Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Unravelling" by Will Gibson.]
4 out of 5 stars Share This Review
The Unravelling by Will Gibson is science fiction about a police officer, Joe, a global superstar singer, Suki, and her tech-savvy fan, Dylan. The year is 2038, and Joe is bored by easy policing tasks in the posh and low-risk neighbourhood of New York City. Joe desperately wants to work on a serious criminal case, but his injured knee has prevented him from being assigned to such cases. Artificial intelligence seems to be an integral part of homes, workplaces, transportation, and other technological devices. While these technologies have made life easier for everyone, they remain vulnerable to hacking, and economic inequality persists around the globe. A technical glitch in the central AI has caused riots in the poor neighbourhoods of New York City and worldwide. The superiors of Joe have tasked him and other officers with quelling the riots, making Joe excited at the prospect of serious crime. While putting down the riot, news of Suki’s kidnapping broke out, and Joe got assigned to the case. Is the technical glitch due to a system failure or hacking? Who kidnapped Suki during the last concert of her musical career? Find out by grabbing a copy of this book.
The amount of advanced technology in this book is impressive, and it makes me dream of a future where such technological feats may be possible on Earth. Examples of high-end technology featured in this book include androids for policing, intelligent houses, smart glasses, and smart cars. Every device connects to a central news system, CNN, which updates citizens around the globe about the latest events. I also liked the multiple references to real life and people made in this book, such as the future of the war in Ukraine and the future of Russia, the battle for AI dominance between Microsoft and Google, Elon Musk’s CyberTruck and X, and many more. These references frequently made me pause to laugh at the author’s predictions of the current world.
The only thing I disliked about this book is that the story was too slow-paced and sometimes dull, particularly in the first half. I was halfway through reading and had not seen any action or thrilling moments. The author spent so much time describing scenes and the past lives of some characters that I sometimes lost track of the main storyline or the things that mattered.
I rate this book four stars out of five. It is well-edited and contains a lot of science fiction that fans of this genre would love. I loved the character development in this book. Joe seemed like a good cop living an ordinary life who wanted to do great jobs and care for his family. However, because the story was slow-paced and the author spent too much time describing scenes and past events, it was difficult to keep track of the storyline, and I would often get bored, making me deduct one star from a total of five. This book contains non-borderline profanities and very little violence. The sexual content of this book is limited to kissing. I recommend this book to readers of all religions.
