After reading Doug Brode’s “Shelli” about a year ago, I was certainly hoping that he revisited Agent Shelli and Special Agent Jake August to further their story. The first book ended with a bit of a twist that made a second book an absolute must for me. (I always appreciate it when an author cooperates with my wishes).
Brode definitely delivered with his second installment, “Shelli: Murder Mind”. Set again in a future where humans and “synthetics” live side by side with the machines handling most of the mundane tasks of human existence, holding jobs like maids, maintenance workers and nannies. In the first book, Agent Shelli is a synthetic investigator, whose purpose is to hunt defective synthetics that have turned on and harmed humans, which is against their programming. “Murder Mind”, however, finds Shelli in a far different place, with a far different purpose.
While Shelli and Jake’s circumstances have changed, Brode’s writing has not. The book delivers a fast paced, action packed thriller that I worked through in just a few days as it was a story that just compelled me to keep turning pages.
The high-tech future that Brode paints is all too believable, especially as we are currently exploring the first consumer generation of artificial intelligence in “the real world”, and it seems to be advancing quickly. Several companies are working on developing AI driven humanoid robots. What could possibly go wrong there?
Brode explores all sorts of themes in this book, including the relationship that humans have with the synthetics, and the questions behind integrating machine technology and humans. This question goes well beyond the “Six Million Dollar Man” scenario of just replacing a broken limb. Lots of great biotech ethical dilemmas for you to ponder. Who doesn’t love a great ethical dilemma?
Both Shelli and Jake have changed since the first installment. as characters, they have both grown. Interestingly, Jake has his own ethical dilemma involving machines in his family. While he is of an opinion that is not unexpected from what we know of Jake. Shelli, on the other hand, helps him work through his problem as she takes a more unexpected approach to the problem. The layers of nuance in this book add to the enjoyment.
As I said in the the first review… I hope there is more to come.
You can learn more about Doug Brode and his writing at his website – Alien Sky Publishing.
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