Genre: Science
Fiction/Thriller
Description:
“AXION: The Memory Rights Uprising is a provocative cautionary
tale set in the very near future when dramatic breakthroughs in neuroscience
and the first complete molecular decoding of a human memory triggers an
unthinkable gold rush to privatise human memory.
A high stakes courtroom battle parallels the dramatic rise of a
militant memory rights movement which will stop at nothing to block the world's
first 'memory tax'. The neurotech giant Cortx will stop at nothing to impose
one.
Gil Hinchliff is a renegade attorney prepared to risk his life and
sanity to expose the grisly atrocities of Cortx as they conduct human memory
experiments off the grid of ethical oversight or accountability. Cortx is
determined to use the courts and patent law to stake a property claim - and an
ongoing financial claim - to a class of enhanced human memories which they
insist belong to them.
The Memory Rights Alliance (MRA) - co-founded by Hinchliff - is at the
vanguard of a new dimension of human rights battles on a global scale.”
Author:
“David Shulman is a BAFTA and TV Academy Award winning documentary
producer and director. Originally from New York City, David moved to London in
2000 having been awarded a U.S./UK Fulbright Fellowship. By 2005, he became one
of the few Americans to gain a staff position at the BBC where for 10 years he
produced and directed science, history, and arts programs.”
Appraisal:
I find that I have a hard time getting into some science fiction
because I can’t relate to something in the story, usually because the world it
takes place in is so different from our current world that I can’t put myself
in that world and believe it. If a sci-fi book is a space opera in another
universe populated by non-human-like characters, I’ll pass. But other science
fiction can draw me in because it feels very possible in the future (often the
not too distant future) that what is depicted could happen.
This book is definitely one of those in the latter category. In fact,
it’s biggest fault might be the it feels too close and all too probable that
things could happen the way they’re depicted in this story. Given the recent
rise of artificial intelligence with all the positives and not-so-positive
effects as well as all the discussion and concern around it, this book takes us
to the next step, the ability to map, record, and in some fashion impact what
goes on in our brain, specifically memories. If you’ve got a brain (and I’m
assuming any being that can read this does), then this will get you thinking
and wondering. Another thing I found myself considering is what I think of
people who do wrong things in order to get the right result for themselves and
the world in general. Then there is the twist at the end that I sure didn’t see
coming. I’m not sure what to think of it other than it added an additional
layer to all that happened, even if done in retrospect. A good,
thought-provoking read.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
Uses UK spelling conventions.
Some adult language.
Format/Typo
Issues:
Review is based on an advance reviewer copy, so I can’t gauge the
final product in this area.
Rating: ****
Four Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words
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