Run by Blake Crouch
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Jack and Dee's marriage is on the brink of collapse when disaster hits. For some strange reason people are on the rampage, and senseless killings are being reported across the country. The president calls for calm, but the killers are uniting. People are being targeted with their names and addresses being announced over the public broadcast system. When Jack's name comes up, they flee.

On the road they encounter city after city burned and all the inhabitants brutally killed. The reason is later explained, but the real excitement is how the family fights to survive and remain together in this apocalyptic thriller. Self-published in 2011, Crouch calls Run a "book of firsts." Following the book's success it was re-released with a traditional publisher in 2024. The success of Run gives hope to all the struggling self-published authors out there, like myself.

Darwin's Dilemma by Don Stuart
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
In the distant future, interstellar traders are confronted with a deadly opponent. The planet's population they are visiting has been decimated. Taking their place is a super-intelligent artificial intelligence named Grendel. When Grendel attacks the traders, their only hope is to destroy the planet where the artificial life form is based. But survivors are discovered on the planet and it soon becomes a cat-and-mouse game with the advanced intelligence.

The book explores the evolution of intelligence as well as what it means to be a conscious being. Thoughtful questions are brought up on the strengths and weaknesses of humanity in a quickly evolving environment. Grendel sets out to destroy the traders and poses a threat to the rest of the human race. The AI sees humans as a threat and its story is told from his point of view, giving the story an intimate and creepy feel. Can humans exist alongside a new super-intelligent life form, or is it a fight to the finish? Darwin's Dilemma is a well thought out story on the future of intelligence and our place in that universe.

AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by Kai-Fu Lee & Chen Qiufan
⭐⭐⭐/5
How will AI change our world? Ten short stories highlighting specific areas of artificial intelligence and predicting their future impact on our daily lives. Each story begins and ends with an explanation of the technologies covered in that story. Some of the technologies covered are: deep learning, mixed reality, robotics, artificial general intelligence, and autonomous weapons. AI will have an impact on many areas including jobs, the military, and data security, as well as our happiness. The stories are insightful and the explanations detailed.

While some people may have an optimistic or nonchalant view of our future with AI, I do not. I am not alone in believing it's impact will be profound, unlike anything we have ever experienced before. It will not be a change in technology, but a new way of thinking.

"The most intelligent inhabitants of that future world won't be men or monkeys, they'll be machines." -author Arthur C. Clark

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Grace Winters is a 72 year old widow just presented with a rare opportunity. A former student from the past left her a note and a house on an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Curious about what happened to her student and why she was given the house, Grace visits the island of Ibiza. She meets a strange man there who reveals an amazing secret buried beneath the sea. After a scuba dive with the man, strange things begin to happen. Grace's gloomy outlook on life begins to change, she is more in tune with the world around her and all its beauty, but along with the transformation come some difficult choices.

A Life Impossible is a magical story of the wonder of life that is possible with a change in perspective. "You see if you want to visit a new world, you don't need a spacecraft. All you need to do is change your mind."

One Second After by William R Forstchen
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
A post apocalyptic story dealing with survival in the aftermath of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon that takes out all infrastructure and electronics in the United States. The first in a series, and when published in 2009 it set off a wave of discussion in Congress on how to deal with a potential EMP disaster.

The main character was a bit too vanilla for me, but the story was superb in detailing how quickly society can breakdown. Set in small-town America, the people are forced to deal with threats from within and outside their community as they are thrown back to a time without the technological advances we now enjoy. It adds fuel to my fears of a modern attack, be it EMP or cyber, and how dependent and vulnerable we really are on technology.

Open Evening by Lee Hall
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Good old-fashioned, classic horror. Luke Hartford is struggling with life as a teenager when all hell breaks out one night during a high school event. Creatures are running amok and Luke narrowly escapes. He is rescued by a man named Twister who explains there are monsters nesting in the school and he is there to eradicate them. The two join forces with several other students to kill the creatures and rescue Josie, a girl that Luke is infatuated with.

