The Last Toll Collector by S.S. Turner
Publisher: Fortis Publishing
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What would you do if AI outcompeted you so completely that it negated your role in society?

Welcome to Valerie Tobruk’s life. Her job as a toll collector on the Golden Gate Bridge was made redundant when toll collection was automated in 2013. Since then, she’s failed to find a job which AI can’t do better than her. She feels useless and lost.

To escape from her life, Valerie travels to the Westfjords, a remote part of Iceland where people go to disappear and nature reigns supreme. Once there, she discovers an abandoned herring factory where she decides to reside as the founder of a new independent nation called Tobruk where people are valued for their humanness.

Valerie doesn’t remain alone for long. A cast of lost souls descend upon Tobruk, as do a series of perplexing challenges presented by the outside world. But there’s worse to come. When the darkness of winter descends, the citizens of Tobruk must face up to their deepest fears if they are to survive.

A better world is possible.

This was the first novel about AI I’ve read since things like ChatGPT became a mainstream concept. I nodded along as Valerie expressed her anger and frustration with how it had made the world a more difficult place to live, beginning with her being laid off so a computer could collect tolls instead. She had every right to want to escape to a place that was untouched by AI where she could live in peace. Honestly, I even wanted to join her at times! Her occasional, brief monologues made some great points about what humans do and do not actually need in order to have a fulfilling and meaningful life.

It would have been helpful to have consistent amounts of time dedicated to the mystery from the first chapter to the last one. Given that this was the main storyline, I was surprised by how often the plot wandered away from developing it to do other things instead. This was frustrating for me as a reader even though I found many of those rabbit trails worthwhile because I was expecting to have a steadily, even if slowly, growing number of clues about what was really going on in Tobruk. Switching between getting another clue and then having the protagonist mostly focus on other conflicts and tasks and not think about the mystery made it difficult for my attention levels to remain high.

Some of the most memorable scenes for me were the ones that explored the various ways sexism can be expressed. Valerie had pure intentions when she created Tobruk, but not everyone she met along the way shared her desire for equality and peace. What I found most interesting about this subplot were the nuances in why some men behave this way. Not all of them were consciously aware of their bias and how it affected the way they treated the women around them. This reminded me of the wide variety of ways in which all sorts of prejudice can be expressed in our world, including by people who are honestly trying to do the right thing but who have a small – or maybe even a large – blind spot. This was a realistic and helpful way to approach such a pertinent and sometimes sensitive subject.

The Last Toll Collector was thought provoking.