Demon Seed (Dean Koontz)

Susan has withdrawn from the world after her divorce from her abusive husband. Her mansion contains state of the art household automation. She is secure from the dangers of modern Life. She is safe from an unsafe world...

Too bad her mansion had other ideas...

The idea of a Alexa/Siri controlled house going haywire may sound like something written within the past decade, but you might be surprised that Dean Koontz actually wrote this book back in 1973.

That's right. Just five years after "2001: A Space Odyssey" hit theatres, Koontz wrote this book brining HAL to a more personal level, while predicting the advent of programs like Alexa and Siri.

This book is actually a pretty quick read at 301 pages. The story progresses and builds at a steady and fast pace. The writing is smooth and seamless as the tension and events unfold before you. I lost track of time as I turned page after page. I loved that this book was written from the perspective of the errant AI. The wording and sentence structure perfectly reflects the "almost human" thought and speech patterns of a computerized intelligence.

Unlike many novels that focus on the protagonist, and develops their character, "Demon Seed" develop the antagonist over the "hero". Proteus is a chilling and very plausible example of an AI created by less that perfect humans- reflecting the gender biases and darker elements of male aggression and entitlement.

With "Demon Seed," Koontz gives the world a precise and biting indictment of male based sexism and "superiority", as well as a warning that any AI created will contain the same flaws and vices as those that create it. This book serves also as a warning about letting technology rule our lives and control the environment around us.

All in all, I have to give "Demon Seed" a place in "The Good".

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