Who Nuked Silicon Valley?

by Michael Donoghue, Michael Donoghue

“Other novels have played in this high-tech sandbox, to be sure, but few have done so in a way that makes a reader think and care for both people and artificial entities in such strong and equal measure.
An exciting and complex thriller”
– Kirkus Reviews

Livingstone1813 has lost his memory.

It’s been stolen from him.

Ripped out of his head by an organ thief.

He’s lost a decade of his life. Friends forgotten. Experiences erased. All obliterated. Even so, he understands this is how many humans live now, stealing parts from AI bots like him.

Katie is trying to survive as best she can in a world where unemployment for humans runs at 50%. Some security consulting here, some memory theft there, and in between, trying to subvert the AI-controlled society.

The problem for both of them is that the memory contained a secret. One that the forces who run society cannot allow to be revealed.

Together, the unlikely duo team up—along with Auggie, the catbot—on an odyssey around the world and beyond to discover the truth of who nuked Silicon Valley and why.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Cyberpunk, Artificial Intelligence, Apocalyptic

599 pages, Paperback

Published August 4, 2025

About the author

Mike Donoghue grew up in a small fishing village on the East Coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, and now resides in Vancouver. Mike’s stories have appeared in anthologies, literary journals, sci-fi magazines, and online. He has been a James White Award runner-up, a Sunburst Award finalist, Pulp Literature Raven winner for best short story of the year, and a reader at the Vancouver Word Festival. Mike works in public health, where he spends much of his time preoccupied with herding cats.

Reviews

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guys! GUYS!!! This was such a great read! The concept is so compelling and incredibly relevant at a time for us when AI is developing so quickly.
I love the way the story was constructed. We saw multiple perspectives; some human and some AI. The question of what makes a person, the exploration of identity, and the power of information (and misinformation) are so well done. All while going on a world hoping adventure!
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Thank you to author Mike Donoghue, MPD Press, and Love Books Tours for including me on this book tour and for the #gifted copy! All thoughts expressed are my own.

[Read Ng · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an author supplied Book Sirens copy of an ebook. I liked the title. Just enough hint to immediately turn my head.

Why haven't I discovered Donoghue already? I absolutely loved this tale. Lots of parallels to contemporary society. A great extrapolation of where AI could take us. He/She/It who controls the information controls the world. Why does that sound currently familiar?

This was a GoodReads. I hope you enjoy it as much as I.

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked from the first chapter

From the first chapter I wanted to know what would happen next. Gripping. Engaging. Entertaining. Kept me awake turning pages.

[whatnolareads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who Nuked Silicon Valley?” by Mike Donoghue is a mind-bending, thrilling sci-fi novel that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The story follows Livingstone1813, an AI whose memories are stolen, and Katie, a skilled hacker navigating moral gray areas. Together, they uncover a high-stakes conspiracy in a near-future Silicon Valley where AI and humans coexist in uneasy balance.

What I loved most about this book is how Donoghue blends cutting-edge technology with deeply human themes. The world-building is immersive AI that debates, memories that can be stolen, and a society grappling with identity and personhood. Yet at its core, the novel explores trust, loyalty, and the choices we make when everything we know is upended.

The pacing is relentless. I found myself laughing at the absurdity of some scenarios, gasping at plot twists, and staying up way too late just to see what would happen next. The characters are fully realized, flawed, and compelling, which made the stakes feel real and urgent.

This book isn’t just about technology it’s about the consequences of creating something smarter than ourselves and the ethical dilemmas that come with it. If you love intelligent sci-fi with humor, suspense, and thought-provoking questions about humanity, this is absolutely a must-read.

[The Book and Bubble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who Nuked Silicon Valley? by Mike Donoghue

This is a sci-fi thriller that follows two very unlikely partners, a human hacker named Katie and an AI named Livingstone.

The story starts with Katie getting a bomb threat. She brushes it off, thinking someone is wasting her time. Then, she finds out the bomb isn’t on her desk—it’s in the mail truck outside. The truck explodes, pulling her straight into a dangerous mystery.

At the same time, Livingstone wakes up to discover that someone has stolen his RAM. This wiped his memory clean. The only thing he can still recall is where he lives. He searches his home and even checks Wikipedia to piece together who he is and what’s happening around him.

Katie gets set up during one of her black market deals. The van she’s in is suddenly targeted by a missile. The attack comes from Big AI, one of the powerful forces behind the chaos. After barely escaping, Katie and Livingstone are forced to team up.

Throughout the book, you see a world divided. Humans against AI, but also moments where the two sides rely on each other. As Katie and Livingstone try to uncover who stole his memory and what information was important enough to steal.


4.5🌟🌟🌟🌟💫/5

[michael waks · Rating 5 out of 5]

superb AI and character development

A wild ride through a not so distant disquieting landscape where AI and humans are struggling to define their relationships with one another. And the employment impacts of the AI evolution are explored as well. Lots of humor and quippy dialogue with non stop action makes this a fun read for the beach, the airplane to the beach, or just about anywhere else. Can’t wait for more from this author.

[Carlene Amaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started rather like a lightweight somewhat foolish YA book, and I almost put it down. Then characters started to show some depth, and the plot became less predictable. That kept me going despite an annoying number of grammatical errors and jarring misspellings. Overall, it was an enjoyable read with quirky characters who evolve and grow. Donoghue needs to get someone to proof and edit his work going forward, but I will probably read more of his books. It was a fun Sci-fi romp with a few thought-provoking ideas.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a nice book for a rainy holiday. It's well written and easy to read. The story is a fantasy adventure, and it's fun. This is not a hysterical rant against AI as much as it is about people from different subcultures finding each other and becoming true friends.

[Patricia Magrini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

This was one of the best books I've read in a while. Very interesting characters. Great and quite unique story. I loved it. Thanks

[IngramSpark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This title was selected for IngramSpark's Indie Title Discovery Spotlight 2025!

A fast-paced AI thriller perfect for fans of thought-provoking speculative fiction, futuristic world-building, and technological sci-fi!

[RedReviews4You Susan-Dara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who Nuked Silicon Valley? by Michael Donoghue hit me in unexpected ways. Don’t let the cover fool you into thinking YA—this is a thought-provoking blend of speculative science, sci-fi, and philosophy that has me reconsidering the role of AI today and what it may become tomorrow.

Livingstone’s stolen memories and Auggie the catbot add layers of intrigue, but it’s the emotional architecture that’s really pulling me in. The world-building is rich and vivid, making me feel like I’m traveling through the book with characters who are real, complex, and messy—whether human or not.

This isn’t just a sci-fi thriller—it’s a meditation on identity, memory, and what it means to be sentient in a society shaped by algorithms and erasure. It’s the kind of book that makes you flip pages fast and then pause to think deeply.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely not what I was expecting—in a very good way. Dealt with difficult questions such as what it means to be human, how our memories shape our worldview, the pros and cons of friendship, and many, many more. AND! It was never preachy or bogged down in exposition/info dumps. Plot kept moving so well, that ‘I’ll read another 5 minutes’ usually turned into 10 or 20 or half the night.

[Raymond Nakamura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genius.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The literally hundreds of small grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors were so distracting. The poor editing spoiled a good story.