Really wanted to like this one (AI, modern tech, NYC setting) but the male main character was so creepy and the whole story fell apart towards the end

In Our Likeness by Bryan VanDyke

Graham is a likable man. He works at a tech company with aspirations to create a revolutionary algorithm to detect truths from lies. Nessie, his love interest and algorithm creator, entrusts Graham to toy around with the new software. The outcome is overwhelming, for what comes next is certainly unexpected. He makes some minor tweaks in the program that soon have real-time consequences, making the algorithm a powerful tool that can be used by the company's owner, David Warwick.

A creative endeavor produced by Bryan VanDyke, the author, stirs different ingredients into the AI gumbo. Romance interlaced with moral ingenuity eventually parlays into somewhat of a horror story scenario. Using Graham's sick mother as a component to toy with our emotions lends to a very personal experience. The romance in the storyline leads the reader to wonderment. Will the boy get the girl being the proverbial question?

Our story also revolves around the suave David Warwick, a charismatic leader and one who seemingly has it all. His vision is to create an essential tool that will allow humans to discern between truth and lies. Imagine being able to read a post and having an algorithm detect its honesty. Admirable, the reader might think. However, in true narcissistic fashion, the power Warwick can wield soon turns the project into much more than a technological truth serum for the masses.

The movie Inception comes to my mind. My brain had been dislodged and placed in a washer on a spin cycle. I had been engaged throughout the film and yet somehow lost. This book challenged my random access memories ala Daft Punk. I knew what happened, didn't I? The book proceeded on a perfectly easy trajectory until I questioned everything I knew. Somehow, I was time-warped back to my senior year in high school attempting to solve pre-calculus problems. Answers being the enemy, eluding me at every turn. The comparison between this novel and those experiences is apropos.

This novel combines some wholesomeness with mind-melting zest. I finished the last page and set it down. My ego was bruised. I picked it up again with the intention of a re-read. Bryan VanDyke has written a tale that is ornery and worthy of being tamed like your local wild mustang. I am giving this 4 of 5 stars. Simply entertaining!

Many thanks to the Little A for the ARC through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.

Thank you @Netgalley and @LittleA for my eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A general note: this was more of a 3.5 rating which I couldn’t give on here.

I was excited to read this one after reading the blurb on Netgalley, I’ve been on the hunt for a good speculative sci-fi book since I’ve realized I really like this genre only this year. And I’m particularly fond of anything that explores AI.

I enjoyed most of this book, definitely the first half more than the second, even though around the 50% mark the pace picked up and it was nearly impossible to put down. I think that the first half delivered more on the premise than the second half. It felt like around the 75% mark the book kind of lost the plot, there were a few chapters that in my opinion could have been entirely removed or changed, it reached a point in the story where it was going in one specific direction and then it kind of lost it. And unfortunately I felt a bit let down by the ending, really disliked it.

I really liked the author’s writing style, it was really easy to get lost into the story and I liked how it included a lot of descriptions, definitely enjoyed the NYC setting.

In Our Likeness is a thought-provoking exploration of AI's impact on reality, identity, and love. The novel follows Graham Gooding, a tech startup leader, who discovers that an algorithm can alter the real world. As Graham and his colleague Nessie experiment with it, they grapple with the consequences of manipulating truth and reality. The novel mixes suspense with philosophical questions about the ethics of technology. It’s a captivating read for anyone interested in AI's potential for both innovation and chaos.

I appear to already have selected this as a Prime selection, so clearly it appeals to me. I am sure it's right up my alley but I don't need two copies.

I was drawn to this book intentionally because of the cover. Something about it just made me want to read this despite knowing nothing about it. Once I read the synopsis though, I knew that I HAD to read this one.

The dangers of AI and technology are explored in this thrilling new read and the outcome of the story will leave you shocked. There is a quiet beauty as well in the writing and the connections made between characters. The blend of fiction, thriller, and sci-fi make this a really interesting read.

Enjoyed this mindbending read. Reminded me a bit of Dark Matter and other such tales, but with more ai (ie even creepier). Short and seemed edited well. The story stayed concise and easy to digest. Really brings out the philosophical thoughts. The ending was brutal, left me feeling terrible but it worked for the story.

A very fun quick sci-fi read and exploration of the possibilities of AI. Was quite a funny entertaining concept too which I enjoyed reading. A very chaotic interesting look into what it means to be human.

I liked the beginning of this story. I work in tech so it was interesting and I was curious to see where it would go. I also liked for a while that it folded in on itself and it was hard to tell what was real and what was not. Even though the specific ideas in this story are far from where we are today, the underlying premise of not being sure what to trust and the idea people wanting to manipulate our truths doesn't seem like that far flung a stretch anymore, sadly.

I did feel like it escalated again and again to a place that seemed a bit closer to ridiculous by the end but it's tough to know where to go with a story like this. I still really enjoyed my time with it and am glad I read it.

with gratitude to Little A and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Publishing date:
01.09.2024

Thank you to NetGalley and Little A for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: I got a lollipop with a "surprise center", when I got to the center I ended up in a fever dream
The book left me: "... That was it?"

Negatives:
Unsatisfying ending
Didn't root for any of the characters
Why is the main character calling his mom by her first name??

