I really wanted to love this novel, and there were elements that I was super impressed by--most notably the world-building, and specifically the small details of the dystopian setting that force the reader to do a double-take on nearly every page. However, I think I need a bit more than existential dread to find a book compelling (though the existential dread was so well done!), which left me wanting a bit more. I also did not understand the ending of the epilogue in the slightest, so I'm off to search other reviews for some insight there.

"Hum" by Helen Phillips is a thought-provoking exploration of a near-future world dominated by AI and environmental decay. May, facing job loss to AI and financial strain, undergoes a risky procedure to evade surveillance. This decision triggers a series of unforeseen consequences, intricately woven into themes of family, technology, and societal control. Phillips masterfully raises pertinent questions about our future with AI and the environmental consequences of human actions. The prose, though occasionally dense with metaphor, effectively mirrors the omnipresence of technology in our lives. However, amidst the wealth of recent AI-themed literature, "Hum" risks feeling repetitive in its exploration of these themes. Overall, "Hum" is a subtly tense and deeply humane read, rich in speculative detail and thematic depth, despite needing more fleshed-out exploration of its compelling ideas.

Four stars is being generous. It held my interest enough to finish, but there are several lapses in logic.

3.5 stars

Near future with a background of the effects of climate change. Technology to advertise to people and track them is everywhere. AI units, called hums, are ubiquitous. Sound like Black Mirror episode? It felt like that. The main character, May, agrees to have her face altered to test facial recognition systems in exchange for much needed money, since her job (training AIs) was eliminated by AIs. She splurges on a family vacation to see some nature, when the children get lost. The media descends and May has to prove she is a good enough parent to keep her kids.

The world the author constructed feels very real, terrifyingly so. This is in part to many of the specific incidents that establish the dystopian world are actually pulled from present day news (which are cited at the end of the book). It felt like the plot was just a way to demonstrate the future world and its pitfalls. I didn't care too much about how the family fared in the story, and I didn't connect with May at all. But I appreciated the world building.

I enjoyed reading this while also growing deeper in anxiety about the future of technology. At the center is the force of family - but the changes in society and concept of trust may cause suspense and spiral in even the most relaxed reader. Scenically, Hum was stunning and well appreciated.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this book, but I am so glad I did! There is so much atmosphere in this book; I've never experienced such a visceral and bleak picture of the near future. I had originally thought that much of the concepts or situations Phillips puts into this novel were too farfetched too be plausible, but once I stopped and thought about them, they didn't seem so crazy. There were definite moments of "horror", but not in the traditional dark corners of a hunted room or monsters lurking in the shadows. It was a comment from one of the narrator's children about the world they live in that sent shivers down my spine.

This was such an easy book to read; it flew by in chunks. There were some short, impactful chapters that helped speed along the narrative and kept it from becoming too plodding or unnecessarily wordy. I will definitely be checking out more by Helen Phillips in the future!

I’m finding it difficult to put my thoughts about this book into words to explain why I didn’t enjoy it. I usually like dystopian/sci-fi/Black Mirror type stories but this one didn’t work for me. I didn’t like the writing style or any of the characters so it was hard for me to feel invested in the story. I think there could have been more commentary or information in general about the world and the specific technological advancements because it all just seemed too surface level. I also thought the ending was a little confusing and felt very abrupt.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC for review!*

Reading Hum feels kind of like being grabbed off the street, bashed over the head, and then taken on a brief tour of the near future. By the time you stop reading, your head is spinning, you are full of dread, and you want to go around shaking people while trying to convince them to avoid the horrible fate that awaits us. Several times while reading this book I had to pause and struggle with how real this imagined future felt, how likely that the A.I. revolution is going to be combined with modern day advertising, total data collection, and the death of privacy to create a consumerist hell where robots walk around constantly trying to sell you something and get you to approve transactions on your credit card. Seeing how our protagonist May tries to hold her family together in a world facing climate crisis, mass poverty, ecological disaster, and the worst parts of the social media world was a harrowing treat.

An excellent piece of speculative fiction, filled with great characters and a vividly convincing glimpse at a possible future.

The futuristic, AI aspect of this book immediately appealed to me because I always enjoy the new and often alarming ideas from the author. We do get a taste of this in Hum, but I wish the details were fleshed out more.

We meet May, an anxious mother whose job was replaced by AI who is barely making ends meet. She undergoes a facial altering procedure for some extra cash, which she uses to take her husband and two kids to the Botanical Gardens. The experience does not go to plan, however.

