Wednesday 19th May 2021 – Court of the Grandchildren

Over the last two weeks, I've been reading Court of the Grandchildren by Michael Muntisov and Greg Finlayson, as I was so kindly asked to read the book and then review it. (I was very honoured!) So here it is! 

Court of the Grandchildren is set in the future, in the late 2050s, in the United States. It deals with a world that seems like it could very much be our future. The characters within the novel are dealing with the effects, and after-effects of global warming, and the roles of AI are much more apparent. With this as a premise, I found it so fascinating to read the book and wonder how our future would compare to the one in the book. 

AI is pretty much everywhere in the Court of the Grandchildren. One of the two narrators, Lily, has an earpiece that allows her to communicate with her AI at all times. The AI is so well refined that they look just like humans, and they can even have sexual relationships with humans. However, Lily, and our other narrator, David, would rather not be too reliant on AI. In fact, few people don't seem to rely heavily on AI and its functions. Again, this is something very interesting as AI is always an important topic of conversation when discussing the future. How quickly will AI adapt and learn? Will it be normal for us to see AI in jobs that we cannot imagine anyone but humans doing? Will they overthrow us?

Our two narrators, Lily and David are related; David is Lily's great-grand-uncle. They are each other's only family. And the only reason that they do eventually cross paths is that David wants to die. Being very old, and with lots of medication and information on how to keep people healthy, David is struggling to find the joy in being alive. He's in constant pain, and cannot look after himself. He has a carer, Sarah, who he relies on heavily, but he has found the lack of freedom that comes with Sarah to be annoying. He needs Lily's permission for him to die.

Lily doesn't want to give him her permission, so she tells him he must appear in front of the Climate Court. The Climate Change Truth and Reconciliation Commission's aims (the Climate Court's aims) are to clarify the decisions made that affect the outcome of climate change, holding those people who are responsible for making such decisions accountable, allowing them to explain their decisions, and then deciding whether they were acting with malicious intent. 

David played a vital role in climate change decisions, and a lot of people blame him for the Great Ice Sheet Collapse and the Beachport flooding. Again, this is something that really interested me because we are fighting to save the ice caps from melting. Global warming is something we are battling now and it's very real, and the fact that Court of the Grandchildren acknowledges that is so clever and well thought of. This makes the future in the book seem very likely and rational. 

Court of the Grandchildren is not just about climate change and the roles AI may have in our futures. It's also about family. David and Lily aren't used to having anyone in their lives, but since they have both lost people, they are desperate to keep each other close, and over time, their relationship blossoms and they become very close. 

Court of the Grandchildren is also about wanting to change the world for the better, for the generations to come after us, and reflecting on the impact we've made. If we could all slow down for a few moments, and reflect on how we are interacting with and treating the world, perhaps we'd change our ways, and improve life on our planet. It's a very realistic story, that can feel a little daunting and upsetting, but in the end, there is a happy ending, which in turn makes me happy. 

Michael Muntisov and Greg Finlayson deal with very important and current topics that are unknown in our future. But, we can help shape the world for the better by looking after it. 

(I don't have any ideas or suggestions on what to do about the AI.)

If you're looking for a climate-fiction book, and wonder what role AI has in our future, then I thoroughly recommend you read this book. (I recommend you read it anyway.)

Get Court of the Grandchildren here.