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NEBULA & LOCUS AWARD FINALIST
Welga Ramirez, executive bodyguard and ex-special forces, is about to retire early when her client is killed in front of her. It’s 2095 and people don’t usually die from violence. Humanity is entirely dependent on pills that not only help them stay alive, but allow them to compete with artificial intelligence in an increasingly competitive gig economy. Daily doses protect against designer diseases, flow enhances focus, zips and buffs enhance physical strength and speed, and juvers speed the healing process.
All that changes when Welga’s client is killed by The Machinehood, a new and mysterious terrorist group that has simultaneously attacked several major pill funders. The Machinehood operatives seem to be part human, part machine, something the world has never seen. They issue an ultimatum: stop all pill production in one week.
Global panic ensues as pill production slows and many become ill. Thousands destroy their bots in fear of a strong AI takeover. But the US government believes the Machinehood is a cover for an old enemy. One that Welga is uniquely qualified to fight.
Welga, determined to take down the Machinehood, is pulled back into intelligence work by the government that betrayed her. But who are the Machinehood and what do they really want?
A thrilling and thought-provoking novel that asks: if we won’t see machines as human, will we instead see humans as machines?
To read an excerpt and other bonus content, visit machinehood.com
Reviews
★ “This stunning near-future thriller from Divya (Runtime) tackles issues of economic inequality, workers’ rights, privacy, and the nature of intelligence. . . . Crack worldbuilding and vivid characters make for a memorable, page-turning adventure, while the thematic inquiries into human and AI labor rights offer plenty to chew on for fans of big idea sci-fi. Readers will be blown away.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Machinehood takes its rightful place alongside the work of William Gibson, Malka Older, Isaac Asimov, Pat Cadigan, Vandana Singh, and Rudy Rucker as it engages with many of the topics we are wrestling with already, from bodily autonomy and privacy, to 24/7 news, invisible labor, influencer culture, disability, and political and military decisions based on assumptions forged in the past, rather than looking forward. This is an ambitious goal, and one that Machinehood achieves without losing touch with its humanity.” — NPR Book Reviews
“If you’re one of those people who says there’s nothing new in science fiction being published anymore, here’s a book that disproves that.” — Washington Post
“Divya has created a richly imagined and eerily familiar world . . . confronting urgent questions about humans’ place in a society increasingly run by AIs.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Machinehood seems poised to introduce [Divya] to a whole new legion of fans. Set in a near future dominated by the gig economy, it’s both a thrilling and timely read.” — Chicago Review of Books
“From the opening manifesto to its ingenious technologies, Machinehood builds an inspiring and believable vision of the future that is both thought-provoking and hopeful. It will leave you wishing that tomorrow could arrive a little sooner.” — Ray Kurzweil, bestselling author, pioneering inventor, and renowned futurist
“A fantastic big-idea thriller, with plenty of action, and substantive, important perspectives on what the future might look like.” — Malka Older, author of Infomocracy, and the Hugo-finalist Centenal Cycle
“With clever invention and astute observation popping from every paragraph, Machinehood takes you on a thrilling ride through a gritty, panoramic future that showcases intelligence in all its manifestations, humanity in all its potentialities, the infinite grace of ourselves as well as of our creations.” — Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings and The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
“The economy [Divya] describes is sharply imagined and convincingly detailed, and she artfully balances the cybertech thriller chapters involving Welga and the more character-oriented narrative of Nithya and her family, eventually weaving them together in a conclusion both suspenseful and ingenious.” — Locus Magazine
“Every few years, it starts to seem like science fiction is running out of ideas. Thankfully, authors like Divya remind us that the future has an almost infinite array of possibilities. Machinehood is the type of novel that gives us faith in science fiction as a genre.” — Hugo Book Club Blog
“This techno-thriller is full of espionage, mystery, and action, has a substantial list of mostly well thought out characters, and challenges us with enough emotional weight to keep you invested.” — Cinelinx
Interviews
Why this AI engineer is using sci-fi to unpack tech’s biggest problems - Fast Company
Machinehood - New Books Network (podcast)
Machinehood - S.B. Divya - The Cosmic Shed (podcast)
‘Machinehood’ casts humanhood in a new light - Cosmic Log
Is ‘Machinehood’ in our Future - Fiction Science (podcast)
Science, Math, Fiction, and the Oxford Comma: A Conversation with S.B. Divya - by Arley Sorg, at Clarkesworld Magazine
The Science Fiction Universe of S.B. Divya - Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe (podcast)
Episode 488 With S.B. Divya - Functional Nerds Podcast
Room In Your Heart For a Robot - Embedded.fm Podcast