#Blogtour The Glass Woman by Alice McIlroy

It's a pleasure to help kick off the Blogtour for The Glass Woman by Alice McIlroy - Long-listed for the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction.

About the Author

Alice McIlroy was born in London. She graduated in English and has a post-graduate in Law. She completed Faber Academy’s novel-writing programme. She has taught English in state schools in London and Milan, and volunteers with a post-natal depression charity. Her writing has been longlisted for the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction and Grindstone International Novel Prize. The Glass Woman is her debut novel. Find @alice_mcilroy on X and @alicemcilroy_author on Instagram. Visit alicemcilroy.wordpress.com

About the book

If you could delete all the hurt and pain from your life... would you? Even if you weren't sure what would be left?

Pioneering scientist Iris Henderson awakes in a hospital bed with no memories. She is told that she is the first test-subject for an experimental therapy, placing a piece of AI technology into her brain. She is also told that she volunteered for it. But without her memories, Iris doesn't know what the therapy is or why she would ever choose it.

Everyone warns her to leave it alone, but Iris doesn't know who to trust. As she scratches beneath the surface of her seemingly happy marriage and successful career, a catastrophic chain of events is set in motion, and secrets will be revealed that have the capacity to destroy her whole life.

Review

Imagine waking up and having the bare minimum idea of who you are and what your life is or was. Being terrified of something you allegedly agreed to, yet subconsciously being in a constant state of disbelief about it. Agreeing to scrub the bad, the painful and incriminating memories, so you can live a more peaceful version of your life and self. It's just a tad inconvenient that the human element of a person will always start to question and eventually try to uncover the moments that are hidden from them.

I really enjoyed this read perhaps because this concept had me going back and forth a little, it's threatening, riveting and deplorable in equal measures. More worrying is the fact it's also probably the future of medical and human AI interventions, which will be used and misused by anyone who believes they can profit from it, whether that be financially or in any other capacity.

Essentially it's an interpersonal system installed in the brain - just from the perspective of the main character in this instance, which screams Gileadesque control at first. It's a element of full control, and complete and utter invasion into self, thought, actions, mental and physical wellbeing. An inner voice that is supposed to help Iris navigate recouping all her memories, that she agreed to have wiped for her own good, within a specific amount of time. Is the system inside her a friend, an enemy? - The irony of the concept having a schizophrenic aspect to it was not lost on me.

On a side-note: How did you answer the question - love the moral dilemma, which also gives an insight into the way Iris thinks she should answer in that situation without the full picture. The full picture tells us her real answer. - I could talk about this book for yonks. It is such an incredible piece of speculative fiction, domestic thriller, and tech and med thriller.

Buy The Glass Woman at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Datura Books, pub date January 2nd, 2024 | Pbk original £9.99 / $17.99. Also Available in eBook & Audio. Buy via Amazon com.

About Datura - An imprint of award-winning SFF publisher, Angry Robot Books, Datura Books focuses on crime with a strong sense of voice and place that push the boundaries of the genre, while playing with readers’ favourite tropes. Datura has been created with the purpose of showcasing plots that engage, stories that matter and most of all, characters that are true to life. Visit daturabooks.com