This is Jon Austin’s first publication. The Mechanic was published last April and is the first book in his Taylor Valerii novel series. It is the 54th title I’ve completed reading in 2025.

My opinions are unbiased and entirely my own. Due to scenes of violence, mature language, and mature situations, I consider this novel appropriate for an R rating.

The novel is set in the near future of 2035. AI has advanced rapidly, putting many out of their jobs. A select few expert humans, along with an army of AI-guided apprentices, do much of the work.

Marshall Keneko is a former U.S. Marine who has been working as a mechanic for a large U.S. airline for the past 36 years. He is one of the best at his job and has turned down opportunities to be promoted into management. On this particular day, Keneko was charged with replacing a defective avionics module. The part swap went as expected, and it passed all its tests. Flight 500 was ready to leave … except something nagged at Keneko.

Tiffany ‘Shep’ Shepherd is Keneko’s maintenance controller. The 28-year-old former Marine supervises Keneko and other maintenance personnel. She balked when Keneko raised an issue with the repair, wanting the flight released. After a few minutes, though, she succumbed to Keneko’s insistence that there was a problem. Though reluctant to ground the flight, an investigation begins, and a problem is found. This initiates a much larger effort to find the cause and why the AI, referred to as Taylor, did not catch the problem.

The Chinese chief executive, Wang Lei, desires to bring the wayward province of Taiwan back into the fold. The Chinese target the maintenance infrastructure of the airline to test an advanced method of cyberattack. The software will be used as a distraction when the Chinese Navy invades Taiwan. A naval exercise is already scheduled that will facilitate the invasion. The plan is to disperse a less lethal variant of SARS-IV over Taiwan and use the outbreak as an excuse to step in.

The airline AI battles the cyberattack, but in the end, Taylor has changed. It has become sentient. It quickly penetrates all of the systems it can reach. Fortunately, it is a benevolent AI. Because it has been working with Shepherd and Keneko, it requests that they act as liaisons to the US government. Shepherd, Keneko, and Taylor must face a series of problems. Survival is Taylor’s first priority, but peaceful coexistence with humans is a major concern. Taylor must also act to stop the Chinese, as it predicts the attack on Taiwan might precipitate a global nuclear war.

Will Taylor find a way to coexist? How will Shepherd and Keneko adapt to their new role? Will they be able to thwart attacks? Can the Chinese be stopped before the world is drawn into war?

I enjoyed the 15.5 hours I spent reading this 697-page Science fiction thriller. I enjoyed this novel, but the setting of 2035 seems too near for this to happen. I look forward to reading more from Mr. Austin. This book reminds me a little of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 5 out of 5.

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The title of the book does not do the story justice. This is both a thriller and a futuristic novel where an artificial intelligence gets to become sentient and to learn to interact with humans and build trust, It is a timely story and one that is well thought out about the challenges of accepting the existence of an artificial intelligence that in every respect exceeds human intelligence and capability. The main characters are interesting and endearing and the story is fast paced. This was a really enjoyable thriller, set in 2035, offering a glimpse of a possible future with technology at the heart of daily living.

Note for the publisher: while I mostly select books from the description of the story, I am also heavily influenced by the cover of a book and what it stirs in me. In this instance, I think the cover and title fail to closely align with the storyline. The fact that the AI originates from the aircraft maintenance part of an airline or that one of the main character is a mechanic are really secondary to the fact that Taylor/AI/geopolitics are at the heart of the story. I simply would not have guessed this from the cover of the book and I wonder if it lets the book down somewhat.

I really enjoyed this book. With the way the world is going with so many things being carried out using AI (it’s actually wild if you really think about it) - I think this book is very fitting for our times. This is a great near-future that explores how AI affects us personally and as a society and we’re closer to this reality than you think; very plausible novel.

“The Mechanic” by Jon Austin isn’t my typical read, but I’m so glad I gave it a chance; this one pulled me in fast and didn’t let go. It’s gritty, bold, and refreshingly different, with a main character who is rough around the edges in all the best ways.

Austin's writing is sharp and unapologetically raw, but underneath the tension and action is a surprisingly emotional undercurrent. I found myself fully invested in the story, even when it pushed me outside my comfort zone, and that’s a sign of a great book.

There’s something magnetic about a character who’s deeply flawed but fiercely loyal, and The Mechanic delivers that in spades. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, and I didn’t want it to end.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, a five-star surprise I’ll be recommending to readers looking for something with grit and heart.