RED DOT

Global warming, artificial intelligence, and bizarre artworks shape the world in this SF saga.

Karpa’s story is set in a near future in which humanity is steadily eliminating carbon emissions and reclaiming flooded land while making ubiquitous artificial intelligences do much of this work. Mardy, a 27-year-old air-express deliveryman and “machine tool artist” in San Francisco, crafts whimsical but functional gadgets. His latest project is a pair of semi-intelligent, dancing robots dubbed Ann and Frankie; it’s a challenge to the Authenticity Act, which decrees that AIs must not be given names or otherwise treated as human, lest they demand rights. However, some of Mardy’s best friends are AIs, including the slyly witty Phil, which controls an air-express plane and loves philosophical conversations. During Mardy’s journey through the gonzo American art scene, he navigates a rivalry with brilliant machine-tool artist Smith Hunt; launches an affair with Smith’s twin brother, Wes, a wealthy collector; offers his face as a canvas to his friend Cat (as plastic surgery is a major artistic medium); enters art competitions all around the country; and takes Ann and Frankie to the august Cleveburgh Institute, where a panel will either grant him fellowship or have him arrested for crimes against authenticity. Karpa presents a warmly optimistic take on the future in which climate change is manageable and artificial intelligence is soulful rather than sinister, as illustrated in deftly funny sketches: “ ‘How can I help you,’ an AI answered in a female voice, slightly raspy, as though the AI had been smoking.” Mardy’s artistic process showcases a similar humanism, and Karpa’s attentive, evocative prose revels in the fusion of technical craftsmanship and intuition: “The concept wasn’t exactly earthshaking—two chunky hover units to get it aloft and six little attitude puffers to keep it upright—but the conceit of a lighter in a world without cigarettes was fun.” But although there are many intriguing ideas coursing through Karpa’s fictive world, it’s so warmhearted, progressive, and well engineered that it doesn’t generate much serious conflict, so readers may not always feel fully invested.

An imaginative but rather sedate fantasia.