Open Evening is a fast-paced YA apocalyptic adventure and a great intro to the series.

Velocity by Dean Koontz
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
My first Dean Koontz novel I've read in a while and it did not disappoint. Billy Wiles is an easy-going bartender with an ordinary job. That is until one day a note is left on his car. The note threatens to kill a different person based on what action Billy takes or doesn't take. Billy calls his friend, a cop, who thinks it's a crank and nothing is done about it. But when a young schoolteacher is killed less than 24 hour later, he knows better. As more ominous notes appear and more innocent people are killed, evidence is planted to incriminate Billy.

The hunt is on to find the psychopath before the madness comes to an end and Billy is killed. There is plenty of suspense, mystery, and a surprise ending. Definitely worth the read.

Time and Again by Jack Finney
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Si Morley has a mundane existence working as a sketch artist for an ad agency. Until one day, a stranger recruits him for the adventure of a lifetime. Taken to a warehouse on the West Side of Manhattan, Si is taught techniques allowing him to travel back in time. He is moved to an old hotel room for the experiment and one evening steps out to discover everything has changed, the year is 1882. That trip leads to more trips and a mystery to solve. Along the way Si meets a beautiful, young woman named Julia who he is enamored with. Their worlds collide when the man Si is investigating turns out to be Julia's fiance.

The story describes a nostalgic New York City in 1882 in vivid detail, beautifully done but sometimes a bit overdone for this reader. Nevertheless, the plot picks up and the ending makes it all worth while. If you enjoy a good mystery and being totally immersed in a bygone era, you will fully appreciate this classic that Stephen King calls "The great time-travel story."

The Humans by Matt Haig
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Best book I have read in a while. An alien is sent to earth to prevent damage to the future by an important breakthrough, one that will take mankind a giant technological leap forward. He takes the form of Professor Andrew Martin, a prominent mathematician at Cambridge University, who made the discovery. The visitor moves into Martin's home with his wife and teenage son. Tasked with eliminating Martin's family and anyone with knowledge of the discovery, he searches for people Martin may have told. The alien is at first repulsed by humans and knows nothing of their ways. But as he immerses himself deeply into Martin's life, his views slowly change. He develops a bond that never existed with the son and grows to love Martin's wife. He grows into the father and husband Martin was not. But he has a mission to accomplish and he is being watched.

Haig weaves a story that dives deeply into the nuances and core of what it means to be human. It has both humorous and emotional moments that will tug at your heartstrings. I would highly recommend The Humans to anyone.

Recursion by Blake Crouch
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
My second read from Crouch and I was not disappointed. Another spin on alternate realities, and this one interestingly deals with our perception of reality. An epidemic is spreading that drives people mad. For those affected, the world around them has drastically changed and they recall vivid memories of an alternate reality. The phenomenon is explained as a disease called FMS, or False Memory Syndrome. New York City Detective Barry Sutton sees it firsthand when he responds to a woman suffering from delusions who is contemplating jumping off a high-rise building. He learns more about the disease and begins investigating the phenomenon. That leads him to a secret hideout, where he is thrown into a chair, drugged, and wakes up in a new reality, one where is daughter is still alive.

Meanwhile, back in 2007, Helena Smith is working on research to help her mother retain her memories before dementia takes them away. A rich investor, named Marcus Slade, offers to fund Helena's project and she agrees. But Slade has a hidden agenda and uses the discoveries to alter events. Things soon get out of hand and multiple realities are created with disastrous results. Barry and Helena meet, become romantically involved and experience several recurring lifetimes, some together, some apart. Multiple attempts are made to undo the damage and I will not spoil the ending. Recursion is an interesting look at both the good and bad experiences in a lifetime and how they can change everyone involved.

