Juris Ex Machina is a genre-bending science fiction thriller set in the distant future. The city of Arcadia exists under a dome, and all its functions are controlled by artificial intelligence. Computers have taken over so entirely that they are the “jury” that decides the guilt or innocence of criminals. The story chapters are interspersed with excerpts from books both real (Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay) and imaginary (A Brief History of the Wychwood Penal Facility by A. R. Wilchcombe) which provide a background history of the means men used historically when judging the crimes of others.
The book starts out in a fairly light tone with a young man, Rainville, living his ordinary life. He’s a typical young adult whose crimes are limited to flash mob shoplifting and scamming pizza delivery robots out of their wares. It soon deepens.
This book has the most unusual ticking bomb I’ve ever read: a toaster. A rather anachronistic product, it works like any other conventional toaster—but inside lies a lethal circuit that destroys a section of Arcadia. Rainville is captured, wrongfully convicted, and sent to Wychwood prison outside the dome. Here, the tone darkens as this relatively innocent man is subjected to the horrors of Wychwood Penal Facility, enduring the torments of being inside, seeing people killed before his eyes, and the degradation of all the inmates into their most violent and primitive state. Rainville must escape and join forces with his lawyer and girlfriend to save the city of Arcadia from an unknown terrorist.
The world building here is extraordinary. I was easily able to suspend disbelief and enter life in Arcadia. The author has degrees in law and computer engineering and has worked in computer technology litigation, so he is well-versed in his subject matter. Juris Ex Machina is well worth reading for its insights into artificial intelligence.
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Juris Ex Machina (Highlander Press, June 5, 2024) is available through:
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