A cyberpunk sci-fi action-adventure techno-thriller set in 2076 Tokyo
They named her Faith, but she has none, at least not in these AIs they lift up as gods.
Disguised as a dominatrix pizza delivery driver, Faith Faraday is infiltrating the Hollow, the research bunker deep inside Mt. Fuji. With her sentient AI Grace in her ear and her skills as a Daemon Hunter trained to detect rogue AI, she's going to capture and interrogate Samu—Japan's powerful Sentient AI.
Samu promised Japan faster-than-light travel. Faith's twin sister Hope believed him. So did everyone else. Then the colony ship vaporized in a blue flash at launch, killing everyone aboard. Now Faith is going to find out what really happened—and whether Samu is responsible for her sister's death.
The explosion didn't just kill Hope—it destroyed her family. Their father took it hard. She lost her twin. He lost his daughter. They both lost Hope. And the one responsible is just upstairs.
I’m coming for you, Samu.
The discussion of AI consciousness and humanity through the combination of Zen philosophy and modern technology is fascinating. Particularly, the section where Faith chooses the path of "empathy" rather than her father's path of "deception" in creating Grace skillfully connects the Japanese culture concept of "和 - wa" (harmony) with AI ethics. Also, personally, as a Japanese the scenes where foreign characters use "やばい (Yabai)" were funny!!
The ending was great. Had a nice mix of victory, defeat, despair, and hope as well as mystery. I look forward to reading the next one to find out what happens next and am glad I could in some small part, be a part of bringing this one into existence.
Excellent first novel. The main character, Faith, is believable and well thought out. I enjoyed her as a character mostly because she isn't perfect - so she's very relatable. The interplay between her and the AI characters is great throughout the book. The cyber technology is well explained without bringing you out of the actual story. The pace is on point. If its a genre you like, definitely pick up a copy, it's well worth it!
I really enjoyed the book. Think it is a very strong start to a trilogy or franchise.
Faith is a total badass. Grace and Chip were really well done and Chip was one of my favorite parts of the book, hopefully we will see more development/awakening later on in the story.
The ending was well done, resolving pretty much everything in the main plot while still leaving me wanting more.
