Review Tuesday: Neurogarden by Bryon Vaughn -- #sciencefiction #thriller #ReviewTuesday

 

Neurogarden by Bryon Vaughn

Brenna Patrick, CEO of upstart company NeuralTech, believes that she’s smarter than everyone else. In general, she’s right. However, it’s not just her exceptional intelligence that has enabled her to build the most advanced AI system on the planet in a just a few years. Credit also belongs to her single-mindedness in pursuing her goals, her formidable talent for psychological manipulation, her almost unearthly beauty – and her willingness to ride roughshod over anyone who gets in her way. Her cold-bloodedness is matched only by her vanity, perhaps her single biggest weakness. Though she’s only in her forties, she spends a fortune on the latest anti-aging fads, scrutinizing her mirror each day for any evidence of the ravages of time.

Brenna’s technology, funded by the deep pockets of the Defense Department, makes it possible to locate any individual on the planet, in seconds, given a single image. Obviously the military wants this capability to neutralize terrorists, criminals and anyone else deemed to be a threat. Brenna realizes the applications are far more varied, that her AI “Garden” provides her with the potential to effectively control the entire world.

Jenny Mercado and Leo Marino, grad students in business at Columbia University, seem an unlikely pair to challenge Brenna’s power. Indeed, their original goal is to impress the high-flying executive with their pitch deck. When Brenna offers Jenny a NeuralTech internship, the gutsy Puerto Rican woman is thrilled, even though she senses Brenna’s interest has as much to do with Jenny’s physical attractiveness as with her competence. In fact, the lust is mutual. Jenny is fascinated by the older woman’s beauty and her brilliance. When Leo inadvertently discovers the terrible truth underlying NeuralTech’s innovation, though, both he and Jenny find themselves mortal danger.

In Neurogarden, Bryon Vaughn has created a dynamite cast of characters and set them loose in a world barely different from our own. His New York City includes bagels and perpetually packed subway cars, skyscrapers and Spanish Harlem tenements. Once you accept the core technological premise of Brenna’s Garden (a bit of a stretch, but this is science fiction), the rest of the story becomes frighteningly believable.

I loved the fact that novel is largely narrated from the perspective of Brenna, the monomaniacal genius. She is complex and multidimensional, even evoking some sympathy despite being utterly amoral. Mr. Vaughn understands that most villains do not see themselves as evil. They view their actions as completely justified; indeed they may see themselves as persecuted.

Meanwhile, Jenny is brave, sexy and smart – a kick-ass woman who proves to be a match even for the formidable Brenna – and ex-marine Leo is simultaneously loyal and stubborn, naïve yet wily, especially when dealing with the familiar mindset of the military.

The plot is tight, with plenty of action, and just enough bizarre tech to remind you you’re not in Kansas anymore. I was surprised to realize the book is less than two hundred pages long; a lot happens in that short span. The characters grow and change, and the stage is set for what I assume will be a sequel. There’s no cliff hanger – the immediate conflicts are resolved - but one gets the sense that Brenna, Jenny and Leo aren’t finished with each other.

Given how much I enjoyed Neurogarden , I’ll be looking out for the next book in the series.