In the Lives of Puppets

 

In the Lives of Puppets by T. J. Klune.  432 pp

Victor lives with his father, Gio, in a series of tree houses in a forest adjacent to a scrap yard.  He enjoys seeing what the scrap yard has to offer, but it is dangerous.  Several machines guard it from outside interference.  He already found a vaccum which he repaired and named "Rambo" and a robot nurse called Nurse Ratched (Ratched is actually the initials for Registered Automaton to Care, Heal, Educate, and Drill).  One day while in the scrap yard, Victor finds an android that seems to still be alive.  Unfortunately, by the time he removes everything on top of it, it is no longer functioning, but he takes it home to his lab to tinker with it.  Eventually, he is able to repair everything but the battery that makes it work.  He takes a heart he made in case his father needs it (Gio is an android, too) and puts a few drops of blood in and the android comes to life.  The android doesn't know who he is or what his purpose is, but he has some initials on his body HAP, so that is what Victor, Rambo, and Nurse Ratched call him.  Nurse Ratched also calls him Hysterically Angry Puppet since he is very grumpy.  When Gio sees what Victor has done, he is upset since Gio built HAP originally as a human destroyer (HARP stands for Human Annihilation Response Protocol) and Victor is a human.  Some government androids realize that HAP is alive and that there may be a human around, so Gio makes everyone go into a safe room.  The government androids take Gio back to the City of Electric Dreams and destroy his heart.  When Victor and his friends emerge from the safe room Gio is gone and the tree houses have been destroyed.  They they go on a quest to rescue Gio.

This is not my usual type of story (not big into Sci Fi), but I had read another T. J. Klune book and wanted to read this.  The robot friends are very funny (shades of MST3K).  Many reviews say this is a modern day Pinocchio.  I can see this as Gio creates Victor (he is already a "real" boy) and there is a workshop/lab for tinkering.  I really enjoyed it.

Artificial Condtion

Artificial Condition  by Martha Wells          Audio Book: 3 hrs., 21 mins.      Hardback Book:  160 pages                  

I found out this was book 2 in the Murderbot series.    I wish books would note when they are a part of a series and what number the book at hand is in such series.   It is one thing if it is the first book in a series but to be out of order and not starting with the first book in the series can be a littles disappointing.    However,  this book could stand alone, the reader just knew there were things that transpired prior to the Murderbots arrival at the location he was in this book, but, that could be explained away by the murderbot main character’s reference to them as being a part of semi-erased memory tapes or the like.     I wanted to like this story.   It had elements that weren’t bad but some of the continuity was off, sometimes the robot’s language didn’t jive, some things seemed off because that far in the future I don’t think robots would cuss, be streetwise, and use slang and or the dropping of the endings off of words.   I was struck with the feeling that this was a first attempt at writing or perhaps a highschooler’s writing assignment.    It did not come across as good writing, but, perhaps something that was done for a class, or an attempt at trying one’s hand at science fiction.   I wanted to like the story, there were parts of it that were o.k. but overall – I would not recommend this one.  It needed some editing before its release that somehow fell through the cracks.   I don’t know about the previous book nor can I speak for any later books in this series but I would not be interested in reading any further on this story.   Not to be judgey just to offer constructive criticism, this book seemed a little 1 dimensional.   No recommendation here.   

 - Shirley J.

Guilty Robots, Happy Dogs

Guilty Robots, Happy Dogs: the Question of Alien Minds by David McFarland, 252 pages


The question of alien minds is a tough one. What is the starting point? McFarland approaches it by considering what it means for a human to have a mind.

To this end, he looks at whether robots and animals have intentionality and beliefs, intelligence and autonomy. He considers each issue from several philosophical viewpoints but lets the reader decide what he or she thinks is best. He also uses examples of robots in action, looks at animal behavior and studies done with animals.

In the end, since we don't know what animals are or are not thinking, it may be impossible to decide if animals do have minds.

The title and subtitle are very attractive but the substance is lacking. He brings up some good questions and has some good thoughts but it was a slog when it didn't need to be and didn't provide enough insight. I was hoping for more from this book so I can't recommend it.
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The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown, 279 pages

Roz, a robot, activates on an island after a shipwreck.  She learns to adapt to life on the island, learning the language that the animals speak.  At first, the animals are afraid of her and think she is a monster, but slowly, Roz gains their trust and even friendship, especially after she adopts an orphaned goose.  This was a sweet story and completely awesome.  It had a lot of pictures and fairly short chapters, besides a captivating story, making it a good choice for reluctant readers, despite its slightly longer length.  

