Z’s Reviews > Service Model > Status Update

3*, not a standout for me of his work I’ve read so far but a quaint read and anything warning of AI or automating our world to the point our comfort is priority to humanity is a go from me. Deep themes that aren't delved into too deeply but they do exist as a nice skimming

+cockney robot/human
+character named god saying “probably” when passing judgment
+Author’s narration on audiobook, he should do more of his books
+anti AI
-pacing, he tends to be a slower read in general but there were whole sections that could’ve been trimmed down significantly

The author doesn’t make impressionable characters it’s always more of the story so I never needed to be connecting with UC or even the Wonk, thus when I did here or there it was a pleasant surprise. But to his detriment I need more setting/plot if I’m not getting character.

Regardless, I am still surprised that he’s just got ideas out the wazoo so I’ll def be checking out more of his works

Once we left the manor and started the parable journeys (I did appreciate the chapter titles referencing Dante, Agatha etc) was where it became piecemeal. The journey was a litttttttle redundant but I still enjoyed it.

The first part at the manor with the back and forth with the robot cops was hilarious in how serious they all were regarding complete and utter obvious things but they were bound by programming. This is actually works in the author’s favor because that big reveal is so obvious to us as readers but to a robot like UC he is utterly like huh?

Review:
The big reveal of the human society having collapsed is done subtlety, like it's barely mentioned outright until the Wonk says it or when UC gets to see the environmental damage when leaving the library archive and I kind of like that it isn't a "reveal" to UC as it is to us b/c he's not worried about the state of humanity unless it means there aren't any humans to serve

-Uncharles serves a human in the small scale, librarians serve humanity at large

-omg around 60% I could notttttt retain anything! Idk if it’s cuz it was so busy at work but even at 1x speed I listened more than 6 times to the same 2 chapters

Nots:

-Charles already has more personality than the robotic-like human Arton from Alien Clay oddly enough, I think the author does quirky well not empathetic

-while Wonk struggles to communicate with Uncharles’ literalness, it then it turns struggles with the same thing with other robots

-Adam is soooo done with everyone lol

A firmware hack enabled god to make the decision for UC and now he’s making UC attack the Wonk

Together w the soldier robots they leave and try to start over, that no human will own a robot but robots who want to help can

The Wonk turns into the Wizard of Oz kind of, hiding behind a curtain and giving orders on a new society

The wonk realizes the protagonist virus got to god not to UC, god judged all humans guilty probably so as not to let any guilty go based on the programming given to him

UC asked what his master did to deserve being killed and god said he probably either removed the memory of his sin from UC or just being wealthy in this world was sin enough