The Truth Machine

This science fiction story was written more than 20 years ago. In my opinion, it didn't age well. Some of the predictions made by the author just don't fit with what we've learned since then. The author's view of a ‘utopia' sounds more like dystopia to me. He envisions a world without a 5th amendment protection against self incrimination - a world where every deception is immediately discovered - a world where you don't dare answer your wife's question about whether her new jeans make her look fat. The invention of a 100% accurate lie detector is unbelievable, as are several of the other inventions in this story. I'm appalled by the suggestion that one world government would be a good thing.

This was a great story with lots of interesting futurist speculations. I had to keep the fact that this was written in 1996 in perspective and appreciated the fact that it was the writer's first novel. I enjoyed the primary character arc and thought it was full of some good surprises. I also enjoyed that the story was narrated by a computer. I would recommend this novel to Sci-Fi fans. I plan to read this writer's follow up book.