Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver (book review).
It is the year 2050. The Earth is suffering under the effects of climate change. Ten years ago, well over 160 million people died across the Persian Gulf when the tabkhir hit, a wave of heat and humidity that sucked the life out of people as they stood.
Nothing had predicted it; no one could stop it. Yet, ten years on, the climate crisis continues, unabated. The world powers have finally agreed on a course of action: to elect a single global leader to deal with this crisis. Just two candidates remain, a former US president and an artificial intelligence.
Marcus Tully is a reporter dedicated to revealing the truth. All truth. Any truth. Because people have a right to know. It isn’t on him if the truth sets things in motion. The responsibility is on those who did the deed, not those who expose their lies. Tully’s pregnant wife died in the tabkbir. When an anonymous source tells him that the tabkhir was the result of weather control tech, that it was caused by someone, he has to know more.
Climate change is scary. Hell, just weather is scary, but with these new extremes that keep coming up, it was hard to start a novel based on that. We already have wildfires across North America and Europe. Parts of Alaska are being evacuated due to glacial melt. I could keep going. Why would I want to depress myself further through fiction? 2050 is only 25 years away. I will still be alive (probably). This location is where Weaver sets ‘Artificial Wisdom’, right on our doorstep. While the setting is futuristic, it is close enough to feel like it is right on our doorstep. This adds a frisson to the story that colours everything in it.
At its core, I would call ‘Artificial Wisdom’ a murder mystery set within a political conspiracy in the SF surroundings of the near future, but it is the murder that pulls us along.
Like all noir detectives, Tully has a troubled past that plagues him, an alcohol habit and a world-weary determination pushed onwards by his personal code of ethics. All he lacks is the trenchcoat and a moodily lit meeting in an alley. It is Tully and his team that pulled me through the story, even after I guessed the killer. I wanted to see what they would do next.
‘Artificial Wisdom’ definitely has some things it wants us to think about. Climate change, fake news, government conspiracy and the rise of artificial intelligence. It is not subtle. These are the core issues of the central plot. That might not be for everyone. This work is not literary with a capital L. This is action- and fast-paced and plot-driven. The writing is a lot like Tully, all clear and in your face. No allusions. It shows its true self and will make you think because the issues it addresses are coming up now, right in front of us.
Okay, I admit that I was hesitant about this book. There are many books that rate highly on BookTok and the like that I have found fine. A tech thriller written by a tech entrepreneur? I was sceptical, and I was wrong. This is a book for fans of William Gibson’s ‘Peripheral’ or Neal Stephenson’s ‘Snowcrash’ and other cyberpunk-flavoured science fiction, but sprinkled with the sinking realisation that the near future is closer than you might think.
LK Richardson
August 2025
(pub: Del Ray, 20025. 432 page hardback. Price: $29.99 (US), £16.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-0-59398-473-4).
check out website: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788412/artificial-wisdom-by-thomas-r-weaver/