E394 - Bill Wittur - Climate Fiction, A New Category for Readers

Episode 394 - Bill Wittur - Climate Fiction, A New Category for Readers

EXTINCTION EVENT is a full-length fiction novel set in the present day that belongs in the speculative fiction / dystopian category. 

Story Synopsis

The main character – known only as LP – tries to reinvent himself by going back to school. With some help from his recording instructor and his friends, he discovers a mystery surrounding different ‘glitches’ heard with analog versus digital recordings of popular songs. He investigates further to discover an important figure from his past who built an Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform called GAIA which is being used to spread false stories to the public but to also change the fate of the planet and its inhabitants.

Mythology ‘Easter Eggs’

This story is loaded with Easter Eggs related to different mythological sources and resources. Examples include:

• Sylvie Hunter, a key character that embodies traits related to Artemis
• John Atman, the all-knowing sage
• The Muses
• Aesop’s Fables and other animal tales
• Prometheus and the Creation Myth
• And much, much more

Climate Fiction: A New Category for Readers

This is a climate fiction, or ‘cli-fi’ story. As events transpire, the reader is brought into our world in environmental crises. There are several overlapping themes that are explored in Extinction Event, including:

• AI electricity and water use and how it will soon strangle all of us given the current increases in demand for different AI tools.
• The ‘sixth extinction’ that many scientists anticipate will start to close in on us, as all species of creatures on Earth face extinction because of human abuse of the planet.
• Different economic and political arguments surrounding resource-based capitalism and why our pace of consumption is unsustainable.
• Exploring the beauty of the different animal kingdoms that surround us and why they’re worth preserving.

Reviews

5/5: Whether “AI phobic” or not … this book will make you think

Bill Wittur’s first novel is a timely, creative and fast paced read. Imagine a world where an AI platform is asked to save the planet … and does (unfortunately for some of those who trained it). Drawing inspiration from current events and his own varied work experiences, Wittur plays with the “what if” scenarios and creates an AI heroine, GAIA, her evil taskmasters and the brilliant, committed engineer who unleashes a whole new kind of justice on earth and its inhabitants. A fun read!

5/5: Highly recommended!!

Was an excellent read! Great story and character development. It was a hard book to put down. On a side note, I also dug all the music references throughout. Do yourself a favour and grab a copy.

5/5: A fabulous read from cover to cover

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