Mal Goes to War

February 19, 2024
Ashton (Antimatter Blues) shrewdly injects satire into a dystopian thriller helmed by Mal, an AI (though he prefers to be called a Silico-American). In the near future, debate around technological human augmentations has led to civil war. The conflict began with a paranoid rumor that the NIH developed a nanobot that, after being injected into a person, transformed them into a superhuman capable of infecting others, as part of a government scheme to control the population. That belief sparked riots in Maryland, which devolved into all-out war, with so-called Humanists dumping anyone suspected of being augmented into burn pits. Amid this violent chaos, Mal, who is untethered to any system, slips inside the body of an augmented female corpse which had the necessary hardware for him to “puppeteer” it. Mal finds himself with more than he’d bargained for, however, when the dead woman, Mika, turns out to have been the protector of Kayleigh, a genetically modified 18-year-old, who insists that Mal continue to serve as her bodyguard against the Humanists. Ashton’s vision of the future feels all too plausible and his blend of action and humor keeps the pages flying. This is sure to please the author’s fans.

September 1, 2024

Ashton's (Antimatter Blues) latest is a science-fiction thriller humming with grim humor. Mal is a free artificial intelligence who has passively observed the burgeoning conflict between two human factions: the Federalists, who embrace augmenting their bodies with technology, and the Humanists, who are dogmatically opposed to augmentation. When war breaks out between them, Mal is cut off from the digital world, trapped within a human brain and protecting an augmented girl. As they both try to get to friendlier territory and Mal searches for a digital escape route, they encounter others who have chosen sides in this war, offering Mal a new perspective. Ashton has created a story that feels postapocalyptic, addressing both the horrors of war and the sometimes terrifying quantum leaps made by programs like Mal. What forms the novel's silicone heart is Mal, voiced by John Pirhalla, who gives Mal depth and comedic timing despite his mechanical monotone. Katharine Chin's voicework and effects, such as communications hissing with static, add to the immersive audio experience. VERDICT This audiobook transports listeners to a world where learning about war means recognizing its costs. Fans of stories featuring machines becoming more will gladly follow Mal and friends on their journey.--James Gardner

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