While this was a quick read, I felt like something was missing. We're dropped right into the story without getting much background on this world or the technology within it, so some parts felt jarring and muddled. The random accounts of sex with her husband Jem came out of nowhere, and I could have lived without hearing every little quip from her kids, Lu and Sy. I enjoyed the concept more than the execution, but I think it would make for an interesting movie or TV series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

In Helen Phillips's Hum, we are thrust into a disquieting future where intelligent and benevolent robots, known as hums, record every moment of life, trailing citizens to sell products they might need at any given time. May, an unemployed mother of two, is navigating this world, relying on her husband Jem's gig work to barely make ends meet. Hauntingly, May once helped train the AI network that evolved into the hums, so proficient at her job that she rendered herself obsolete.

Phillips crafts a world that is both stressful and propulsive, forcing readers to confront the potential dangers of rapid technological advancement. May's struggle against the hums' relentless commodification critiques how such advancements push us deeper into debt and consumption. The emotional and physical toll of constant surveillance is evident as May undergoes a procedure to make her face illegible to cameras, a drastic step taken to secure financial compensation. This decision not only highlights the lengths to which individuals might go to regain some semblance of privacy but also the invasive nature of surveillance technology.

A significant portion of the novel's suspense stems from the eerie and often malfunctioning devices like the bunnies, AI-equipped smartwatches worn by May's children, Sy and Lu. These moments inject a chilling sense of unpredictability into the story, emphasizing the fragility of reliance on technology. In her increasing technophobia, May plans a family trip to the city's Botanical Garden, a rare natural refuge, demanding they leave their devices behind. This decision leads to a tense sequence where May and Jem are separated from their children, only to find their actions misrepresented in the media, casting May as a neglectful mother. The ensuing investigation by the Bureau of Family Aid and the invasive visits from a hum underscore the omnipresent power of state surveillance.

Phillips's "Black Mirror"-esque narrative is compelling, keeping me hooked from start to finish. However, the book’s ending left me feeling unfulfilled. While I appreciated Phillips's elegantly sparse prose and expert world-building, I found it challenging to relate to her portrayal of motherhood and May's obsessive panic over her children's well-being. A friend recently pointed out to me how frequently motherhood books talk about the bodies of the children in a very obsessive, fetishistic manner. I noticed this appeared a few times in Hum and found it a turnoff, such as the scenes where May observes her son’s penis while he urinates. These instances detracted from my overall experience.

Despite the rich world-building and timely commentary on surveillance capitalism, I struggled to connect with the characters and their plights. This detachment ultimately impacted my enjoyment of the novel. While I appreciated Hum’s thought-provoking premise and Phillips's writing style, I wanted a more impactful resolution and more relatable characters.

Content / Trigger Warnings: Medical Content (severe), Sexual Content (minor), Abandonment (Moderate).

I loved how this book started. It was such an uneasy setting that absolutely made me not want to put it down. I am such a fan of Helen Phillips and was over the moon to see Hum available on NetGalley.

Unsettling, uncomfortable, and reminiscent of a Black Mirror episode. Thank you to NetGalley and Marysue Rucci Books for the ARC.

A short, unsettling read. Whatever worries I've had about technology -- about being on devices too much, about too much surveillance, about how AI might change society -- Phillips taps into. Paced and plotted more like a short story.

If you've read The Need, this felt to me like a continuation, exploring the anxieties of modern motherhood.

I actively didn't want to read this (see: unsettling, worries, anxieties) but couldn't put it down.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

Wow. Reading Hum felt like being inside an episode of Black Mirror. It was disturbing due to how freakishly realistic the “future” in this book is. Although very uncomfortable to read at times, I didn’t want to stop. The short chapters and tense atmosphere of the writing had me questioning what would happen at each turn and had me up late into the night. Recommend for people who love twists and turns with their futuristic dystopia. Trigger warning for anxious parents.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

3.5 stars
Publish date: 8/6/24

I loved the author's book The Need, so had really high hopes for Hum. Hum did capture a frantic, near-future, dystopian setting, and I definitely felt immersed in that world. What didn't work for me was the characters. They all felt very surface level, and I think this novel could have benefitted from developing the characters out a lot more, even if that meant lengthening the story.

I can see this novel being made into a movie on Hulu. Overall, it was a quick read, and I was interested in the plot; just think there could've been so much more done with it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

This is the sort of five-minutes-into-the-motherfucking-future-horrifying-in-its-abject-mundanity SpecFic that I am one billion percent here for. Small stakes that loom at a personal level. I can't wait for this to be published so I can argue with people about it.

Hum by Helen Phillips was a great read that immersed me into an apparent near-future world where the fears of climate change have come to fruition and AI is a pervasive part of everyday life. The main AI presence in this novel are the Hums, AI robots who are integrated into society. Jobs are eliminated due to AI infiltrating the workforce and a dystopian society is the reality.

