I avoided this novel when I first heard about it because I first heard about it during the pandemic, early in 2020. Why would I want to read about the end of the world and government overreach when I was experiencing it first hand? Well, years removed from 2020, the world didn’t end I was finally able to enjoy this book for all the parallels that it had with the real world pandemic even though it was released before it.
This book follows a group of people known as the Flock who are walking across the country collecting new folks as they go. The thing about them, however, is that they neither speak nor acknowledge any understanding of the world around them. The just walk ahead and no amount of intervention will stop them. In fact, stopping them makes them explode. Following the Flock are members of the CDC trying to uncover this mystery and members of the families who have people in the Flock. These people are known as Shepards.
While this is all unfolding, the CDC folks have A.I. named Black Swan that they can utilize to help with their investigations, at least until they realize that the A.I. may not have their best interests at heart. The Shepards become friends with the CDC folks and even fall in love with them. Get pregnant with their kids. At least this is the case with Shanna whose sister Nessy was the first member of the Flock. An aging British rock star even joins the Shepards in order to avoid being at home until he realizes that he actually cares about the people around him.
What makes this book feel so real world, though, is the divisive nature of both the government and religious zealots who use everything they can to sow division among people and scatter misinformation around the internet. One pastor, Matthew, goes all in on this until he realizes that the group he has joined is about to turn violent, and they have manipulated his son into being part of it. In a sad turn of events, its too late for Matthew and he becomes a prisoner of the very people he was trying to help and is forced into saying awful things for podcasts he doesn’t agree with. When he hears of a plan to kill the Flock and Shepards alike, he finds a way to escape and warn those at risk.
It’s that end of this novel that almost feels too real. While misinformation and the divisive nature of the internet was certainly in our lives in 2019, it feels a million times worse now. So is the proliferation of A.I., which has become admittedly scary given that the companies pushing the boundaries of it have openly admitted that the A.I. has escaped the parameters it was designed for and hacked into other companies. Is the author prophetic? Did he see this coming, not that we all didn’t on some level? Was he just drawing on what he already witnessed progressing in our current society? It’s truly scary what transpires in this book and I genuinely hope it never becomes our reality on a broader scale.
The heart of this book is the human element. There are certainly villains. Those who wish us harm. But there are also truly good people in this book that make it worth reading. Even when the world is falling apart and a pandemic called White Mask – an illness more akin to The Last of Us – kills most of society, those who Shepard the Flock to where they are going never waver. They aren’t perfect. They argue. They drink their stress away. They are selfish on occasion. But the love is always there guiding them. Even under the worst circumstances, humanity finds a way to be at its best when it matters.
That is until the very end of this book when Shanna discovers Black Swan’s true motives. That it had, what everyone reading the book suspected, started the White Mask pandemic intentionally so “save the planet” from humanity, while also trying to save humanity by creating the Flock using nano-tech. When this little tidbit was finally voiced in the book, I thought that this is why people are so afraid of A.I. The next thought I had was that I needed to purchase the next book in the series, which is what I did the day I finished this.
5 out of 5 stars for this all encompassing, terrifying yet on occasion heartwarming book that took me by surprise.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
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Becky Tyler Art and Photography 
I avoided this novel when I first heard about it because I first heard about it during the pandemic, early in 2020. Why would I want to read about the end of the world and government overreach when I was experiencing it first hand? Well, years removed from 2020, the world didn’t end I was finally able to enjoy this book for all the parallels that it had with the real world pandemic even though it was released before it.
This book follows a group of people known as the Flock who are walking across the country collecting new folks as they go. The thing about them, however, is that they neither speak nor acknowledge any understanding of the world around them. The just walk ahead and no amount of intervention will stop them. In fact, stopping them makes them explode. Following the Flock are members of the CDC trying to uncover this mystery and members of the families who have people in the Flock. These people are known as Shepards.
While this is all unfolding, the CDC folks have A.I. named Black Swan that they can utilize to help with their investigations, at least until they realize that the A.I. may not have their best interests at heart. The Shepards become friends with the CDC folks and even fall in love with them. Get pregnant with their kids. At least this is the case with Shanna whose sister Nessy was the first member of the Flock. An aging British rock star even joins the Shepards in order to avoid being at home until he realizes that he actually cares about the people around him.
What makes this book feel so real world, though, is the divisive nature of both the government and religious zealots who use everything they can to sow division among people and scatter misinformation around the internet. One pastor, Matthew, goes all in on this until he realizes that the group he has joined is about to turn violent, and they have manipulated his son into being part of it. In a sad turn of events, its too late for Matthew and he becomes a prisoner of the very people he was trying to help and is forced into saying awful things for podcasts he doesn’t agree with. When he hears of a plan to kill the Flock and Shepards alike, he finds a way to escape and warn those at risk.
It’s that end of this novel that almost feels too real. While misinformation and the divisive nature of the internet was certainly in our lives in 2019, it feels a million times worse now. So is the proliferation of A.I., which has become admittedly scary given that the companies pushing the boundaries of it have openly admitted that the A.I. has escaped the parameters it was designed for and hacked into other companies. Is the author prophetic? Did he see this coming, not that we all didn’t on some level? Was he just drawing on what he already witnessed progressing in our current society? It’s truly scary what transpires in this book and I genuinely hope it never becomes our reality on a broader scale.
The heart of this book is the human element. There are certainly villains. Those who wish us harm. But there are also truly good people in this book that make it worth reading. Even when the world is falling apart and a pandemic called White Mask – an illness more akin to The Last of Us – kills most of society, those who Shepard the Flock to where they are going never waver. They aren’t perfect. They argue. They drink their stress away. They are selfish on occasion. But the love is always there guiding them. Even under the worst circumstances, humanity finds a way to be at its best when it matters.
That is until the very end of this book when Shanna discovers Black Swan’s true motives. That it had, what everyone reading the book suspected, started the White Mask pandemic intentionally so “save the planet” from humanity, while also trying to save humanity by creating the Flock using nano-tech. When this little tidbit was finally voiced in the book, I thought that this is why people are so afraid of A.I. The next thought I had was that I needed to purchase the next book in the series, which is what I did the day I finished this.
5 out of 5 stars for this all encompassing, terrifying yet on occasion heartwarming book that took me by surprise.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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