City 1

City 1 by Gregg Rosenblum, 282 pages

"From the creators of Homeland and American Horror Story comes City 1, the chilling finale to the Revolution 19 trilogy. The time has come to win the cities back from the bots--or die trying. After finally reuniting at a rebel camp, siblings Nick, Kevin, and Cass are willing to do anything to stay together--and free their parents from bot rule. But the leader of the rebel camp has her own ideas. Cruel and determined, General Clay won't let anything stand in the way of her plan to destroy the robots and all the brainwashed humans. This means their parents' lives are at stake, but Nick, Kevin, and Cass can't desert the rebels when they're so close to freedom. How far will they go to save the world they believe in?"  I really liked this book.  I thought it was a great conclusion to a good series.  This might have been my favorite of the trilogy, actually.  Teens who like the dystopian novels will enjoy it.

The mechanical

The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis
471 Pages


"In an early 20th century where history took a decidedly different turn, the world is divided in two: the realm of the Dutch and their mechanical servitors in the empire ruled by the Brassworks Throne and the battered and pathetic remnants of France living in exile in the New World. Jax is a Clakker, a mechanical man built to obey the will of the humans who used alchemy to set him in motion. When a quirk of chance frees him from the geas ("alchemical binding") that usually controls all Clakkers absolutely, he will do anything to retain his free will. Meanwhile, in New France, Berenice is the spymaster charged with finding a way to defeat the Dutch, but she overreaches when she tries to capture a Clakker."

An interesting start to what might be a new series.  Tregillis not only creates a fascinating alternate world but explores free will and self-awareness.

Alone Together

Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other by Sherry Turkle, 305 pages

In 1950, computer pioneer Alan Turing famously proposed a test to identify artificial intelligence - when a human can't tell a machine from another human, artificial intelligence has been attained.  Sherry Turkle's book shows two sides of progress towards this goal - increasingly manlike machines and increasingly mechanical men.  On the one hand, robot pets and toys are better and better at feigning emotions, while online bots are better and better at simulating communication.  On the other hand, new communications technologies, while greatly increasing opportunities for connection, have greatly reduced the depth of those connections.

Turkle, a professor at MIT, is certainly no Luddite.  She is, however, keenly aware of how technologies contain their own invisible ideologies, and how a culture of innovation is often blind to unintended consequences.  Much of the book is composed of material culled from years of research on the interactions between humans - especially children - and machines.  If her vision extends to a possible dystopia similar to Asimov's Solaria, where each person is isolated from every other by a cocoon of predictable, reliable robotics, it also encompasses the possibility that we might learn to control our technology instead of being controlled by it.

Fugitive X

Fugitive X by Gregg Rosenblum, 263 pages

Set in a world controlled by robots, Nick, Kevin, and Cass are three siblings whose home was destroyed by the robots and parents were taken in the first book Revolution 19.  Although an attempt to rescue their parents from the bot controlled City failed and their parents are now citizens, happy to be controlled by the bots, the three teens escaped and are now on the run, trying to make it to another Freepost.  Unfortunately, the three become separated and Cass, injured is taken by the bots back to the City while Kevin is taken by other, unusual bots, to a mysterious island that still appears to be controlled by humans, although there are bots present.  Nick saw what happened to Cass but doesn’t know what happened to Kevin.  Kevin is determined to get away from the island and Nick is determined to find Kevin and save Cass from the City.  This is a good sequel to the first book in the series for teens who enjoy science fiction and adventure.

Watcher in the Shadows

The Watcher in The Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafon            262 pages

Irene’s family has moved to a new town following the death of her father.  Nearly a year after his death it seems their fortune has changed.  Her mother was offered a good position and it seems that she and her brother, Dorian, will be able to go back to school instead of looking for work to help support the family.  Once they arrive however, Irene becomes involved with Ismael, a young fisherman.  When his cousin, Hannah, is found murdered, Irene begins to wonder if there is any truth to the ghost stories she has heard in the village and whether her family might also be in danger.  This book didn’t hold my attention very well.  Despite the supernatural mystery going on, I didn’t find it that scary and my mind kept wandering while I was reading.  A teen reader might like it better than I did, but I probably won’t be recommending it very strongly to anyone.