‘Palisade’ by Lou Gilmond

Published by Armillary Books,
21 November 2024.
ISBN: 978-0-7490-3154-1 (PB)

Some books should come with a health warning; this is one. Lou Gilmond puts forward a scenario that makes the world we live in a very, very scary place.

We’re used to cookies on websites which analyse our likes and dislikes. Some people even click routinely on ‘Accept All’ when they’re given the choice of whether or not to opt out. CCTV in shops, on street corners, in car parks has also become routine. And in some places delivery drones have already begun to replace the ubiquitous white vans.

But what if we couldn’t opt out of the cookies? And the CCTV could listen as well as see, and became so small and discreet that we didn’t know it was there? And the drones had facial-recognition software, ostensibly to ensure the delivery went to the right person? And scariest of all, what if all this information-gathering technology was joined up and fed into a central system in a way that made deepfake video indistinguishable from reality?

That’s the world Lou Gilmond’s characters could be living in if a particular piece of legislation is passed. Her protagonists are politicians, and strongly opposed to the kind of mass surveillance which would become the norm. They have recently, and narrowly, lost a general election, and the new government is a coalition between the other main party and a small one whose agenda is very much on the side of the new legislation, which is thinly disguised as a means of making the world a safer place. Esme Kanha is the Shadow Chief Whip, and still has access to people with influence. Harry Colbey is a backbencher who finds himself hindered and attacked, sometimes physically, at every end and turn. They soon realize that the people who stand to profit as a result of the legislation are out to get them.

Their characters are clearly defined: Harry is a fighter for what he believes in, determined to get round every obstacle places in his way; Esme is more devious, perceptive, fiercely intelligent, willing to circumvent, even break, long-established rules in order to combat the insidious march of artificial intelligence in the wrong hands. Their cohorts and opponents are equally well drawn: Elliot, Esme’s wry and observant assistant, Melody the new girl who learns quickly; Clarissa, Harry’s ex-wife, apparently vain, shallow and acquisitive but with hidden depths; his daughter Chloe who is easily taken in. Then there’s Jameson, the bumbling, obtuse opposition party leader, and Jackie Rolt the ambitious but ultimately honourable new prime minister.

Political thriller hardly begins to describe this book. There’s a new twist every few pages, as Our Heroes try desperately to stay a step ahead of the encroaching tide of AI and persuade their fellow MPs that the price the people they serve will pay for the new legislation is much higher than anyone realizes. Will they succeed? Or will the power-hungry technocrats win out? This is a book everyone should read and be afraid. Very, very afraid.
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Reviewer: Lynne Patrick

Lou Gilmond is an alumna of the Curtis Brown Creative Writing School and also has a diploma in Creative Writing from the University of Oxford, England. The Tale of Senyor Rodriguez is Lou's debut novel, inspired by the magical City of Palma and the surrounding countryside to the south west of the island. Here sheep still wander freely with bells around their necks and potter along to the whistle of the shepherd.  Lou is hopeful another book will follow soon, but as London is the location for the writing, it is likely to involve less sheep.

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives in Oxfordshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.