I Am AI: A Novelette

"But it was the price she had to pay for refusing to keep up with the rapidly developing tech and the shifting culture and job markets that came with it."

(Please note the above quote was taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and it is quite possible that it either did not make it into the finished copy of the book or it may be worded a bit differently.)

When I read that quote, it felt like those words reached up off the page and thumped me right between the eyes. I'm a little older and I confess I do feel like I'm getting left behind and unable to keep up with technology. I barely learn to function with something before it's already considered obsolete and the more improved upon version is out or it's been completely replaced. Bet I'm not alone in that, either. (Right, guys? RIGHT?!)

I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing LINGHUN by Ai Jiang a few months ago. I was blown away by the tragic beauty of the writing style and the way the author captured me with her characters and their grief....and most importantly, the unique haunted house aspect. I went ahead and treated myself by preordering I AM AI because I had a feeling that this would be an author I would want to collect. I was absolutely delighted when Ai reached out to see if I would be interested in reading and reviewing the ARC and said I'd love to. Why wait for release date when I can read it early?!

I went into this one knowing how the author wrote horror. Now I was about to find out how she wrote science fiction!

This is about a cyborg named Ai who creates an app called I AM AI, where she takes jobs from clients to write articles and whatnot. Because she is part human, she is still able to add that little touch that sets her apart from the other writing programs that are strictly run by A.I. What little of her that remains human begins to slow her down and she struggles to maintain her workload. She begins to consider other options involving upgrades.

Ai Jiang amazes me with her ability to write characters. My arms ached with wanting to reach out and hug the main character. One of those really good hugs that last a long time, you know? The loneliness, the devastating blow dealt by her parents' early deaths, how hard one had to work in order to barely scrape by. Did I cry? I sure did. Hope is frail, but it's hard to kill - as evidenced by these beautiful characters. If you love the Found Family trope, this one is going to hit you right in the feels.

It was a treat to lose myself in Ai's prose. I bet this author is someone who always knows just the right thing to say to people. Even though this one is a novelette, it contains a larger than life story. She is able to develop characters, tell a complete story, make you feel things, leave you smiling and feeling loved. It's hard to explain until you experience it for yourself.

I said it in my last review and I'm saying it again - this is an author to keep your eye on! I cannot recommend her enough and I'm going to keep singing her praises as I get my hands on more of her work. I saw her tweet recently about writing some sort of romance story and I don't know if it was a joke or not, but you can bet I'll be first in line!