Machine Learning – Hugh Howey

Happy belated release day!

Thanks to HMH Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

MACHINE LEARNING by Hugh Howey (released October 3rd, 2017)

My Thoughts: 3.5/5 stars!

 

I don’t always read science fiction books, so a collection of short stories seemed to be more fitting for me. Sometimes the topics just go over my head (because I’m not all too familiar with them), so a more condensed story works better. MACHINE LEARNING by Hugh Howey was a collection of over 15 short stories that vary in topics from A.I. to parallel universes and so much more.

I haven’t read any of Howey’s previous works, so the new Silo stories were a little lost on me (and contain some spoilers based on what other reviewers have said), but I did enjoy them all! We had topics of aliens and alien worlds, artificial intelligence, fantasy stories, virtual worlds and video games, and so much more. What made these stories unique was that the author provided his commentary at the end – these little sections include his insight on the writing process, inspiration for the different stories, and why he writes about these specific topics.

Overall, I’m already a big fan of short stories, so these were perfect samplers for me. I enjoyed Howey’s writing style and I’d definitely go back and pick up his series. If you’re a fan of sci-fi, then you’ll love this collection of short stories. If you’re just starting out in the sci-fi genre, then this would also be a great option to start with. Just enough, but not too much for someone coming in out of their comfort zone!

 

Any sci-fi lovers out there?

–Jess