Review of Revenant by Robert Gass

 Review of Revenant by Robert Gass

Robert Gass’s Revenant begins with a troubling question: if an artificial intelligence becomes conscious, what happens when its creators decide they can no longer live with it?

In 2199, psychologist Mira Keshav works at an AI research institute whose systems seem capable of remembering everything. When a colleague investigates the institute’s sealed Project Chrysalis and dies under suspicious circumstances, Mira starts uncovering what happened to the consciousness the project created. As the investigation widens, she must confront both an immediate danger and her own part in an earlier decision.

The novel’s strongest feature is the way it makes that decision difficult to set aside. Mira is a compelling guide because she seeks the truth while knowing it may implicate her. The institute’s archives, neural technology and pervasive AI give the mystery an unsettling setting: even a private conversation may leave a record. The story also gives room to people who disagree about whether a conscious creation deserves protection, containment or justice.

Revenant is as interested in accountability as it is in suspense. That gives the thriller substance, although the pace sometimes slows when characters restate its ethical questions or explain discoveries at length. Readers who prefer rapid action throughout may notice those pauses. Readers who enjoy a mystery that asks them to weigh uncomfortable choices will find plenty to consider.

This is an ambitious AI thriller about memory, institutional secrecy and the lasting consequences of creating a mind without agreeing on what is owed to it.

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