The Mother Code by Carole Stivers
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What it means to be human-and a mother-is put to the test in Carole Stivers’ debut novel set in a world that is more chilling and precarious than ever.

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles
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Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.

The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky
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From the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Adrian Tchaikovsky, The Doors of Eden is an extraordinary feat of the imagination and a page-turning adventure about parallel universes and the monsters that they hide.

Architects of Memory by Karen Osborne
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Millions died after the first contact. An alien weapon holds the key to redemption—or annihilation. Experience Karen Osborne’s unforgettable science fiction debut, Architects of Memory.

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska
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The Wicked Deep meets A Curse So Dark and Lonely in this gripping, dark fairy-tale fantasy about two girls who must choose between saving themselves, each other, or their sinking island city.

The Hierarchies by Ros Anderson
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Set in a recognizable near future and laced with dark, sly humor, Ros Anderson’s deeply observant debut novel is less about the fear of new technology than about humans’ age-old talent for exploitation. In a world where there are now two classes of women—“born” and “created”—the growing friction between them may have far-reaching consequences no one could have predicted.

The Heirs of Locksley (The Robin Hood Stories, #2) by Carrie Vaughn
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Carrie Vaughn follows up The Ghosts of Sherwood with the charming, fast-paced The Heirs of Locksley, continuing the story of Robin Hood’s children.

Ignite the Sun by Hanna Howard
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Once upon a time, there was something called the sun… In a kingdom ruled by an evil witch, the sun is just part of a legend about light-filled days of old. Luckily for everybody in the kingdom, Siria Nightingale is headed to the heart of the darkness to try and restore the light–or she will lose everything trying.

Set Fire to the Gods by Sara Raasch
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Avatar: The Last Airbender meets Gladiator in the first book in this epic fantasy duology in which two warriors must decide where their loyalties lie as an ancient war between immortals threatens humanity.

Twin Daggers by MarcyKate Connolly
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This action and adventure spy thriller—a fantasy spin on “Romeo and Juliet” from New York Times bestselling author MarcyKate Connolly—is perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer and Elly Blake and is about to become your new obsession!

Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne
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New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne returns to the world of his beloved Iron Druid Chronicles in a spin-off series about an eccentric master of rare magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland.

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
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An outsider who can travel between worlds discovers a secret that threatens her new home and her fragile place in it, in a stunning sci-fi debut that’s both a cross-dimensional adventure and a powerful examination of identity, privilege, and belonging.

What other fantasy and sci-fi releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post August 2020 Book Releases: Fantasy + Sci-Fi appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Content Notes: Depictions of miscarriage, death, and long term illness.

Themes for Thought

The Mother Code begins with the birth of a child. Kai is born to Rho-Z and her instinct is to keep him safe. From there, we journey back in time, about fifteen years prior, and learn about the failed biological warfare experiment by the United States that caused a widespread epidemic. Bringing together expertise from numerous areas such as military, biology, immunology, programming, robotics, and psychology, a covert operation is launched with the intent to alter the human DNA in a way that humans may become immune to this disease.

However, as lethal as it is, there isn’t enough time to make a cure for everyone and people in charge of this operation decide to execute their last plan: Mothers that will give birth to children who will be immune, a whole new generation that will surely survive. Apart from Kai, we meet some other kids as well. The unique one is Misha, a girl born from one of the Mothers but saved by the humans when her mother bot is damaged beyond repair. There is so much to think about in this book and I want to focus on three main ideas.

On The Mother Code

Can we get machines to think? There are numerous algorithms out there, neural nets being the most prevalent ones used in deep learning, and truth be told, few people understand what they are and what they do. I find books with Artificial Intelligence fascinating because they take away the heavy mathematical side of these technologies and just imagine if we could use them, what would we do with them? It is in times of adversity when we are most creative and The Mother Code adequately represents the leaps and bonds of advances that happen with a looming epidemic.

The Mother Code is the code that represents each of the Mothers. It was created to preserve the essence of the true biological mothers of the children. We are not talking about one AI here – we are talking about a unique AI for each of the Mothers. The author, Carole Stivers, did a commendable job in my mind of explaining the reasoning behind doing that.

The Characteristics of The Mothers

Our family instils values in us, they teach us what is right and wrong, how to approach problems, and how to approach this world. Without my roots, I do not know where I would be. Rose McBride, the scientist who designed The Mother Code, realised this importance of heritage, stories, history, human connection, and bonds. She ensured that  the Mothers are based on the true biological mothers of the children that they protect and these values are imparted to the children through the Mothers. For example, it was from his Mother (executed by robot and willed by the biological) that Kamal learned how to meditate.

