Genre: science fiction techno dystopian action thriller
Setting: Johannesburg, South Africa, 2036
Stunning is the only way I can describe the ending of JT Lawrence's final book in the When Tomorrow Calls trilogy, What Have We Done. I did not see the conclusion coming and when I got there my reaction was "Whoa" (actually it was WTF) closely followed by "OK, Lawrence set this up beautifully and I like it and she better be working on another trilogy". This is a windy way of saying the author really knows how to put a story together.
Where we are in the story? It is 2036, 12 years after the events in How We Found You. Kate's son Mally has turned 16 and Silver will soon have her 16th birthday. In How We Found You, Mally was the object of The Prophecy of a doomsday cult. Mally would bring about the end of the world if he turned 16. This isn't something that Kate, her brother Seth, and best friend Keke can forget. Mally and Silver, being teenagers now, have different rolls to play here. They are much more their own agents. Mally has a "girlfriend" (more on this below) and Silver is deeply immersed in simulations.
The action periodically shifts back 12 years to 2024 and shows us what happened to the mysterious Zack Girdler, the "suicide agent" last seen confronted by Kate in a hospital restroom. Things have not gone well for Zack.
In the present, reports start hitting the news feeds of serious incidents that seem to be caused by failures of the artificial intelligences ubiquitous in people's lives and the running of society. The body count rises as more failures occur. Is this a robot rebellion? Is the singularity upon us? Or did the prophecy from the Book of Lumin actually foretell the end times?
I enjoy the way the author integrates technology into the series. What she writes isn't so far out that the reader can't relate but is grounded in advances we can see the beginning of today. Like artificial intelligence (AI). By 2036, AI is deeply embedded into all aspects of daily life including the infrastructure. This makes the breakdown especially catastrophic. In our present, we have the visionary entrepreneur Elon Musk with his own prophecy: "With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon".
Lawrence's future extends the development of AI to give us biomechanical robots so advanced that they are called anthrobots and there is a movement to grant them full rights as sentient life forms. Mally's girlfriend, Vega, is one of these robots. Kate is a bit creeped out by Vega but Seth and Keke accept her as normal and have no problem with their relationship. I liked this because it shows how common a part of society these constructs can become. As we later see, not everyone is so accepting. Do a Google search for "sex dolls artificial intelligence" if you want to see what's happening today in this area. Maybe 2036 isn't that far away.
At the top of this post, I described this as a science fiction techno dystopian action thriller. These are all genres I enjoy reading and it's great to see them all in one book. Lawrence doesn't disappoint. I've covered the SF aspects of the story in detail with the techno angle. Oh, one other thing, people apparently don't have to worry about data plans and running out of mobile minutes which definitely makes it science fiction. Likewise, society collapsing is dystopian but add in pollution so bad people have to wear masks to avoid getting black lung and this isn't a place you'd want to live. The action thriller bits are wow! Lawrence has a knack for action particularly for violent action. No character is safe from peril and hard decisions have to be made. By the third act the characters literally are in a fight for their lives and the level of tension and suspense is high.
In summary, What Have We Done delivers everything I could have wished for:
Excellent wrap-up of the series
Series ends with the best book of the series
Great tension, suspense, and action
World building you can believe in especially by integrating technology into the story
Characters you've come to care for
Genuine whoa! moments
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Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2017
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Top reviews from other countries
Crazy Annie
This book will not disappoint!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2017R K
A must read for any lover of dystopian fiction!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2018