Book Review: Code Countdown by Alex and Susan James

A realistically scary look at an AI Future

In 2029 during the infancy of the AI revolution LifeSync systems was poised to be a major player and Elaine Morris is proud to be part of this exciting future, until she is laid off in favor of younger and brighter minds. Feeling used and betrayed she inserts inconspicuous lines of code in the overall program. A parting gift, a time bomb of sorts for a future date.

Flash forward to 2079 and the world’s reliance on AI is strong. But when basic daily functions start to go awry it raises red flags and with the failures currently isolated to LifeSync connected devices only, an unwanted spotlight is shone on the tech giant. With the implications being anything from a cyber terrorism attack to subterfuge from a rival start up the FBI calls in Special Agent Grace Kim. With the help of her father and an insider at LifeSync she begins to investigate, but as the pieces begin to fall into place the implications are dire. With minor failures of home assistance programs being only the beginning stages of the kill switch, Special Agent Kim must find a way to safely disable the code before innocent lives are jeopardized.

Code Countdown is the debut novel by Alex and Susan James. Set in the near future, the world is relying more and more on artificial intelligence to assist with many aspects of our lives. And while there are benefits to this new technology, there are also dangers as the duo illustrate. Set in Silicon Valley, the main character is a Korean American FBI Agent which I thought was a nice touch. I am a fan of strong female leads and Special Agent Kim was a nice addition, however aside from a scene set in a KBBQ, I would have liked to have seen this aspect better fleshed out. The story did move fairly quickly and was interesting in a sort of this could actually happen sort of way. There were several areas that felt over described and also a few repeated passages in the copy that I read that hopefully got corrected prior to publishing. But that aside, I liked the story and would be open to reading future books based in this character.

For fans of thrillers, sci fi and police procedurals without a ton of extra unrelated narrative or story arcs Code Countdown is a fairly solid debut.

Full disclosure – I was provided a copy of this book by the author; however, I have voluntarily chosen to write a review. All opinions are my own.