This intelligently composed novel is an arresting trip into a terrifyingly plausible future.
Arcadia is an idyllic city nestled under a protective dome. The air is clean, neighborhoods are safe, and laws are enforced with impartiality and fairness. But living one’s whole life under the dome can be a stifling existence. Perhaps it is restlessness or a lack of variation that impels nineteen-year-old Rainville to commit petty crimes. A brush with the law isn’t entirely surprising for him since the city is almost entirely automated, ensuring that even minor infractions are dealt with swiftly and predictably. But when a deadly explosion targets Arcadia, harmless Rainville finds himself with more than a slap on the wrist. Decades of advancements in science, robotics, and forensics land the blame on this innocent young man and see him charged with everything from Mayhem to Aggravated Terrorism. Locked up in a nightmarish prison seems like the worst possible outcome, yet Rainville learns the hard way that things can always get worse. His relationship with his father is in shambles, the public wants him dead, and he was just getting to know a spunky girl whom he’ll probably never see again. But none of that will matter if the real mastermind isn’t discovered. Automation and innovation often come at a steep cost, and there are no price caps in this disturbing future.
Part dystopian dreamscape and part legal thriller with a gnawing sense of mystery, Juris Ex Machina ponders whether we are enlightened as humans or if we are simply repeating history’s mistakes through the shiny lens of innovation. John W. Maly tackles numerous moral and social issues, moving far beyond the ethics of AI integration into society. Financial disparity, emotional manipulation, government overreach, and the precise nature of human nature are just a few subjects Rainville observes while maintaining an uncanny lack of judgmentalism. Technical without being pompous, this intelligently composed novel is an arresting trip into a terrifyingly plausible future where justice has been reduced to equations and algorithms. Not a single word goes to waste, as brilliant plotting, subtle foreshadowing, and purposeful scenes connect everything, though never predictably. Each chapter is compact and fast-moving, making it a formidable challenge to talk yourself down from reading another, and then another. A tiny tendril of romance adds humanity to a story dominated by systematization and calculation. You’ll come for the plot, get drawn in by the refined storytelling, and stay for the incisive commentary. Philosophically stimulating and delightfully outrageous, Juris Ex Machina masterfully considers whether or not the ends can justify the means.
