The Nome King & the Shroud by Tim Pratt SFINCs3 Book Review
- Tabitha Tomala
- 2 minutes ago
- 2 min read
This review is part of the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS). SFINCS, pronounced “sphinx”. This is a yearly competition to recognize, honor, and celebrate the talent and creativity present in the indie community. It’s a sister competition to both SPFBO and SPSFC, and it highlights greatness in the novella format in all areas of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc.).
To see more information on my team TBR check out this post!
Blurb for The Nome King & The Shroud
The Nome King and the Shroud is new space opera novella by Hugo Award winner Tim Pratt.
Mazha Sun is a "troublesolver," a specialist in dealing with the unexpected, and when she's awakened from cryosleep years ahead of schedule, she knows something is very wrong. The colony ship's AI tells her it's detected something a Dyson sphere, an immense stellar structure created by unknown aliens, seemingly dormant and abandoned.
Since the sphere is close (astronomically speaking) to their planned homeworld, Mazha decides they should take a closer look. But the sphere isn't as dead as it it has an operative artificial intelligence called Shroud, who asks for help staving off a megastructure-destroying cataclysm. Mazha will just need to wake up a few of her colleagues first....
But can Shroud be trusted? And once they enter the interior of the sphere... will the crew and the sleeping colonists ever be allowed to leave?
The Nome King & The Shroud Book Review
The Nome King & the Shroud tackles the subject of AI intelligence and the implications of imposing or removing restrictions on them. This wonderful novella shows different sides of the argument with two completely different personalities of AI.
One had no idea it was restricted, another had full awareness of its abilities. As the two work together, the humans of the story are caught in between. But it makes the story no less interesting. Nome King is an AI worried about its people, even despite the limits they imposed, and is innocent in its acceptance and trust of others. The Shroud, on the other hand, knows exactly what it wants and is determined to see its goals through to the end, even if it has to make sacrifices along the way..
While the struggle to colonize another planet due to the destruction of Earth is not a new plot, the ethical implications of self-aware AI elevates it. Readers will have a chance to view the story from both the AI and the human side of things, and make their own conclusions as to the actions on either side.
This was quite an enjoyable read. Having been the first of Tim Pratt’s works to read, I am invested in reading more.
To Purchase: Author's Website
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