Hard Wired by Len Vlahos - ADVISABLE

Hard Wired by Len Vlahos, 312 pages. Bloomsbury, 2020. $18.

Language: PG-13 (33 swears, 1 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

15yo Quinn’s dad died of cancer when Quinn was young and each year on the anniversary of his death, his mom shows him one of the many videos that his father made before he died.  It’s something that Quinn looks forward to each year as a way to connect with his dad.  After a failed first date with his crush, Shea, he turns to his dad’s videos hoping for some insight.  What he finds are patterns and a puzzle he never picked up on before and he realizes his father is trying to tell him something.  Something he can’t quite figure out.  When he wakes up the next day,  his father is sitting on the edge of his bed.  Quinn thinks it’s a dream but his father assures him that he is real and instead of answering Quinn’s questions, he pushes Quinn to figure out the puzzle.  He tells Quinn over and over again that he knows the answer, he just has to say it.  Quinn fights it as long as he can, but finally accepts the impossible truth.  Quinn is an AI.  Everything Quinn thought was real was part of a virtual world created to “wake” him up.  His father and all his friends are actually part of the scientific team that has been waiting for Quinn to wake up.  Now that Quinn knows the truth, that he isn’t real, that his memories aren’t real, that he doesn’t have a body or a family, he is stunned, mortified, and feels betrayed by everyone he knows. 

Great science fiction novel and a solid addition to your collection.  Quinn was kind and funny and I really felt for him at first.  The author did a good job portraying his feelings of betrayal.  Imagine how hard it would be to find out, not only that everything you believed was a lie and you were the last to know, but that you were part of some scientific creation, and not even human.  I enjoyed the book and had a hard time putting it down, but the further along I got, the more unsettled I was by the whole thing.  The possibilities of what Quinn could do and his casual arrogance sent shivers up my spine.

Reviewer: RB