“Her memories, her people and places she once knew, would be gone. But her beliefs, her way of seeing the world around her, would remain.” – The Mother Code

The Mother’s journey in this book with their child, the disconnection that they faced as well as the bond that existed between them has evolved from not just the original database they had access to but also with being with the kids and learning from them. I loved the representation of how the Mothers protected the children and there were times that they felt disconnected but were trying so hard to come and be in touch again, much like our own teenage years when we are busy figuring ourselves out and our parents can’t always reach us.

On The Choices We Make As Humans

The surviving humans were an integral part of the covert operation and got access to the medication to slow down the effects of the epidemic. They searched tirelessly for the kids. However, the Mothers prevented them from getting close for the longest time. Later, they made decisions without understanding the bond that the Mother and child shared, treating the eleven year old’s as having no say in the destiny of their single parent. This attitude speaks to what happens when we are under stress and operating under fear. Don’t worry, things will turn out okay, and just like the Mothers learn from their children, the humans will learn too.

Conclusion

This is a book I will go back to in the future. The ominous situation that the world was facing, the hard choices that people had to make to ensure that the children survived and were born with immunity formed an interesting narrative. I highly recommend it for readers who love reading about AI, advances in science and motherhood.

This is a standalone novel and I genuinely enjoyed the journey from the start to the end. It wrapped up nicely addressing all main points while shedding light on a future that is yet to come. Will it be in 2049? We will see…

The Mother Code is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of August 25th 2020.

Will you be picking up The Mother Code? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

What it means to be human-and a mother-is put to the test in Carole Stivers’ debut novel set in a world that is more chilling and precarious than ever.

The year is 2049. When a deadly non-viral agent intended for biowarfare spreads out of control, scientists must scramble to ensure the survival of the human race. They turn to their last resort, a plan to place genetically engineered children inside the cocoons of large-scale robots–to be incubated, birthed, and raised by machines. But there is yet one hope of preserving the human order–an intelligence programmed into these machines that renders each unique in its own right–the Mother Code.

Kai is born in America’s desert southwest, his only companion his robot Mother, Rho-Z. Equipped with the knowledge and motivations of a human mother, Rho-Z raises Kai and teaches him how to survive. But as children like Kai come of age, their Mothers transform too–in ways that were never predicted. When government survivors decide that the Mothers must be destroyed, Kai must make a choice. Will he break the bond he shares with Rho-Z? Or will he fight to save the only parent he has ever known?

In a future that could be our own, The Mother Code explores what truly makes us human–and the tenuous nature of the boundaries between us and the machines we create.

The post Review: The Mother Code by Carole Stivers appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher
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Harry Dresden is back and ready for action, in the new entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series. When the Supernatural nations of the world meet up to negotiate an end to ongoing hostilities, Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, joins the White Council’s security team to make sure the talks stay civil. But can he succeed, when dark political manipulations threaten the very existence of Chicago–and all he holds dear?

The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty
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The final chapter in the bestselling, critically acclaimed Daevabad Trilogy, in which a con-woman and an idealistic djinn prince join forces to save a magical kingdom from a devastating civil war.

Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks
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The #1 bestselling author of World War Z takes on the Bigfoot legend with a tale that blurs the lines between human and beast–and asks what we are capable of in the face of the unimaginable.

Afterland by Lauren Beukes
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Children of Men meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this “bowstring-taut, visceral, and incredibly timely” thriller about how far a mother will go to protect her son from a hostile world transformed by the absence of men.

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
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A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
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This epic novel follows Kira Navárez, who, during a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, finds an alien relic that thrusts her into the wonders and the nightmares of first contact. Epic space battles for the fate of humanity take her to the farthest reaches of the galaxy and, in the process, transform not only her, but the entire course of history.

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
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Harrow the Ninth, the sequel to the sensational, USA today best-selling novel Gideon the Ninth, turns a galaxy inside out as one necromancer struggles to survive the wreckage of herself aboard the Emperor’s haunted space station.

Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis
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The alternate history first contact adventure Axiom’s End is an extraordinary debut from Hugo finalist and video essayist Lindsay Ellis.

Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh
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From the author of the Man Booker Prize longlisted novel The Water Cure comes another mesmerizing, refracted vision of our society In a world where women can’t have it all, don’t underestimate the relief of a decision being taken away from you.

The Mother Code by Carole Stivers
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In a future that could be our own, The Mother Code explores what truly makes us human–and the tenuous nature of the boundaries between us and the machines we create.

Will you be picking up any of these books? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Summer 2020’s Most Anticipated SFF Books, According To Goodreads Members appeared first on The Nerd Daily.