Synthetica: The Dystopian Future of Digital Existence

By: Sophia M.
Publication Date: July 26, 2024
ISBN: 979-8333631138
Reviewed by: Kathy Stickles
Review Date: September 19, 2024

Synthetica: The Dystopian Future of Digital Existence is an interesting and, at times, frightening look into the future. The story is excellent and quite disturbing due to the fact that it could be completely possible. This author shows readers a world where life is becoming totally dependent on and influenced by technology rather than a human’s own thoughts and actions. Believe me when I say that this book “packs a lot of punch” into a limited number of pages.

Synthetica is set in 2065 and it is a world where artificial intelligence is in charge of every bit of one’s life. What it is promising is a life of complete peace as each person accepts a brain-computer interface (BCI) into their head which then proceeds to control the person’s actions. When one of the characters, a journalist named John, has an incident where a glitch happens with his BCI, he finds himself depending less on the technology and more on his own free thinking again. John sets out on a quest to discover the truth about what is going on and ends up finding a group who call themselves the Unlinked. Every member of this group has dealt with their own “glitches,” so to speak and they are now beginning to learn exactly what is really behind Synthetica’s actions and plans.

This is a very different type of plotline and the story keeps the reader engaged throughout. Whether that is the writing or the horrifying glimpse into a world that could actually come to be, I cannot say for sure, but I honestly believe it is a combination of both of these things. Author Sophia M. takes us on a journey that really shows us what the results of such a huge dependence on technology could be, and she does it in such a different and compelling way that science fiction fans will find entertaining and distressing all at the same time.

I found Synthetica to be extremely thought-provoking along with being quite alarming. Is it possible that this is what our world could become? A world in which we choose to be completely unaware of what is really happening and rely only on a technology that makes everything perfect in our minds, never knowing that someone else is in control of not only us, but everyone and everything around us? That is a particularly disturbing idea.

Synthetica is a story that will force readers to consider what type of life may be lived in the future. I think that the ethical questions put forward in the story are ones that will remain in the mind of the reader long after the book is finished. The way in which the story ended, a twist I for one never saw coming, leaves this open for a sequel. It would be very interesting to see what the author comes up with next.

Quill says: With technology so much a part of the world today, it is hard to imagine what more can be done and created in the future. Synthetica is a story that definitely attempts to do that imagining for us in a creative way.

For more information on Synthetica, please visit the author's Amazon page at: www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0DG53VHVG