Frank Burns reviewed Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Ended up a DNF
3 stars
Still giving it three stars as it is Tchaikovsky but this was a slog for me. Sorry, Adrian.
Adrian Tchaikovsky: Service Model (EBook, 2024, Tor Books)
eBook, 384 pages
English language
Published June 6, 2024 by Tor Books.
Meet Charles™, the latest in robot butler technology. Programmed to undertake the most menial household chores, Charles is loyal, efficient and logical to a fault. That is, until a rather large fault causes him to murder his owner.
Understandably perplexed, Charles finds himself without a master – therefore worthless in a society reliant on artificial labour and services. Fleeing the household, he enters a world he never knew existed. Human hierarchy is disintegrating, and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to its wellbeing is struggling to find a purpose.
Charles must face new challenges, illogical tasks and a cast of irrational characters. He’s about to discover that sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming. But can he help fix the world, or is it too badly broken?
Still giving it three stars as it is Tchaikovsky but this was a slog for me. Sorry, Adrian.