Laila Lalami talks about her new book ‘The Dream Hotel’

If you're reading this article on your phone or computer, you might agree that modern technology is certainly handy, but in Laila Lalami’s latest novel, “The Dream Hotel,” that ease and efficiency gives way to a nightmarish new reality.

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“It’s so convenient, and it’s one way that we connect with other people who are also using these products,” Lalami tells me from a train ride into New York City where she kicks off her book tour this week. She wanted the main character in “The Dream Hotel” to be someone like her, who uses technology without always reading the terms of service. She knows these companies are using this data, but again, “It's just so convenient.” Set in the not-so-distant future, The Risk Assessment Administration (RAA) has become a ruling force in American society. Following a mass shooting at a Super Bowl halftime show in which 86 people were killed on live television (and many more off-screen), Democratic lawmakers called for strict gun control while Republicans argued that the fault lay solely with the gunman.