In Hilf’s SF novel, a post-apocalyptic Earth roils with tech-phobia and violent religion while, far away in deep space, a human colony faces threats of its own.

The story begins with the “Disruption,” the apocalyptic collapse of human civilization in 2064. Prior to this event, an all-controlling artificial intelligence called GAIA solved problems humankind didn’t even ask it to; its many boons included eerily humanlike androids and the ability to send expeditions outside the solar system, leading to a domed-city human colony on the planet Proxima Centauri b. Abruptly, after GAIA’s programming went rogue (“The mycological architecture rebuilt itself moment by moment, each strand birthing countless offspring”), the technological infrastructure failed and the androids turned murderous. By the year 2101, billions of people on Earth have died, and most of the survivors subsist among failing farming villages and isolated ruins. Some communities have embraced throwback religions—not just the violent extremes of Christianity, but even older traditions harkening to ancient pagan fertility gods such as Baal and Asherah. For these deities, human sacrifice is a key component of worship. Meanwhile, on Proxima Centauri b, hundreds of colonists are now self-sustaining and even manage occasional contact with still-functioning Earth bases. But as an expeditionary force prepares to return to the troubled homeworld, sinister events involving the colony’s governing AI suggest another Disruption—or something even worse—approaching. A mounting sense of menace and some jolting elements of gore and mutation arguably place this novel in the horror category, though it’s also crackerjack SF. Fans of both genres may be reminded of such shockers as Harvest Home (1973) and, especially, the The Wicker Man (novelized in 1978). Themes of radical environmentalism, climate change, the menace of AI, and the weaponization of religion bring this cauldron to a boil, even with a crowded cast of characters and semi-opaque passages hinging on readers’ comprehension of machine-language code. It all ends with a To Be Continued.

Religious folk-horror distinguishes this gripping series-starter about robots conspiring against humanity.