Hearts In Atlantis by Stephen King
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Hearts In Atlantis is actually five interconnected stories, each rooted in the 1960s. The first story, "Low Men in Yellow Coats," deals with a young boy growing up in the 60s, a dominating mother and missing father. He has a crush on a neighborhood girl and together they encounter bullying which deeply effects their lives. A man moves in upstairs who befriends the boy. Tensions rise when the man is later chased by supernatural characters in true King fashion. In the title story a group of college boys get hooked on a card game amidst a war protest occurring across the country. Another story deals with a Vietnam vet's struggles with dealing with a post Vietnam era country.
The era is depicted expertly, the characters loosely connected and brought together roughly in the end. But I expected more. It felt a bit confusing and the stories could have been tied in better. Nevertheless, these are absorbing stories with the visuals and emotions that we have come to expect from King.

1984 by George Orwell
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
First published in 1949, this was an amazing read which I could not put down! Most of us are familiar with "Big Brother" and the general theme of the story but the level of detail Orwell put into his futuristic, dystopian world is astonishing. Mind control is taken to a whole new level.

Oceania is one of three super states and is at perpetual war with the others, but nothing is as it seems. Facts are twisted, history is rewritten. Slogans like "WAR IS PEACE", "FREEDOM IS SLAVERY", "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" point out the contradictions. Doublethink is a process where one is expected to accept two contradictory beliefs as correct. Four ministries, named for the opposite of what they do, control all aspects of life. The Ministry of Peace supports Oceania's perpetual war; The Ministry of Plenty rations food, and all essential items; The Ministry of Truth spews out lies and controls information; The Ministry of Love arrests and tortures dissidents.

Winston Smith is the main character who goes through life under the watchful eye of The Party, an all powerful totalitarian government. His job at the Ministry of Truth is to alter historical records to support their propaganda. With emotional contact not permitted, Winston begins a secret relationship with Julia and the two begin to question the world around them. They join a resistance called The Brotherhood and embrace a book written by the leader, Emanual Goldstein who was a former Party member. Winston and Julia are eventually captured and tortured into conforming. The mind twisting process is graphic and described in great detail.

I found 1984 to be a deep and thought provoking story, every bit as relevant today.

Midnight Library by Matt Haig
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
I have wanted to read this one for a while and it did not disappoint. Nora Seed finds herself at a crossroads. Her life unfulfilled and without friends, she has lost the will to live. Ultimately deciding to end it all she finds herself in a library occupied by a single librarian. It is a magical place where time stands still. There are an infinite number of books, each representing a unique life. Each book opened allows Nora to experience an alternate life, formed by different choices she could have made. As she experiences different lives, her outlook begins to change. But there is a catch, if she does not select a suitable life before the clock begins ticking, she will be forced out of the Midnight Library to the final stage of her existence.

I especially liked how the author described the possibility of an infinite number of parallel dimensions or lives, each created by the decisions we make. The library was a great metaphor for life and there was even a Book of Regrets. Midnight Library was a short and thoroughly enjoyable read.

Upgrade by Blake Crouch
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Our bodies deteriorate and break down. Over time we lose physical and mental function. Who wouldn't want an upgrade? Not a reboot or reset to original factory settings, but an upgrade to a whole new model. That's exactly what happens in Blake Crouch's latest novel.

Logan Ramsay lives in a world where genetic modification is commonplace, his job is to shut it down. While investigating a case, he is infected with an unknown virus and begins to change. He experiences heightened intelligence, awareness, strength and other amazing abilities. Because of this, Logan is captured by the organization he works for and put in isolation. His family is told he died. He later escapes with the help of his sister, Kara. The two of them are morphing into a new species, the next generation in the evolution of Homo sapiens. But as Kara attempts to spread the virus around the world, he has a decision to make. Will altering the human race be beneficial or a detriment?

Logan has changed, he can never go back to who he was. The future of humanity is bleak. But will genetic engineering be their last hope for survival? Upgrade is a non-stop thrill ride, asking thought-provoking questions on our future.