Positives:
Fun concept with the Ai and "altering"

Features:
Reality bending technology, tech-dude-bros, heavily tattooed woman, terminally ill parent, workaholic characters, obsession, lots of "looking back", a story divided in parts

Why did I choose this one?
I really like contemporary and "not so far into the future" technology, and this seemed right up my alley. The cover was really pretty too.

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?
In the middle between both. This book had both very exciting parts, and extremely boring parts. I had periods where I would want to read this, and then I didn't want to even look at it. So it falls right in between.

What was the vibe and mood?
It had the vibe of a semi-toxic workspace that pays a little too little and where you work a little bit too much. Everyone else seems really smart, and demands attention to their accomplishments all the time. Your boss tries really hard to be cool, but he is really just cringe and everyone knows he is faking it.
Also the overwhelming amount of anxiety and self-doubt is dripping from this book.

Final ranking and star rating?
C tier, 2.5 stars. It just didn't hit the spot for me, and the very sudden very disappointing ending knocked off the final 0.5 stars from a 3 stars. I wanted to like this, it seems to be made for me, but it missed ...

Changing the world around you using AI. This idea is just a little frightening, yet intriguing. Leader at a tech startup, Graham finds this out as he is in charge of testing the algorithm. In doing so, he begins changing small details around him and possibly altering the future while erasing the past.

This novel had an intriguing premise and was written very well, but the book didn’t hit the mark with me. While I enjoyed the characters and the sci-fi feel of the novel, it didn’t one-hundred percent feel like a traditional science fiction novel and sometimes felt forced into that genre.

Overall, it was a fun read!

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

After reading several nonfiction books on the topic of technology and its dark side, the description of Bryan VanDyke’s debut novel, In Our Likeness, made me think it would make a great fiction companion read. I am not a sci-fi reader normally, but found this accessible, even with some tech lingo thrown in. The topic of technology, how it can be used for good or evil, and how it has the potential to take over our lives is on full display in this book. I appreciated the food for thought In Our Likeness offers, but was left a little dissatisfied with the character development and the ending in particular. If you’re looking for a sci-fi book that tackles the pros and cons of artificial intelligence, this would make a great choice. I also think this would make an excellent book club pick, as the topics addressed make for great conversation.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Little A for the advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, I’m not gonna pretend I understood any of the technical parts where they talked about AI and algorithms, but this was original and really intriguing. A bit scary as well as a bit sad.
Loved how all the characters were written. Nessie was a lovely character.
The author kept me guessing till the end, nothing that I thought would happen was happening. Giving this 3 stars because it got to a point where it got confusing and I had a million questions I wanted answers to, but I think that’s usually the way with fictional stories about AI.

This was a book that I planned to save and read closer to its release date in September. But after only a few pages I was sucked in to the story and found it hard to stop reading. Graham was a character that I was rooting for right from the start and as the story began to morph I could see parallels to our current world. I was so invested in how a few changes shifted their world and how quick greed was to enter the mix. It got a bit strange at the end and I found myself so frustrated with the choices Graham made but it made me think hard about the introduction of AI and how vastly people and the world may change. This was a good book that I would definitely recommend others pick up.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

In Our Likeness by Bryan VanDyke is an unputdownable Science-Fiction book that captivates from the very first page. Graham Gooding is a likable, yet flawed "every man" main character and feels relatable throughout the whole novel. The pacing of the story is wonderful, and broken into five parts. What if AI was real - could be REAL? That's the question that VanDyke's clever ideas and thought-provoking themes weave seamlessly throughout the narrative, leaving readers both intellectually stimulated and emotionally engaged. I was left wondering "what if?" The book delves into important overarching themes, like trust and honesty, and right and wrong, that resonate long after the final page is turned, making it a must-read for anyone seeking a thought provoking experience. 4 stars - highly recommended!

I clipped along at a face pace through In Our Likeness, a novel that paints a strong picture of a tech founder CEO, Warwick; his COO, Graham; and a head of software engineering, Nessie. There is also the algorithm Nessie designed for Warwick's company and which Graham discovers is not just learning at amazing speeds, but filling in changes in the real world, given the right input. I stopped often to marvel at the author's lovely turn of phrases both in descriptions of New York City, where the story is set, and in the thoughts and observations of the characters. The story also touches on tech & social issues in a fun way, though I found myself wishing that the inevitable output corruption of an algorithm allowed to influence the real world (as they all do, but not in such a visceral way as this one) was treated with a bit more authorial fascination to how close this corruption is to our current world, and less dream-like, Matrix-movie-like scenes. The book touched on ideas on the realities of technology and society I wanted to spend more time with throughout.

Another fault for me was having a female character (view spoiler), which seemed not up to the level of ideas the story alludes to in its telling. Nessie's technical and communication skills leveraged while being a woman in tech are otherwise great and I wanted better for her than that. The ending was strong and haunting, and I feel fine recommending this well-observed story for anyone looking for a tech thriller with literary DNA (or is it RNA?). I just wished this story had felt safe to lean in to the rich and fertile soil of where tech and life meet and the resonant and confrontational ethics that place invokes. The story seemed to side with plot rather than deeper ideas the characters could confront about their work and lives, perhaps to the detriment for readers more familiar with landscape of these modern-day & historical confrontations between tech and society. However, In Our Likeness makes for a snappy, enjoyable, and relevant-to-now story for general fiction audiences and you won't regret picking it up!

Thank you to Little A for providing this e-book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.