all the answers Sapien has been searching for. As Sapien unlocks their secret loves and betrayals, the dangerous past of Barren Cove will indelibly change him...and who he is fated to become.

A brilliantly imaginative and poignant tale in the tradition of Kazuo Ishiguro and Neil Gaiman, Barren Cove is a luminous and surprising exploration of legacy, loss, and humanity itself.