Ray Nayler’s view of our future in Where the Axe Is Buried can be described as bleak, at best. In the West, AI constructs have replaced prime ministers. Their programs of rationalization, meant to optimize human life and each country’s economic well-being, seem instead to entrench their citizens semicomfortably in the class divisions that have ruled society for generations. Meanwhile, in the Federation to the east, autocracy has seemingly reached its final form. By uploading himself from one body to another, the Federation’s strongman president has found a way to rule forever without the fuss of making himself ruler for life. But even the most stable regimes have a way of toppling. As one AI PM seemingly starts to go mad, a resistance group looks to recruit a woman whose work might be able to bring down the Federation’s president. The end of the world order as we know it seems to be at an end—the only question is what the world will look like when all the pieces finally fall into place.
Ray Nayler knows that “total, knowledgeable engagement” is the only way forward.
An engrossing exploration of consciousness, autocracy and global politics, Where the Axe Is Buried is a cybernetically enhanced thriller with the pacing of a literary novel. Much of that pacing is due to its massive scope. Much like Kim Stanley Robinson, Nayler’s view is global, showing us the consequences of a future world where technology that is currently only in its nascent form has come to adulthood. After all, “rationalization” is but the final form of AI that has been fed our current biases, and an autocrat extending their life by jumping from one body to another is just a natural next step for those who have declared themselves “rulers for life.” Nayler shows us the human consequences of these technologies—as well as a cast of characters who are fighting against them. Intricate and thought-provoking, Where the Axe Is Buried successfully strikes a balance between creating a global narrative and a deeply personal one.
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