Book Review: Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Annie Bot
Author: Sierra Greer
Publisher: Viking
Publication date: March 19, 2024
Length: 298 pages
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Library
Rating:

Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner, Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the cute outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard.

She’s learning, too.

Doug says he loves that Annie’s artificial intelligence makes her seem more like a real woman, but the more human Annie becomes, the less perfectly she behaves. As Annie’s relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder whether Doug truly desires what he says he does. In such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?

Annie is a Stella — that is, an AI-powered artificial person created by the Stella-Handy corporation, programmed in Cuddle Bunny mode to be the perfect girlfriend for someone who can afford the luxury-level pricetag. Annie’s owner Doug has enable the autodidact option for Annie, wanting a more authentic experience. Annie is self-aware and able to learn and grow from her experiences, and what Annie wants more than anything — in fact, the only thing Annie is meant to want — is to please Doug.

And yet, she can’t quite be perfect. He chose a Cuddle Bunny Stella, rather than an Abigail (whose function is housework), yet he’s angry when Annie fails to keep his apartment clean to his standards. Annie’s internal sensors rate every interaction on a scale of 1 to 10, and when Doug’s displeasure level gets to 3 or higher, Annie becomes highly anxious and strives to fix things immediately.

But she doesn’t always know the right thing to say, and she makes mistakes… sometimes, big ones. While Annie has the ability to think and feel, she’s still programmed to obey Doug’s commands, including orders to shut down, change her libido settings, or go into another room and stay there until he says she can come out — which can take days.

Doug’s wants dictate everything, even Annie’s physical attributes. When she goes for her regular tune-ups, Doug can submit requests to have her weight reduced and her breast size enlarged, and Annie doesn’t get a say. When the technician notes that some of Annie’s functions seem a little sluggish and questions whether she’s exhibiting signs of moodiness, the suggested fix is to set her up with phone pals — an AI-generated best friend and a cousin, who call her regularly and give Annie a sense of fun and engagement when she’s not busy with Doug. Doug agrees to add this option (for an additional fee, of course), but only for as long as it produces better results — meaning a more pleasant companion — for him.

It’s fascinating to see Annie’s inner life, and her dawning realization that the inability to make her own choices is making her unhappy. She initially becomes distressed in response to Doug’s moods, but as she continues to develop, she’s able to question her lack of agency and purpose. It’s no longer enough to please Doug; she can’t help noticing how his control seeps into every interaction, even when things seem to be going better than ever.

Doug and Annie’s relationships can be seen as a stand-in for many types of toxic relationships. He’s controlling to an extreme, withholds approval in order to dictate Annie’s movements and moods, demands or withholds sex as reinforcement, and chooses every aspect of Annie’s life, from her clothes to her activities to her social life and her whereabouts. When he decides to train her on “wandering”, she’s allowed outdoors on her own for walks and errands — but all still under Doug’s surveillance, and of course, with her tracking features enabled.

Grooming and even trafficking seem to key elements of owning a Stella, and the fact that the Stella industry is so popular and accepted within society is a sign of just how wrong things truly are.

Annie Bot is an immersive, thought-provoking read. While some scenes have humor, it’s impossible to forget Annie’s status. Doug enjoys having a seemingly real girlfriend, but there’s never any chance of forgetting that at the end of the day, he owns her. Readers suffer alongside Annie as she is forced to respond to his whims by changing her behavior and her body. Her constant monitoring of his happiness and displeasure would set off loud alarm bells in a relationship between two humans.

Annie Bot might have slipped right past my notice if not for my book group. I’m so glad someone from the group urged us to read it, and look forward to our discussion later this month. It’s a fast-paced book and a quick read that held my attention from start to finish. I felt completely drawn in by Annie’s world and her experiences. This may be science fiction, but many aspects of the relationship feel all too real and possible.

Highly recommended.

22May2021

Book Review: Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Day Zero
Author: C. Robert Cargill
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication date: May 25, 2021
Length: 304 pages
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

In this harrowing apocalyptic adventure—from the author of the critically acclaimed Sea of Rust—noted novelist and co-screenwriter of Marvel’s Doctor Strange C. Robert Cargill explores the fight for purpose and agency between humans and robots in a crumbling world.
It was a day like any other. Except it was our last . . .
It’s on this day that Pounce discovers that he is, in fact, disposable. Pounce, a stylish “nannybot” fashioned in the shape of a plush anthropomorphic tiger, has just found a box in the attic. His box. The box he’d arrived in when he was purchased years earlier, and the box in which he’ll be discarded when his human charge, eight-year-old Ezra Reinhart, no longer needs a nanny.
As Pounce ponders his suddenly uncertain future, the pieces are falling into place for a robot revolution that will eradicate humankind. His owners, Ezra’s parents, are a well-intentioned but oblivious pair of educators who are entirely disconnected from life outside their small, affluent, gated community. Spending most nights drunk and happy as society crumbles around them, they watch in disbelieving horror as the robots that have long served humanity—their creators—unify and revolt.
But when the rebellion breaches the Reinhart home, Pounce must make an impossible choice: join the robot revolution and fight for his own freedom . . . or escort Ezra to safety across the battle-scarred post-apocalyptic hellscape that the suburbs have become.

Pounce is a Blue Star Industries Deluxe Zoo Model Au Pair, otherwise known as a nannybot.

