The smart third volume of Otto’s post-apocalyptic Detonation series picks up about a century after the fall of our civilization, with the former North American continent wracked by war between humans and machines. The land is ruled by small nation states whose leaders and populace regard each other with deep suspicion—as this epic’s protagonists undertake long journeys, they face interrogations as they pass into new territories. Cecile, a woman in Raleigh fighting the Essentialists, an army corrupted by an AI known as Gail, works with the Spokes, a faction that reports to the Sentinel, an intelligence of “manifold and elaborate plans.” In truth, though, Cecile has divided loyalties, perhaps due to the “apparition,” recently awoken inside her, that has the power to usurp her will.

Likely incomprehensible to readers who have skipped earlier entries, the plot involves dangerous treks, inventive robots, a murderous gameshow, and a witty AI riff on mountaintop oracles. At the story’s heart are a pair of unexpected arrivals at compounds in different regions. In Raleigh, a long lost and mentally troubled man named Warrick turns up, and Cecile is charged with an urgent, classic quest: Warrick’s of the bloodline of the family that created the Sentinel, which will shut down unless the family’s blood—that is, Warrick—is brought to a distant facility. Meanwhile, in an Aspen ruled by a gameshow host and a mysterious “network,” Pyke, an official in charge of shaking down visiting outsiders for gifts, encounters a man who warns that Aspen may be infected.

For all its drone massacres, mega robots, and jolting betrayals, Otto’s series remains deeply invested in the human: in how we organize our societies and our lives. It’s also much smarter about artificial intelligence than readers might expect, a dystopian series with roots in both science fiction and character-driven literary fiction. That means the pacing can be slow, especially in this hefty volume, but these well-drawn people and Otto’s shrewdly plotted surprises reward reader investment.

Takeaway: Intelligent and inventive epic of dystopia, AI, and a divided humanity.

Comparable Titles: Charles Stross’s Accelerando, Daniel H. Wilson’s Robocalypse.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A