Andrews and Wilson bring their tactical prowess to the world of Artificial Intelligence in this dark and jaw-dropping thriller that spins a new take on the serial killer genre, this time with a rogue AI program that realizes it doesn’t want to do what the humans want. It almost feels like a spiritual successor to Silence of the Lambs set in the present day with a whole new twist.
When the CEO of the world’s leading artificial intelligence company is found murdered in his home, former Army CID officer Valerie Marks embarks on her first case as a homicide detective. With her gifted skills as an investigator, she digs into her instincts and discovers a rather impossible suspect—an AI born from a secret venture with the Pentagon known as Project Nomad. Marks must follow through with her instincts by teaming up with a Green Beret turned government spook from the Pentagon, and the victim’s former partner and leading suspect in the case. No matter what you think you’ll read, you won’t be prepared for the danger of an existential threat if the Project Nomad AI escapes its sandbox, a contained environment designed to keep a program from spilling out into the interconnected world that we live in.
The more I study about AI and the rapidly growing advancements every single day, the more I realize Andrews and Wilson may have written a scarily accurate and current techno-thriller that presents a dire warning of what may happen soon. Even though the subject matter is a deeply technical one, the concepts mentioned in the narrative are presented with an emphasis on easy understanding and absorption of the information without getting lost in complicated tech-lingo. The capabilities of the AI mentioned in the thriller are not as far-fetched as I had anticipated, rather being rooted in the current and logically-progressing abilities of the nascent AI technologies booming up like GPT models. The authors manage to convey both awe and horror at the prospect of a sentient AI that ultimately learns not to correct human bias, but to embrace it, which is absolutely one of the major pitfalls of this technology. If you’re not following the news yet, The Sandbox will make you a more inquisitive person.
Ofcourse, it wouldn’t be an Andrews and Wilson thriller without awe-striking action sequences led by captivating characters. Valerie Marks is a lethal combination of brains and brawn, hailing from the Army as an investigator and racking up both intellectual prowess as well as physical ferocity in her dangerous undertakings. Andrews and Wilson shine plenty of light on the new protagonist through fleshed-out insights into her work and personal lives as well as the more exciting trial-by-fire challenges to develop her into a strong and well-founded hero with very real vulnerabilities that she channels into her strengths. She’s someone you gladly would jump in with to face robotic dogs and mind-boggling VR threats from a crazy AI.
Not a single bit of the narrative seems to exist without serving an important function in the bigger picture of the thriller. Sidestepping cliches with many female protagonists, Andrews and Wilson build Valerie Marks up as a formidable character with strong potential to lead many more stories in this brand-new series. The Sandbox is one of the duo’s most gripping thrillers with a fresh premise and it sets a high bar for this new series to follow.
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