Author Daniel Kalla returns with The Deepest Fake

National Post

2 days ago

Article content
'I don't think there is such a thing as a typical day,' Daniel Kalla confesses. 'That's one of the things about being an ER doctor. No two days are the same for us.'
Article content
Article content
But that's not the whole story in Kalla's case. He can scarcely be called your 'typical' emergency room doctor — not when he's also found the time to write 16 cunningly crafted thrillers that enjoy a growing international following.
Article content
So how does this Vancouver physician manage two contrasting careers? Kalla explains it this way: he's accustomed to the 'chaotic' circumstances under which an ER doctor must work — 'and to be honest, my writing reflects that,' he adds.
Article content
At 59, he's no longer working full time in the ER. But when he does, 'I work a lot of time off hours, so it's often early morning or early afternoon that are the only times I'm free to write. But it's never predictable. Sometimes I can go from a busy ER shift and start writing immediately if I feel I have the energy and have something to say.'
Article content
He cringes at the thought of ever having to choose between two such personally fulfilling professions.
Article content
'My novels are all about suspense and driven by pace, and I've learned a lot about that from the emergency room. I can write fast if under a self-imposed deadline and am feeling the pressure.'
Article content
His latest novel, The Deepest Fake, certainly draws on his medical background, but it has a lot more on its mind as well. There's an elusive and deadly poison to be dealt with, the central character is coping with a terrifying terminal illness and his wife's infidelity while struggling to safeguard his pioneering AI company from sabotage — and the issue of medical assistance in dying will rear its head as well.
Article content
Article content
But ultimately, Kalla is delivering a cautionary tale about the dangers of unfettered technology. The book's beleaguered hero, Liam Hirsch, is not only in near collapse because of his own crises, he's also being forced to question the integrity of the profession that means so much to him. Are the very technologies that he has helped enable — digital deception, deepfake imagery — turning into enemies? And do they signal a wider, even more ominous conspiracy?
Article content
'I'm always looking for the right material to build a book on,' Kalla says by phone from his West Coast home. 'Artificial intelligence is a subject exploding into the public consciousness, and I immediately realized that this is an incredibly rich topic, especially for a thriller. Incredible opportunities and horizons arise … but so do pitfalls and dangers.' The Deepest Fake is very much a cautionary tale.
Article content
Kalla enjoys giving the reader conflicted heroes — 'characters who are not black and white' — and putting them through an arc. 'Liam is absolutely meant to be an AI pioneer and somewhat blind to the perils of it until it messes up his life in a deeply personal way. He's so hyper-focused on products they're producing that he's losing all objectivity when it comes to the potential dangers of what he's doing.'