I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Three Laws Lethal by David Walton Published by Pyr Books on June 11 2019
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 392
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A futuristic story that is terrifyingly plausible, Three Laws Lethal is another terrific book from David Walton.
David Walton has done it again! If I can say anything about this author, it’s that he’s consistently good. Each book of his I’ve read—and this is my third—is completely different from the last and meticulously researched. In his latest first-rate futuristic thriller, he tackles the subjects of self-driving cars and AIs, giving readers plenty to think about.
The story takes place in the near future—maybe twenty years or so from now. Walton opens with a prologue, a short chapter that describes a fatal accident involving a self-driving car and a motorcycle, which brilliantly sets the tone for the rest of the book. Tyler and Brandon are computer engineering grad students at the University of Pennsylvania, and their dream is to find funding their self-driving car startup. They get their shot when they attract the attention of an “angel investor” name Aisha al-Mohammed. But on the night of the exhibition, something goes terribly wrong. Brandon’s girlfriend Abby is run over and killed during a risky demonstration of the cars’ abilities, and Tyler knows their dreams of fame and fortune have just gone up in flames.
Fast forward a few years, and Brandon has landed on his feet, after the death of his father leaves him with enough money to fund his own company, which he names Black Knight after a character from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, one of Abby’s favorite movies. He hires the brilliant but reclusive Naomi, Abby’s younger sister, who has been working on her own secret project involving a deep learning AI program using a gaming platform called RealPlanet. When Naomi applies her program to Brandon’s fleet of self-driving cars, his business takes off. Black Knight’s cars seem to appear out of nowhere, just when someone needs them. Soon Brandon’s company is even more popular than Uber or Lift, and he’s making millions.
When Tyler receives unexpected funding from Aisha, he starts his own business called Zoom. Tyler and Brandon, who used to be best friends, are now rivals in the growing arena of self-driving cars. But Naomi’s secret project, a virtual reality program where she has created characters called “Mikes” who have learned over time to survive and multiply, is getting out of hand. Naomi can no longer control the Mikes, and when they feel threatened, they’ll do whatever it takes to survive. Even kill.
This story was a complete blast from start to finish. Even better, I learned so much while I was reading! I’m not tech savvy at all, beyond the normal ability to run this blog, that is, and Walton dives head first into such subjects as computer programming and code writing, deep learning AIs, game design and even business development and courtroom trials. And somehow he manages to mould all these elements into a fantastic, cohesive story full of twists and surprises. Even for readers like me who don’t “speak” computer coding language, he effortlessly conveys all sorts of technological information in such a way that anyone can grasp his concepts. The author also brings up lots of questions about whether or not an AI who can think for itself and make its own decisions can ultimately be classified as human. I finished Three Laws Lethal with my head spinning, not because I was confused but because Walton had given me so much to think about.
It’s hard to pick a favorite story element, but if pressed I would have to say I loved Naomi’s story line the most. Naomi is a classic introvert, with her head buried in a book or a computer screen at all times, and she’s created an app called Jane, an AI construct who she’s taught to evaluate people and come up with conversation topics based on their online personalities. Naomi is terrified of striking up conversations, and Jane helps her say just the right thing whenever she’s forced to talk to people. Walton also delves into the topic of deep learning, something I hadn’t really considered before I read this book. In short, Naomi has taught her Mikes how to survive: how to grow enough food to eat, how to make sure their crops get enough sun to grow, and even how to pass their knowledge on to the next generation. The story of Naomi’s RealPlanet experiment is almost a story by itself, although when we finally learn how it impacts the world of self-driving cars, Three Laws Lethal takes a sharp left turn into horror territory.
I had no trouble at all relating to the characters in the story, and Walton gives us quite a wide variety. Tyler is the “good guy,” the most altruistic of all the characters. He wants to be successful, of course, but he’s mostly interested in helping society and using his self-driving car technology as a way to eliminate the thousands of car accident deaths each year. He has a traumatic event in his past that compels him to succeed, and he never loses sight of that, even when he goes up against Brandon. And speaking of Brandon, well, every story needs a villain, and Brandon fills that role nicely. The rivalry between Tyler and Brandon escalates until the tension is simply unbearable, and it was one reason I had a hard time putting this book down.
One of the more endearing elements of the story is that Tyler and Naomi are both self certified geeks, and love everything from Harry Potter to Isaac Asimov to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. There’s a lot of name dropping throughout, and I smiled each time one of the characters referenced a favorite science fiction or fantasy book or movie. Walton even lists all these references at the end of the book!
