3 out of 4 stars
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Dr. Mulligan, head of Poplar Corp’s engineering department, introduced a device called “Intelliware” in the year 2061. Intelliware is injected surgically into the forearm of humans. Doing so grants them instant access to an information network internally. Because the basic needs are satisfied artificially, things like communication, learning, and art become obsolete one by one. The Intelliware is updated frequently, and now a final update: ALT•4•1 threatens the very existence of humankind.
Humanity has become divided into two fractions: users (those who use intelliware) and non-users (those who do not use intelliware). The divide between the users and non-users forms the conflict of the story.
ALT•4•1 envisages a hypothetical future where society has seemingly achieved peace and prosperity. Michael Occhionero’s writing style is lucid. The narration of the story is through the journal of Beall. (Beall is a human who does not use the Intelliware device.) World-building isn’t complicated or dramatic, as the story is set up on the Earth in the future.
ALT•4•1 depicts a vision of a utilitarian near-future where the author explores what it means to be a human being. The author shows how the world dominated by artificial intelligence could be the doom of humans as a freethinking community. The question it raises is how much change can a human being undergo artificially and still remain a human being. It also brings up the idea that the existence of humanity might be a mistake, an error in the evolutionary process.
Although a fascinating look at what the world could be like in the future, I wouldn’t describe ALT•4•1 as a fun-read. It is certainly thought-provoking and intriguing, but the lack of distinct characters was a major point of frustration for me as you are only privy to the thoughts of Beall and his interactions with Dr. Mulligan for the entirety of the book. The sole driving point of the book was the change in the perspective of Dr. Mulligan, making the story bland. The ending was too simplistic and fell flat.
The book is appealing for its futuristic vision, but not for the plot. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars for a less than engaging plot and insipid characters. As for the editing, errors related to frequent incorrect usage of commas and missing hyphens make me conclude that the copy needs another round of editing. I found only one borderline profane word making it suitable for readers of all ages.
I would recommend this book to hardcore fans of the sci-fi genre. The book could be difficult to get into for readers who don’t prefer reading sci-fi.
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ALT•4•1
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