Excellent speculative fiction that will make you pay much closer attention to what's going on in the tech industry and the political arena.
In the near future, in Britain, The Sanctity of Marriage Act is law. Everything possible is done to encourage marriage and those who sign up are rewarded while those who refuse are punished. Everyone is strongly urged to marry and to get the maximum benefits by agreeing to a Smart Marriage. A wide chasm between the haves and have-nots has formed and growing larger every day. The government controls the lives and relationships of those citizens and monitors them 24 hours a day. Several couples whose activities and communication indicate that they are in trouble will soon learn just how far the proponents will go and how impossible it is to escape.
This was super good and I really enjoyed it. It is sort of a companion to the previous novels by this author, The One (DNA love match), and The Passengers (autonomous vehicles). The character development was excellent, and the writing style and pace were perfect. I had such a powerful reaction to the situations that occurred in the novel and fearful about how much of the plot could be taken from the headlines today. Scary stuff here. As someone who is very leery of AI and its potential for misuse, my fears were not alleviated but heightened. I am already also concerned with government intrusion and overreach into personal and private life. This was all too believable and the absolute chill I felt while reading the last paragraph was undeniable and alarming.
What a great discussion this would create for book clubs and I highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for this e-book ARC to read and review. Don't miss it!
This is a standalone but a companion to the two novels mentioned in my review. It is not absoltely necessary, however, to have read them.
Genre - speculative fiction, thriller, futuristic,
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