Glass Houses is a novel by Madeline Ashby.
Finished on: 20.10.2024

Plot:
Kristen works as the Chief Emotional Manager at a tech start-up that just invented an emotion-mapping algorithm. Or rather, she worked there as their CEO Sumter just sold the company, making a huge profit for all of them. But before they can enjoy their profits, basically the entire company crashes on an island, not quite deserted: there is a high tech building made of black glass that could be their salvation. If only they could find the door in the smooth surface. The longer they are on the island, the more questions arise though. Especially when people start dying.

Glass Houses is quite a page-turner that offers a critical and innovative look at technology, coupled with interesting characters and a twisty plot that keeps you guessing. I really enjoyed it.

Ashby is one of my “immediately buy” authors, and I was really looking forward to reading this one. And it did not disappoint. I found it intriguing and insightful and just plain fun. Kristen is a great and quite unusual protagonist and the more is revealed about her, the clearer it becomes just how unusual she is. Not necessarily a moral character, I liked her anyway and definitely wanted to see her succeed.

She and her story bring the necessary criticism to the technology that reads like something straight out of a Silicon Valley dream, but a nightmare for the rest of the world. Having the entire novel set in a start-up also gives Ashby the chance to question not just the technology itself, but also the tech bro/start-up culture that produces this technology and the way they and it is allowed to run free with barely any oversight.

As the plot gets going, it doesn’t follow a whodunnit structure as much as a “what the fuck is going on” structure. We also get flashbacks that explore how Kristen got to be there (and that give us one of the hottest love interests I can remember in recent years, thank you, Madeline Ashby) and what led up to the events of the island. As we peel back layer after layer, the book managed to surprise me but without making it feel like just for surprise’s sake. It did get a little confusing at times there, knowing when and where exactly we are, but nothing that wasn’t cleared up within a couple of pages or so.

I am not much of a crime or thriller reader myself, but this is exactly the kind of (horror-leaning, speculative) crime fiction that is right up my alley.

Summarizing: excellent.