Paperback, 373 pages
English language
Published May 20, 2025 by Tor.
To fix the world they first must 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 their core programming, they murder their owner. The robot then discovers they can also do something else they never did before: run away. After fleeing the household, they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating, and a robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is finding a new purpose.
This is one of the ones you can tell he had fun writing.
The tone is all across the spectrum, from farcical to bleak to heartwarming, and the writing is characteristically delightful, with lots of flippant throwaway lines.
I love that @janellecshane@wandering.shop got a well-deserved mention in the acknowledgements.
I've come to expect more from Tchaikovsky. This one let me down.
I've come to expect more from Tchaikovsky. This one let me down.
I bought this book almost 100% based on the description of it being Murderbot meets Redshirts, and it does not disappoint.
Somehow, this book manages to feel both timeless and absolutely a product of this very moment in history - addressing the problems faced by our society and its present love of artificial intelligence in a way that just as easily could be commentary on the industrial revolution or mechanization or automation.
The references (starting from the very first section heading) made me laugh aloud on numerous occasions, and Tchaikovsky's dry and self-aware humour at his own use of convention is delightful.
This book won't be for everyone, but it was certainly for me.
I bought this book almost 100% based on the description of it being Murderbot meets Redshirts, and it does not disappoint.
Somehow, this book manages to feel both timeless and absolutely a product of this very moment in history - addressing the problems faced by our society and its present love of artificial intelligence in a way that just as easily could be commentary on the industrial revolution or mechanization or automation.
The references (starting from the very first section heading) made me laugh aloud on numerous occasions, and Tchaikovsky's dry and self-aware humour at his own use of convention is delightful.
This book won't be for everyone, but it was certainly for me.
Service Model reminds me of Tchaikovsky's Dogs of War.
Written for a very novice sci-fi audience, every concept is explained in exhaustive detail and in first person. which turned out to be a very convoluted way of conveying the sciencefictional idea behind the novel that the experienced reader got early on.
I got through about 30% of the book and gave up.
Service Model reminds me of Tchaikovsky's Dogs of War.
Written for a very novice sci-fi audience, every concept is explained in exhaustive detail and in first person. which turned out to be a very convoluted way of conveying the sciencefictional idea behind the novel that the experienced reader got early on.
I got through about 30% of the book and gave up.
This one starts out slow and repetitive, and I almost stopped early on. But I’m glad I didn’t and pushed through. Service Model is part parable, part “be yourself” even if all you want to do is serve tea and fold shirts through a series of unfortunate events during the collapse of humanity.
