Synopsis
Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time.
To fix the world they must first break it, further.
Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service.
When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: They can run away.
Fleeing the household they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose.
Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming.
Details
Publihed: June 4, 2024
Publisher: Tordotcom
Pages: 384
Audio length: 12h 21m
Narrator: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Review
(Disclosure, as much as i’m ashamed to admit – this was my first book i’ve read by Tchaikovsky)
This book was a breath of fresh air for those who have too many ‘serious’ sci-fi books in their minds. This was light, fun, intelligent, witty, and exciting all at the same time. The narration performed by the author was excellent!
The quest of Charles is a plight for a purpose. One that all humans can relate to. We want to be wanted, and we want to be needed. In whatever capacity it may be, however small. Seeking purpose is what this book is about and it will reflect your own life upon you as you read it. To what lengths will you go just to simply be what you truly are.
The pacing of the store was quite well done, we traverse through different ‘trials’ and interactions that keep the ball rolling to quite a climactic fued of wits and intelligence.
The dialog between Charles and The Wonk was pretty great and the supplementing characters were always something special.
This book is meant for those who long for the touch of satyrical and adventurous but can appeal to any fan of sci-fi.
Would Recommend.
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