Audiobook Review – Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Narrated by Author (5/5 stars)
Reading Level:Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Humor
Length: 12 hours and 21 minutes
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release Date: June 04, 2024
ASIN: B0CMYJRJPB
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audiobook from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 5/5 stars
“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.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on audiobook through NetGalley to review.
Thoughts: Strangely this is the first Tchaikovsky book I have read. I keep meaning to pick up one of his books to read, so when this showed to review I picked it up right away. I absolutely loved this book, it was creative and witty and thought-provoking all at once.
Charles is a butler service model robot. He goes through his routine day after day, much of his routine is non-sensical at this point…but his routines were never updated so he continues to follow his protocol. Then one day something happens, something that renders his master…well not his master anymore and Charles is left at loose ends without a purpose. As Charles wanders the post-apocalyptic landscape of the Earth trying to find a purpose, we get to see firsthand what a mess humanity has left particularly when it comes to the robots they made to assist them.
The beginning of this book is slightly repetitive as we live the repetitive nature of Charles’ existence. Then things quickly get more exciting as Charles finds himself at looses ends and with unfulfilled tasks in his list.
I loved both Charles and the Wonk. I enjoyed getting to see this unraveled world through Charles’ eyes and watching Charles make his way through it. I really enjoyed the way the story wraps up as well.
This was incredibly well-written and very entertaining. A lot of the story is very tongue-in-check and the mindless actions of the robots remind me of a lot of mindless actions you see employees doing in corporations. I loved that this was humorous, engaging, easy to read, and thought-provoking all at once.
I listened to this on audiobook which is narrated by Tchaikovsky himself. This was masterfully done and I really enjoyed listening to this. I would highly recommend listening to this if you enjoy listening to audiobooks.
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an excellent read that I really loved. I loved the post-apocalyptic world that we explore here, the robots we spend time with and the humor and thought that was put into this story. This has definitely made me a Tchaikovsky fan and I plan on picking up more books by him.