The last quarter of the book is simply bat shit crazy! Walton takes some risks by upping the stakes and introducing even more outlandish ideas at the end, but he never lets his readers forget that his characters are human through and through, with faults and frailties and everything else that comes with it. Even Naomi’s AI creation Jane has an important role later in the story, and I loved the way Walton ties everything together at the end.
Bottom line, this is David Walton’s best book yet. If you are curious about AIs and other futuristic technology like self-driving cars—which honestly isn’t that futuristic at all—you won’t want to miss this book.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Great review Tammy! The premise definitely sounds unique. The ethics of AI isn’t new, but applying it to self driving cars I think definitely is. Sounds amazing.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a story about self driving cars before so it was all sort of new to me. And I have another book I’m reading this month called The Passengers which is also about them, so weird:-)
When it rains it pours.
Sounds pretty awesome!
On a side note, Monthy Python and the Holy Grail is one of my fave movies too 😀 Haha.
Cool, I haven’t seen it in a long time, but I used to watch it a bunch in high school:-)
Wow. I’m missing out with this author! Have to fix that:) Thanks for the excellent review, Tammy!
Laura Thomas recently posted…Spotlight and Giveaway ~ Rest, Relax, Run For Your Life by Katherine Brown
Thanks Laura, he’s definitely worth checking out!
And Monty Python used to be a tradition with me and my friends. We’d get together once a year, each bringing a bottle of wine and some cheese, and watch it and Judge Roy Bean.
Laura Thomas recently posted…Spotlight and Giveaway ~ Rest, Relax, Run For Your Life by Katherine Brown
Me too, we had Monty Python parties, fun times:-)
This sounds like something I might have to check out! Self-driving cars have fascinated me from the standpoint of coding morality (do you tell the car to avoid a pedestrian if it will endanger the lives of the passengers?) and this sounds like a fantastic fun ride!
Caitlin G. recently posted…July 2019 Book Haul
He brings that very thing up, how does the car choose between two bad scenarios? It’s fascinating:-)
An author who can write about technical stuff and make it understandable to everyone does possess a very rare gift, indeed – and also adds an enormous value to any story, because when readers close the book knowing they were given much food for thought (as you said in your review), they come away with much more than a “simple” story.
Intriguing novel, thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…TV Review: CHERNOBYL (HBO miniseries – 2019)
Exactly, he has a way of making everything so interesting, and you can tell he loves his subject matter:-)
Wonderful review as always, Tammy! I love that each book of his is different and actually teaches you things without losing you along the way. You’ve definitely piqued my curiosity! 😀
Lashaan Balasingam recently posted…Alien 3 by William Gibson
I wish more people knew about this book, it’s going to end up on my “best of” list of 2019 for sure:-)
You’ve made this sound so good, Tammy. I was thinking the same thing about self-driving cars not being that futuristic when I was thinking of The Passengers. I am off to add this book. Wonderful review!
I hope you get the chance to read it, I haven’t seen very many people talking about it so I hope it gets some more buzz:-)
I am bouncing up and down with excitement seeing that you loved this one too! One of my favorites of 2019 for sure!
I LOVED it. And now we’ll have to wait another year or more for another of his books!! Although I did find a backlist book I haven’t read of his called Terminal Mind.
ooooohhhh I have’t seen a 5-star SciFi in a while! Computer programming and code writing maybe be a turn off foe me though LOL That’s all my hubby talks about LOL BUT I do love AI stories! And Naomi sounds fantastic! I’ll keep an eye on this one! Thanks Tammy!
Daniela Ark recently posted…Let’s pray that heaven saves us from wilder storms and furies! And… let’s play! Trivia and giveaway! August 2019 TBR!
This has so much more than just computer stuff! The AIs are super cool, also there’s courtroom drama! And lots of backstabbing and corporate competition!
Hm, this does sound like a blast — I particularly like that no matter how batshit crazy things get, the author retains the humanity of his characters. It’s so easy to let the batshit craziness take over everything.
This sounds brilliant. I already had my beady eye on this but after reading your review I positively have to buy a copy.
Lynn 😀
Oh wow, this sounds like a fantastic read, I’m glad you loved it so much! I don’t know if it’s one for me, but you have m e intrigued nonetheless!
You’re right! I DON’T want to miss this book!! 😀 😀
Why have I never heard of this book?? Running to put it on my TBR list!
I was unfamiliar with this author! I hate the idea of self-driving cars–that seems intrinsically dystopian and rife for skullduggery. The horror element of some of this book sounds particularly intriguing!
Holy wow! This sounds both fun and scary.
Three Laws Lethal sounds entertaining, interesting and thought provoking. Thanks for the post.
I have never read anything by this author, but this book sounds great!