Solomon the Peacemaker

Welles’s debut is an unconvincing story of a gullible protagonist driven to extreme acts by a charismatic holy man. In the 2180s, pharmaceuticals marketer Vincent Chell and his wife, Yael, an “experiential historian,” have no love for the Peacemaker, a supercomputer that helps govern the world and keep international peace. Yael, who’s Jewish, hates the Peacemaker and all servods (in-home robot servants) for religious reasons. Vincent’s ex-Baptist father passed on his belief that humanoid robots were a form of idolatry, and that the Peacemaker is pure blasphemy. After studying the works of entrepreneur Dylan Chell (“no relation”), Yael learns of Dylan’s great-great-grandson Reymond, a preacher who manipulates his followers—soon including Yael and Vincent—with tragic results. A minimalist setting prevents readers from gaining the information they need to put any of the characters’ actions in context. (Jan.)