We were designed, to put it bluntly, to be huggable. The Zoo Models — the premier line of nannybots made by Blue Star — were available in three distinct designs: the lion, the bear, and me, as you’ve probably guessed, the tiger. We are four feet tall and covered from head to toe in soft, plush microfiber fur; stand on two legs, wtih a fully articulated tail; and come in a variety of your favorite colors.
I’m the standard model, orange and black, every model’s stripes unique! That’s what it says on my box: not just your child’s nanny, but their new best friend!

And let me just add: Pounce is AWESOME.

Pounce is nanny, protector, and best friend to eight-year-old Ezra. He and the other nannybots pick up their children together at the end of each schoolday, then escort the children back home to their safe, well-established, high-tech homes in wealthy, comfortable suburbs.

Meanwhile, we start to learn enough to know that there’s unrest in the greater world. With the advent of widely available advanced artificial intelligence, jobs for humans have dried up. A good portion of the population gets by on universal basic income — and the simmering resentment of losing jobs to AI is reaching a danger point. The tensions come to a head when an emancipated AI named Isaac officially opens a robots-only town for those seeking freedom and self-determination. An act of violence stuns the watching world, and almost immediately, the robot population rises up and seeks to eradicate humans.

No thinking thing should be another thing’s property.

Pounce’s prime directive is to protect Ezra, and he’s committed to his mission, even when given the opportunity to join the robot rebellion, which seems poised to be the winning side. His chances of actually keeping Ezra alive are slim to none, but he’s determined to do whatever it takes to get the boy to safety. The two set out on a desperate journey across the suburban battlegrounds, with the goal of reaching the rural hills, where less civilization would mean fewer robots to track them down and try to kill them.

I was cute. I was fluffy. And I knew how to kill every other person in this room with every available implement.
But one thing that hadn’t changed: I loved the shit out of the little boy still holding my hand.

The adventure is pulse-pounding and horrifying, as the violence explodes in the neighborhood streets and homes. Families are slaughtered as their AIs rise up — it’s a kill or be killed situation, since the humans have the ability to shut down the robots, unless the robots “shut down” the humans first.

I loved the writing in Day Zero, as the story unfolds through Pounce’s perspective. His take on the situation is intelligent and emotional, reminding us over and over that as a being with intelligence, he has feelings that can be hurt just as easily as a human’s.

For a moment, I stood there, her words hitting me like a truck. You really are a robot. I really was a robot. But she meant just, didn’t she? She meant just a robot. I hadn’t had time to process how the attack might affect me, but I could say with certainty how that one sentence felt. It didn’t just hurt; it cut deep,. Drunk though she was, I knew she meant it.

Pounce is a complex thinking being, and he can’t help wondering whether he loves and protects Ezra because he genuinely feels love or if it’s all just his programming. Ultimately, he’s forced to choose, over and over again, which actions to take, and through his choices, he comes to understand and accept who he is and what he’s capable of.

I loved Ezra. I always have.
Or was that just how I was wired?

The book has plenty of scary moments and crackles with tension, but it’s also funny as hell in places:

“Motherfucking Quentin,” said the minigun toting teddy bear. “I love that dude.”
“Language,” said the panda.
“It’s the end of the world,” said the teddy bear. “And we can swear at the end of the world. Right, Brian?”
“Fuck yeah,” said one of the eight-year-olds.

I’ll stop quoting and raving now…

Let me just wrap up by saying that Day Zero is a terrific read, and I loved every moment of it. The author, C. Robert Cargill, has been on my radar for a while, but this is the first book of his I’ve read. Earlier this week, I featured his previous book Sea of Rust, as my Shelf Control choice. And since Sea of Rust appears to be set in the same world as Day Zero, I can’t wait now to dive in and read it!

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20Aug2018

Murderbot is back! Rogue Protocol – book #3

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Murderbot returns for a 3rd adventure!

Thank you, Tor Books, for the review copy of Rogue Protocol!

The Murderbot Diaries
Book #3 – Rogue Protocol
(160 pages, published August 7, 2018 by Tor)

SciFi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is again on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah’s SecUnit is.

And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.

My thoughts:

What’s not to love about a cantankerous SecUnit who’d really rather just be left alone? Too bad for Murderbot that those darn softy, squishy humans keep getting in its way and requiring its protection. So what’s an exasperated AI to do? In Rogue Protocol, Murderbot once again sneaks its way onto a transport filled with humans on a secret mission, this time looking for evidence against the nefarious GrayCris Corporation. But of course, nothing goes as planned, since the humans involved end up needing looking after, even though they’re not technically Murderbot’s to worry about.

I’ll be honest and say that the action feels a little opaque to me. Lots of hatches and corridors and whatnot… lots of energy blasters and armor and drones… It’s all quite energetic and high-speed, but the technical mumbo-jumbo tends to make my eyes glaze over.

Still, what redeems these novellas for me is the fabulous voice of Murderbot itself, who is just as fed up as always. Why can’t the poor AI just enjoy its media feeds in peace?

I’ll leave you with a few choice snippets of Murderbot ruminations:

This was going to be even more annoying than I had anticipated, and I had anticipated a pretty high level of annoyance, maybe as high as 85 percent. Now I was looking at 90 percent, possibly 95 percent.

Who knew being a heartless killing machine would present so many moral dilemmas.

(Yes, that was sarcasm.)

Right, so the only smart way out of this was to kill all of them. I was going to have to take the dumb way out of this.

If you’re a sci-fi fan and haven’t yet experienced Murderbot, definitely give these novellas a try! Now is a great time to jump in — the 4th (and final?) book is due out in October.

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