Hey everyone! For my next review I have chosen a political thriller. Black Box is a story that puts forward the idea of an algorithm deciding the winner of the election and how the various political parties react and adjust their strategies. I admit I was intrigued by this concept from the start. Most novels about politics can’t retain my interest for more than a few minutes but Black Box does a remarkable job keeping the reader glued to the book.
The novel starts with Oliver Sharpe struggling to make his party survive after the credibility of the recent elections is questioned by the opposition parties as well as the public. As a solution he reveals that the upcoming election in the year 2098 will be completely digital. Apollo a technological company will use an algorithm named Black Box to determine who wins the election.
With only 55 days to go, this announcement effectively dumbfounds the public and the political parties refrain from making a statement without knowing more about the Black Box. Only one party is vocal about its standing that an algorithm will never truly represent the emotions and feelings of the public. Will Oliver Sharpe lead his political party to victory or crash and burn? Will Amanda King of the Federalist party finally get, what she considers, her rightful victory? Or will the inquisitive Mo Hart of the Socratic party manage to pull off a surprise win? Even Zoe Fellows of the Liberal Anarchists party shows off a brilliant tactical mind underneath her fiery personality. At this point, anything is possible. Read the book to know what happens.
This story does a great job of showing us the hypocrisy of politicians as well as their ability to make tactical decisions. The ending was a bit underwhelming compared to the rest of the story but hey, that’s just my opinion. After all, different people have different expectations.
Rating: I am rating this book a solid 4.3 out of 5
As always let me know what you think. I love to hear all of your opinions. Like or share if you enjoy this review.
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