MECHANIZE MY HANDS TO WAR by Erin Wagner

5 stars

With AI-androids looking and acting human, it’s often hard to tell where humanity actually lies. In this compelling future story set in 2060 Appalachia, Eli Whitaker heads up a large American human rebel group, called the Civil Union Militia, that is focused on destroying all androids, along with the factories that make them. The trouble is that Eli’s militia both recruits young children as soldiers in their efforts, engages in harsh verbal abuse of the androids, and often kills humans in the process of taking down the factories.

On the other side, Adrian Hall, ATF director for the government and representative for the “Feds”, is working alongside to her colleague special agent Trey Caudill to stop the militia and to catch Eli in particular. It also turns out that Adrian and Trey have a complicated childhood history with Eli. Adrian also comes under harsh critique when an android soldier kills a child during an attack on the Eli’s base of operations. The android gets sidelined while Adrian tries to glean what actually happened during the raid that led to the child’s death, and whether this should impact the use of androids in combat.

In a separate side plot, rural Appalachian farmers Shay and Ernst struggle with the failure of the GMO crops, and the sickness they have caused in Shay. To survive, they hire two androids: once as a nurse to Shey and another to work their now toxic-to-humans fields. As both Shay and Ernst deteriorate in their health, the interdependence between the foursome shifts and deepens in completely unexpected ways.

Wagner delivers a vividly imagined and all too realistic future where the battle between AI and humans is underway. The inhumanity in actions by the Civil Union Militia contrasts with the all too human emotions being experienced by AI. The convenience of AI help the labor force, ranging from home health care aides to factory work to soldiering, sets up sharp juxtapositions.

As we already turn to drones to lead our war efforts, the future ways we will mechanize our hands to war has thought-provoking implications that haunt you long after finishing this book.

Thanks to DAW Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.