Status Updates From Nytho (Alfom)

this is one of those novels where every single character (and there are quite a few from many different cultural/social backgrounds) has each their complex hidden agenda which is slowly and meticulously revealed as the labyrinthine plot unfurls... REALLY curious where this goes

So far it feels like a streak of genius - it STARTS with a scene that is basically the ending of "Ghost in the Shell" or "Neuromancer" where the heroine sets free a superhuman AI (which ends up changing her into something not quite human) only to end in jail as a result, with the rest of the plot examining the large scale political and social consequences of all this in fine detail.

bought this at a science-fiction convention after hearing the author speak at a panel on how to write nonhuman intelligent characters - so far it seems VERY William GIbson inspired but goes in more depth with superhuman artificial intelligences and how they would realistically interact with people than Gibson did in his Sprawl Trilogy

Unlike Keza and Guel, Edgar feels trustworthy—calm, detached, principled. He doesn’t record sessions, which says a lot. But reshaping his face to gain trust? That’s where it gets blurry. Like Nytho, he builds consent quietly. Different methods, same effect.

Keza’s voice is sharp and unsettling. Her thing with Nytho feels more like addiction than love. What sticks is that she’s choosing it. Not a victim—just opening the door. If you let something rewrite you, is it still agency? Maybe. For now, she’s in control. Barely.

Hmm, 25% of the way in, and the next chapter looks set to introduce a fourth first person pov. I'm definitely interested in the story, though I don't particularly like any of the characters. Feels more like a film than anything - not necessarily a bad thing, just not quite what I was expecting.