I read this novel for The Self-Published Science Fiction Competition, SPSFC. The following review is my own personal opinion as a judge and does not reflect the views of the team as a whole. Find out more about the competition here and my team, The Space Girls, here, and read all my reviews for the competition here!
What do you get if you cross a glitching AI, a streetwise investigator, and a geneticist with a secret?
It’s the year 2101, and half of England is underwater. But society is recovering from the Melt – all thanks to ArkTech, the company that saved the world. Charlotte Vance is smart, resourceful, and fiercely dedicated to her work. The ArkTech Territory is the only home she’s ever known, and she’ll do anything to keep it safe. So when Ben, the company’s curious AI with a fondness for dad jokes, asks why a geneticist is stealing pages from library books, Charlotte is happy to help. After all, Ben isn’t just software – he’s her best friend.
But what begins as a routine investigation soon raises deeper questions about Charlotte’s world. She’s pulled into the orbit of a criminal operation she thought she’d left behind – and what she uncovers forces her to confront an uncomfortable truth about the company she’s always trusted.
An AI, a PI, and a geneticist walk into a library… but the punchline could cost Charlotte everything.
Read my first impressions review in this post!
The first 30% of Artificial Selection was one of my favourites from the scouting phase of Round 1, so I couldn’t wait to get back to reading the whole book. Charlotte’s wacky adventure involving an investigation about the vandalism of library books (to satisfy the curiosity of the all-powerful AI she works for) takes her first to the exact book library in the entertainment quarter of her sea platform home, Silicon Fen, then to a cat cafe, some light breaking-and-entering, and finally, an old haunt of hers at the edges of the criminal underworld, and all of it felt surprisingly light, optimistic, and cozy, considering that the world she lives in is after a global upheaval involving a botched-up attempt to turn back global warming, then the rising of the sea levels and the consequent ecological, economical, and humanitarian catastrophe. The pair of Charlotte and Ben, the AI in her ears, supplies with a constant stream of banter that is, depending on your sense of humor, entertaining and slightly aggravating to listen to (dad jokes abound!), but at the very least quite characterful.
After finishing the sample, I foresaw that Charlotte’s dark, possibly traumatic past will get a larger role going forward, and also that the utopia-world of Silicon Fen might get revealed less of a sunshine-y place than it was first suggested. I was right on both accounts, but I also have to say the story never got as dark as I hoped. That would have been my preference, but I was still very satisfied by the progression of events. There really never was a boring moment in what turned out to be Charlotte’s longest night, probably: we got to know some how her shadier friends and her sister for a passing moment, and there is even an indication of a sweet love interest in among breaking into places, running from criminals, and trying to come to terms with our past suddenly kicking in the proverbial door on us. Of course, there are darker things, injuries, death, and angsty/angry reminiscing, and indeed we get to know a little bit more about what foundations this harmonious society is based on. What they ignore of the outside world, how they regulate their citizenry and at what cost, including some more personal details about Charlotte and her job, too. This is all through Charlotte’s somewhat skewed point of view, which makes it interesting, and subtle, somewhat vague as well. To be fair, there are a lot of dark stuff just out of view, if we think about it just a bit.
The writing continued to be smart but casual, giving us worldbuilding and character details with a very good sense about what the story needs at any given moment. The pacing felt great, the plot always moving, and through all of that, Charlotte’s character deepens in the best of ways. Even though I liked her and Ben’s duo from the start, I ended up loving them even more by the end. The solution to the initial book defacing issue is intriguing and connects to many of the problems hiding in the background of the story. While there are things that remain less developed than I would have liked (the global situation of the world in more detail, the almost cult leader-like CEO of the platform country, Charlotte’s parents, Charlotte’s foster father, Ben himself), the ending still felt satisfying, and at least there are things to look forward to whenever I get to the sequel! Because I will. I really enjoyed this read, this world, and these characters. I feel like the book is a strong contender in SPSFC, and I wish it luck so that it finds its right audience!
Helyna L. Clove 
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