This review is based on an uncorrected e-galley of this novel.

In an artificial intelligence lab in Shanghai, something has gone terribly wrong. Days after a major breakthrough in machine learning, CyberGen Industries' lead AI scientist is dead—and their precious prototype has vanished into the ether. An investigation reveals that, against all odds, the lab's “unhackable” system has been breached.

The discovery, an algorithm mimicking human intelligence, is growing quickly—becoming more cunning and unpredictable with each passing hour. Soon its capabilities will eclipse its creators entirely.

Who stole it? And more troubling, what do they plan to do with it?

Ex-NSA hacker Adrian Pryor may be the only person on the planet capable of reining it in. He spent his career keeping the world safe, a vigilance for which he paid an enormous, personal price. Adrian knows there are people who will stop at nothing to control the powerful technology. He must find a way to do the impossible: to stop them, and to outmaneuver a rival more clever, more powerful, and more alien than anything he has ever seen.

In a time when AI algorithms are becoming hot button issues, we must start asking ourselves what the repercussions of this technology could be and what might happen if these algorithms become sentient creatures. This novel does just that. The Doomsday Code explores the lengths that people will go to in order to escape death, even to the point where they merge with a machine and you have to ask yourself what actually makes us human.

Though this wasn't the best novel I've read, I thought it was entertaining. It was fairly quick to get through and I thought that the author did their research when looking at this topic. I definitely recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an e-ARC of this novel. All opinions are my own.

There was just something about the blurb of The Doomsday Code that had me fully intrigued... I do love a good action-packed thriller, and add a speculative fiction/sci-fi/futuristic angle and the story will be even more impossible to resist. I'm glad I gave this debut a go now, because I ended up having an excellent time reading it! The Doomsday Code gives us a glimpse at what a possible future could like like where AI becomes too powerful... Both terrifying and highly engaging, this was a story I simply couldn't put down.

This story might not be for everyone, but if you like speculative fiction that focuses on the action as well as the science/futuristic elements this will be right up your alley. The Doomsday Code seems to be taking place in an alternate near future, where science and technology have been making more and more advances. The main focus is on AI (artificial intelligence), and how a breakthrough in the AI development can actually mean the end of civilization. The incorporation of the science and the consequences of the breakthrough in machine learning is very well done; it is easy to understand the situation the main characters now find themselves in, and as a result the science doesn't slow down the pace at all.

The Doomsday Code is a story that mainly focuses on the plot and the acute situation, resulting in a high speed and high octane story that won't let you go. The writing itself is engaging as well, and it makes it really easy to just fly through the pages. Because the main focus is on the non-stop action, the characters maybe aren't as developed as in more character-driven stories, but I personally didn't mind. The basics were there and it was enough to root for them and keep hoping they will be able to find a solution in time. I also enjoyed the international settings, and the descriptions added a little something extra to the plot.

As a whole The Doomsday Code turned out to be a more than successful speculative fiction/sci-fi thriller for me. Sure, the ending seemed a bit rushed, but the entertainment factor was there and if you like your stories on the action-packed and exhilarating side this debut will more than deliver. I will be looking forward to hear more of this author in the future!

Adrian Pryor is a former NSA hacker - now living in exile abroad,, seeking asylum from the US. .
His life suddenly takes on new purpose and urgency when he is picked up and whisked away to
Shanghai and a secret AI lab run by a very sophisticated high-tech company. He is needed to help them
recover the Ai algorithm their top scientist was working with before he was suddenly.
killed.
Everyone is after him: the US, the Chinese government ministry and the billionaire owner of the company.
who wants the Ai algorithm for himself and his own devious purposes.
The story is deep, with incredibly fascinating yet terribly frightening AI scenarios,
A thriller with all the touches of a genre that is sure to grown rapidly as we move forward in the AI
realm.
The characters were well defined if a bit pat at times but still made the story flow smoothly.
Just a bit too long in descriptions at times and terminology could have, occasionally, been a little less technical.
.