Service Model
Jun 2024 · Tor Books
4.7star
20 reviewsreport
Ebook
400
Pages
family_home
Eligible
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About this ebook
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.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Ratings and reviews
4.7
20 reviews
David Stockman
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November 16, 2024
This offbeat story of a dedicated yet errant valet robot is entertaining from beginning to end. In a dystopian future, he wanders through crumbling cities and manors for one purpose—to serve a master. The adventures he stumbles into, akin to Through the Looking Glass or The Wizard of OZ in humor and originality, conflict with his coded directives and are a delight to read. The author's descriptions, dialogue, and pacing are top-notch. Can't wait for the movie—CGI, of course.
Bobby McCanne
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July 22, 2024
As a huge Tchaikovsky SF fan, this was both interesting and a bit of a let down. Plotted as an Odyssey, it didn't really connect with the subject matter, and some of the moral positions taken reflecting on society were a bit off, even if I mostly agree with the author. The conclusion wasn't particularly satisfying either, making this the first SF book of Tchaikovsky's I wouldn't immediately read again. A good book, but sadly not his best.
DOMINIQUE BERRY
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September 14, 2024
An engaging plot that kept me hooked till the end
About the author
Adrian Tchaikovsky is a British science-fiction and fantasy writer known for a wide variety of work including the Children of Time, Final Architecture, Dogs of War, Tyrant Philosophers and Shadows of the Apt series, as well as standalone books such as Elder Race, Doors of Eden, Spiderlight and many others. Children of Time and its series has won the Arthur C Clarke and BSFA awards, and his other works have won the British Fantasy, British Science Fiction and Sidewise Awards. In 2024, he was inducted into the European Science Fiction Society Hall of Fame.
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