The book is centered around May Webb, a recently laid-off mom of two kids under 10 and decides to undergo an experimental procedure to alter her face so it’s not recognizable by surveillance in exchange for money. Her family desperately needs the money for rent, bills and essentials. She decides to take a small portion of the payment to take her family to a luxury forest park retreat. This place is hyped up like a Disney park in the story, so a telling sign that society has little natural beauty left. While in the park, May’s necessary encounter with a Hum leads to her life being flipped upside down. The “relationship” May and her family have with Hum(s) certainly left me with more questions than answers, and seriously makes me wonder what the tipping point will be in our society will be to get us to this point. (I do see it coming - but I think AI will be more of a tool to create relationships with brands and services and to give such things perceived authority.)

One of my favorite parts of this book was the world building. Phillips did a fantastic job painting the future bleak world. To the point that it felt too real and left me sad. I also really liked how May was presented as a mother. I’m a mom too and I completely get the situations she found herself in. She was very relatable and such a well-crafted character.

Hum is definitely a book for those who enjoy speculative fiction, especially a highly conceivable future where today’s technology and problems are exacerbated.

Thank you to Helen Phillips, Simon Element and Netgalley for an advanced e-copy if this book and the opportunity to provide honest feedback

It has been a while since I've read through a book so quickly. I was immersed in the futuristic, almost post-apocalyptic world Phillips created. For me, setting is almost everything, and she succeeded. Frankly, I'd be interested in reading more just about this world. But I also will now read the author's other work. I looked forward to reading this every time I put it down.

"Hum" by Helen Phillips catapults readers into a hauntingly plausible future where AI and climate change reign supreme. Set against the backdrop of a world suffocated by technology and environmental decay, Phillips weaves a tale that is both gripping and thought-provoking.

At the heart of the narrative is May Webb, a determined mother navigating a society dominated by AI assistants known as "Hums" while grappling with the aftermath of losing her job to automation. Phillips deftly explores the intricate dynamics of a family strained by economic hardship and technological dependency. May's decision to undergo a face-altering surgery, driven by financial desperation, sets off a chain of events that challenge her family's bonds and resilience.

What truly sets "Hum" apart is Phillips' masterful world-building. From the ubiquitous presence of AI-driven Hums to the stark divide between urban decay and fleeting oases of natural beauty, every detail paints a vivid picture of a future that feels unsettlingly close at hand. The juxtaposition of high-tech gadgetry and environmental degradation serves as a poignant backdrop for exploring timeless themes of human connection, resilience, and the ethical dilemmas posed by rapid technological advancement.

Phillips' prose is as sharp as it is evocative, plunging readers into a narrative that is as much a cautionary tale as it is a captivating exploration of what it means to be human in an increasingly digital age. Her ability to craft characters with depth and nuance, amidst a backdrop of looming environmental catastrophe and societal upheaval, makes "Hum" a standout in the realm of speculative fiction.

In a compelling near future world of both high-tech robot AI’s and devastating climate change, May Webb, a beleaguered Mom who has lost her job to AI, decides to undergo an experimental face alteration surgery to get for money her family. The surgery is designed to evade all facial recognition software a camera infused world, where often your face is used both for identity and to conduct transactions. The surgery is performed by an AI robot, which shares a collective consciousness with all the other AI robots in this Earth. They have all been designed to present a soothing “hum” personality to all humans they interact with. Meanwhile, the hum robots keep getting more sophisticated, and arguably more human, in the process both supplanting humans in their jobs as well as developing the capacity for empathic relationships.

May’s husband Jem, working endless odd jobs to earn a living, is thrown off by her new face, her young son is fantasy and animal obsessed, and her daughter is constantly anxious about the levels of pollution and bad air quality. May decides to splurge with her surgery cash and purchases a three-day getaway to a pristine forest and botanical garden enclosed within the city. The idyllic escape, which reminds May of her childhood, starkly counters the harsh environs of the outside world. Aiming to bring her family closer together, the family faces fracture when their two kids find their way and get lost in the slums outside of the garden and May faces charges of irresponsibility.

Most striking of all in this high-tech world is the profound depth of technology dependence: all children wear wrist computers called “Bunnies” that entertain them while tracking all they do. Both parents and kids retreat to self-enclosed womb-like tech chairs where they can experience anything they want in a full surround sound, virtual reality immersion. So much so that May and Jem seldom spend anytime sleeping together in their bed.

The novel presents a strikingly and believable bleak future, but also proves deeply heart-warming in the enduring strength of family relationships in the face of adversity and the emerging potential for AI-human empathic relations. The book ends with you craving more about this world.

Thanks to Simon Element, S & S and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.