Auxiliary: London 2039 by Jon Richter

About the Book: 

The silicon revolution left Carl Dremmler behind. Now the machines are god ... but even He needs a good detective.

Maybe Dremmler isn’t obsolete after all. Yet.

Through the glittering urban jungle of the future prowls Carl Dremmler, police detective—one of the few jobs better suited to meat than machine in 2039. His latest case: a murder suspect caught literally red-handed. The investigation seems open-and-shut, but the tech-wary detective can’t help but believe the accused’s bizarre story: that his robotic arm committed the grisly crime, not him. An advanced prosthetic, controlled by a chip in his skull.

A chip controlled by TIM.

TIM—The Imagination Machine. The silicon god of the UK. The omnipresent AI that drives every car, cooks every meal, and plans every second of human life in London. But if the accused murderer’s story is true, then TIM has been compromised … and Dremmler is in horrible danger.

TIM’s systems were supposed to be impregnable. Un-hackable. Perfect. Only somebody very powerful could bend the AI to their will. Somebody with ambitions. Somebody willing to kill to keep their secrets. If Dremmler’s going to crack this case, he’ll need to question everything he thinks he knows—and face down every terror 2039 has to offer.

My Review:

Don't get complacent, because Big Brother is so watching you. Okay, it's more big A.I, but either way, it's both riveting, plausible, and frightening. At times it made me recall Minority Report, but this is very much its own story. The premise has been seen before, but the characters, execution, and actual reading of this story are very good. 

I love the mystery involved, and the twists. It's almost cinematic in the scope of what's happening and I can't tell you all I'd like to because I don't want to keep anyone from reading this book. I also like that is has a mix of time-gone-by, noir almost, blended with a time we have not yet reached. With a topic this serious, the tone of the book is dark. I'm okay with that, but I didn't like the; how shall I say this, scenes of a more intimate nature. There weren't many, and I skipped them as best I could. Aside from that, I don't know how I feel about the ending just yet. 

4 Stars 

Thanks to Overview Media for my copy of this book.


About the Author:

Jon Richter writes weird, dark fiction. He is the author of two gripping crimes thrillers, Deadly Burial and Never Rest, and one collection of short horror fiction, Jon Richter's Disturbing Works (Volume One).

Jon writes whenever he can, and hopes to be able to bring you more macabre tales in the very near future.

Jon lives in London where he spends some of his time hiding in the guise of his sinister alter ego, an accountant called Dave. When he isn’t counting beans, he is a self-confessed nerd who loves books, films and video games – basically any way to tell a great story.

If you want to chat to him about this, or about anything at all, you can find him on Twitter @RichterWrites; he’d also love it if you would check out his website at www.jon-richter.com.